Curried Israeli Couscous Salad is the side dish recipe you didn’t know you needed in your life. Bursting with bright and bold flavors, this Israeli couscous recipe is chocked full of bubbly pearled couscous, curried yogurt dressing, golden raisins, cilantro, and mint. Serve with chicken, pork, or seafood for an utterly fantastic meal!
How do you feel when you find a recipe that you need to make over and over and over again through the years?
Maybe it’s an old family recipe. Or your favorite chocolate chip recipe.
Well let me tell you, never would I have thought that this curried Israeli couscous salad would have been one of those recipes for me.
I made and shared Ina’s Curried Couscous way back in 2009 after I fell for it hard. The bright flavors were addictive and were so unexpectedly delicious that I made it again multiple times that summer…and then more times than I can count over the years since then.
In all of those years, I’ve tweaked the recipe to get it exactly how my family loves it and I figured it was time to reshare again here on the site. I’ve cut a little here, added a little there and just absolutely adore the version it is today.
Pantry Staple Recipe
This is one of those pantry staple recipes that you can pull out of your back pocket for a quick weeknight dinner or to make for a potluck that you totally forgot you needed to bring a dish to.
A pantry staple recipe is one of my favorite types of recipes! It’s one that you can make by reaching in to the pantry or cabinet to pull all of the ingredients you need. No grocery shopping needed!
What To Serve Israeli Couscous Salad With
In spite of the bold and bright flavors in this side dish, it’s one of those salads that work great with grilled chicken, chicken sausages, seafood – white fish, shrimp, or scallops – or pork, like these gingered pork, pineapple and pepper skewers.
I most recently made this salad to go with my grilled shawarma chicken and all of the big flavors in that meal were just fantastic.
Curried Israeli Couscous Salad
Curried Israel Couscous Salad is a fantastic side dish recipe to make for any kind of summer party or as a quick side dish to serve with chicken on a weeknight.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Israeli couscous, cooked according to package instructions
- 2 tbsp plain yogurt (See Note below)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ½ tsp white or red wine vinegar
- ½ tsp curry powder
- ⅛ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup shredded carrots
- ¼ cup minced fresh cilantro
- 2 tbsp minced fresh mint
- ⅓ cup golden raisins
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
Instructions
- Whisk the yogurt, olive oil, vinegar, curry powder, turmeric, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl. Stir up to 1 tablespoon of water into the mixture to loosen it up a little.
- Pour the mixture over the cooked couscous in the pot, and mix well with a spatula. Stir in the carrots, cilantro, mint, raisins, and scallions, mix well, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the couscous to a serving bowl and serve at room temperature.
Notes
You can substitute Greek yogurt here but you'll need to add extra water to thin the dressing out enough to pour over the couscous.
adapted from Ina Garten
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