This rice salad is adapted from the Italian rice salad and it's the perfect summer dish, easy to prepare in advance, and bring with you for a picnic outdoors.
It's a fulfilling meal that is nutritious, light, crunchy, colorful, and refreshing.
Check out our best vegan salad recipe collection!
Rice salad is a traditional summer dish that is widely popular all around Italy. In the shoe-shaped country, however, "Insalata di Riso" is often made with non-vegan ingredients such as canned tuna, chicken, cheese, and wurst sausage.
The ingredients list below is just an indication of what you need. With this recipe, you can be creative and add your favorite ingredients! Serve it as lunch, dinner, or as a colorful side dish.
Just remember to balance colors and textures to get the most delicious and nutritionally balanced meal. As a rule of thumb, try to cover as many colors of the rainbow as possible.
Quick rice salad recipe: you can use parboiled rice or white rice for a shorter cooking time. In addition, use raw vegetables instead of pre-cooking and pre-seasoning. You can use the same ingredients and quantities as described in this recipe.
Simply swap the zucchini for fresh veggies such as cucumber and avocado, and you are good to go.
Ingredients
- Whole grain brown rice: healthier and more fulfilling than white rice. You can replace it with basmati rice, long grain rice, buckwheat, couscous, barley, and whole grain oats.
- Chickpea: canned and drained, we add this to improve the protein profile of the dish by complementing the rice with a full protein profile. You can replace it with lentils, green peas, or edamame beans.
- Tofu: optional, but perfect to add that smokey flavor and texture and make the dish extra yummy and free from cholesterol. You can use regular or smoked tofu, or replace it with any vegan sausage.
- Roasted Zucchini: you can replace it with eggplant (aubergine) or fresh veggies, such as cucumber and bell pepper.
- Lettuce: to add crunch and the summery light green color.
- Black olives: pitted, to add umami, can be replaced by green olives.
- Cherry tomatoes: to add sweetness, you can replace them with other tomato types or with red bell pepper.
- Yellow pepper: you can replace it with sweet corn.
- Carrots: to add crunch and orange color.
- Capers: to add umami, freshness, and saltiness to the dish. You can replace them with pickled vegetables such as cucumbers, small onions, carrots, etc.
- Parsley: add a dash of fresh herbs to the final dish. You can replace it with fresh basil, thyme, or chives, or use it in combination with any of them.
- Olive oil + lemon juice: our condiment of choice as it keeps this rice salad healthy and light.
Instructions
Step 1: rice and roasted veggies
In a large pot with lightly salted boiling water, boil the whole grain rice for as long as described on the package minus 2 minutes. This is important as the rice will keep cooking with its residual heat.
Preheat the oven to 390˚F (200˚C). Slice the zucchini into thick slices, season them with salt and 2 teaspoons of olive oil, and roast them in the oven for about 20 minutes. At the same time, roast the whole yellow pepper in the oven for about 30 minutes. Then set it aside to cool down.
Once the rice is cooked, drain it well, move it to a large oven dish and add 2 tablespoon of lemon juice immediately while mixing it in with a spoon. This will help lower the temperature of the rice and add flavor. Set aside and keep stirring occasionally to help the rice cool down faster.
Step 2: legumes
On a non-stick pan warm up 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then add drained chickpeas and the tofu chopped into small dice. Season with salt and pepper and sauté for two minutes. You can add some dried Italian herbs if you have them at hand. Set aside and let cool down.
Step 3: fresh veggies
Slice the olives into thin slices, cut the cherry tomatoes into 4 pieces each, cut the carrot into small dice, slice the lettuce into small pieces, and rinse the capers under tap water. Add all to a large bowl and season with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and salt. Mix well.
Once the zucchini and yellow pepper are cooked and cooled, peel and remove the seeds from the pepper then slice both pepper and zucchini into small dice of roughly the same size.
Step 4: build the rice salad
- 1) Add the rice to the bowl with the olives, tomatoes, carrot, capers, and lettuce. Mix well with a wooden spoon. 2) Add chickpeas and tofu. Mix well with a wooden spoon. 3) Add the roasted zucchini and pepper. Mix gently from bottom to top with a wooden spoon.
- Taste and add some more salt if needed. Also, if you wish you can add an extra tablespoon or two of olive oil and lemon juice.
