This roasted vegetable pearl couscous salad is easy to make, versatile, and tastes excellent either hot or cold! Plump pearl couscous is the base, and tender roasted zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, and onions give the salad color, flavor, and nutrition. This is a perfect dish to meal prep for easygoing lunches or as a side dish.

I love grain salads and pasta salads all through the year. But I associate them particularly with the summer months.

All throughout the summer, I love to boil a pot of grains or pasta on a Sunday, add raw or cooked veggies and a good dressing, and turn it all into a grain salad for the week’s vegan meal prep lunches.

This roasted vegetable pearl couscous salad is my current favorite, a simple mixture that I whipped up before some recent travel time.

While I enjoy standard couscous, I’ve always had a soft spot for rounder, more plump pearl couscous.

That tiny pasta shape shines when it’s mixed with fresh, colorful, sweet summer vegetables and dressed in a flavorful vinaigrette.

Let me tell you more about this easy dish, which has so much mealtime versatility!

What is pearl couscous?

When I say “standard couscous,” I’m actually referring to Moroccan couscous. This is the smallest type of couscous, and it’s the most common as well.

Moroccan couscous is larger than semolina flour, which is the type of wheat flour from which it’s made. Yet it’s finer than bulgur wheat. Once cooked, it becomes fluffy and light.

Moroccan couscous can be turned into a pilaf, used as a bed for something saucy (like my Moroccan-inspired butternut chickpea stew), or used in grain salads.

I often use it to make my quick carrot chickpea couscous salad.

Pearl couscous, which is also called Israeli couscous, is larger, round and plump.

Pearl couscous, like all types of couscous, is a tiny pasta shape—something I always need to remind myself, because my brain often lumps it together with grains!

While we’re thinking along those lines, however, it’s worth saying that, if you like grains with a chewy texture, such as farro, then there’s a good chance you’ll love pearl couscous as well.

Cooking times for pearl vs. Moroccan couscous

Cooking Moroccan couscous is nearly effortless. You bring water and salt to a boil, add the couscous, cover, remove from heat, and let the couscous sit for five minutes before fluffing and serving.

Cooking pearl couscous is hardly much effort, but it takes a little more time.

I like to cook pearl couscous in the same way that I cook other types of pasta. I bring a pot of salted water to a boil. I add my dry couscous and then boil it, like pasta, till it’s cooked to my liking.

This typically takes 8-10 minutes—maybe a tiny bit longer, depending on the brand of pearl couscous.

I’m not a fan of al dente grains or pasta, so I usually taste the couscous after 8 minutes, see if it’s ready, and continue cooking if I want to give it more time.

Ideally, the cooked pearl couscous should be chewy, yet tender, rather than dense (undercooked) or mushy (overcooked).

Uses for pearl couscous

Are you a fan of orzo or pastina? A simple side dish of savory mushroom farro or lemony bulgur?

Then I think you’ll find plenty of uses for pearl couscous. It can be seasoned plainly with vegan butter or olive oil, salt, and pepper, then used as an accompaniment to your favorite vegan protein and vegetable side dish.

You can also use cooked pearl couscous for soupy or saucy dishes.

I like to make a batch of my vegan tempeh meatballs, smother them in 20-minute marinara sauce, then serve it over pearl couscous. It’s a fun change from spaghetti as usual.

Finally, pearl couscous lends itself easily to warm, room temperature, or cold pasta salads.

In cooler months, I like to whip up a salad of pearl couscous, roasted cauliflower, pistachios, and dates. It’s got so much flavor and texture contrast.

And when warm weather comes around, this pearl couscous salad with juicy, colorful roasted veggies is my go-to.

Is pearl couscous gluten-free?

Pearl couscous, like most pasta, is made with semolina flour, which is a type of wheat flour. Consequently, it isn’t gluten-free.

It’s possible to purchase a gluten-free pearl couscous online, if you’re committed.

There are other alternatives: I think that both cooked quinoa and cooked millet would work really nicely as substitutes in this recipe. Both are naturally gluten-free.

Can I use regular couscous to make the salad?

