One of my main goals when making delicious salads that are vegan is to change your mind about what you think about putting in your salad.
Oftentimes, when people think of salads, they think of green leafy salads. And while there’s nothing wrong with those, some of our most popular salads are our Mediterranean Chickpea Salad, Easy Farro Salad, or our Simple Dense Bean Salad.
Today, we’re taking that same energy and making a sweet potato and chickpea couscous salad that’s been seasoned to perfection with Moroccan-inspired spices and drizzled with a harissa citrus dressing that pulls it all together.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Pantry Friendly – This recipe is mostly ingredients that people keep on hand all the time or can be swapped for what you do have making it amazing to make all the time
- Easy – This dish takes just a few minutes to toss together and then it’s just waiting on it to finish cooking
- Meal Prep – This dish tastes even better the next day, making it perfect for meal prep!
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Ingredients and Substitutions
Gather your ingredients!
Sweet Potatoes
We are baking our sweet potatoes to get a delicious caramelization on them which pulls our the sweetness of them even more. They add a delicious crunch and soft texture inside all at once.
Substitute: Cauliflower could be a great swap for this, as would yukon or red potatoes.
Pearl Couscous
Unlike regular couscous which mimics a texture/base like rice, pearl couscous is similar to pasta. It is larger and chewy and great in salads.
Substitutes: Orzo would be another great option for this. If you need to stay gluten free, quinoa could be a great option.
Chickpeas
Chickpeas provide protein, texture, and fiber to this dish while being budget-friendly and a pantry staple.
Substitute: Any white bean would make a great alternative.
Dried Spices
We’re using cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, ground coriander, turmeric, nutmeg, sat and pepper to layer flavor into our salad mixture.
Lemon and Orange
We’re using bother lemon and orange to make a citrus based dressing. You’ll want to zest first and then get some of the juice out. Both are acidic, but the difference in the flavor really makes sure this pops beautifully.
Substitute: You could swap lemon with lime.
Harissa
This is an Northern African red chili pepper paste that adds loads of flavor into a dish. It has elements of smokiness, garlicky deliciousness, and complex flavors.
Substitute: You could mash roasted red peppers and add in some chili powder. Additionally, noting that these will have a varied taste difference you could do sriracha, gochujang, or chili garlic paste. If none of those work, you can do some tomato paste.
Other Ingredients that bring this together
You will also need olive oil, low-sodium vegetable broth, kalamata olives, dates, pistachios, almonds, parsley and mint.
See my recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Other Dishes to Try:
🥳 Get the Full Recipe
Moroccan-Spiced Sweet Potato and Couscous Salad with Harissa Citrus Dressing
Ingredients
For the Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into ¾-inch cubes (260g)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (fresh preferred)
For the Couscous
Citrus-Harissa Dressing
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- juice of ½ an orange
- 1 juice of ½ an lemon
- 1 teaspoon harissa
- 1 garlic clove, finely minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Add-Ins
- 15 ounces chickpeas, drained and rinsed (425g)
- ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped (20g)
- ⅓ cup kalamata olives, chopped (65g)
- ⅓ cup dates, pitted and chopped (63g)
- ⅓ cup slivered almonds (40g)
- ⅓ cup roasted pistachios, chopped (40g)
- ¼ cup fresh mint, chopped, (7g)
- Zest of 1 orange
- Zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
Roast the Sweet Potatoes
- Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).
- Into a bowl, add the 2 cubed sweet potatoes to a large bowl. Drizzle with 2 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle in the spices (1 teaspoon each ground cumin, smoked paprika and garlic powder, ½ teaspoon each ground coriander, turmeric, and kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper and ground nutmeg). Toss until evenly coated. Spread onto a baking sheet in a single layer. Spreading out enough so they aren’t touching much. Roast for 20–30 minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden brown, slightly caramelized, and fork tender.
Cook the Couscous
- In a medium saucepan, add 1 cup dry pearl couscous, 1 ¼ cups low-sodium vegetable broth, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and salt as desired. Stir together.
- Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 8–10 minutes, until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork. Allow to cool slightly while prepare the rest of the dish.
Make the Dressing
- In a small bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoon olive oil, juice of ½ an orange and ½ a lemon, 1 teaspoon harissa, 1 minced garlic clove, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Whisk together. Taste and adjust any seasoning.
Build the Salad
- In a large bowl, combine: cooked couscous, roasted sweet potatoes, 15oz rinsed chickpeas, ½ cup chopped parsley, ⅓ cup each kalamata olives, chopped dates, almonds and pistachios, ¼ cup chopped mint, and the zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon. Toss together. Then, pour dressing over the top and toss again. Adjust any seasonings and serve.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
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Recipe FAQs:
In order to make this allergen friendly, these are the swaps you’ll need to do :
Couscous – you’ll want to swap with a gluten free grain like quinoa
Nuts – this uses both pistachios and almonds. You can swap with sunflower seeds, pepitas, or another gluten free crunchy item!
There shouldn’t be any other ingredients in the Top 9 allergens, but always double check your own packages.
We do not recommend freezing this dish.
Yes, this dish is good for 3-5 days after it’s made. Store in a tightly sealed container in the fridge when not using. We would recommend leaving the dressing on the side until ready to serve to preserve it as long as possible.
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