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Ingredient

Couscous

Couscous is made with semolina and water and is sold dried. Cooks steam or sauté it and pair it with lamb, chicken, carrots, potatoes, sugar, cinnamon, coconut, or raisins.

Cooked most in
Africa
Top country
Niger
Couscous, prepared

Photo: HaJunkiyada · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

In the kitchen

How to use couscous

Typical ways to cook or use it

  • Saute
  • Steam

Made from

Cooking with it

Aim for a light, fluffy result rather than a gummy or gritty one. Steaming couscous over a stew lets it absorb the stew's flavors.

Goes well with

Shopping

Choosing and storing couscous

Sold as
Dried

Nutrition

What 100 g of couscous holds

Per 100 g. Averages from USDA; real values vary by variety, season and growing conditions.

Protein 14%Fat 1%Carbohydrate 85%of the macronutrients by weight

Nutrition per 100 g of couscous
Energy376 kcal · 1,573 kJ
Protein13 g
Fat0.64 g
of which saturated0.12 g
Carbohydrate77 g
Fibre5 g
Sodium10 mg
Cholesterol0 mg
Nutrition per 100 g of couscous: minerals and vitamins
Potassium166 mg
Calcium24 mg
Iron1.1 mg
Magnesium44 mg
Zinc0.83 mg
Folate20 µg
Cooked

Protein 14%Fat 1%Carbohydrate 85%of the macronutrients by weight

Nutrition per 100 g of couscous, cooked
Energy112 kcal · 469 kJ
Protein3.8 g
Fat0.16 g
of which saturated0.03 g
Carbohydrate23 g
of which sugars0.1 g
Fibre1.4 g
Sodium5 mg
Cholesterol0 mg
Nutrition per 100 g of couscous, cooked: minerals and vitamins
Potassium58 mg
Calcium8 mg
Iron0.38 mg
Magnesium8 mg
Zinc0.26 mg
Folate15 µg

Source: USDA FoodData Central (foods 169699, 169700), public domain. Minerals and vitamins are listed only where USDA measured a non-zero amount.

Around the world

Where couscous is cooked

1 dish in the catalogue uses couscous. Here is where they come from.

Dishes by continent

Countries whose dishes use it most

Counts are catalogued dishes from each country that list couscous among their ingredients.

Origins

  1. The 1900s · France

    Couscous entered French cuisine at the start of the twentieth century.

On the table

Dishes made with couscous

1 dish in the catalogue uses it.

  • Dambu

    Niger, Nigeria

Dish lists come from Wikidata; a dish counts when its recorded ingredients include couscous.

Cooked together

Ingredients that go into the same catalogued dishes.
Photo credits for this page (5)

Around the world

What couscous is called

Names in 79 languages, from Wikidata.

  • Spanish

    cuscús · cous cous · alcuzcuz · alcuzcuzu

  • French

    couscous

  • Italian

    cuscus · Cous cous · Cus cus · Maftul

  • Portuguese

    cuscuz · Cuzcuz · Pão de milho · Cuscus

  • German

    Couscous · Hartweizengrieß · Cous Cous

  • Dutch

    couscous · Kouskous

  • Greek

    Κουσκούς · Κους κους

  • Turkish

    Kuskus

  • Russian

    Кускус · Кус-кус · Кускус (кулинария)

  • Polish

    kuskus · kus-kus

  • Arabic

    كسكسي · الكسكس · كسكسو · الكسكسي

  • Persian

    کوسکوس · کسکس · کوس‌کوس

Show all 79 languages

  • Afrikaans

    Couscous

  • Algerian Arabic

    كسكس · طْعَامْ · بَرْبُوشَه

  • Armenian

    Կուսկուս

  • Bambara

    Basi

  • Bangla

    কুসকুস

  • Basque

    Kus-kus

  • Belarusian

    Кус-кус · Кус-кус (страва)

  • Brazilian Portuguese

    cuscuz

  • Breton

    Kouskous

  • Bulgarian

    Кускус · Кус-кус · Кус кус

  • Catalan

    cuscús · Cus cus

  • Cebuano

    Kuskus · Couscous

  • Chinese

    古斯米 · 蒸粗麥粉

  • Croatian

    Kus-kus

  • Czech

    kuskus · couscous · cous cous

  • dag

    Couscous

  • Danish

    Couscous

  • dga

    Couscous

  • Egyptian Arabic

    كسكس

  • Esperanto

    kuskuso · Kuskuso (manĝaĵo)

  • Estonian

    Kuskuss · kuskus

  • Filipino

    Kuskus · Couscous

  • Finnish

    kuskus · couscous

  • Galician

    Cuscús

  • Georgian

    კუსკუსი

  • Hausa

    Couscous

  • Hebrew

    קוסקוס

  • Hindi

    कुसकुस

  • Hungarian

    kuszkusz · Kuszkusz (étel)

  • Icelandic

    Kúskús

  • Ido

    Kuskuso

  • Igbo

    Couscous

  • Indonesian

    Couscous

  • Interlingua

    Couscous

  • Japanese

    クスクス

  • Javanese

    Couscous

  • Kabyle

    seksou · seksu

  • Korean

    쿠스쿠스

  • Latin

    Cuscus

  • Latvian

    Kuskuss

  • Lithuanian

    Kuskusas · Kuskus

  • Luxembourgish

    Couscous

  • Macedonian

    Кускус

  • Malay

    Kuskus

  • Moroccan Arabic

    كسكسو

  • Norwegian Bokmål

    couscous

  • Norwegian Nynorsk

    Couscous

  • Occitan

    couscous · coscós

  • Romanian

    Cuș cuș

  • Serbian

    кус-кус · kuskus

  • Serbian (Latin)

    Kuskus

  • Sicilian

    Cuscusu · Cuscussu · Cùscusu · Cuscus

  • Slovenian

    kuskus

  • Standard Moroccan Tamazight

    ⵙⴽⵙⵓ

  • Swedish

    couscous · Cous cous · Cous-cous

  • Tachelhit

    Sksu

  • Tamil

    cous cous

  • Tatar

    күскүс

  • Thai

    กุสกุส

  • Tunisian Arabic (Arabic)

    كسكسي

  • Tunisian Arabic (Latin)

    kosksi

  • Ukrainian

    Кускус · Кус-кус · Кускус (крупа)

  • Urdu

    کسکس

  • Uzbek

    Kuskus

  • Venetian

    Cuscus

  • Vietnamese

    Couscous

  • Walloon

    Couscousse

  • Waray

    Kuskus

  • Wu Chinese

    古斯米

Sources and credits

Data

Wikidata item: Q76605

Photos

Photo: HaJunkiyada · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons