A couscous salad is a perfect option for a healthy lunch. Packed full of healthy grains and you can add any of your favourite salad vegetables and pulses to make it extra healthy. Add your favourite dressing too for a delicious meal that you donāt need to feel guilty about.
But, can you make life easier for yourself by making in bulk ready for the whole week? Can you freeze couscous salad?
Yes, couscous salad can be frozen – but it’s not easy! Not all of the ingredients freeze well. However, you can freeze portions of couscous for three months and add the rest of your ingredients each day to make a fresh salad.
Do Does Couscous freeze well? Sometimes
Can you refreeze Couscous Salad? No
How To Freeze Couscous Salad
The best way to freeze your couscous salad is by making up a big batch of couscous and freezing that in portions.
If you are adding ingredients that are freezable such as some pulses and other grains then you can add these but donāt add any dressings or fresh ingredients as these wonāt freeze well and could ruin your whole couscous salad.
- Make It
Make your couscous and let it cool completely. Add any freezable ingredients and mix it through. - Portion into Bags
Ladle a portion of couscous into separate freezer bags. You need one bag per portion to make it easy to grab out the exact amount you need each day. - Seal
Seal the bag tightly, squeezing out any excess air first. Label the bag with the date and contents. - Freeze
Pop the bags into the freezer and freeze until you need them.
3 Tips for Freezing Couscous Salad
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing couscous salad to have the best results:
Avoid Dressings
Dressings of most sorts tend not to freeze well. The main issue is that their flavour will drastically degrade the longer it is frozen. Instead, stir your dressing through the couscous salad once it has thawed.
Add Fresh Herbs Afterwards
Bring a touch of freshness by finely chopping fresh herbs and stirring these through the couscous salad when it has defrosted. The oven thing you can stir through is some freshly grated lemon zest.Ā
Freeze Into Portions
By freezing it into portions, you can easily grab one or two portions at a time, as and when you need them. You don’t want to refreeze couscous salad, after all!Ā
How Long Can You Freeze Couscous Salad?
Whilst you shouldnāt freeze your whole couscous salad, couscous itself can freeze for up to three months. Luckily, this is plenty of time to make up a whole batch of couscous for you to use every day for lunches.
You could even have some portions ready to make easy meals and side dishes for those days when you really donāt want to cook.
When you freeze your couscous make sure to check out how long you can freeze any extra ingredients you added into the mix.
You Can Freeze Couscous Salad for Around 3 Months
How Do You Defrost Couscous Salad?
Thawing your couscous couldnāt be any easier. It is just as simple as it was to freeze it in the first place. To ensure your couscous is as tasty as possible the best method for defrosting is this.
- Thaw Overnight
Take the portion of couscous out of the freezer the night before you plan to use it. Pop it into a bowl and put it into the fridge and let it thaw out overnight. You do need to use the bowl because there will be some water loss and without the bowl, this will make a mess in your fridge. - Add Fresh Ingredients
The next morning take the couscous out of the fridge. Add your fresh salad ingredients, seasonings and dressing and pop into a Tupperware container with a lid. - Box it Up
Pop the lid on and take it with you to work or school.
If you need your couscous salad a little quicker then you can speed up the thawing of the couscous process by using the water bath method. First, you need to make sure the bag of couscous is sealed tightly and wonāt let water in.
- Prepare Water
Grab a bowl and fill it with cool tap water. - Submerge Couscous
Pop the bag of couscous into the bowl. If possible try and keep it from getting water inside the bag. - Wait 30mins
Let the couscous thaw out. This should take thirty minutes to an hour. - Prepare Salad
Mix in your salad ingredients and serve.
Can You Refreeze Couscous Salad?
One thing we wouldnāt recommend is refreezing your couscous salad once you have thawed out the salad.
Reheating and thawing allow bacteria to form which can make you sick and once you have mixed in your fresh salad ingredients we wouldnāt recommend you freeze it at all.
This is because of the problems you are likely to have with freezing fresh salad veggies getting mushy and soft in texture.
Does Couscous Salad Freeze Well?
Couscous salad as a whole dish does not freeze well at all. Although, this will depend on the ingredients you add. If you add any fresh salad veggies or other raw veggies then the salad wonāt freeze well.
However, all is not lost! You can cook up your couscous and freeze it in portions and this freezes very well. Then add your ingredients freshly on the day you want to eat the couscous salad.
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing couscous salad or couscous in general, then these may help:
Can You freeze Israeli Couscous?
Portion it into thick freezer bags, seal them up and freeze. Make sure you freeze it in portions as it is likely to freeze into a clump so you’ll have to defrost each bag entirely.
Can You Freeze Cauliflower Couscous
Simply prep it but don’t cook it, then portion it out into bags before sealing and freezing. When you’re ready to use it, just steam it straight from frozen until cooked through.
