Fresh avocado and couscous salad with tomatoes is the perfect summer salad to take to your next party! This tasty salad is full of creamy avocado, fluffy couscous, beautiful cherry tomatoes, and a flavorful Tex-Mex flavored avocado vinaigrette, making this a flavorful summer side dish you will love!
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You Will Love This Pearl Couscous Salad!
- Delicious salad and the perfect easy side dish for your next barbecue!
- Avocado couscous salad makes it easy to add a cooked protein like air fryer shrimp or grilled chicken to make one of the best big salads to meal prep (just like our quinoa salmon salad).
- One of the best hearty recipes to make on a hot summer night.
- Customizable! Add your favorite seasonal produce and clean out the fridge.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Here are the ingredients you need to make this recipe. Reference the recipe card at the bottom for exact measurements and the notes below for substitution ideas.
Avocado Couscous Salad
- Avocados: Ripe and creamy avocados are the base of this delicious salad.
- Tomato: Cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half or quartered, create a great bite.
- Pearl couscous: Cook according to package instructions. Israeli couscous or Moroccan couscous are both great substitutes.
- Feta cheese: Mozzarella pearls, goat cheese, or cojita cheese are substitutes.
- Fresh cilantro: Fresh basil, fresh parsley, or your favorite fresh herbs work well.
- Cucumbers: Optional, but add additional flavor and texture.
Salad Dressing
- Seasoning: I used carne asada seasoning. Elote seasoning works well!
- Avocado oil: Extra-virgin olive oil works as a great replacement.
- Sea salt: Provides additional balanced flavoring. Consider adding black pepper if desired.
- Lime juice: Lemon juice, lime juice, balsamic vinegar, or white balsamic vinaigrette provides acidity that balances out the flavors.
How to Make This Couscous Avocado Salad Recipe
Below are step-by-step instructions for how to cook this recipe with the best results. The recipe card at the bottom shows the exact cooking time and temperatures.
- Place cooked pearl couscous with the rest of the salad components into a large bowl.
- Add salad dressing components to a medium bowl and whisk until incorporated. Drizzle over the avocado couscous salad and stir gently to combine.
Salad Variations
- Avocado corn couscous salad: Add a cup of roasted corn or canned corn (similar to our corn and feta salad).
- Black bean salad: Add more fiber with a cup of black beans (just like in our dense bean salad with chicken).
- Zesty garlic: Add two tablespoons of fresh minced garlic cloves to the vinaigrette for a zesty garlic flavor.
- Veggie: Your favorite summer veggies, chopped along with fresh corn, white beans, green onion, or chopped red onion, add additional flavor.
- Honey-lime: For a sweeter vinaigrette, add one teaspoon of honey to the dressing to make a honey-lime dressing.
- Meal Prep Salad: Serve avocado couscous salad for a week of healthy lunches or as a complete meal by adding in some air fryer shrimp or meal prep chicken.
Serving and Storage Tips
- Serve at room temperature or cold.
- Store leftover avocado couscous salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- To avoid the avocados browning in the salad, toss them in lemon or lime juice before adding them to the salad.
Recipe FAQs
Couscous is a small pasta, and quinoa is a seed. Quinoa has more protein than couscous. Try this quinoa spinach salad for a delicious summer salad with quinoa.
Boil couscous to al dente according to the package directions. This is especially important when making couscous for avocado couscous salad.
Seasoning is key to making couscous taste great. This recipe uses a combination of carne asada seasoning and a delicious homemade dressing that is bursting with flavor.
Gently squeeze an avocado with dark green to nearly black skin. Pick the avocado that yields to gentle pressure.
Other Summer Salad Recipes to Try!
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Fresh Avocado Couscous Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Salad Components
- 4 cups couscous
- 1 ripe avocado chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 cup cucumbers chopped
- ½ cup feta cheese
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
Lime Vinaigrette Components
- 1 teaspoon salt more to taste
- 1 lime juiced
- ¼ cup avocado oil
- 2 teaspoon carne asada seasoning more to taste
Instructions
- Cook couscous according to package al dente directions. Rinse under cold water.4 cups couscous
- Prepare remaining salad ingredients and add to a large mixing bowl.1 ripe avocado, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, 1 cup cucumbers, ½ cup feta cheese, ¼ cup cilantro
- In a small bowl, combine vinaigrette ingredients. Drizzle over the top of the salad and gently stir to incorporate.1 teaspoon salt, 1 lime, ¼ cup avocado oil, 2 teaspoon carne asada seasoning
Notes
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