Easy meal for 2 (can be doubled or tripled)! These healthy Mediterranean Chicken Couscous Salad Bowls are drizzled with a delicious hummus dressing. 375 calories and 8 Weight Watchers SP
These Mediterranean Chicken Couscous Salad Bowls are the perfect way to put a rotisserie chicken or poached chicken breasts to work for you! It incorporates my favorite parts of a Greek salad (hello, feta and olives!), but with a twist.
Instead of a traditional Greek salad dressing, I whipped up an easy dressing using the roasted red pepper hummus that was sitting in my fridge. Plain hummus works, too.
I first discovered the deliciousness of a hummus dressing when I used it to dress my roasted vegetable bowls. It quickly became my favorite way to dress almost every salad that lands on my plate.
WHAT YOU NEED FOR THESE CHICKEN COUSCOUS SALAD BOWLS:
These are the main components need for this recipe (affiliate links included)…
- Chicken: Shredded chicken can be made by poaching chicken breasts, or cooking them in an Instant Pot of slow cooker.
- Couscous: Israeli (or pearl) couscous is distinctive from regular couscous. It is much larger than regular couscous and, when cooked, has a pleasing, tender texture with a slightly nutty. Israeli couscous can be found in most supermarkets and online. See below for tips on cooking it.
- Vegetables: Start with a bed of spinach for each bowl. Chopped romaine lettuce could also be used. From there, chopped cucumber (I prefer English cucumbers, with the peel) and halved cherry or grape tomatoes are added. I’m not a fan of raw onion, but feel free to add some chopped red onion.
- Feta cheese: Just a couple of tablespoons of crumbled feta cheese for each bowl will do the trick!
- Olives: Buy pitted kalamata olives – the ones you find in any Greek salad - to make your life a little easier, then quarter or chop the olives. If olives aren’t your thing, just leave them out.
- Dressing ingredients: The main ingredient in the dressing is hummus. As you can see by the color in the photos, I used roasted pepper hummus because that’s what I had on hand. Plain hummus works just as well! Other ingredients include lemon juice, a touch of agave nectar or honey, a dash of hot sauce (Cholula!) and water to thin the dressing.
Can this chicken and couscous recipe be made ahead of time?
All of the components of this salad can be made ahead and the salads, minus the dressing, can be assembled a few hours in advance.
As part of your weekly meal prep, poach chicken breasts, shred them and store in the refrigerator an airtight container. If you find the meat has dried out a little, toss it with a little chicken broth.
The Israeli couscous can be made up to a day ahead, then served at room temperature. If doing so, toss it with olive oil after cooking to stop the pearls from sticking together, allow the mixture to cool, then store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. If the pearls clump together while in the fridge, break them apart with a fork and add a little additional olive oil if necessary.
Whisk together the dressing ingredients, cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve the salad bowls.
How to cook Israeli couscous:
The ratio of grain to liquid should be 1 to 1.25 – 1 cup of couscous to 1 ¼ cups of liquid.
I prefer to cook the couscous in chicken or vegetable broth to add a little flavor. In this recipe, I also recommend sprinkling ½ to 1 teaspoon of dried oregano into the cooking liquid.
Bring the liquid to a boil, then stir in the couscous and oregano, if using. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for approximately 12 minutes. Once the couscous has absorbed all of the liquid, remove the saucepan from the heat and fluff the couscous with a fork.
If you’re not using the couscous right away, toss it with some olive oil to stop it from clumping.
Is Israeli couscous gluten free?
No, it isn’t gluten free. Israeli couscous is made from semolina flour, which is made from durum wheat.
Other recipes that use rotisserie or poached chicken:
Thai Chicken Salad
Buffalo Chicken Sweet Potatoes
Chicken Vegetable Soup
Mediterranean Chicken Couscous Salad Bowls
Ingredients
- 2 cups spinach leaves
- 2 cups shredded chicken breast (skinless)
- 1 cup cooked Israeli (pearl) couscous*
- ⅔ cup chopped English cucumber
- ⅔ cup halved grape or cherry tomatoes
- ¼ cup (1 oz.) crumbled feta cheese
- 6 pitted kalamata olives quartered
The dressing:
- 3 tablespoons hummus (plain or roasted pepper)
- 1 tablespoons water
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon agave nectar or honey
- ½ teaspoon hot sauce (my favorite is Cholula)
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Divide the spinach between two bowls. Top each with half of the chicken, cooked Israeli couscous, cucumber, tomatoes, feta and olives.
- Divide the dressing evenly between the two bowls, drizzling over the salad.
The dressing:
- In a bowl, whisk together the hummus, water, lemon juice, hot sauce, agave nectar and salt.
Notes
Nutrition
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