- Finally, let rest in the fridge for about one hour to let the flavors come together. Then take it out of the fridge and let it at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving. Rice salad should be served cool but NOT cold.
- Optional: serve with a sprinkle of freshly chopped parsley and some toasted pine nuts.
2) Add all the cut vegetables, tofu, and chickpea to the cooked rice, season with olive oil, salt, and lemon juice, mix well and serve. Parsley and pine nuts on top are optional.
Serving suggestions
Rice salad is a perfect dinner and starter for the spring and summer months.
- Serve it with a dressing, such as vegan mayo, tahini sauce or chipotle dressing, it'd be a great way to add healthy fats and additional flavor!
- Serve as a dinner with bread and a side of roasted bell peppers. We love a bread basked with our salads, such as focaccia bread or flatbread. You'll have a complete meal, and a satiating dinner.
- Use the salad leftovers in Italian flatbread and make a lunch-friendly wrap. Add sour cream and guacamole for a fulfilling easy lunch.
Tips
Pick the right rice
We recommend using whole grain rice (brown, red, purple, black). It's richer in flavor and texture than standard white rice and it's easier to keep "al dente". Also, it is more nutritious as it contains more protein, fiber, magnesium, zinc, and iron.
You can pick long grain or medium grain for this rice salad. If you are short on time, opt for parboiled rice, a partially cooked type of rice.
Cook the rice "al dente"
We want the rice with some bite (al dente) so look at the cooking time on the package and remove 2 minutes. Also, we want the grains of the rice to stay separate from each other. To do this, cook the rice in a large pot with plenty of water. Add some coarse salt to the water to infuse flavor into the rice.
Cool the rice
After cooking we want to cool the rice as quickly as possible so that it does not keep cooking, becoming mushy and glued together. Remember: do not rinse the rice under cold water! You will lose a lot of flavor and texture in this way. Instead, get an oven tray and place the hot rice that you just cooked on it, then add some cold lemon juice, and spread it over the tray with a fork.
Play with textures and colors
Pick vegetables that are different in color. This will make your salad more appealing but also more nutritious! Colors are given by antioxidants, so the more colorful the salad, the more varieties of antioxidants you'll get.
Also, think about textures: crunchy (carrots), mushy (avocado), chewy (tofu), and soft (roasted zucchini). Try to have different textures, not all the same.
Grill/season your vegetables
It's important that you season each component of the salad on its own, and not altogether at the end. For example, we lightly season the raw ingredients together with some lemon juice, salt, and olive oil, before adding them to the rice. We also lightly sauté the chickpea and the tofu with some oil, salt, and pepper to make it tastier. And we roast the pepper and the zucchini to boost their flavor and change their texture. This way of cooking will take longer, but it will result in the best rice salad you have ever eaten.
Variations
Quick rice salad
Make it in 20 mins:
- Quick rice: use parboiled rice or white rice for a shorter cooking time.
- Vegetables: Use raw vegetables instead of pre-cooking and pre-seasoning. You can use the same ingredients and quantities as described in this recipe. Instead of roasted vegetables, use bell pepper, cucumber, and avocado and you are good to go.
- Dressing: pair with mustard dressing or any of our best 25 dressings of your choice.
Asian style wild rice salad
Use our carrot ginger dressing or make a tamari sauce. For the tamari dressing, mix together 3 tablespoons of rice vinegar, 2 teaspoons of miso paste, 2 tablespoons of soy or tamari sauce, 1.5 tablespoons of grated ginger, and 2 minced cloves of garlic, 1.5 tablespoons of maple or agave syrup, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil.
For the salad mix together 2 cups cooked wild rice, 3 tablespoons sliced green onions, 1 cup shredded carrot, 1.5 cups shredded purple cabbage, 4 tablespoons of chopped fresh cilantro, 3 tablespoons of toasted sesame seeds, and lime wedges.
Quinoa, couscous and barley salad
The exact same ingredients of our recipe work for a great cold barley salad, couscous, or quinoa salad. Just replace the rice with one of these three delicious grains.
More Salad Recipes
If you liked this Italian rice salad, you might also enjoy these salad recipes:
- Couscous with vegetables: a vibrant and warm salad with pan-fried veggies.
- Chickpea salad: a perfectly wholesome lunch ready in 20 mins.
