Whole Foods’ Cranberry & Nut Couscous Salad
Whole Foods’ Cranberry & Nut Couscous Salad is a great side dish for your family dinner. It is the perfect dish to bring to a party. And it’s lovely as lunch the next day.
I was on the phone with one of my aunts as she was preparing dinner: baked breaded chicken breasts, a spinach salad, and this couscous. It sounded so tasty that I went out the very next day to buy the ingredients to make the exact same dinner. This couscous salad is sometimes available in the Whole Foods prepared foods section. I found a few different versions of it on the Internet and combined them to make my own version. Trig and I really enjoyed it and would have fought over the leftovers if Raffi hadn’t loved it even more. It’s a great dish for the whole family: the adults like the combination of flavors, and the kids love the colors and different textures.
When I first made this I put a bowl aside for Raffi before adding the nuts, but now that he has more teeth I give it to him the same way I prepare it for us.
This Whole Foods’ Cranberry & Nut Couscous Salad should be on your dinner table tonight.
Whole Foods’ Cranberry & Nut Couscous Salad
Serves 6 as a side
Ingredients:
2.5 cups Israeli couscous (it’s the big round balls)
1/2 cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
2 scallions, minced
4 T olive oil
2 T white wine vinegar (all the instructions called for champagne vinegar but we don’t stock any)
1 orange, zested
1/2 orange, juiced
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Prepare the couscous according to the instructions (I boil ours like pasta in salted water for 8 minutes and then drain).
2. Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, orange zest, orange juice, turmeric, dried thyme, tarragon, salt and pepper.
3. Mix together the couscous, nuts, dried cranberries and dressing in a bowl and enjoy! We like this both room temperature and cold.
*Recipe inspiration from Epicurious and the ingredients list on the prepared salad sold at Whole Foods.
10 Responses to “Whole Foods’ Cranberry & Nut Couscous Salad”
Comments
Read below or add a comment...
Big round balls, huh? 🙂
Really though, I HOPE this is on my table tonight!
This is too many ingredients for me, but I like that you are back to posting recipes 🙂
This sounds delightful, just what I was looking for! Am making tomorrow!!
Awesome recipe!!!! I subbed lemon for the orange since I didn’t have an orange. LOVED it!!! Thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad you liked it!
Excellent job on this I added sautéed veggies and garlic but the dressing was spot on.
I am really excited to try this since I buy it all the time at Whole foods. The problem is they are out of it most of the time recently. I do not drink alcohol. Can you recommend a replacement for white wine vinegar? Thanks so much.
You can try rice vinegar or cider vinegar. Good luck!
Bought this today at my local store. It is wonderful. Just the right balance of citrus, cranberry, and pecan. Thanks for the recipe.