Make this Southwestern Black Bean Couscous Salad in under 20 minutes. It’s packed with pulses, veggies, and healthy fats!
Linley picked me up from the airport last Monday at 11AM after my b-day trip to Milwaukee to see Man Candy and the first thing we did was go straight to Whole Foods for lunch. I love love love their selection of cold salads and the fact that you can get a little bit of everything. One of my favorite salads at WFHB (Whole Foods Hot Bar) has Israeli Couscous in it and I am obsessed. I’d never made Israeli Couscous until a few months ago and it’s SO EASY! Boil water, add couscous, and POOF.
There are so many great flavor combinations that you can mix in with Israeli Couscous and we decided on a southwestern style.
The cool thing about this recipe is that you can have it complete in under 20 AND it makes for an amazing meal-prep recipe. You can eat it on it’s own or as a side. You’ve got your grain (cous cous), your pulse/protein (black beans), and tons of veggies! I also think this is an excellent meatless Monday recipe, as well. The black beans do a whole lot for the protein/fiber content. Pulses in general can really amp up the nutrition of any recipe. FUN FACT- did you know that pulses are actually considered both a protein and a vegetable. MIND BLOWING. Let’s check out the chunky line-up:
- Israeli Couscous
- Black Beans (either canned or cooked from dried form)
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Sweet Corn
- Red Onion
The dressing is SUPER simple and so refreshing. It’s an olive oil base with lime juice, jalapeño, cilantro, cumin, and sea salt.
YASSSSSSS. So good.
All you need to do is pop those ingredients into your food processor and whirl until combined. Then, you simply pour it on top of your Couscous salad and mix.
Depending on how much you like lime, start with the juice from 1 and then go up from there. We used the juice from 2!
PS: we got a little creative with our leftovers…hard boiled egg, arugula, and balsamic. FINGER LICKIN’ GOOD and Linley’s favorite.
If you are looking for more pulse inspiration,you should check out PulsePledge.com and sign-up to take the Pulse Pledge with me – a commitment to eating more pulses this year. If you haven’t yet heard, the UN named 2016 the International Year of Pulses, to bring awareness to this nutritious, sustainable, affordable and delicious superfood!
This post is sponsored by USA Pulses & Pulse Canada as 2016 is the Year of the Pulses! I was compensated and all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting Fit Foodie Finds.