You may have noticed that I’ve been on couscous kick over the last few years. Pearl couscous, to be specific, because it’s so versatile, easy to cook with, and is the perfect grain to use if you’re craving both pasta and quinoa or rice.
So far I’ve added this gnocchi-like grain to my famous chicken soup, plus cozy one pot meals, and even my latest meatball bowl recipe. This beautiful curried chickpea couscous salad is my first cold salad recipe using it, and OMG I am in love.
If you remember this Moroccan-Inspired Chickpea Quinoa Salad that I first shared back in 2018 (the OG AK readers know), this couscous salad has a similar flavor profile that, in my opinion, gets even more delicious with the addition of couscous. Each bite is bursting with sweet and savory flavors you’ll crave. Meal prep it for your week or share it as a fun, unique side dish!
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Everything you’ll need to make this curry couscous salad
This beautiful curried chickpea couscous salad has a delicious variety of flavors and textures thanks to a handful of fun mix-ins and the best dressing. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Pearl couscous: I love using pearl couscous as the base for tons of my recipes because the little gnocchi-like pearls get nice and tender. You’ll cook it in water with a little salt.
- Chickpeas: a can of chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) adds a lovely boost of plant-based protein to the salad.
- Veggies & herbs: we’re tossing in red bell pepper, shredded carrot, red onion, and fresh parsley and cilantro.
- Mix-ins: add a little sweetness from Medjool dates or dried tart cherries, plus a delicious crunch from your fav mixture of nuts! I love adding toasted sliced almonds, roasted cashews, and roasted pistachios.
- Dressing: we’re using my famous curry tahini dressing, which is the perfect blend of sweet and savory.
Can I make this salad gluten-free?
Yes, it’s so easy! Simply swap the pearl couscous for 8 ounces of gluten-free orzo or quinoa. Both will be delicious.
Make this curried chickpea couscous salad your way
There are a few easy swaps I can recommend to customize this salad to your taste preferences:
- Keep it nut free. Simply omit the nut mixture, or toss in a seed mixture like sunflower seeds.
- Pick your dried fruit. If you don’t have any dates or dried cherries on hand, feel free to use dried cranberries, raisins, or golden raisins!
- Boost the veggies. Feel free to get creative here! I think fresh finely chopped roasted cauliflower or a few cups of finely chopped raw broccoli would be perfect.
- Add extra protein. Serve this salad with my Baked or Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken or my Honey Lemon Garlic Salmon for a full meal.
More dressing options
Trust me when I say the curry tahini dressing is UNREAL and so delicious in this salad. But, if you’re not a fan of curry flavors, you could try my Thai-Inspired Peanut Dressing or my Sesame Ginger Dressing.
Vegan curried couscous salad in 3 simple steps
- Cook the couscous. Start by cooking the couscous with water and salt in a similar way you would with rice. Once it’s cooked, transfer it to a large sieve and rinse it with cold water to cool it. Add it to a large bowl.
- Add the mix-ins. Add the chickpeas, plus the vegetables, herbs, dried fruit, and nuts to the bowl with the couscous.
- Toss in the dressing. Pour the dressing all over the salad and toss until everything is well coated. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed, then enjoy!
Store it for later
This vegan curry chickpea couscous salad is perfect for meal prep because it will stay good in an airtight glass container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You could even store it in mason jars for quick on-the-go lunches!
More salad recipes you’ll love
- Curry Roasted Cauliflower Sweet Potato Salad (vegan & gluten free)
- One Pot Moroccan-Inspired Chickpea Quinoa Salad
- The Easiest Chopped Greek Chickpea Salad
- Spicy Cashew Chickpea Broccoli Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing
- Copycat Portillo’s Chopped Salad
Get all of my salad recipes here!
I hope you love this curried chickpea couscous salad! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
High-Protein Curry Chickpea Couscous Salad
Ingredients
- Couscous:
- 1 ½ cups water
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup pearl couscous*
- For the salad:
- 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
- 1 large carrot, shredded
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh parsley
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup finely diced red onion
- ½ cup chopped Medjool dates or dried tart cherries
- ⅔ cup mix of toasted sliced almonds, roasted cashews and roasted pistachios (whatever mix of these nuts you have on hand is great!)
- Dressing:
- 1 batch curry tahini dressing
- Extra fresh ground salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the couscous: In a medium pot, add the water and salt and bring to a boil. Immediately stir in the couscous and return to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until all of the liquid is absorbed. Transfer to a large sieve and rinse the couscous with cold water for about 1 minute, until couscous has cooled. Transfer to a large bowl.
- In the large bowl with the couscous, add in the chickpeas, shredded carrot, bell pepper, parsley, cilantro, onion, dates or cherries and mix of nuts.
- Prepare the dressing, then pour over salad and use tongs or a large spoon to toss the salad with the dressing until well coated. Taste and add extra salt and pepper, as necessary.
