Easy Giant Couscous and Mixed Bean Salad

As soon as the good weather comes I love getting creative with my salads. Trying new ingredients and new flavour combinations is all part of the fun of recipe development. Now that I am working full time I am constantly making meals that can either be heated up as leftovers the following lunch time or bulk making salads that will give the hubby and I lunches for a couple of days.

This recipe came along after a compromise between the hubby and I. I enjoy couscous but he does not like the regular small couscous but he does like giant couscous. He finds it to be more filling and more of a satisfying addition to a salad. I find couscous of any size such a versatile ingredient that can be adapted to fit each individual meal. If I am adding chicken I cook the couscous in chicken stock, if I am using vegetables I use a vegetable stock. I find that cooking the grains in stock injects so much flavour to the dish.

This salad is not only an easy meal to make but also keeps well in the fridge for up to three days. It made a delicious salad, especially when served with some crunchy fresh bread!

This is what I did...

Easy Giant Couscous and Mixed Bean Salad

Ingredients

200g giant couscous
1 vegetable stock cube
1 lg carrot, cut into cubes
1 stick of celery, sliced
150g cherry tomatoes, halved
4 spring onions, trimmed and sliced
Quarter of a cucumber, thickly sliced and cut into cubes
1 x 400g tin of mixed beans in vinegar dressing
150g feta cheese, cut into cubes

Method

1 - Bring a pan of 600mls of water to the boil

2 - Once boiling crumble in the stock cube and add the giant couscous

3 - Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 8 minutes

4 - Once tender remove from the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes

5 - Place the cooled couscous in a mixing bowl

6 - Add the carrots, celery, cucumber, tomatoes, spring onions and the mixed beans, including the dressing (adding the dressing means all the flavour you need has been added for you!)

7 - Mix thoroughly and serve with cubes of feta

This is a deliciously filling salad that will not only keep in the fridge for up to three days but is also good for the old waist line! It is super filling and will certainly keep you going until dinner time! If you want to add some meat or fish I would certainly recommend adding some leftovers from your roast chicken or grab a tin of tuna from the cupboard to bulk it out!

This salad has made a great packed lunch for the hubby and I. It does not take long too prepare and can easily be made the evening before so that in the morning you just need to grab your lunch box, spoon a good serving in and you are ready to go!

What are your top packed lunch meals? I have recently invested in a new Bento Box by Nifty Kitchen and The Little Book of Lunch so you can guarantee that if all goes according to plan there will be plenty of lunch pictures coming soon!

Enjoy x

Pin me for later!

* This post contains affiliate links x