Autumn Pearl Couscous Salad
I have a thing for pearl couscous; I am honestly kind of obsessed with its taste, texture, and overall beauty. Truly looks like pearls that you can eat! This autumn pearl couscous salad is inspired by all these wonderful fall vibes Chicago is currently having. I included flavors reminiscent of Fall in this recipe too like butternut squash, dried cranberries, and pecans.
This Autumn pearl couscous salad is the perfect side dish this time of year with almost anything. I am serving it with salmon tonight but it can go fantastic with steak, chicken, shrimp, or even on its own! I know how much you love my easy salad recipes after all the remakes and positive feedback from my bulgar salad. Therefore, I am so excited to hear what you think of this one once you make it! I forgot to mention, it is so easy too!
Sometimes pearl couscous is difficult to find but not to worry; there are some great replacements. A wonderful gluten free substitute would be quinoa. Orzo is a great pasta that mimics flavor and size of couscous too but if you can get your hands on pearl couscous; that is the best!
I honestly got hooked on pearl couscous when I would frequent Texas De Brazil. They ave a delicious couscous salad with dried cranberries and asparagus. I have been craving it and decided to do an autumn spin on it!
To go along with this delicious salad, I made a zesty vinaigrette! It has olive oil, mustard, honey, and vinegar. You can add as much or as little as you like. I personally love my salads to be well dressed! This vinaigrette will also go fantastic on other salads too so it is definitely one to make and store in your fridge!
Autumn Pearl Couscous Salad
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp Spicy Brown Mustard Dijon works too
- 2 tbsp Lemon's Juice
- 2 tbsp Fresh orange juice
- 2 tbsp Honey
- 2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tsp Garlic crushed
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Couscous Salad
- 1 cup Pearl Couscous cooked
- 1/3 cup Dried Cranberries
- 1/3 cup Pecans
- 1/4 Red onion thinly sliced
- 1 cup Kale leaves chopped
- 1 cup Butternut Squash Pan fried or roasted
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients of the dressing. Shake or stir well. Save extras in an airtight container or jar in the fridge if there are any, Taste and adjust if needed. Some may prefer sweeter or more acidic.
- Toss the kale first in a spoon of dressing and massage it to make it more tender. Then, add the rest of the salad ingredients with about a 1/3 cup of dressing. How much dressing is up to you! Enjoy this salad cold. It is a great make-ahead meal prep salad to keep in the fridge.
Notes
We made this recipe for dinner along side some lamb it is perfect! There was only a small bowl of it left for me to have for lunch the next day!
Ive tried a few recipes from Fufu in the kitchen… her recipes surprise me every-time!
When she made her autumn salad I had to make it… it was delicious!
Thank you FUFU!
Wow! I love this recipe. The dressing is so bright ! The flavor combos are delightful and represent the fall so well. I made this salad 4 times already for various events with different family members. I’ve gotten so many compliments on it and I always rave about this website and this recipe I was lucky to get! My family preferred a but less couscous and I Plan to try it with Quinoa for a less caloric option but otherwise 👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾
tried this recipe and the bulgar salad recipe. both are great! thank you
This was AMAZING!! Tested it for Thanksgiving and will definitely make it for my whole family! Thank you so much!
Thank you, Emelia! I am happy it will be a part of your Thanksgiving spread!
What kind of mustard should I use? Yellow? Dijon? Dry mustard? Thank you.
Hi Erin,
Dijon or Spicy Brown mustard work best for this recipe.
Amazing!! Will definitely be a staple in our household.
That is great to hear. I am actually making some today!
We are fasting from meat for Advent, do you think adding some cannelloni beans to the salad would taste ok?
Hi Katherine,
I don’t have much experience using cannelloni beans but I believe it would taste fine in the salad as additional protein.
The dressing was AMAZING
Thanks, Griffin!
Delicious! Dressing will be good for other salad recipes too!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.
Can you please clarify what you mean by “1 cup cous cous, cooked” – Does that mean that you measure the 1 cup after the ingredient is cooked and cooled? Usually cous cous is cooked with vegetable stock or something to give it flavor. Do you do that or just use water?
Hi Karen,
I typically use Bob’s Red Mill Tri-color pearl couscous for this recipe, but any pearl couscous is fine and I cook it according to the package. Typically, it is 1 cup of couscous with 1.5 cups of vegetable stock or water until the couscous is either cooked through or the stock is absorbed. Whatever comes first.
This looks amazing! Wondering about portion sizes- recipe says serves 2, but I’d like to make this as a side for about 12 people. Wondering how big the portion is and if I can get away with not having to sextuple the recipe.
Hi Taylor, great question! To be clear, I meant it is 2 servings as a main meal, but as a side dish it will feed 4-6 people so maybe double or triple the recipe! I hope that is more clear.
To be on the safe side, I would triple the recipe but double the dressing instead of triple!
Made with but switch the couscous with quinoa and it was a HIT! Everyone loved it! My new go to salad to take to a potluck during the fall season!
So happy you enjoyed it! That’s a great substitution, especially for gluten-free folks!
When meal-prepping this dish? Do I still massage the kale with the dressing beforehand?
Hi Payton,
Yes, I would! Kale is a tougher green; it wouldn’t wilt as much as lettuce for example but it needs to be massaged beforehand to tenderize as well.