Monday, February 24, 2025

Trader Joe's Organic Couscous


Neither Sonia nor I grew up with couscous at all. I remember they served it in the dining commons at college once in a while. Some of the international students I knew would get moderately excited about it, so I decided to give it a whirl. It's not bad. It's a great substitute for rice or orzo, it has an interesting texture, and it goes great with Mediterranean meals.


Apparently couscous is indigenous to North Africa. It's usually a little buttery and salty, sorta fluffy texture-wise, and is a decent source of protein. The beautiful wifey and I have had pearled couscous several times, including the couscous formerly known as Trader Joe's Israeli Couscous. I prefer pearled, personally. The grains are larger and a tad firmer. We had some recently with one of our Hello Fresh meals that came with the ingredients for a garlic butter sauce. That might have been the best couscous I've ever had.


Sonia prefers the regular kind, and she's particularly enthused that this product is organic. She whipped up a batch in our latest video, posted below. It required only butter, salt, and water. The entire process took less than 10 minutes, and the results were pleasant but mostly unmemorable by my reckoning. Sonia ate some plain while I tried it with a Mediterranean style chicken and garbanzo salad.

$1.79 for 12 oz. Sonia would buy Trader Joe's Organic Couscous again, while I'd seek out the pearled kind before repurchasing this particular item. Six out of ten stars from me. Eight out of ten stars from the beautiful wifey.



Bottom line: 7 out of 10.

4 comments:

  1. Oh I personally LOVE this product. It's so fast to fix and so versatile. I've used it as a base for stews and chilis instead of using rice as a base. I've added all different types of cheeses to it to almost simulate a mac n' cheese. I like the regular, tiny type over the pearled one, but I think that's just my personal preference. My kids like it as much as I liked pastina growing up as a kid. Both have similar vibes in my opinion.

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    1. Thanks for your comment. Yeah, Sonia likes this kind more than pearled, too. Adding cheese is an interesting idea. Also I've never tried pastina but now I'm curious.

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    2. Using broth (like Better than Bouillon) instead of water gives this a richer flavor. I love this and use it often as a quick side dish. BTW I wish TJ’s would bring back the whole grain version.

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    3. Substituting broth for water is a great idea. We'll try that next time for sure!

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