How to Cook Couscous + 4 Easy Recipes with Couscous

Tired of rice, potatoes and pasta? Try couscous! It's super easy to make and goes great with a variety of hot dishes. Couscous also makes a great addition to salad. Check out the gorgeous (and healthy) fish steamed on spicy couscous below.

You can find the recipe by clicking here or on the photo above.

First, let me say, that "How to Cook Couscous" is a misnomer here. Although the packaging doesn't necessarily say it, most of the couscous you can buy in a normal grocery store - and the one I use all the time - is instant couscous. Authentic Moroccan couscous takes much longer and is meant to be steamed. For instructions for that method, check out this post on The Spruce.

Instant couscous, on the other hand, takes mere minutes to make, which is why we added it to our family repertoire when we lived in Paris way back in the 1990s. It's been a favorite ever since. Those were the days of a toddler and a newborn, with a big house to keep tidy, laundry to stay on top of and grocery shopping done mostly on foot, with children in tow.

If there were ever a time when a busy parent needed instant couscous, that was it. I could cook couscous and add in a some frozen peas with the hot water (for color and nutrition!) and the toddler was happy to call that lunch. Of course, we didn't call them peas. It was Couscous with Little Green Balls, a happy, fun dish, beloved by all. Sometimes I used chicken stock in place of the water (and eliminated the salt) to add even more flavor.

Tip: If you don't use couscous very often, store it in a sealed bag your freezer. This will stop it from getting a stale or slightly rancid flavor.

Ingredients - for 4 cups of couscous
2 cups or 370g wheat couscous – medium grain
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon salt
Just boiled water to cover - a good rule of thumb is about 1- 1 1/4 cups water for each cup of couscous. So for 2 cups of couscous, add 2 - 2 1/2 cups of water, depending on if you like it drier and fluffier or a little more moist. Either way, it should still fluff up.

Method
Put the couscous in a bowl with the salt and butter. Add enough hot - but not quite boiling - water to cover it. Give the whole thing a quick stir, then seal the top of the bowl with cling film and then drape a towel over the top and set aside for at least 10 minutes. Or laissez gonfler - leave it to swell - as the French say.

The couscous will soften and double in size. When it's done, fluff it with a fork and keep covered till needed.

Now you know how to cook couscous. Wasn't that easy?

Use it to make the steamed fish with spicy couscous pictured at the top or serve warm with the Butterflied Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon, below. All the lovely lemony drippings off the golden roasted chicken add even more flavor to the couscous on the plate.

Rosemary Lemon Chicken with Couscous

This Moroccan Style Lentil Chickpea Stew is also a winner served with couscous.

Moroccan Style Lentil and Chickpea Stew

Or let your couscous cool and add it to a dressed salad with pan-fried chicken and broccoli that's filling enough to be the meal!

Broccoli Chicken Couscous Salad with Radishes and Tomatoes

What are your favorite dishes to serve with couscous?

Broccoli Chicken Couscous Salad

Lean chicken breasts pan-fried till golden, lightly steamed broccoli, tomatoes and radishes in a quick lemon yogurt dressing with red chili makes a tasty, healthy meal after weeks of indulgence. 

This salad is made up of the vegetables I had on hand so please use the ingredient amounts as a guide and feel free to substitute your favorites, add more or omit whatever doesn’t suit you.

Ingredients (to serve two as a main course or four as a starter)
For the salad:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
Olive oil
1 cup or 150g couscous (medium grain)
1/2 medium-sized head of broccoli
9-10 small sharp radishes
9-10 cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup or about 50g sprouted mung beans
Large handful cilantro or fresh coriander leaves

For the dressing:
Juice 1/2 large lemon (about 1/8 cup or 30ml)
1 small purple onion
1-2 small hot red chilies
2 heaping tablespoons plain yogurt
1/8 cup or 30ml olive oil
Sea salt

Method
Cut your chicken into bite-sized pieces and season liberally with salt and the ground cumin.  Stir it around so the pieces are seasoned all over.

Heat up a non-stick skillet and pan-fry the chicken until golden on all sides using just a tiny drizzle of olive oil.   Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Put a pot of water on to heat for steaming your broccoli.

Cut the broccoli into florets then cut the florets in quarters.

Steam them until they are still crunchy.  This takes just a few minutes.  Remove your steamer with broccoli from the hot pot and set aside to cool.  Reserve the water for making the couscous.

Put your couscous in a pot or metal bowl and add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  Add just enough boiling water (From the broccoli steaming pot, if you’ve plan ahead!) to cover the couscous plus a bit extra.  Put the lid on and leave it while you get on with the rest of the salad.

Slice your radishes and halve your cherry tomatoes.  Chop the cilantro very roughly.  You want some nice big leaves still.  Finely mince the red chilies and thinly slice your onion.

In a bowl that will be big enough for tossing your whole salad, add in lemon juice, the onion and the chilies.  Let them steep for a few minutes.  This takes the sharpness out of the onion and infuses the juice with the heat of the chilies.

Add in the plain yogurt and stir.   Now drizzle in the olive oil and stir well.  Give the whole thing a small sprinkle of salt.  Set aside.

By now your couscous should be done.  Remove the lid and fluff it up with a fork.  Leave the lid off and allow it to cool further.

Add your radishes, tomatoes and mung beans to the salad bowl.

Heap on the couscous.

Toss well to coat everything with dressing.  Now add in cooled broccoli and the cilantro.  Toss again.

Finally, add in the chicken pieces and toss for the last time.

Enjoy!