Make-Ahead Lemon Poppyseed Couscous Arugula Salad

This Make-Ahead Lemon Poppyseed Couscous Arugula Salad is the perfect addition to your summer lunch routine! Packed with red grapes, toasted couscous, diced celery, and peppery arugula tossed in lemon poppyseed dressing – it’s simple to make and even easier to eat!
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Back in the old days when I used to leave work, buy my lunch, and then return to the office with 10 minutes left of real break time to eat it – I sometimes purchased a salad like this in the summer. It’s been at least 2 years since I’ve bought something like this from the store, but this year, I was majorly craving it.

Here’s what I could recall about the salad:

• It was a delicious cold salad I would buy from the deli at Thriftway here in West Seattle.
• It definitely had arugula and couscous together. I remember this because arugula wasn’t really my thing, but I adored it in this salad.
• Something sweet was involved. Was it grapes? Or dried cranberries? I couldn’t tell you.
• Something crunchy was involved. Was in celery? Maybe.
• There was a tasty dressing that tied it all together. It might have been lemon poppyseed. I don’t remember but I’m going through a homemade lemon poppyseed dressing phase and it’s so perfect on there.

And that’s how this Make-Ahead Lemon Poppyseed Couscous Arugula Salad was created. Let me tell you: it fits all those criteria above, 100% satisfied my craving for this salad I could only 25% remember, and it stores really well! WIN.

Let’s talk about toasting your couscous.

Thanks to the instructions on the back of the Trader Joe’s couscous box, I now know and respect the practice of toasting your couscous before boiling. I made it both ways for this salad, following the directions on two different boxes, and I fully believe toasting is better.

It gives the couscous a little toasty background flavor. So delicious you can shovel plain couscous (cooked only with water and salt after toasting) into your mouth at alarming speeds. But you shouldn’t do that – save the couscous for this salad!

I also like this method because it doesn’t require any extra pots, dishes, or utensils. I know some people do this with quinoa, but since I usually just toss my quinoa in the rice cooker or in the Instant Pot, I don’t like to use up an extra pot just to toast my quinoa real quick. But for couscous? Yes. I am changed.

Here’s what you need for the Make-Ahead Lemon Poppyseed Couscous Arugula Salad:

• couscous (I use Bob’s or Trader Joe’s brands)
• baby arugula
• dried cranberries (any will work but I go for the reduced sugar kind)
• red seedless grapes (the perfect sweet and juicy addition)
• a couple celery sticks (for some crunch)
• lemon poppyseed dressing (I made mine at home!)

You could always use a store-bought variety of lemon poppyseed dressing, but since we always have lemons around, I like to make my own with just a few simple ingredients:

• lemon juice
• honey
• olive oil
• dijon mustard
• poppy seeds
• full recipe is on the recipe card below!

Assembly is easy: Mix the salad ingredients, mix the dressing, pour the dressing on, and then toss to coat. This salad is best when served cold, so I always let it sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours before eating. Making it ahead is a great option as it works for lunches or taking to a potluck! Double the recipe for a party sized portion.

More cold lunch ideas from Project Meal Plan:

• Chicken & Hummus Plate Lunch Meal Prep
• Make-Ahead Quinoa Party Salad
• Easy Turkey Pinwheels Meal Prep

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