Wholewheat Chicken Couscous with Chickpea Soup
A two-part meal: herby chicken couscous plus a warming chickpea soup
Wholewheat Chicken Couscous with Chickpea Soup
Wholewheat couscous tossed with chicken and fresh vegetables, served alongside a light chickpea and spinach soup. Two portions of plant protein in one meal.
Nutrition per serving
Nutritionist’s Note
This is a good example of a meal where two modest portions work better than one large one. The combination of wholewheat couscous, chicken, and chickpeas gives you sustained energy without a large blood sugar spike.
Ingredients
- 50g dry wholewheat couscous
- 100g cooked chicken breast, shredded
- ¼ cucumber, diced (about 60g)
- 1 small tomato, diced (about 80g)
- ¼ red pepper, diced (about 30g)
- A small handful of fresh herbs such as parsley or mint (about 5g)
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Squeeze of lemon juice
- 60g cooked chickpeas (drained weight)
- ½ small onion, chopped (about 40g)
- 1 small tomato, chopped (about 80g)
- 200ml water or reduced-salt stock
- ½ tsp turmeric
- Black pepper to taste
- A handful of fresh spinach (about 40g)
Method
- Prepare the couscous according to the packet instructions – typically pour 50g into a bowl, add an equal volume of boiling water, cover, and leave for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
- Toss the couscous with the shredded chicken, diced cucumber, tomato, red pepper, fresh herbs, olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.
- For the soup, heat a small saucepan over a low heat. Gently cook the chopped onion and tomato for 2–3 minutes.
- Add the chickpeas, turmeric, black pepper and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15–20 minutes.
- Stir in the fresh spinach for the final 2 minutes, allowing it to wilt.
- Serve the couscous salad alongside the chickpea soup, keeping both portions modest so the overall meal is not too large.
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Storage
Refrigerate the couscous salad for up to 2 days (dress with lemon just before eating). The soup keeps for 3 days in the fridge or 2 months frozen.
Tips
- Both couscous and chickpeas contain carbohydrate, so keeping portions sensible helps maintain balance across the meal.
- Wholewheat couscous has more fibre than the regular variety – it is worth the small extra cost.
- The soup freezes well, so you can batch-cook a larger quantity and portion it out for quick lunches.
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