Romesco Pearl Couscous Bowl with Halloumi

This romesco pearl couscous bowl with grilled halloumi is vegetarian, wholesome and loaded with flavors. It makes an excellent nutritious lunch anytime of the year.

If you’re familiar with buddha bowls, you’ll probably fall in love with this variation with pearl couscous. Halfway between a salad and a main, a bowl usually features some cold and warm elements, all together in one shallow plate, creating a healthy nourishing meal.

While most bowls are prepared with quinoa, this one features pearl couscous for texture, grilled halloumi for a chewy bite, romesco sauce for bold flavors, and lots of greens to make it extra nutritious.

What goes into pearl couscous bowl?

• Pearl couscous (aka Israeli couscous). See note below.
• Halloumi. It brings a chewy bite to the bowl, while still keeping it vegetarian.
• Greens. This includes spring mix and/or baby spinach, avocado, cilantro, etc.
• Romesco sauce. For bold, smoky flavors. It can be made ahead of time. If you’re in a hurry, go for a ready-to-use romesco sauce or use marinated peppers instead (this can be found in jars).

I also love to top the bowls with some seeds or nuts (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pine nuts…) and serve along with some pita bread to dip into the romesco sauce. Delicious!

Meal prep and make ahead instructions

This Israeli couscous bowl can easily be made ahead of time and assembled at the last minute for a quick lunch. Here’s how I recommend you proceed:

1. Cook the pearl couscous up to 5 days in advance. Drain, cool, and toss with a little bit of olive oil, then store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
2. Prepare the romesco sauce up to a week in advance and store in a sealed jar in the refrigerator. Note that for a quicker version, you can use marinated bell peppers to make romesco sauce, or even go for a ready-to-use romesco sauce.
3. Grilled halloumi is best prepared the same day if you want to add it warm and grilled, but alternatively you can grill it in advance and use it cold in the bowl.
4. On the D-day, assemble the bowls and add some fresh greens (avocado, spring mix and/or baby spinach, cilantro) and toppings of choice.

A bowl or a salad?

If you’re planning a lunch box, you can add all the components cold to the couscous salad. If however you plan to make it at home, I recommend you warm up the pearl couscous in the microwave and add the grilled halloumi to the bowls while still warm.

Can I use other grains/pasta?

Sure thing! If you can’t find pearl couscous where you live and/or don’t want to order on Amazon, you can always create some delicious variations of this bowl, using regular couscous, quinoa, bulgur or orzo.

Recipe variations

Like for most bowls and salads, there are many ways to play around with the recipe to make it yours, based on the season and what’s in your fridge. Here are just a few ideas:

• Play with the grains/pasta (see above).
• Add sautéed zucchini or eggplant with herbes de Provence.
• Add cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, olives, etc.
• Replace the halloumi with paneer (grilled) or with feta / goat cheese.
• Replace romesco sauce with garlic hummus, sun-dried tomato pesto, muhammara (harissa cauliflower walnut dip), baba ganoush, or simply use roasted bell peppers.

Other salad bowls you may like:

• Spicy Peanut Butter Tofu Power Bowl
• Sweet Potato Black Bean Quinoa Bowl
• Moroccan-Inspired Chickpea Couscous Salad
• Vegetarian Cauliflower Burrito Bowl
• Thai Peanut Quinoa Salad
• Spiced Chickpea Sweet Potato Buddha Bowl
• Corn and Zucchini Orzo Salad

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