This crowd pleaser features couscous, black beans, corn, bell peppers, and olives – all tossed together in a light and refreshing dressing. Great as a side or entrée. A fantastic choice for your next potluck or barbecue.
I love crisp and fresh salads. This one boasts color and flavor in every bite!
But I especially love that it doesn’t contain any oil. Wait, is that even possible? Yes! There is zero oil in this Southwest Couscous Salad. And yet, I’m certain you won’t miss it at all. I prefer foods that don’t contain unhealthy oils, but sometimes, the results aren’t all that great. So I admit that some recipes do need a little fat.
But a salad dressing isn’t one of those things. Especially this Southwest Couscous Salad. Its loaded with all-natural, plant-based, and vegan ingredients. In fact, I purposely overloaded this salad with black beans, green onions (or minced purple onion), corn, bell peppers, black olives, and cilantro. Piled on a canvas of pale couscous, these colors really pop!
The dressing itself is a combination of red wine vinegar, lime juice, and vegetable broth. I like to use my Umami Vegetable Broth since it boasts so much flavor and is practically free. If you haven’t made your own broth with kitchen scraps, you’ve got to check out my recipe/tutorial here.
The rest of the dressing ingredients imbues that incredible southwest flavor. Namely, oregano, ground cumin, ground coriander, garlic powder, chili powder, smoked paprika, chipotle pepper, and black pepper. Agave or maple syrup helps balance the acidity with a little sweetness.
Once everything is mixed together well, taste the dressing and add a little more of whatever you like more of, including the standard salt and pepper. Everyone’s taste buds are different. So be sure to tweak your recipe to your liking.
To make this Southwest Couscous Salad gluten-free or whole food plant-based, swap the couscous for cooked sorghum, rice, millet, or quinoa. All of these grains would do the trick, are naturally gluten-free, and boast quite a substantial amount of plant-powered protein and fiber. I just love the texture and mouthfeel of tiny beads of couscous.
This Southwest Couscous Salad is one of the easier salads to put together, too. Start by cooking the couscous (or preferred grains) according to package directions.
Meanwhile, make the dressing by whisking all of the dressing ingredients together. Chop up your veggies if they aren’t already chopped and ready to go. And toss everything together in a large bowl until well combined.
That’s all there is to this Southwest Couscous Salad. Super simple and delicious.
It’s great for potlucks and backyard barbecues since it can be made in advance and stores rather well. Just transfer to an air-tight container and store for up to five days in the refrigerator.
You can serve this Southwest Couscous Salad as a side dish or an entree by spooning over shredded lettuce, chopped kale, or salad greens, as desired.
It’s also very handy for a quick snack or take-to-work lunch throughout the week.
I hope you enjoy this Southwest Couscous Salad as much as I do.
I would love to see your results! Please leave a comment and rate it down below, tag a picture @pebblesandtoast and #pebblesandtoast on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook! Enjoy!!
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Salad Ingredients
- 1 10-ounce package couscous*
- 3 cups black beans, cooked and drained (2 cans)
- 4 green onions, sliced**
- 1 bell pepper, chopped***
- 1½ cups yellow corn (frozen or 1 can, drained)
- ½ cup black olives, chopped
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
Dressing Ingredients
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup lime juice (3-4 limes)
- 3 Tbsp Umami vegetable broth
- 2 Tbsp agave syrup
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne or ground chipotle pepper
- salt and pepper to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Cook the couscous according to package directions. Fluff with a fork, then set aside. Kitchen hack: I pour boiling hot water (from my tea kettle) and cover the couscous with a lid from a large pot. This works great.)
- Meanwhile, make the dressing by whisking all of the dressing ingredients together.
- Toss all of the salad and dressing ingredients together until well combined.
- Serve as a side or make it a bowl by spooning over shredded lettuce, chopped kale, or salad greens, as desired.
Notes
* I typically purchase plain couscous from Aldi. Then I just put the couscous in a bowl and add 2 cups of hot water, covering the bowl with a lid until the water is absorbed, about 4-5 minutes.
** Minced purple onion can be used in leu of the sliced green onions.
*** I like using a couple different colors of bell peppers, but it’s only for color and aesthetics.
Southwest Couscous Salad
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- 1 10- ounce package couscous*
- 3 cups black beans cooked and drained (2 cans)
- 4 green onions sliced**
- 1 bell pepper chopped***
- 1½ cups yellow corn frozen or 1 can, drained
- ½ cup black olives chopped
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
Dressing Ingredients
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ⅓ cup lime juice 3-4 limes
- 3 Tbsp Umami vegetable broth
- 2 Tbsp agave syrup
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne or ground chipotle pepper
- salt and pepper to taste optional
Instructions
- Cook the couscous according to package directions. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, make the dressing by whisking all of the dressing ingredients together.
- Toss all of the salad and dressing ingredients together in a large bowl until well combined.
- Serve as a side or make it a bowl by spooning over shredded lettuce, chopped kale, or salad greens, as desired.