Mediterranean chorizo couscous is a delicious quick healthy budget meal. You'll love the flavours of the smoky sweet lightly toasted couscous. It'll make your taste buds sing!

Don't you just love dishes that remind you of holidays? Well this Mediterranean chorizo couscous is designed to do exactly just that!
To remind you of sunny days and the delicious fresh flavours you get from relaxing in the Mediterranean.
And folks, if you've been following the blog over the years, you know I love my Mediterranean dishes.
In fact that’s what a lot of Neil’s Healthy Meals is based upon, The Mediterranean diet.
One particular Mediterranean ingredient that I can’t get enough of is chorizo.
Those amazing smoky aromas you get when you cook chorizo and let it’s flavours release are addictive.
Then there's that versatile, precious chorizo oil which permeates through the rest of your ingredients adding such a unique flavour.
That's such a wonderful oil to saute with.
The great thing about chorizo is that you don't need to use a lot of it to get bags of flavour into a dish.
For example this chorizo couscous recipe only uses a 2 inch piece chopped up.
I can normally get a pretty good quality Chorizo sausage from my local supermarket for a few pounds.
So I just take what I need from that, cut up the rest into similar sized pieces, wrap them in cling film and freeze them.
You'll be surprised at how handy that chorizo comes in for making future batches of this recipe or soups like chorizo, tomato, lentil and kale.
The other ingredients in this recipe shouldn't cost you much ether.
Couscous is pretty cheap plus it's quick to make and goes quite far as a filling nutritious carbohydrate.
It's also a great source of protein and is rich in fibre too.
This recipe also makes for a perfect packed lunch. You'll be sure to want to add it to your list of healthy chorizo recipes.
You could use your own selection of salad ingredients and / or leftover veggies in this chorizo couscous recipe here as well, making it your own.
Although I only added paprika you could also experiment with the heat in this recipe. Why not add a little chilli powder to create a more spicy couscous recipe?
Why not check out the list of other Mediterranean themed recipes below to add a little more sun and colour to your day?
Jump to:
💭 Why You'll Love This Chorizo Couscous Recipe
- Nutritional benefits: Mediterranean chorizo couscous is a delicious recipe that offers numerous nutritional benefits. With nutrient-rich ingredients like whole grain couscous, lean protein from chorizo, and a variety of colourful vegetables. This balanced combination ensures you receive essential vitamins, minerals, fibre, and antioxidants to support overall well-being.
- Weight management: If you're looking to maintain or lose weight, Mediterranean chorizo couscous is an excellent choice. By using low-calorie ingredients and incorporating portion control, this dish allows you to enjoy a satisfying meal without compromising your calorie goals. The high fibre content in couscous helps promote satiety and prevents overeating.
- Easy to make: This recipe is easy and hassle-free. With simple instructions and readily available ingredients, you can prepare a delicious Mediterranean chorizo couscous within a short time frame. It's a convenient option for a quick weeknight dinner or a healthy lunch to take to work.
- Budget-friendly: Eating healthy doesn't have to break the bank, and Mediterranean chorizo couscous proves it. The recipe utilizes affordable ingredients such as couscous, vegetables, and chorizo.
- Delightful flavors: Even though it's healthy and lower in calories, Mediterranean chorizo couscous doesn't compromise on taste. It's got an amazing combination of smoky chorizo and paprika whilst combined with the freshness of Mediterranean vegetables.
🥘 Ingredients
- Couscous - I use whole wheat couscous. Use the smaller kind of Couscous known as Moroccan couscous rather than pearl couscous so it cooks quicker.
- Chicken or Vegetable Stock - you could just use boiled water instead.
- Chorizo - for effect I use Spanish Chorizo but you could use any kind like Mexican chorizo too.
- Clove Garlic - use fresh rather than powdered.
- Red Pepper - any kind of bell pepper will do.
- Green Pepper - any kind of bell pepper will do.
- Red Onion - you could use spring onions instead.
- Cherry Tomatoes - used for their sweetness. Ordinary chopped tomatoes might not give the same effect.
- Freshly Chopped Basil - you could use parsley instead but fresh basil is best.
- Paprika - gives the dish it's fruity sweet notes.
- Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
See recipe card for quantities.
🔪 How To Make Mediterranean Chorizo Couscous
Detailed instructions are in the recipe card below. But here is a quick step by step guide of how to make this easy chorizo couscous recipe:
- Preheat oven to 180C Fan
- Cook the couscous in a saucepan. Remove it from the heat and allow it to stand for 5 minutes. Use a fork to fluff it up.
- Whilst the couscous is cooking heat a cast iron skillet frying pan or oven proof pan. Add the chorizo stir-frying it to release its flavour and oil. Remove chorizo with a slotted spoon and put it to the side leaving the oil in the pan.
- Stir fry the garlic, peppers and onion in the hot chorizo oil. Then stir in the cherry tomatoes, basil and paprika
- Stir in the cooked couscous and cooked chorizo. Mix together well. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.
- Place in preheated oven for 20 minutes.
- Once cooked through remove from the oven and serve.
🍽 Equipment
For This Chorizo Couscous Recipe You May Need….
The following links and any links in the recipe card below are affiliate links.
This means that if you click on it and then buy that product I’ll get a small commission (at no extra cost to you of course).
If you do click through then thanks for being a part of Neil’s Healthy Meals!
This is the skillet pan I use for cooking with.
