Easy Couscous Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What can I add to couscous for flavor? ›

Couscous can be served as a side dish or a main meal, and goes well with beef, chicken, fish, lamb or as part of a vegetarian meal (with beans, tofu, etc.)

You'll need 1 ¼ cups water or broth per 1 cup of Golden Couscous. After you bring your water or broth to a boil with a ½ teaspoon of salt, add your couscous. To give it a smoother texture, add in butter or oil with the couscous. Stir, cover, and let stand for 5 minutes once you remove it from the heat.

Throw in some herbs and spices

Add some cumin, paprika or turmeric (or create a spice mix that you love) to the cooking water for a subtle warmth and depth. Alternatively, toss the cooked couscous with fresh herbs like mint, parsley or coriander for a burst of freshness.

While couscous and white rice have almost the same amount of calories per 100 grams, couscous contains more protein and higher amounts of vitamins and minerals so can be considered a healthier option in those departments. Both grains can support weight loss when incoporated into a balanced, healthy diet.

It makes a fluffy bed for veggies, fish, and meats, and perfectly soaks up hearty Moroccan chicken or lamb stews. You can even chill your couscous and toss it into a tasty Mediterranean salad! It's true what they say about it—it's the pasta so nice, they named it twice!

Since it moves food quickly through your intestinal tract, fiber can help prevent constipation. A higher-fiber diet can also lower your odds of intestinal and breast cancers. Whole wheat couscous can be a healthy swap for refined white pasta or white rice.

Compared to couscous, quinoa has stronger anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. With 7 percent fewer calories per 100 grams of cooked couscous than quinoa, it is healthier for weight loss. Every 100 grams of cooked quinoa has 120 calories. Every 100 grams of cooked couscous has 112 calories.

Only boiling water is needed to cook your couscous, but the important bit is the couscous to water ratio, you should abide by the 1:1 rule. So, for 60g of couscous, you will need 60ml of boiling water.

1 cup of dry couscous will give you about 2 to 2 ½ cups of cooked couscous, which should generously feed 4 people (you should budget ⅓ cup to ½ cup per person).

Why is my couscous not fluffy? ›

Cooking couscous is as easy as making a cup of tea, but there are a few secrets to getting it perfectly fluffy: Don't add too much liquid – as a guide, it's the same volume of liquid as it is to couscous. Don't leave it for too long to clump.

High in Gluten

Since couscous is made from semolina flour, it contains gluten. This makes it off limits for those with a gluten allergy or intolerance. Though only about 1% of the population has a gluten intolerance known as celiac disease, it's thought that 0.5–13% of people may have non-celiac gluten sensitivity.

Couscous has a nutritional profile similar to white pasta, high in carbohydrates without other health benefits such as fiber or protein content. If you are looking to enjoy food with a higher carbohydrate content, there isn't much difference between choosing pasta or couscous.

While there isn't one magic food that will eliminate belly fat, certain foods have special belly-fat-burning benefits, such as whole grains, green tea and eggs, when included in a reduced-calorie eating plan. These foods work in different ways to help decrease waist circumference.

Serve it as a side dish.

Below, you'll find my favorite way to prepare this tiny pasta as a simple side dish. I toss it with herbs, lemon juice, pine nuts, and olive oil to make a bright, refreshing pilaf. It pairs nicely with any protein, vegetable main dish, or soup!

Couscous is a dish made of tiny steamed balls of semolina flour, and like any grain-based staple, couscous can either have a subtle yet delicious flavor or turn out incredibly bland, depending on how you cook it. If your couscous is always boring and flat-tasting, try cooking it in something besides plain water.

I cook couscous with a third more water then the amount of cous cous, then throw some butter in to stop it drying out. Big fan of cous cous, it just takes on any flavour you throw at it, soy sauce, chicken stock, chilli sauce, whatever. All good.