Bulk Up Meals With Way Less Effort Using This Instant Pasta That's Ready In 10 Minutes

There might be no one on Earth who can say no to a quick, filling meal. Well, with the help of instant couscous, 10 minutes is all you need. Couscous, which looks like tiny, fine-milled beads, is often mistaken for a grain, but it's more of a pasta made using semolina flour. It has protein and fiber, which might explain why it can make your meal more filling and help you feel satiated. For a slightly more fiber-rich meal, you'll want to choose a whole wheat option, which contains 6 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber for every ¼ cup serving of uncooked couscous.

Cooking instant couscous is quick and easy. Take out your couscous in a bowl, pour boiling water over it, cover, and leave it there for five to ten minutes. You'll know it's done steaming when all the water has been soaked up and the pearls have achieved a softer texture. Then, run a fork through the couscous to give it its signature fluff. However, couscous is kind of like rice in that it's a tad bland on its own. But this also means it's versatile. It can soak up the flavors of whatever you add it to while also beefing up meals (again, like rice) to make them more filling. 

One of the easiest things to make is a couscous salad, a meal with so much textural variety. You can get especially creative here because you can add just about anything to the bowl, think broccoli, cucumbers, and spinach. Introducing some aromatics to give more depth is recommended, like onions and garlic. Toppings, like feta cheese, or dressings, like a zesty lemon dressing, can also do wonders. To give the couscous more of a flavor boost, you can use broth or stock in place of boiling water when steaming it. It's completely optional, but it still introduces a flavorful depth to upgrade your salad.

Alternatively, you can add couscous to hearty meals like chicken soup, making the dish reminiscent of risotto. As the finishing touch, you can add lemon juice to transform your chicken soup and give the starchy pasta a bright, zesty lift. However, if you're making a huge batch of such a soupy meal, make sure to separate the couscous from the broth, even when storing leftovers. Otherwise, the couscous is going to absorb the soup, leaving very little liquid for you to enjoy the next day. 

That's not all: Couscous is a well-rounded ingredient, so you can even add it to sweeter dishes. For instance, you can mix it with fruits, a drizzle of honey, and Greek yogurt for a filling addition to your breakfast bowl. Overall, making a meal with instant couscous doesn't have to be complicated. You don't even have to create an entirely new recipe to accommodate the pasta. You can mix it into whatever you're already making or even work it into your leftover dinner that you had the other night, bulking it up with barely any elbow grease.