Spring Vegetable Couscous Stir Fry
What’s your go-to “fall back” meal? You know that meal you cook when you have no idea what in the world to make for dinner. It happens to the best of us – even when you have a food blog, a hundred recipes from other blogs you want to try plus a huge cookbook collection with more recipes than you can count. Usually when that happens, I make some sort of vegetable stir fry. This Spring Vegetable Couscous Stir Fry is one of our weeknight staple dinners around here and our #1 fallback meal whenever I’m in an indecisive dinner predicament!
And guys, I FINALLY handed in my thesis. It honestly feels like the weight of the world is off my shoulders. I was so worried I was not going to be able to finish in time but push came to shove and I was able to edit, print and hand it an hour before it was due. Phew! I still have 5 exams to go until I finish my Master’s but I can’t begin to tell you how good it feels to have my thesis writing behind me. And, yes, I printed it in pink. Ha! 🙂
Veggie Stir Fries have been my jam this year, especially when I was writing my thesis because they are so incredibly e-a-s-y! Chop a bunch of veggies, saute them, add in some spices + your favorite grains, cook it all, smother it in hot sauce (well, that last part is optional) and BAM a great meal without much fuss is born 🙂 Plus, it’s always so much fun preparing bright and colorful dishes, don’tyathink?
This Spring Vegetable Couscous Stir Fry is made using simple, Spring vegetables, beans, couscous and some delicious Mexican spices for a bit of a kick. It’s topped of with cilantro, fresh hot peppers, and lime juice. The hot peppers are also optional but if you couldn’t already tell, the spicier the food the better in my books! You can replace the couscous with quinoa for a gluten-free option – just remember to allow for a bit more time for the couscous to cook through.
I love eating this meal the next day in a tortilla or lettuce wrap. It honestly makes the BEST leftovers. This Vegetable Couscous Stir Fry + Avocado + Tortilla = my ideal lunch. 🙂 Happy cooking everyone!
Spring Vegetable Couscous Stir Fry
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 4 - 6 servings 1x
Description
A bright Spring Vegetable Couscous Stir Fry filled with colorful vegetables and Mexican flavor. Enjoy as a side or a main dish!
Ingredients
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 3 – 4 cloves garlic, diced
- 2 zucchinis, chopped
- 1 – 2 hot chili peppers*, finely chopped
- 3 red bell peppers*, chopped
- 1 cup corn
- 1 can kidney or black beans (1 1/2 cups)
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprila (optional)
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 1 cup couscous
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 1/2 lime, juice
Garnish
- Hot Sauce
- Cilantro
- Black Pepper
Instructions
- Over medium-high heat, saute the red onion and garlic in a 1/4 cup of low sodium vegetable broth until soft. Add in and saute chopped zucchini, chili peppers and red bell peppers together. Add a dash more vegetable broth if necessary.
- Once the vegetables are sauteed well (about 5 minutes) add in corn and beans. Saute. Add cumin, smoked paprika and dried basil. Saute for another 2 minutes.
- Turn down heat to medium. Add the couscous to the vegetables and saute into the vegetable mixture. Add 1 cup of vegetable broth and leave covered until is is soaked up into the couscous. Stir and taste the couscous and add in an extra 1/2 cup of vegetable broth if necessary (I added in a total of 1 1/2 cups of broth but the amount you use will depend on your brand of couscous + the amount of water left in your vegetables after cooking).
- Squeeze half a lime on top of the couscous stir fry and garnish with cilantro. Fluffy the couscous with a fork and serve.
Notes
1) Use a mix of green and red bell peppers if you are sensitive to the sweetness of red peppers.
2) Remove the seeds of the chili peppers if you don’t want an overly spicy dish or leave them out altogether.
3) Use quinoa for a gluten-free option instead of couscous but remember to allow for a bit of extra cooking time.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Main
- Cuisine: Mexican
If you try this Spring Vegetable Couscous Stiry Fry, it makes my week seeing your amazing #CearasKitchen creations. Share your photos with me on Instagram @CearasKitchen (and remember to tag #CearasKitchen so I don’t miss it!) or share it on my Ceara’s Kitchen Facebook page. Wishing you a wonderful rest of your week everyone!
