This Eggplant Couscous recipe is made with red wine vinegar, shallots, and fresh basil. It’s a wonderful vegetarian side dish packed with flavor and ready in just 20 minutes.
Easy Couscous with Eggplant
Other than Eggplant Parmesan, I never see many recipes using eggplant, or hear people talking about it. It’s such an underutilized vegetable and more versatile than you might think with a meaty texture and mild earthy flavor. It’s practically a sponge when it comes to soaking up seasonings and marinades. It really shines in this couscous recipe.
Plump pearl couscous absorbs vegetable broth as it cooks, then combined with tender sautéed eggplant and shallots, a touch of vinegar, and fresh basil, this side dish is so simple, but loaded with wonderful complex flavor.
Ingredients Needed
This couscous side dish is made with eggplant, fresh basil, and a few pantry staples.
(Scroll down to the recipe card below for details and measurements.)
- Israeli Couscous – Also known as pearl couscous, this has a mild, neutral taste, and a slightly chewy texture, similar to barley.
- Vegetable broth – The uncooked couscous absorbs the veggie broth as it cooks, adding an extra layer of flavor.
- Eggplant – A globe eggplant is used for this recipe, cut into 1/2-inch cubes. See notes below how to buy the perfect eggplant.
- Shallots – A less pungent onion, shallots have a delicate, sweet taste.
- Olive oil – Used to sauté the vegetables, providing richness and necessary moisture.
- Vinegar – A little red wine vinegar adds a delicious zippy flavor.
- Basil – This herb is very aromatic with a balance between sweet and savory and hints of mint, anise, and pepper.
- Salt and pepper – Simple seasonings to flavor the dish.
How to Choose the Perfect Eggplant
Follow these five tips when picking out an eggplant to ensure you’re getting the best one.
- Smooth and shiny skin. Dull skin usually indicates poor quality and wrinkled skin usually means it’s old. Both of these factors could mean that it’s going to be bitter. Skin should be shiny and taut, without bruising or discoloration, so you know it’s fresh.
- A green stem. The eggplant’s stem should be green, not brown, and also be free of mold and not dried out.
- The texture is slightly firm. Press your thumb against the eggplant; it should be soft and bounce back (but not so soft that it feels mushy.) If it has too much give, it’s overripe.
- It’s fairly heavy. Regardless of its size, eggplant should feel solid and heavy in your hand.
- Size matters. The larger the eggplant, the more seeds it has. More seeds typically means a more bitter flavor. Pick a few small-to-medium sized eggplants instead of a single one that is gigantic.
How to Make Eggplant Couscous
This couscous recipe with eggplant is very quick and easy to make.
(Scroll down to the recipe card below for details and measurements.)
- In a small saucepan, combine couscous, vegetable broth, and salt. Bring to a boil, stir once, and reduce heat to low. Cover and cook until the couscous is tender, about 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, in a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat oil over medium-high. Add eggplant and shallots and stir to coat; season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until shallots are caramelized and eggplant is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
- In a serving bowl, combine eggplant mixture and couscous. Stir in vinegar and basil and season salad with another sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Storing Leftovers
Any leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep for 3 days. Reheat in the microwave until warmed through, adding in a touch more veggie broth to loosen.
More Eggplant Recipes To Try
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Eggplant Couscous
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Israeli couscous (pearl couscous)
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large eggplant , cut into 1/2-inch chunks
- 3 shallots , trimmed and quartered
- salt and pepper ,to taste
- 3 teaspoons red-wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup lightly packed fresh basil , torn
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine couscous, vegetable broth, and salt. Bring to a boil, stir once, and reduce heat to low. Cover and cook until the couscous is tender, about 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, in a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat oil over medium-high. Add eggplant and shallots and stir to coat; season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until shallots are caramelized and eggplant is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
- In a serving bowl, combine eggplant mixture and couscous. Stir in vinegar and basil and season salad with another sprinkle of salt and pepper.
I was finally able to make this yesterday, and I was barely able to control myself and only eat 1/2 of the recipe!
Even though it looked really good, the eggplant still had me a bit skeptical. Well, skeptics out there, you need not be. This is REALLY GOOD! I actually added one more tsp. of the vinegar for a touch more tanginess, but that’s just a personal thing. SO GOOD!
That was REALLY GOOD.
Eggplant is so versatile! A great vegetable to cook with so many type of methods and combination! This recipe is great!
I love eggplant, I would be right there with you, shoveling away.
I love the fact that this never even made it to the table. Now that’s some dish.
I love eggplants and am trying different cooking methods to make my son love eggplants. This one looks great. I will give it a try soon ;)
Looks yummy and I already have eggplant!
LOL! U r so funny amy. I have not tried this type of couscous but love the look of it. Certainly the use of eggplant grabbed my attention straight away. I bet it is tasty and healthy!
m already craving!! yummmmm!!
Very cute post! I am dying to find ways to convert the other non-eggplant eaters in my family over. (Yes, that would be all of the other members of my family) But you’ve convinced me it can be done! Thank you for great inspiration.
Thanks for another veggie recipe, Amy. This sounds tasty, and, dare I say, autumnal? I’ll print it out for Chef Chopper, and get to the market for an eggplant!
I like eggplant, but I don’t cook with it enough! Thanks for the recipe!
Haha! I knew you would be converted. It’s like Natashya commented on one of my many eggplant posts…it’s all about finding the right recipe. I think there are probably very few foods that I don’t like, I just need to find the right way to eat them. The recipe does looks delicious. I personally intend to bookmark it and make it in the near future.
Iiiinteresting. I had a similar experience with eggplant. Not sure I’d say I “like” it yet, but I did have it in a recipe a few months ago that was REALLY good. (I believe it was at Heidi’s restaurant in Minneapolis.) It’s all in the prep. All in the prep.
I’ve had some bad experiences with eggplant parmesan that have pretty much made me swear off this vegetable, but I certainly recognize there are plenty of other ways to prepare it. You sure make a pretty strong case for giving it another shot, though.
I would have eaten that whole portion too, looks delicious with the Israeli couscous!
Bless you! I just glumly picked up another bag of eggplant from my CSA, and I totally stumped for ideas to try next!
My honey just discovered how much he liked couscous last week and I can’t wait to make this for him! I’m guessing I could probably sub regular couscous if I can’t find the Israeli kind right? I LOVE eggplant dishes!
I love eggplant too :) And I love simple recipes :) And the eggplant in your picture is so golden and delicious!..
I love eggplant!! This sounds outstanding. I can always count on you to provide me with SIMPLE yummy dinners/lunches, Amy. You the bomb!
I’m usually partial to meals with meat in them, but I’ve had some tasty vegetarian dishes in the last year or so. And I actually like eggplant, maybe in part because of it’s meaty texture. This looks really good. I’m not familiar with israeli couscous – is that sold in the same section as the regular couscous?
This looks really good, I read Everday Food as well and saw all the eggplant recipes and was disappointed. I need to give it another shot.
YUM. Brad isn’t a huge eggplant fan, so if I make this, I’m pretty sure I’ll find myself inhaling the whole thing as well. INCLUDING the cup that your son ate, because I do not have a son.