How to Cook Couscous With Chicken Broth

by Elizabeth Arnold

Items you will need

  • Medium saucepan
  • 3 cups of chicken broth
  • Salt, black pepper and seasonings to taste
  • Fork
  • Complementary ingredients (optional)

Couscous, which originated in North Africa, is made from ground semolina wheat. When cooked properly, the grain takes on a light, fluffy texture. Be careful not to overcook delicate couscous or it may become mushy and sticky. You can prepare couscous with boiling water, but using chicken broth gives it a richer, more-flavorful taste. Enhance the cooked couscous with a variety of herbs, spices and even pine nuts to make the recipe your own. Serve the couscous alone or as a side dish to meat and fish.

Step 1

Pour 3 cups of homemade or store-bought chicken broth into a medium saucepan. Bring the broth to a boil over high heat.

Step 2

Add salt, black pepper and other seasonings, such as dried parsley or thyme, to the boiling broth to taste.

Step 3

Remove the water from the heat right after it comes to a boil. Pour 1 1/2 cups of couscous to the broth and cover the pot with a lid. Allow the couscous to sit for 10 minutes.

Step 4

Fluff the couscous with a fork. Stir complementary ingredients, such as pine nuts, raisins, currants, sliced almonds, chopped tomatoes or cooked carrots and peas, into the couscous as desired.

Photo Credits

  • Eising/Photodisc/Getty Images

About the Author

Elizabeth Arnold has written for a wide variety of publications and websites. Her experience includes writing travel features for "Recommend" magazine and packaging marketing copy for both Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Warner Bros. consumer products. Recently, Arnold was a staff writer for "Special Events" magazine. Arnold studied English at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.