This spinach couscous flavored with lemon and feta cheese is tangy, fast, and super delicious! All you need are a few ingredients from Trader Joe's, you can have this simple dinnertime dish ready in just about 10 minutes!
Recipe: $6.23 | Per Serving: $1.04 | Yield: 6
This spinach couscous with lemon and feta came about following a trip back home after we (sadly) closed our chapter on living in Japan.
After doing all the appropriate adult things on our first day back in the states (SO MANY ADULT THINGS), we went directly to Trader Joe's, one of my favorite stores. The main goal was to make something simple, without too many ingredients, for Zac's family. This was the perfect easy meal!
Do you love cooking with spinach? Then you definitely will enjoy this Cilantro Quinoa Salad and One Pot Parmesan Orzo with Spinach!
If you enjoy quick and easy meals, then check out this Ground Pork Stir Fry! It's always a crowd pleaser in my house!
Why This Recipe Works
- It's quick! If you're using couscous, it's ready in just minutes but even with quinoa, the entire dish can be ready in under 20 minutes!
- Need a nutritious dish to carry with you? Spinach couscous travels well!
- Simple ingredients. This recipe is almost entirely created with pantry staples!
Ingredients
Let's talk about this spinach couscous with lemon and feta! We're rocking super fast whole wheat couscous (see notes for quinoa / gluten-free options), frozen spinach, jarred roasted red peppers, feta cheese, garbanzo beans, and a lemon.
What is couscous? I've got you covered below but TLDR: it's pasta.
- Couscous: I use whole wheat couscous in this original recipe, but if you want gluten-free swap it out for quinoa instead!
- Spinach: Frozen spinach makes this recipe super easy but you can use fresh as well.
- Roasted red peppers: Buying jarred roasted red peppers is an easy way to add tons of flavor to recipes! They're one of my go-to pantry staples, or you can make them homemade!
- Chickpeas: Also called garbanzo beans, canned chickpeas are an easy ingredient to keep in the cabinet. That way you have them on hand to create tasty dishes like this one!
- Feta cheese: This Greek cheese is full of tanginess that perfectly complements the fresh lemon!
- Lemon juice: Fresh makes a world of difference to the flavor!
What is Couscous?
Great question! Couscous is basically pasta. It is made from semolina flour, which is a coarse flour made from durum wheat.
There are a few different types of couscous, but I like to use the Moroccan-style whole wheat couscous available at Trader Joe's. Israeli pearled couscous is another delicious option that's slightly large in size, but I've never found whole wheat pearled couscous.
Couscous is great to keep on hand because:
- It's the fastest-cooking carby starch. (Just add hot water.)
- You almost can't mess it up. (See above.)
- It's cheap cheap cheap!
Does Couscous Have Gluten?
Yep! I can remember asking my boss this question when I worked at a restaurant in 2011 in San Diego and he looked at me like I was crazy. "Well, it's made from semolina," was his response.
My thought was, Um, what is semolina? Friends, semolina is a type of flour made from durum wheat. Therefore, couscous is made from wheat and is not gluten-free.
However, you can absolutely make this dish gluten-free by subbing in quinoa! You can buy the pre-cooked frozen quinoa from Trader Joe's, or make up a fresh batch of quinoa in about 15 minutes.
How to Make Couscous With Spinach
Friends, this is so easy. Couscous is super fast, and when you pick up a bunch of somewhat pre-prepped items from Trader Joe's, it's a one-stop, one-pot wonder.
- Cook the couscous and the spinach. This is so easy it is barely cooking. You just boil the perfect amount of water and add the couscous and the spinach. It takes about five minutes and it's ready!
- Prep remaining ingredients. Rinse and chop bell peppers, drain and rinse chickpeas, and crumble the feta.
- Put it all together! Combine all prepped ingredients and add lemon juice (or a lemon-olive oil dressing)! That's really all there is to make a spinach lemon couscous bowl!
The only thing that takes any time at all is rinsing and chopping the red peppers, and that takes less than 5 minutes. It's a super WIN for Easy Weeknight Meals!
MONEY SAVING HINT: Buy 4 for $1 bell peppers at the store to make homemade roasted red peppers, and make your beans from scratch instead of using canned! Keep in mind that as written spinach couscous is only slightly more than $1.00 per serving, so this convenient option is still budget-friendly!
Expert Tips
- Eat spinach couscous warm! It's much better that way.
- To reheat, place it (covered) in a warm oven, microwave it, or warm it in your rice cooker - these are all somewhat easier options than reheating on the stove.
- Need this to be gluten-free? Make it with quinoa instead!
- Make this more budget-friendly! Make your own roasted red peppers, or swap them out with sun-dried tomatoes.
- Prefer to eat this cold? Make it more like a couscous salad with fresh spinach instead of frozen!
FAQs
Like all foods, couscous when eaten in moderation can be a part of a healthy diet. However, for those who may have celiac disease or an intolerance to gluten, just be aware that couscous is not gluten free!
Couscous is a staple food from North Africa and how it is served and flavored varies greatly from country to country in the region. In some preparations, it is served sweet, as a porridge or dessert and in others it is savory.
Dietary Modifications and Substitutions
Paleo: Nope, not this time.
Vegetarian: Yep.
More Easy Weeknight Recipes
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Lemon Feta Couscous With Spinach
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat couscous
- 2 cups frozen spinach
- 1 ½ cups roasted red peppers chopped or sliced
- 1 can chickpeas garbanzo beans
- 4 ounces feta cheese
- juice from half a lemon about 1 Tablespoon
- optional: red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a large pot, bring 1.5 cups of water to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the couscous and spinach. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, rinse the roasted red peppers (if using jarred in vinegar) and slice. Drain & rinse the chickpeas. Crumble the feta.
- Add remaining ingredients (roasted red peppers, chickpeas, feta, lemon, and optional red pepper flakes) and stir well. Best served warm, but can also be served cold!
Notes
- Eat spinach couscous warm! It's much better that way.
- To reheat, place it (covered) in a warm oven, microwave it, or warm it in your rice cooker are all somewhat easier options than reheating on the stove.
- Need this to be gluten-free? Make it with cooked quinoa instead!
- Make this more budget-friendly! Make your own roasted red peppers, or swap them out with sun-dried tomatoes.
- Prefer to eat this cold? Make it more like a salad with fresh spinach instead of frozen!
Nutrition
(P.S. - No, this isn't endorsed by Trader Joe's.)
I love the flavors in this recipe! Perfect for the summer. Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you! So glad you liked it.