This roasted strawberry couscous is filled with fennel, peppers, Israeli couscous and basil for a deliciously sweet and summery side salad.

Roasted strawberry couscous
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You know how something gets all hyped up, you’re dying to try whatever it is, it seems like years before you finally are able to only to be hugely disappointed with whatever the thing was?

Yeah, that’s not the case with this.

Roasted strawberries. Two words that have been haunting my dreams for weeks (mainly thanks to this) and that are as kick-ass in real life as they sound.

Strawberry couscous

So much so that I may or may not have licked the baking sheet to get all the juices left behind after transferring them to the serving bowl.

If you were a fly on the wall in my house yesterday you would’ve seen me licking baking sheets during lunchtime making this, pulling my pajama pants (don’t judge) down around 11am when I felt an itch on my upper thigh that kept moving as I scratched it only to find an ant actually in my pants causing it (of all idioms to come true…) and around 7pm, me staring at the bathroom floor completely perplexed at the extra pair of underwear that came out of my workout shorts when I took them off to shower. I somehow went the entire day with an extra pair shoved in between the underwear I was wearing and the underwear sewn into the running shorts even though I went to the bathroom multiple times throughout the day and never noticed. I even went to the store with them shoved up there unknowingly. I wonder how many people were staring at my puffy underwear ass?

A true laundry mystery. Needless to say, I was a hot mess.

Couscous with roasted strawberries

A hot mess with a delicious side dish though of roasted strawberry couscous though. It was a fair trade.

I’d take ants and superfluous underwear in my pants again if it was what stood between me and this.

Whole wheat pearled couscous cooked with orange juice, roasted strawberries, fennel and yellow pepper with lots and lots of basil.

Roasted strawberry couscous

Fruity, summery and fresh. Just beware of insects and rogue undergarments while making.

Grain salads like this are some of my favorite summertime lunches along with recipes like strawberry tabbouleh, lentil tabbouleh or bulgur wheat salad.

Looking for a strawberry-less version of this salad? Try this Israeli couscous Greek salad instead or make pesto couscous using the regular variety.

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Roasted Strawberry Couscous

Servings: 4 servings
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Couscous with roasted strawberries
This roasted strawberry couscous is filled with fennel, peppers, Israeli couscous and basil for a deliciously sweet and summery side salad.

Ingredients 

  • 3/4 cup whole wheat pearled couscous, Israeli couscous
  • 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 3/4 orange juice
  • 1 1/2 cup strawberries, hulled
  • 1/2 bulb of fennel, sliced
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons basil, chopped
  • 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • salt & pepper

Instructions 

  • In a small sauce pan, heat coconut oil over medium-high heat.
  • Add couscous and toss to coat in oil. Toast couscous in sauce pan for 2-3 minutes.
  • Add water and orange juice, bring to a boil then cover and reduce to a simmer until liquid is fully absorbed (about 20 minutes). Remove from heat.
  • Meanwhile, heat oven to 400 degrees and grease a baking sheet with cooking spray.
  • Toss strawberrries, peppers and fennel in a medium bowl with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt & pepper.
  • Spread out onto baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, tossing occasionally.
  • Combine couscous and roasted fruit/vegetables in a medium bowl, toss together with basil and dress with remaining tablespoon of olive oil and honey.
  • Season with salt & pepper to taste and serve.

Nutrition

Serving: 1SERVINGCalories: 301kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 8gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gSodium: 86mgFiber: 7gSugar: 9g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Salads
Cuisine: American
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Founder and Writer at Running to the Kitchen | About

Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.

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34 Comments

  1. I adore pearled couscous but can’t find it anywhere except in little 3.5 oz packages… lame. This looks fantastic.

    And I’m not judging, I’ve had the underwear thing happen to myself too. And another time at a logging show I wore the same Carhartt’s two days in a row and the first days undies were stuck in the pant leg only to come out halfway through an event…in front of 150 people. Your puffy underooed ass is safe.

    1. You guys have TJ’s out there don’t you? They have it, not in whole wheat (that I’ve found) but they do have regular Israeli couscous in the stores by me.
      So glad others can relate to the rogue underwear experience. Luckily, Ginger was my only audience and not 150 loggers! haha

  2. That is so funny! That reminded me of a time when I was wearing my school uniform and my skirt got caught in my panties after I went out of the bathroom. Awkward! I am in love with roasted strawberries too… I have just tried it after reading Joy’s Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk Cake post… It was lovely even though I did not bake the cake long enough and it was still kinda wet at the top. I have to remake it soon and properly the second time around. Now, I am curious to try the roasted strawberries with dinner food!

    1. I saw her recipe for that, looked delicious! I’ve definitely had the skirt tucked into the underwear thing happen to me too before. I think I had pushed it out of my memory but now that you mention it, yeah it definitely happened.

  3. let’s be honest, who HASN’T had an extra pair of underwear stuck in their pants/shorts? The ant, though? I’d be having nightmares. That’s just fucking creepy.

    1. I felt like there were things crawling on me for the remainder of the day. Gross. Although out of all bugs, I’ll take an ant over some of the other possibilities.

  4. When I was in highschool, I had an extra pair of panties (which got stuck via static electricity) fall out the leg of my jeans and onto highschool floor. I snapped em up before (I think) anyone saw. Static electricity’s a real bummer. Awesome couscous salad! Definitely sounds refreshing!

    1. I have to agree with Cat, high school would’ve been way more traumatizing than my own bathroom with no one else in it! But thanks for that laugh! ;)

  5. LOL!! I love your writing style, personality, and sense of humor. Duly noted to watch out for the ants and superfluous undies whilst cooking!! :) That does look like an amazing side dish, and I love strawberries!

  6. Fact: I may or may not be writing down, bookmarking, adding to my phone, whatever…all your recent vegetarian-friendly recipes :-X I have a plan of attack to christen my kitchen in the new house with foods that my fav bloggers have been making and therefore making me salivate at work. I appreciate your business :) OK but seriously, this sounds friggan’ delicious! As always, your photos are just so gorgeous! I have a similar set up for food photos as you do, I might need to try making a board though!

  7. Beautiful pictures as usual! Love the dishes in these pictures. Recipe sounds delicious!