Rice and Vegetable Salad
This incredible salad features fluffy rice and a bounty of vegetables in a light, herby dressing. Served as a side dish, or vegetarian entrée, it’s great warm, room temperature, and chilled! And you can add animal protein (chicken, shrimp, hard-boiled eggs) if you want!
This salad is great all year long. You can use fresh, seasonal produce, or grab veggies from your freezer or pantry. I used carrots, celery, broccoli, red onion, and sun-dried tomatoes, but virtually any vegetable works here. Great additions would be corn, peas, zucchini, yellow squash, green beans, and snap peas.
What kind of rice should you use for this salad? I like using rice medleys for their flavor and texture composition. In this recipe, I used Rice Select Royal Blend which is a combination of texmati, white, brown, wild, and red rice. It cooks up light and fluffy every time, in just 15 minutes. That said, you can use your favorite rice medley, or one variety of rice.
Add protein to this salad if you want! If you want to add heft to this dish, feel free to add cooked chicken or steak, cooked shellfish or seafood, hard-boiled eggs, or grilled tofu. If you want some added crunch, add cashews, walnuts, or almonds.
This vegan dish is crammed with nutrients and fiber. You can thank the wild rice and veggies for that! This wholly satisfying dish is sure to please every member of your family – young and old!
Rice and Vegetable Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups rice medley, such as Rice Select Royal Blend (I used the one with texmati, white, brown, wild, and red rice)
- 3 cups chicken broth, or vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup broccoli florets, fresh or frozen and thawed
- 1/2 cup diced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, plus 1 tablespoon oil from the jar
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar, or white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, basil, and/or cilantro, optional
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, combine the rice, broth, Italian herb seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Set the pan over high heat and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.
- Fold in the broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, red onion, carrots, and celery. Fold in the vinegar and sun-dried tomato oil. Fold in the herbs.
- Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Serve warm, room temperature, or chilled.