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£5 Dinners | Israeli couscous salad

We have started a new series of posts on Instagram called £5 Dinners where we will be sharing some of our favourite budget friendly meals. Follow us @savingscotts to keep updated with the series.
We have also decided to post all the recipes on here and there is now an easy to use tab on the navigation bar just for £5 dinners. So you can find all your favourite, easy to cook, low cost dinners in one place. 

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This weeks receive is a Israeli couscous salad.  Israeli couscous was developed to be a low cost staple to feed the people of Israel when times were tough. Though not hugely well know, it is a great carb for dinners and we often substitute it in dishes that call for pasta. It is all pretty inexpensive and can be found in most major supermarkets, usually in the Kosher or World foods aisle (we purchase ours from Tesco). 
Whilst tined olives work great, if you want some extra flavours hit your local market (turkish markets are brilliant for olives) to pick up some delicious olives at bargain prices. Fresh herbs are a great investment, and wilting plants can often be purchased for knock down prices. This dish is so simple and take 10 minutes to make and is a summer favourite in our house.


  • 1 cucumber
  • 1 cup Cherry tomatos
  • 1 bell pepper
  • 1 cup Mushrooms chopped
  • 1 cup radishes
  • 1/2 cup of Olives
  • handful of fresh basil (optional) 
  • 50g feta cheese
  • 2 cups of Israeli couscous
For the dressing
  • 1/4 cup of olive oil
  • 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 lemon juice
  • pinch of salt
  • pinch of pepper 
  • pinch of dried herbs


  • Add couscous to a saucepan and a dash of oil and cook on low heat for a 3-4 minutes. This is call toasting the couscous it helps bring out the nutty flavour. 
  • Add 2.5 cups of water and a pinch of salt (optional) and allow to cook on a low-medium heat for 10 minutes, continuing to stir intermittently. 
  • Chop all the vegetables, olives, feta, basil and mix together in a salad bowl.
  • To make dressing combine, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, pinch of salt and pepper and a pinch of dried herbs. Add to salad when served
  • When the couscous has absorbed all the water, allow to cool slightly in the sauce pan before adding to salad. 
  • Serve and add dressing.

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1 comment

  1. Looks delicious - and very healthy too. I'd have to forgo the mushrooms though, but all the other ingredients look scrummy!

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