Instead of chili peppers I added Trader Joe’s Corn and Chile (Tomat0-Less Salsa). Gave it a great flavor!!!
★★★★★
Sounds fabulous! So happy you enjoyed the couscous!
This sounds great. Not only do I love the healthy, fresh aspect, but as a person who is drawn to rainbows, I find it visually quite pleasing!!
Yay!! As they say, “eat the rainbow”! I love rainbow looking food too!! 🙂
My go to dinner always involves some type of taco salad! It is so easy and combines a few of my favorite things that I always have on hand! I love your stir fry couscous dish! This looks like something I wouldn’t mind eating on a weekly basis! It is so bright and colorful!
YUM!! Tacos sound like a perfect go-to meal! I LOVE your taco recipes, Izzy!! The taco recipe I tried of yours was absolutely delicious!! 🙂
Congratulations Ceara!!! I’m so happy for you. 🙂
This recipe is absolutely my kind of dish. I can imagine how delicious it must be stuffed into a wrap.
This dish is so beautiful!! I would eat a HUGE bowlful!
Way to go on completing your Thesis… no small task, for sure! I’d love to give it a read! I bet you learned so much!
What a delicious veg scramble, Ceara… so vibrant and nourishing! Now it’s time to relax and relish in all that you’ve accomplished! Yayyy YOU!
Thank you so much, Traci! It felt SO good to complete my thesis and hand it in!! Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!!
Veggie stir fries are my absolute favorite! And like you said can be whipped up quickly, just seem complicated. Love how you crammed all those uber nutritious veggies in there of course. And hey, if you struggle with thinking of what to make for dinner then I don’t feel too bad =)
Yay, congrats on finishing your thesis Ceara! So exciting! Stir-fries are perfect when you want a quick and delicious meal. This one looks amazing! Love all the pretty spring veggies!
congratulations on finishing your thesis Ceara! I can imagine how good that must have felt! 🙂 The stir fry looks absolutely gorgeous, this is something I can eat everyday !
Thank you, Manali!! It feels AWESOME to be done!! 🙂
Yay! Congratulations, Ceara! How exciting! And what a better way to celebrate than with this dish. I’m loving all of the pretty colors in here! Such a fantastic idea to make it a stir fry, too. Sounds delish! Pinned!
Congratulation on finishing your thesis!! How exciting, I’m very proud of you 🙂 Your Spring Vegetable Couscous Stir Fry looks like a colorful screen saver it’s very pleasing to the eyes.
★★★★★
My fall back meal is definitely avocado cream sauce over brown rice pasta with veggies. With sriracha on top, of course! This looks so delicious— pinned!
<3 Avocado cream sauce! Thanks you for the kind words and pin, Liz!
So many colors in one pot! You’re making me want to got to the produce section, buy a bunch or stalk or bag of everything and cook it all up into something as gorgeous as this! And I like the simplicity of the sauce/garnish 🙂
Thanks so much, Natalie! I simply love colorful meals with #alltheproduce – they make me so happy 🙂
We really are the same person Ceara, lol! I LOVE this dish! I’m not kidding, I have a dish on my blog, one of my very oldest, that is couscous and grilled veggies and spices similar to yours, I added bell peppers and grilled artichokes. This is just so vibrant and I love that you added both zucchini and bell peppers…they are my 2 favorite veggies. Gorgeous!!
I love that we have such similar tastes girl!! You know what a big fan I am of your awesome recipes <3 And couscous with bell peppers and artichokes sounds out of this world amazing. 🙂 Zucchini and bell peppers are my fave veggies too. I am so happy with the abundance of zucchini coming into season!
My fall-back meal is definitely a super simple combo of brown rice + steamed broccoli + and a turkey burger. This stir fry seems MUCH better though ;). Love all the fresh veggies in it! Pinned!
<3 Thanks so much for the pin!!! Brown rice + steamed broccoli sounds like a wonderful fall-back meal! :) You can't go wrong there!
Look at all the beautiful colours in this. I think it would be really good with some olives in as well.
Thank you so much, Dannii! YUM! I love the idea of adding some olives into this dish. Fantastic!