- Pasta salad with lemon vinaigrette: when spring and summer hit, this is our go-to pasta salad.
- Potato salad: creamy and sure winner for BBQ and grill nights.
- Panzanella salad (stale-bread Italian salad): use up your stale bread with this Italian summer salad.
- Italian barley salad: veggie-packed and aromatic, a tasty plant-based lunch.
More Rice Recipes
Rice is a versatile and healthy ingredient for grain-based dinners and lunches. Try our other rice favorites here:
- Zucchini risotto
- Easy asparagus risotto
- Vegan risotto with 5 different ingredients
- Saffron risotto
- Creamy tomato risotto
Questions
Yes. Your salad will taste even better if you make it one day ahead as the flavors will have the time to melt together.
If you make the rice salad ahead of time you can keep it in a bowl, cover it with a lid and store it in the refrigerator.
Before eating it, let it warm up at room temperature for about 30 minutes so that all the flavors come back to life. Rice salad should be eaten cool or at room temperature, NOT cold.
No, there are too many delicate ingredients of different textures so freezing will ruin the salad.
Yes, all rice and fresh vegetables are gluten-free so this salad is a naturally gluten-free dish.
Absolutely yes! Ever heard of the blue zones? This dish contains a perfect balance of complex carbs, protein, fats, and fiber. All from whole foods and plant-based. No hormones or unhealthy animal products.
Storage
You can store this vegan Italian rice salad in the refrigerator in a bowl covered with a lid for up to 3 - 4 days. When you are ready to serve it, take it out of the fridge and let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Then give it a good stir and top it with some fresh parsley and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
For many more dinner ideas, check out our mains category page.
Recipe
Rice Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups rice white or whole grain
- 0.5 cup chickpea
- 3 ounces tofu best if smoked or pan fried
- 1 medium zucchini
- 8 leaves lettuce
- 5 tablespoon black olives
- 8 cherry tomatoes
- 1 yellow pepper
- 2 carrots
- 2.5 tablespoons capers
- salt & pepper
Dressing
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts (optional)
- 2 tablespoons parsley (optional)
Instructions
STEP 1: RICE AND ROASTED VEGGIES
- In a large pot with lightly salted boiling water, boil the whole grain rice for as long as described on the package minus 2 minutes. This is important as the rice will keep cooking with its residual heat.
- Preheat the oven to 390˚F (200˚C). Slice the zucchini into thick slices, season them with salt and a tiny bit of olive oil, and roast them in the oven for about 20 minutes. At the same time, roast the whole yellow pepper in the oven for about 30 minutes. Then set aside to cool down.
- Once the rice is cooked, drain it well, move it to a large oven dish and add 2 tablespoon of lemon juice immediately while mixing it in with a spoon. This will help lower the temperature of the rice and add flavor. Set aside and keep stirring occasionally to help the rice cool down faster.
STEP 2: LEGUMES
- On a non-stick pan warm up 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then add drained chickpeas and the tofu chopped into small dice. Season with salt and pepper and sauté for two minutes. You can add some dried Italian herbs if you have them at hand. Set aside and let cool down.
STEP 3: FRESH VEGGIES
- Slice the olives into thin slices, cut the cherry tomatoes into 4 pieces each, cut the carrot into small dice, slice the lettuce into small pieces, rinse the capers under tap water. Add all in a large bowl and season with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and salt. Mix well.
- Once the zucchini and yellow pepper are cooked and cooled, peel and remove the seeds from the pepper then slice both pepper and zucchini into small dice of roughly the same size.
STEP 4: BUILD THE RICE SALAD
- Build your rice salad following this order: 1) Add the rice to the bowl with the olives, tomatoes, carrot, capers and lettuce. Mix well with a wooden spoon. 2) Add chickpeas and tofu. Mix well with a wooden spoon. 3) Add the roasted zucchini and pepper. Mix gently from bottom to top with a wooden spoon.
- Taste and add some more salt if needed. Also, if you wish you can add an extra tablespoon or two of olive oil and lemon juice.
- Finally, let rest in the fridge for about one hour to let the flavors come together. Then take out of the fridge and let at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving. Rice salad should be served cool but NOT cold.
- Optional: serve with a sprinkle of freshly chopped parsley and some toasted pine nuts.
Notes
Nutritional Values
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