The pan is of a classic design and made out of cast iron.
It's suitable for all types of cookers except microwaves.
As it's made of cast iron it can last a lifetime!
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💭 FAQ's
How To Cook Couscous?
The easiest way to cook couscous is to allow it to absord the hot stock until it's tender. Then fluff it up with a fork and allow it to cool. You can also boil water / stock and olive oil in a saucepan, add the couscous, turn off the heat and cover the pan. Or microwave the stock / water and olive oil until boiling then add the couscous, cover and fluff once softened.
How To Store Leftovers?
Yes you can store the couscous in the fridge for 2 - 3 days in an airtight container.
What To Serve With This Dish?
You can enjoy this recipe on its own. Or you could serve this dish as an accompaniment to meat or fish dishes. Such as chicken stew or salmon.
How Many Calories Are In Chorizo Couscous?
There are 579 calories in this recipe.
🍲 Other Mediterranean Themed Recipes You Might Also Like
📋 Mediterranean Chorizo Couscous Recipe
The following links and any links in the recipe card below are affiliate links.
This means that if you click on it and then buy that product I’ll get a small commission (at no extra cost to you of course).
If you do click through then thanks for being a part of Neil’s Healthy Meals!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 175 g Couscous
- 300 ml hot stock Chicken or vegetable
- 1 thumb sized piece of chorizo about 2 inches, chopped
- 1 clove garlic finely chopped
- 1 red pepper diced
- 1 green pepper diced
- 1 small red onion diced
- 8 cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped basil
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C
- Place the couscous in a saucepan, add the hot stock and bring to the oil. then cover the saucepan, remove it from the heat and allow it to stand for 5 minutes then use a fork to fluff it up.
- Whilst the couscous is cooking, gently heat a cast iron skillet frying pan until hot then add the chorizo stir-frying it to release its flavour and oil. Once the chorizo is crisp but not burnt, remove it with a slotted spoon and put it to the side leaving the oil in the pan.
- Add the garlic, peppers and onion to the hot chorizo oil and stir-fry for 2 minutes or so then stir in the cherry tomatoes, basil and paprika
- Then add the cooked couscous and cooked chorizo, mix everything together well and season to taste with the salt and pepper.
- Place in preheated oven for 20 minutes.
- Once cooked through remove from the oven and serve.
Nutrition
🧾 Nutrition Label
Nutritional information provided below is calculated using paid for online tools and the exact ingredients and quantities used above.
⭐ Rate The Recipe
If you’ve made this chorizo couscous recipe, or any other recipes on Neil's Healthy Meals, then please let me know.
I’d love to hear what you think of my recipe in the comments below and please do rate my recipe 5* if you like it! 🙂
Susie @ Suzlyfe
Yeah, I don't think going balls to the walls the weekend before Hadrian's wall would be the best idea. This couscous, however--GREAT idea!
neil@neilshealthymeals.com
Thanks Susie, we've already had to change our plans since I wrote this unfortunately. We are going away this weekend but somewhere different. I'll update next week, hope you have a great weekend!
David @ Spiced
This sounds like my kind of meal, Neil! I love that you only used a bit of chorizo, though. I would've been tempted to use so much more, but you're right that a little bit goes a long way in terms of flavor. I'll keep that in mind for sure! And couscous is such a versatile side dish, too. I hope you and Lynne have an amazing weekend...it sure sounds like a great chance to escape the city for a bit. ๐ Thanks for the fun recipe, my friend!
neil@neilshealthymeals.com
Thanks David, as you can probably tell I'm just such a HUGE fan of chorizo! And the couscous just absorbs all that flavour so easily, so that turns bland couscous into something quite special! Anyway, have a great weekend yourself. We're still going away, just to somewhere different due to complications on the booking at Newtonmore.
Agness of Run Agness Run
I love Mediterranean dishes yet I haven't tried this recipe, Neil! Chorizo sounds like a great dinner idea!
neil@neilshealthymeals.com
It's amazing just how flavourful that Chorizo sausage makes this Mediterranean dish Agness!
Thanks for the comment and I hope you are having a great weekend! ๐
Ben | Havocinthekitchen
Oh, I love couscous for being so delicious and versatile. I just realized I haven't had any couscous during this summer. How horrible! I've got to make some shortly. Also, I think I've never incorporated chorizo (How horrible 2!) in my couscous, and I can easily imagine all the flavor it brings in. Looks and sounds great, Neil.
neil@neilshealthymeals.com
Thanks Ben! Couscous is so often my "go-to" meal filler because it's just so quick to make and healthy too! Plus you can basically pair it with just about anything. ๐
Jeff
I haven't had couscous in years, but I love it. Your dish is colorful and looks delicious!
neil@neilshealthymeals.com
I just love how versatile and easy couscous is Jeff. Needs so little effort to cook which is especially what I'm after when I'm having to cook something for Lynne and I at 8pm at night after a tough day at work! ๐
Dave T
If I make a few batches of this dish, (or scale up the quantities?), is it suitable for freezing? I LOVE these sorts of meals but living on my own I tend to make meals that I can freeze and end up lacking in variety. This dish looks superb and I'm really looking forward to trying it!
neil@neilshealthymeals.com
Hi Dave. I haven't frozen this dish after making it myself before as it never lasts that long! But I have frozen many other couscous dished before, which have been fine, so I can't see why this one would be any diffrent. Thanks for taking the time to comment! And enjoy. ๐