A few weeks ago I came across the ever so popular Jennifer Aniston salad (I found the recipe HERE) and it sounded so delicious and refreshing! The perfect lunch or dinner side dish especially with the heat rising!

The only problem? The recipe calls for quinoa (JA’s original recipe is barley wheat I think she said) but no one in my house likes quinoa so I knew I needed to change that base and I decided on couscous which is a fan favorite around here.

Anyways, I made it a couple weeks ago tweaking a few things and everyone in our house loved it. It made enough to have it as a side for dinner (we have a family of 5 eating) and then gave me 2 lunches so it makes a lot and keeps in the fridge really well. Since it was a hit around here and easy to make for us busy mama’s, I wanted to share with you guys today!

Couscous Summer Salad //

Ingredients -

• 1 box couscous (we love these boxes)

• 2 cups water

• 1 cup cucumber, chopped

• ½ cup basil, chopped

• ⅓ cup red onion, chopped

• ½ cup roasted and salted pistachios, chopped

• 1 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 2 lemons, juiced

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

• ½ cup crumbled feta cheese

• salt to taste

• pepper to taste

• red pepper flakes to taste

How to Make -

• Cook couscous according to package directions

• Chop cucumber and red onion to bite size pieces

• Drain chickpeas

• Once couscous is done, add to mixing bowl and add in the chopped vegetables alone with other ingredients.

• Chill and serve

Easy peasy and really great for lunches throughout the week! Let me know if you try it below!