Couscous, Beetroot and Feta Salad

This tasty couscous beetroot and feta salad is the perfect recipe to make with leftover couscous and cooked beetroot. It makes a great light meal that's perfect for picnics and packed lunches.

I love leftovers. If possible I try to always make enough so there's something for the next day. Sometimes I'll just eat the leftovers exactly as they are. For example curries and soups are brilliant just reheated. Do check out my Cook Once Eat Twice page for more inspiration.

Other times I'll use the leftovers of a few different meals to put together something new. That is exactly what I did with this couscous beetroot and feta salad. I had leftover couscous, leftover cooked beetroot and even leftover feta from another meal.

That meant that this salad was quickly and easily thrown together in less than 5 minutes. Even so, it was no less tasty for that. Beetroot and feta is a brilliant combination and with the light lemon dressing it's perfect as a lunchtime meal. 

It's healthy but still filling so you won't be feeling hungry an hour later. Some salads are very summery but this beetroot and feta salad recipe is perfect all year round. It's the kind of salad that is very easy to take to work as a packed lunch or to put in a picnic.

It's also easy to adapt to suit the ingredients you have to hand. Do check out my suggestions further down this post.

Ingredient notes for couscous beetroot and feta salad

To make this salad you'll need:

• Sunflower seeds - I love to toast these a little to bring out their nuttiness. They are very easy to replace with a different seed or nut if you prefer.
• Couscous - I use leftover cooked couscous which I have usually hydrated using vegetable or chicken stock. Of course, use vegetable stock if you need it to be vegetarian.
• Cooked beetroot - You can use beetroot you've cooked yourself or use ready to eat beetroot.
• Feta - Feta goes brilliantly with beetroot. I have also used other cheeses though. Goats cheese goes well or if you prefer a milder cheese, try Cheshire or Wensleydale.
• Spring onion - I often have spring onions in the fridge and they are great in this salad. You can use regular mild red onions instead though, either just thinly sliced or lightly pickled in lemon juice.
• Herbs - When I first made this salad I used basil leaves but I now often use coriander. Feel free to use whatever herbs you prefer or have to hand.
• Extra virgin olive oil - A good quality olive oil makes all the difference to a salad dressing.
• Lemon juice - I always have lemons at home so freshly squeezed lemons are what I use.
• Seasoning - A little salt and black pepper to taste.
• Spice blend (optional) - I used harissa as I think it adds extra flavour to the salad.

How to make couscous beetroot and feta salad

Once you've got the ingredients you don't really need a method for this easy salad! Just choe the vegetables and mix everything together. It's as easy as that!

How could you adapt this recipe?

Ultimately you could swap almost any of the ingredients in this salad but still have a brilliant recipe. The couscous could be substituted for another leftover carb such as pasta, rice or bulgur wheat.

The beetroot could be replaced by roasted butternut squash or sweet potato. The feta could be replaced by another cheese. I often use Cheshire cheese in salads like this as its crumbliness works really well. It's also good for those who like milder cheeses.

The sunflower seeds could be replaced by pumpkin seeds or sesame seeds.

If you don't have any lemons or lemon juice then vinegar is absolutely fine.

Ok, if you make all these substitutions you won't really have the same salad but it will still be totally scrumptious as well as being a healthy filling meal.

An easy recipe to scale up

The quantities in this beetroot salad recipe are just for one person but it's very easy to scale up. Don't feel you have to use exactly the same quantities. As I said earlier, this salad was first developed in order to use up leftovers.

It was also a recipe for me to enjoy some of the foods my husband is not keen on! Beetroot is just one of them so I often have leftovers.

How long does this salad keep for?

If you want you can make a big batch of this salad and store it in the fridge for a few days. It'll keep for about three days although it's best eaten when freshly prepared.

The toasted sunflower seeds will lose their crunchiness and absorb the moisture from the salad and the beetroot juice will colour the rest of the salad ingredients so it won't look so good. However, that is definitely not a reason for me to stop eating it!

What can you eat with this salad?

You can eat this salad just as it is. However, it also works as a side dish. I love marinated meats and it works really well with the chicken in these recipes:

• Harissa chicken salad
• Honey marinated air fried chicken wings
• Spanish chicken kebabs

Recipe

Couscous Beetroot and Feta Salad

Corina Blum

This delicious couscous beetroot and feta salad is delicious as a main meal.   It's also perfect for picnics and packed lunches.

5 from 7 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 5 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Salad

Cuisine International

Servings 1

Calories 387 kcal

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

• 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
• 2 tablespoon cooked couscous
• 2 small cooked beetroot cubed
• 30 g feta
• 1 spring onion
• 5 g Herbs Use whatever you have. I think basil or coriander work really well.
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Pinch black pepper and salt
• 1 teaspoon spice blend (optional) I've added this after updating the recipe. I now like to stir in a spoonful of harissa to add a bit of extra flavour.

Instructions

 

• Toast the sunflower seeds in a dry pan.   Keep shaking the pan so they don't burn.  Take them out when they begin to turn golden.
• Stir all the ingredients together. Check the seasonings and adjust if necessary.

Video

Notes

Nutritional information is approximate and a guideline only.

Nutrition

Calories: 387kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 11gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 476mgPotassium: 759mgFiber: 8gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 654IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 282mgIron: 4mg

Keyword beetroot feta salad

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More Filling Salad Recipes

I love filling substantial salads that are still healthy. In fact, I've even got a recipe collection just for main course salads! Here are just few of the recipes I recommend:

• Tomato and olive couscous salad
• Spelt and lentil caprese salad
• Tuna and cannellini bean salad

You might also like my beetroot and goats cheese salad and my beetroot almond and feta salad with a sour cherry vinaigrette.

Keep in touch

Do let me know if you try this beetroot salad recipe and if you made any changes. I love to get feedback from readers.

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