- To store: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on May 23rd, 2024, and republished on April 8th, 2025.
I think you have a mistake, the ingredients say garbanzo beans, I think you meant chickpeas – not that it really matters, you could use either.
Thank you! They are interchangeable 🙂
This is just fantastic! I served it on a bed of arugula with some vegan feta and a baguette. It was a huge hit! The sauce is really remarkable. Thanks for all your skillfully written, easy to follow, delicious recipes and your beautiful photography.
Love that! One of my fav lunches 🙂 So happy you’re finding delicious recipes here!
Such a delicious salad with all of the essential food groups Very good salad for a diabetic.Loved it Thanks Monique
Absolutely! Glad you loved it!
Wowza! This was amazing! I followed exactly as suggested except added an extra can of chickpeas. I did 2t maple syrup and salad was a bit on the sweet side so think 1t would have been better. This would be a perfect summer BBQ side dish!
Perfect! So happy this was a hit!
This is really good! Great flavors put together, and it tastes great. I used it a main dish salad for dinner (because) we eat lighter for dinner and paired it with bread and hummous. Very filling! I will be making this again.
Love that! Such a delicious, fresh dinner 🙂
This is sooo good. I didn’t have red pepper on hand, so I Finley chopped broccoli and roasted a little bit of cauliflower. The curry flavor isn’t overpowering and the dates compliment the salad. Will definitely make again and or bring to a potluck! It’s that good.
Perfect! So glad you loved it!
Hi, Monique!
I read your book Ambitious Kitchen – I want to say I really enjoyed it! After reading it, I found this wonderful couscous salad recipe on your site. I didn’t even know it went so well with curry! This is the third time I’ve made it and I love it more and more!
I also want to say that couscous is very healthy – it contains 27.5 ug selenium (check it https://foodval.com/food/couscous-cooked/3302). I don’t know if it could be better! So not only is this salad delicious, it’s also very diet friendly.
Love your recipes!
Good luck!
I loved this salad. I made it for lunches and it got better as the week went on. The curry mixed with the tahini was a great flavor combination. I cannot wait to make this again!
The best! Glad you loved it!
One of the best salads I’ve ever made/had! Thank you for the recipe. I used pepitas and tart cherries and threw in some leftover kale cabbage slaw that was in the fridge. Made it for a meal train and the family has commented on how much they loved it three times!
Love that!! One of our new favs 🙂
This is delicious! Very easy and filling lunch! I’ve made it twice in the past month!
So happy to hear that!
The perfect meal prepped lunch salad! Tastes even better the next day 🙂 next time I will double the dressing as it’s so good! I made the recipe as is and topped the salad with feta. So yummy!
So glad you loved it!
This is the best salad I have had in a long time. We make this recipe almost once a week and I wish I could eat it more, it is that good. I sometimes tweek recipes here and there, but this one is perfect as is. I’ll switch up the nuts with what I have on hand (pistachios have the best texture, though), and sometimes add feta cheese. We serve this on it’s own or with grilled chicken. 11/10 can’t wait to make it again.
Amazing! This one’s great for customizing 🙂 Glad you love it!
Sooo delicious and easy !!
One of our new favs, too!
I see you have some nutritional information but don’t include the carbs. Would you be able to list the carbs in your recipe?
Thank you for the catch! Just added 🙂
Why it taste bitter , not sure if that is from dressing or something in the salad that gives bitter after taste.
Hmm I’m not sure what could be tasting bitter in here – what brand of tahini are you using?
This is delicious, delicious, delicious!!! I added baked chicken that I chopped up and I used farro instead of pearled couscous. The dressing is so flavorful and I can tell this will last a while in the fridge for meal prep. Another great recipe.
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed!
I made this for dinner tonight to go with grilled chicken. I used craisins and dates and almonds, I skipped the cous cous as we are cutting carbs. It was so delicious. The dressing is amazing, the crunchy with the sweet and the curry was awesome. I added chopped broccoli and cauliflower too. My husband raved and I will most definitely make this salad through the summer and fall! You could add so many additional veggies; roasted beets, avocado, even goat cheese if you wanted a meat free entree salad. Ricotta salata would also be great!
This one’s so great for customizing! Glad you both enjoyed 🙂
This was really delicious and I made it as a side to grilled chicken thighs and grilled zucchini. I used dried cherries and chopped dried apricots for the dried fruit. Leftovers were great and held up really well so it is a perfect recipe for meal prep!
Love that!
This is an excellent recipe! The dressing is insanely flavorful and compliments the flavors of the other ingredients so well. I subbed basil and mint because that’s what I had. And I used all three of the suggested nuts. Will make again throughout the summer, probably for company!
So happy to hear that! Perfect lunch or easy side dish 🙂
Excellent and delicious! Everyone loved it! This recipe will be on repeat! I did use quinoa instead of couscous and added raw broccoli florets.