This 30-minute plant-based couscous recipe packs a nutritional punch and comes together with just a handful of ingredients!
Short on Time, Not Short on Flavor
One of the most common things I hear from people is that they don’t think they have the skill or time to make healthy meals.
While I do sometimes make complicated meals because cooking is a passion of mine, more often, I make healthy meals that take 30 minutes or less from start to finish. Life is busy, and while I love to try new dishes and create new recipes, I also rely on simple tried and true meals often. I’d like to start sharing more of those with you both here on my blog and on my Instagram– starting with today’s recipe: garlic couscous with roasted chickpeas and veggies.
Veggie & Pearled Garlic Couscous Recipe
This couscous recipe has been one of my favorites lately! There’s something about crunchy chickpeas paired with delicious pearled couscous that makes for a great combination. And then I add in some sautéed veggies to help pack a bigger nutritional punch, plus toasted pignolia nuts for a little extra something.
Plus, my 6-year old loves a bit of a deconstructed version of this where I separate the couscous, chickpeas, and pine nuts onto her kid plate (because we can’t have multiple foods touching, oh no no no!).
To keep things easy, I use boxes of Near East Pearled Couscous with Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil. If you can’t find this brand, you can use regular pearled couscous and cook according to directions; or make your own garlicky Israeli couscous using a simple recipe like this one. I use three boxes for this recipe, which comes out to about 4.5 cups of cooked couscous.
This couscous recipe is also customizable in that you can use whatever veggies you have on hand. I sauteed two of my go-to veggies, zucchini and bell pepper. Broccoli, spinach, and mushrooms are all good options as well.
The last major component of this couscous recipe is the roasted garbanzo beans. Chickpeas are nutritional powerhouses, and I really enjoy roasting them until they’re a bit crunchy. Chickpeas are high in plant-based protein and complex carbs, rich in fiber, and they provide a number of vitamins and minerals. Roasting them is super simple – just drain and rinse, toss with a bit of oil (I use avocado oil here) and spices, and throw em in the oven.
I hope that this couscous recipe provides you with a new easy dinner recipe to add to your repertoire!
Pearled Garlic Couscous with Roasted Chickpeas & Veggies
Ingredients
- 3 boxes Near East Pearled Coucous with Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil *can also use plain pearled couscous; 3 boxes equates to around 4.5 cups cooked, so you'd need around 2 cups of dry couscous
- 1 15-oz can garbanzo beans
- 4 tsp avocado oil, divided
- 1 zucchini
- 1 bell pepper
- 2 TBSP pignolia nuts optional
- salt, pepper, and paprika to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375. Drain & rinse chickpeas, then add to a baking dish. Add 2 TSP of avocado oil and a nice sprinkle of salt, pepper, and paprika to taste. Toss and cook for 25 minutes or until it reaches a desired level of crunchiness, stirring halfway through.
- Cook the couscous according to the box directions.
- While the couscous and chickpeas are cooking, heat 2 tsp avocado oil in a sauté pan over medium-low heat. Chop the zucchini and bell pepper and add to the pan. Sprinkle salt & pepper in to taste, then cook until tender, tossing a few times.
- Lightly toast your pine nuts in a toaster or via stovetop. Watch carefully - they burn easily!
- Plate the pearled couscous, add the roasted chickpeas & veggies on top, & sprinkles pine nuts onto each plate. Enjoy!
Oh this sounds absolutely delicious, Nicole! We’ve been playing around with different healthy recipes after the holidays, and this sounds like a good way to mix it up. I had to laugh at the comment about different foods touching – NOT OK!! 🙂
Ha! It’s so interesting how picky she is about foods touching or mixing, but then she’s fine eating them all as long as it’s one at a time.. life with kiddos! 🙂