A vibrant, make ahead dairy couscous salad that’s is fresh, filling, and perfect for Shalosh Seudos.
Ideally, when we’re cooking for Shabbos, we like to prepare salads that will still taste great by Shalosh Seudos. The problem? Most of our favorites are best enjoyed freshly made. Think Avocado Grapefruit Feta Salad, Easy Summer Corn Salad, Quinoa Salad with Roasted Vegetables, or even the popular Cauliflower Salad from Dinner Done 2.
Looking back, we just realized that almost all of our favorite salads have feta cheese. If you’re not a feta fan, our apologies. But trust us on this one. It adds the perfect salty, creamy bite, and it might just change your mind.
So we set out to create something different: a salad that can sit in the fridge for a couple of days and still taste just as good. It’s the kind of recipe you can prep ahead while you’re cooking for Shabbos, then pull it out for Shalosh Seudos, or pack it for lunch any day of the week. It’s easy to make ahead and just as delicious a day or two later.
Start by prepping your vegetables. You’ll want to scoop out the seeds of the cucumber before dicing.
When finely dicing your red pepper, it helps to slice it first into strips.
Rather than following the package instructions, we prefer cooking the couscous like pasta with an ample amount of water, then draining once it’s cooked.
Add all the veggies to the couscous.
Add the feta and the dressing.
Now here’s the best part.
Except for the avocado, you can store this salad fully assembled in the fridge, for up to 4 days!
While you can add the avocado a day or two ahead and while it will taste great, it will brown a bit. So for the prettiest salad, we recommend leaving that part for when you’re ready to serve.
Plan ahead and add this to your menu to enjoy this coming week for Shalosh Shalosh!
Feta Israeli Couscous Salad
Ingredients
- 1 8 oz package Israeli couscous
- 2 Persian cucumbers seeds scooped out and finely diced
- 1 red pepper finely diced
- 6 scallions white and light green parts, diced
- 1 15.5 oz can chickpeas drained
- 3 oz feta cheese
- 1 avocado diced (optional)
- chopped fresh parsley optional
Dressing:
- ¼ cup canola or avocado oil
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp creamy Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp honey
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- fresh black pepper
Instructions
- You can cook the couscous according to the package directions, but we prefer to cook it like pasta. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the couscous and cook until al dente. Drain, rinse under cold running water to stop the cooking, and let cool completely.
- Transfer the cooled couscous to a large bowl. Add cucumbers, red pepper, scallions, chickpeas, feta cheese, and, if using, the avocado and parsley.
- In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, garlic, salt, and black pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well to combine.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve. The salad keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days without the avocado, or up to 2 days with the avocado.
Notes
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