This Black Rice Salad is one you'll come back to again and again! With the black rice as the star, you're gonna love the fresh ingredients in this chopped salad like spinach, grape tomatoes and feta cheese.
Chopped salads are in the house!🏡
Oh my gosh.
So I tried black rice for the first time the other day and WOW.
So. GOOD.
After that, I had to bring a black rice salad to life.
Black rice makes an amazing salad because it travels well, doesn't get soft and mushy (ew) AND the black rice with veggie combo is packed with fibre, vitamins and minerals too.
A perfect meal-prep friendly and free-from-soggy-lettuce-salad💃
Jump to:
📝Ingredients for black rice salad
- Red onion
- Canned mixed bean salad
- Feta
- Black rice
- Fresh spinach
- Cherry tomatoes
- Olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
- Grainy mustard
- Maple syrup
- Fresh garlic clove
🔪How to make black rice salad
Soak the purple rice in water for 30 minutes. Prep the salad ingredients while it soaks.
Cook the black rice until the grains are separate and slightly chewy and all the water has been absorbed. (See below for instructions).
In a large bowl, add the diced red onion, halved grape tomatoes, chopped spinach, crumbled feta cheese and mixed bean salad.
Combine the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, maple syrup and garlic in a mason jar. Shake to combine well.
Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients.
Toss to coat the black rice salad with the dressing. Serve or keep in fridge until needed.
🍚How to cook black rice
Cooking black rice isn't that much different from cooking regular rice.
Here's how I do it:
For about 3 cups of cooked purple rice, you'll need:
- 1 cup black rice
- 1 ¾ cups water or gluten-free broth
- Salt (optional)
Instructions:
- Rinse the rice: Place the black rice in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse it thoroughly under cold running water. Rinsing helps remove excess surface starch and any impurities from the rice.
- Soak the rice (optional): While you don't have to soak the rice, soaking black rice for 30 minutes to an hour can help to cut the cooking time and improve the texture. If you go the soak route, drain the rice after soaking.
- Combine rice and water or broth: In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the rinsed or soaked black rice with 1 ¾ cups of water or gluten-free chicken broth. If you like, add a pinch of salt for seasoning.
- Bring to a boil and simmer: Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover the saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, and let the rice simmer. Cooking times may vary, but typically black rice takes about 30-40 minutes to cook. If you buy the rice in bulk, use this method for cooking. But if you buy the black rice in a pacakge, check the package instructions for specific times for cooking.
- Check for doneness: After the recommended cooking time, check the rice for doneness. It should be tender but still have a slight chewiness.
- Let it rest: Remove the saucepan from heat and let the black rice sit, covered, for an additional 5-10 minutes. This allows the residual steam to finish cooking the rice and makes it fluffier. Fluff with a fork.
🍽️What to serve with black rice salad
🥡Meal Prep Magic
Make this recipe Skillet-Seared Chicken Breasts with Lemony Greek Yogurt Sauce and place in containers with the salad.
🥗More No-Lettuce Salads
Hope you love this recipe like we do❣️
~April
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups black rice cooked
- ½ red onion diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 cup canned mixed bean salad rinsed and drained
- ½ feta crumbled
- 1 cup spinach chopped
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoon grainy Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 garlic clove minced
Instructions
- Cook the black rice according to package instructions (or see post for easy cooking steps). Set aside to cool afterwards. Recommended step: soak the rice for 30 minutes before cooking. While the rice soaks, you can do all the prep for the salad.
- While the rice is cooking, get all the salad ingredients ready: finely dice the red onion, cut the grape tomatoes in half and roughly chop up the fresh spinach. Crumble the feta cheese, rinse and drain the bean salad.
- In a large bowl, add the diced red onion, halved grape tomatoes, chopped spinach, crumbled feta cheese and mixed bean salad.
- In a small mason jar, add all the dressing ingredients, secure the lid and give the jar a good shake.
- Pour dressing over the salad and toss everything together to combine.
- Enjoy right away or store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Comments
No Comments