Couscous Broccolini Salad with Olives and Feta

This Couscous Broccolini Salad with Olives and Feta is a quick recipe that is perfect as a main or side dish! It’s vegetarian too!

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We’ve been making this quick and easy couscous recipe on repeat lately! It’s so easy and I love how it comes together so quickly. It’s perfect for lunches or dinners or even a quick snack in the afternoon. It’s keeps well in the fridge so it’s perfect for meal prep. You can enjoy this one hot or cold!

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Broccolini Couscous Salad with Olives and Feta

I’ve always loved a good couscous salad! I will say that I prefer the pearl, or sometimes called Israeli, version of couscous to the other stuff. This version of couscous is bigger and rounder and eats somewhere between a pasta and a traditional couscous.

This couscous salad, it’s kinda like a salad, right? In a pasta salad sorta way? It’s great because you can enjoy it warm or cold. It’s perfect for picnics, lunches and we love it at dinner time too. It comes together super quick and is great paired with sandwiches or a protein like chicken or fish.

Easy Vegetarian Side Dish

This dish is vegetarian on it’s own! I love the salty feta crumbles in it but if you wanted to leave them out then you could make this dish vegan. I find the marinated feta and olive mix in the deli section at my grocery store and it’s a nice little flavor bomb on it’s own! It takes all the guesswork out of seasoning this dish. I’ve seen something similar at most grocery stores so I don’t think you will have too much trouble finding one.

Easy Recipe with Pearl Couscous

The broccolini really shines in this recipe! Because it is so delicate, compared to regular broccoli, it cooks quickly. I like to let it get just lightly charred which adds another layer of flavor and texture. I’ve done this recipe with both sliced and silvered almonds and they add a nice crunch to the dish. I know y’all will enjoy this one as much as we do!

Couscous Broccolini Salad with Olives and Feta

4.16 from 38 votes

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Ingredients

1 cup pearl couscous 8 oz
1 1/4 cup water for boiling
1/4 cup sliced or silvered almonds 2 oz
2 cups pitted olives and feta usually found in deli section

Broccolini

3 bunches broccolini stems and tops chopped
1 tsp kosher salt reduce by half if using table salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 juice from 1/2 a lemon
1 tsp olive oil

Instructions

Begin by preheating the oven to 350° and preparing a baking sheet.
Wash and pat dry broccolini. Chop it and tossing with olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Spread evenly over baking sheet and roast for 10-12 minutes until tender and slightly charred. Remove from oven and set aside.
While the broccolini is cooking, bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Once water comes to a rolling boil, stir in couscous. Cover and turn off heat. Let sit, covered, for 10 minutes until all water is absorbed.
Once couscous is finished, fluff with a fork or spatula. Add broccolini, almonds and olive & feta mix (add brine from packaging if desired) to pot or large bowl and combine everything together. Serve warm or cover and refrigerate for up to a week. Enjoy hot or cold! Perfect for picnics, lunches or dinners with protein of choice.

Notes

Nutrition values are approximate and can vary.

You can reserve the brine from the olives & feta mix and use it as a dressing if desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 205kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 7gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gSodium: 840mgPotassium: 113mgFiber: 4gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 1260IUVitamin C: 62mgCalcium: 92mgIron: 1mg

Keyword broccoli, easy, quick, side, vegetarian

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Reader Interactions

Comments

David W Brown
March 13, 2022 at 5:19 pm
Natalie.
Looking to making this..
Quick question: Do you add the liquid from the olive feta mix as well to the couscous?
Thank you
David
Reply
- Natalie Paramore
  March 13, 2022 at 5:25 pm
  Hi David,
  This is optional! I typically add most of the liquid because I like how it acts like a dressing in this dish. If there is more than about 2-3 tablespoons of liquid, you might want to scale it back but it’s really up to you! Enjoy!
  Reply
Emily in Houston
May 22, 2022 at 6:21 pm
the ratio of water to couscous was way off. measured precisely and after 10 minutes with the lid on, my couscous were floating. The instructions on box of pearl couscous read 1 1/4 cup water to 1 cup couscous. does your recipe have a typo of a 2 instead of a 1? either way, this didn’t work.
Reply
Samantha
June 10, 2022 at 5:22 pm

So easy to prep and so fresh and lovely to eat! I thought I had couscous, but it was actually white quinoa. I enjoyed it all the same.
Reply
Megan
March 14, 2023 at 6:09 pm
One thing I love to do is use chicken broth instead of water to cook the couscous, adds a little extra flavor!
Reply
Ashby
March 15, 2023 at 10:15 am

I am a very novice cook and made this last night – I accidentally added way too much olive brine because I didn’t read through (WOOPS) so it was superrrrr salty but it was still so delicious. I used pine nuts instead of almonds and they were great. I can’t wait to make it again and adjust my ratio/measurements. Thank you!
Reply