Lemon Couscous Recipe

This easy lemon couscous recipe is one of our favorite side dishes. I toss the light and fluffy pasta with olive oil, garlic, fresh herbs, pine nuts, and lemon juice. It's so simple and delicious!

Prep time: PT5M

Cook time: PT5M

Total time: PT10M

Rating

5 stars (36 reviews)

Keywords

Couscous, Couscous recipes, How to cook couscous, What is couscous

Ingredients

1 cup water
1 cup couscous
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
¾ teaspoon sea salt
2 garlic cloves (minced)
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
⅓ cup minced fresh parsley (plus more for garnish)
2 tablespoons pine nuts (plus more for garnish)
Red pepper flakes (optional)

Steps

In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the couscous, 1 teaspoon of the olive oil, and ½ teaspoon of the salt and stir. Cover, remove from the heat, and let stand for 5 minutes.
Fluff the couscous with a fork, transfer it to a large bowl, and toss it with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, the remaining ¼ teaspoon sea salt, the garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, and pine nuts.
Transfer the mixture to a serving platter and garnish with additional pine nuts, parsley, and red pepper flakes, if desired.

Reviews

NurseMary2 on 2026-07-13 09:09:44 (5 stars):
My new favorite sandwich dish. This is so satisfying and goes with so many different things. My family loves it as well.
Cheryl on 2026-07-07 09:55:04 (5 stars):
This was outstanding. Everyone loved it! I came back to the site to print it. You must make this!
Julie J on 2026-05-03 18:01:45 (5 stars):
I made this tonight and added diced mango after the couscous was cooked. It was phenomenal.
WW on 2026-03-27 13:00:26 (5 stars):
Delicious! Exactly what I was looking for to go with grilled chicken kabobs.
Ruth Harris on 2025-12-03 18:32:19 (5 stars):
Absolutely delicious, super easy!! Will be making again!!
Mark F on 2025-10-05 21:28:59 (5 stars):
Absolutely perfect recipe! My wife and I just started the mediterranean diet and neither of us had ever eaten Couscous. Followed this recipe to the letter and my wife and I couldn't stop talking about it. Thanks for the recipe!!!
Fox on 2025-03-24 17:33:45 (5 stars):
Silly question: this calls for raw garlic, right? I’m a little scared of raw garlic so I confess I omitted it out of uncertainty but it was still delicious and is going to be my go-to couscous. :) I paired with salmon with just salt/pepper/butter and a little dill and it was lovely. Thank you!
Cyn on 2025-03-10 14:27:30 (5 stars):
I have never had anything like this.... Sooooo very refreshing!!!! Will be a weekly dish!!! Thank You for this recipe! Wouldn't change a thing. It is perfection!
John on 2024-09-21 11:28:25 (5 stars):
Soooooo lemony & delicious. Add the red pepper flakes!
Jas on 2024-08-21 04:19:26 (5 stars):
Loved this! Although i skipped the pine nuts and fresh parsley and just used dried parsley for color. I paired it with grilled salmon seasoned with tamarind powder and thyme. Delish!