Vegan Couscous Salad With Chickpeas

Amazing vegan couscous salad with chickpeas and avocado dressing! This wonderfully refreshing meal is perfect for a flavorful main course, or an impressive side dish. It's also ready in under 20 minutes, made with simple ingredients and great for meal prep.

Amazing vegan couscous salad

If you love salads, vibrant flavors, and meals with lots of vegetables, you're going to love this vegan couscous salad. Served with an incredible avocado dressing and containing lots of vegetables, it's an incredibly refreshing meal that's perfect for summer in particular. It definitely goes a long way in proving that salads don't need to be boring!

I've been on a massive salad kick recently, and I don't plan on stopping. Salads like this one are so easy to throw together, and taste absolutely incredible. Plus, they're a great way to use up leftover vegetables. And of course, a good dressing is the way to make salads taste incredible, which is exactly what we're making here.

Avocado salad dressing

Avocado is the perfect ingredient for salad dressings and sauces. It adds lots of creaminess and freshness, and the result is often super versatile. This couscous salad, for instance, is served with an avocado sauce that contains just 6 simple ingredients.

If you have any left over, you can use it for other recipes. For example, why not serve it with easy cornbread as a side dish, or sheet pan vegetables and chickpeas as a main course?

How to make a vegan couscous salad

It couldn't be easier! Start by soaking or cooking the couscous according to packaging instructions, which usually takes 10-15 minutes, depending on the couscous variety you use. I used giant couscous, which takes around 10 minutes to cook. Drain and rinse when done.

Meanwhile, prepare the dressing. Add the mustard, avocado, lemon juice, garlic, salt and water to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

When the couscous is ready, the preparation is as simple as stirring together all the ingredients. Add the couscous to a bowl, together with drained and rinsed chickpeas, red onion, tomatoes, olives, and spinach. Then, stir together and serve with the avocado dressing, as well as almonds and vegan feta as garnishes.

Tips and substitutions

• Go ahead and add other vegetables of your choice, depending on personal preference and what you have in the fridge. For instance, I love adding steamed broccoli, cauliflower and zucchini.
• Any couscous variety works for this recipe. You can also use rice, pasta or quinoa.
• If you want to switch up the dressing, you can also use spicy cashew cream, or chunky guacamole.
• For extra crunch, you can also add either croutons, cashews or peanuts.

How to store vegan couscous salad

This salad is great for meal prep. Store it separately from the dressing in an airtight container for up to 4 days. I would recommend making the avocado dressing on the same day as you plan on eating the salad, but you can also keep it in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Other amazing vegan salad recipes

• Polish cucumber salad is both easy to make and super flavorful.
• My vegan potato salad is guaranteed to impress everyone!
• You just can't go wrong with a macaroni salad and tofu 'feta'.
• For a simple and refreshing idea, try zucchini sweet potato salad.
• If you love pasta, you'll love my cold spaghetti salad with balsamic tofu.

If you give this vegan couscous salad a go, be sure to tag me on Instagram (@ohmyveggies) and leave your feedback in the comments below together with a star rating!

Recipe