This Israeli couscous salad recipe is packed with raw & roasted cherry tomatoes, feta, chickpeas & herbs. Perfect for a picnic or packing for lunch!
Whenever I’m styling (and eating) something as herb-heavy as this Israeli couscous salad, I start to wonder if a year-round indoor herb garden is possible. I love having a ton of fresh herbs right outside my door, and I’m really going to miss them when they’re gone. They’re so delicious in summer recipes like this couscous salad, and they’re oh so PRETTY. I often get asked about my food photography/styling tips and my best tip is always: Whatever dish you have, smother it in herbs!
Aside from lots of fresh thyme and basil, this couscous salad recipe is all about the tomatoes. I slow roast half of them and put the other half raw into the salad. Together, the raw and roasted cherry tomatoes make this a sweet, tangy, bursty, crunchy, herb-y gem of a late-summer salad.
Israeli Couscous Salad Recipe Ingredients
I’ve mentioned the tomatoes and the herbs, but here’s a complete picture of the ingredients that make this couscous salad recipe one of our late summer favorites:
- Cherry tomatoes: The combination of roasted tomatoes and raw tomatoes creates wonderful texture and flavor.
- Israeli couscous: If you’ve never tried this Middle Eastern pasta, you’re going to love it. It’s larger than regular couscous, and the big, chewy pearls are really fun to eat.
- Roasted chickpeas: These provide protein and a nice crisp bite. Roast them ahead of time if you like!
- A pinch of smoked paprika: This smoky spice highlights the sweet tomatoes.
- Olive oil & lemon juice: There’s no need to make a separate salad dressing when you have these two ingredients.
- Garlic: Because tomatoes love it.
- Fresh herbs: We all love the combination of tomatoes and basil, but the addition of fresh thyme takes this over the top.
- Cucumbers: These add a fresh, crisp element to the salad.
- Feta cheese: I love feta’s creamy, salty bite! Skip it if you’re vegan, or add chopped Kalamata olives in its place.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make This Couscous Salad
Before you toss this salad together, you need to roast the tomatoes and chickpeas and cook the pearl couscous!
Roasted cherry tomatoes are easy to make, but it takes a while for them to shrivel in the oven and become all jammy and concentrated. I suggest making them ahead of time – they can sit at room temp until you’re ready to assemble the salad. When you come home, have a glass of wine, cook your couscous, check your email… do anything besides stare at the oven waiting for your tomatoes. They’ll be done in no time and your kitchen will smell amazing.
Once your tomatoes, roasted chickpeas, and couscous are ready, toss everything together in a big bowl. Top with an abundance of fresh herbs and a generous drizzle of olive oil. Serve this couscous salad as a side dish with a protein if you like, or just on its own (chickpeas = protein).
This is also a great recipe to pack for lunch. On day 2, I like to add a little bit more lemon and an extra pinch of salt.
More Favorite Salad Recipes
If you love this couscous salad, try one of these delicious summer salad recipes next:
- Best Broccoli Salad
- Easy Pasta Salad
- Cucumber Salad
- Greek Salad
- Watermelon Salad with Feta
- Caesar Salad
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
- Or any of these 37 best salad recipes!
Cherry Tomato Couscous Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups cherry tomatoes, (half for roasting, half raw)
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- 1 cup dry Israeli couscous
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, more if desired
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Leaves from 6 sprigs fresh thyme, more for garnish
- 1½ cups roasted chickpeas, tossed with 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika before roasting
- ¼ cup fresh basil, more for garnish
- 2 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Roast 2 cups of the cherry tomatoes according to this recipe. These can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for a few days.
- Cook the couscous according to the package directions until al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.
- In the bottom of a large bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the lemon juice, garlic, thyme, ¼ teaspoon salt, and several grinds of black pepper. Add the cooled couscous and toss. Slice the remaining raw cherry tomatoes in half and add them to the bowl with the roasted tomatoes, the chickpeas, basil, cucumbers, and feta. Top with more fresh herbs and a generous drizzle of olive oil. Season to taste.
Excellent recipe! Love the roasted tomatoes mixed with the fresh.
I’m so glad you loved it!
These look so incredible!! Can’t wait to make this!
As always, thank you for your amazing recipes. Big hit in our house! I roast garlic with the tomatoes versus adding fresh to the dressing to tone it down a bit. So flavorful and no feta needed. Thank you!!
Yum!! I made this tonight and the roasted tomatoes are SO worth the time and effort! Delicious and healthy. I couldn’t find Israeli couscous, so substituted orzo, which worked great! I can’t wait to make it again with actual couscous.
I’m so glad you loved it!
I followed the recipe except I pan-fried chickpeas in a cast iron skillet and left off feta (I’m vegan). It was DELICIOUS. So much flavor. Those roasted cherry tomatoes…wow! Thank you for the great recipe.
Thanks for sharing such a beautiful recipe! I added butter beans in the salad and it was delicious. 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
What a beautiful page! Cant wait to try these recipes
Absolutely love this salad . So yummy.
Hi Paulette, I’m so glad to hear!
I’ve made this every week since you posted the recipe and it’s become an absolute favorite in our home. Wonderful flavors and so satisfying but doesn’t leave you feeling heavy. Really love it the next day, as well.
We added some roasted asparagus for a little more bite and it was great.
Ooh, I’m so happy it’s become part of the rotation, I LOVE hearing that :). Mmm, asparagus sounds delicious!
I can’t eat dairy. Any substitutions for feta?
Hi Cheryl, just leave out the feta and add a little extra salt, to taste. Hope that helps!
This was absolutely delicious, even better than I thought it would be. I was concerned that the amount of dressing was small for the amount of salad, but it worked out perfectly and I didn’t end up having that situation where there is a lake of dressing at the bottom of the bowl. Thanks for a fantastic recipe.
Hi Vivian, I’m so glad you loved it! Anything with tomatoes gets a little juicy 🙂
A great recipe. I am amazed at how roasting the tomatoes in the oven brings out the sweetness in them (wow) it really adds another dimension to this salad. Next time I’ll plan ahead so that I have time to oven roast my chickpeas. Is it best to rinse the couscous after cooking it so it doesn’t clump together? That was an issue for me.
Hi Claudia, I’m so glad you loved it with the roasted tomatoes! You can rinse the couscous or, better yet, toss it with a drizzle of olive oil to keep it from sticking together. I usually find that it un-clumps once I toss it in the bowl with the dressing if I just break it apart with a spatula before adding everything else. Hope that helps!
Just a tip–I’ve had great luck growing herbs year-round with an aerogarden!
Made this last night. So delicious! I added some broiled asparagus too.
Seriously, I love every single one of your recipes.
SO SO happy to hear that!! I’m glad you loved the salad 🙂
Made this for dinner last night. I loved this recipe. The roasted chickpeas are great in it. A great way to use up an abundance of cherry tomatoes from the garden! So delicious
YUM! This looks delish!
I made this last night and we absolutely love it! Very delicious ingredients and layered flavors! The only thing I changed was the basil, which I did not have so I added chopped fresh mint. Excellent recipe.
Hi Rena, ooh, I bet mint was delicious. I’m so glad you loved it – thanks for coming back to let me know!
I made this as written and it was delicious!
Hi Claire, I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for coming back to let me know!
I just made this and it is fantastic! I was searching for something light & easy to make for dinner & this was perfect! Followed the recipe exactly & turned out fantastic! I just love your blog!
Hi Kristina, I’m so glad you loved it!!
This sounds absolutely scrumptious. I am adding this to my list of vegetarian lunch dishes (I can get away with vegetarian meals better at lunch than dinner). Really looking forward to trying it.