Of course! Regular couscous will have a finer, more fluffy texture, but it will still work nicely in this recipe.

How to make roasted vegetable pearl couscous salad

This is an easygoing recipe with fairly straightforward steps.

The process begins with oven-roasting your veggies.

Step 1: Roast the vegetables

For this recipe, the veggies will roast at 400°F / 200°C. Begin by lining a baking pan with parchment or aluminum foil.

The pearl couscous salad calls for:

• Peppers
• Red onion
• Carrots
• Zucchini
• Grape tomatoes

The first three of these vegetables—peppers, onion, and carrots—will need more cooking time than the tomatoes and zucchini. So, you’ll roast in stages.

Give the peppers, onion and carrots a head start of twenty minutes in the oven.

Once those vegetables are more tender, yet not finished with their roasting time, you’ll push them to one side of the baking sheet. Add the zucchini and tomatoes to the other side, along with extra cooking oil.

Return the baking sheet to the oven and roast for another 15 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender and the tomatoes have burst.

Step 2: Cook the pearl couscous

While the vegetables are roasting, you’ll prepare the couscous for the pearl couscous salad.

To do this, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the couscous and boil it for 8-12 minutes, or until it’s tender, yet still has some pleasant chewiness.

Drain the couscous through a fine mesh sieve, then transfer it to a mixing bowl.

Step 3: Whisk together your dressing

Once the couscous is cooked, you can whisk together the vinaigrette that seasons this salad and brings it to life.

That dressing is the Greek vinaigrette salad dressing from this blog. It’s a tangy, garlicky dressing that’s great on a vegan Greek salad, of course.

But I also enjoy it on grain or pasta salads, this pearl couscous salad included.

If for some reason the flavor profile of the Greek vinaigrette isn’t for you, you can use one of these vinaigrettes instead:

• Red wine vinaigrette
• Simple champagne vinaigrette
• Orange miso vinaigrette

Step 4: Mix and season to taste

Next, you’ll add the roasted vegetables to the pearl couscous in your mixing bowl. It should be a roomy mixing bowl, so that you can easily toss everything together.

Add some fresh chopped parsley, if you can.

The parsley isn’t mandatory, but I think that it gives the pearl couscous salad some lightness, freshness, and extra depth of flavor. Fresh oregano, basil, and chives are all good possible substitutes.

Pour the dressing on top of your ingredients and mix well. Taste the pearl couscous salad, then add salt, pepper, or additional vinegar as needed.

Step 5: Chill or serve

If you serve the pearl couscous salad right away, it’ll still be warm.

There’s nothing wrong with this! I enjoy the salad warm, and sometimes I reheat my leftovers.

However, this is also a really nice dish to serve cold. If that’s what you’d like to do, then simply cover your mixing bowl and pop the salad into the fridge for a couple hours.

The flavors will mingle, the couscous will cool, and you’ll have a great, chilled dish to enjoy and share.

Meal prep & storage

Speaking of chilling and serving, the roasted vegetable pearl couscous salad can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days.

And if you’re wondering, yes, the salad can be frozen. Freeze it for up to six weeks, then defrost overnight in the fridge before reheating or serving cold.

Toppings and garnishes for roasted vegetable pearl couscous salad

I like this salad just the way it is, but a few finishing touches can give it even more texture and flavor. In no particular order, here’s a list of ideas:

• Toasted sliced or slivered almonds
• Chopped, roasted and salted shelled pistachios
• A drizzle of vegan tahini dressing
• Crumbled, homemade vegan feta cheese or cashew cheese
• A spoonful of cashew parmesan cheese
• Lemon pepper baked tempeh cubes
• Sliced, pitted olives
• 10-minute quick pickled red onions
• A drizzle of vegan pesto

And here’s the recipe.

I’ve now made this pearl couscous salad a few times. It’s been a nice dish to enjoy on my own, for work-from-home lunches that are colorful and flavorful and don’t feel like an afterthought.

However, I’ve also shared the salad, piling it into bowls with a friend and eating it casually on a hot summer day.

This is a salad for sharing or enjoying solo, whatever the situation calls for. I hope you’ll enjoy it both ways!

xo