Chewy, delicious, and filled with a heap of crunchy & sweet tasty bits. This Black Rice Salad is another favourite at family dinners and parties. Not only it’s great to accompany roast meats, a BBQ or pan-fried salmon, but it’s also perfect for a light lunch on its own.
Ingredients for this Black Rice Salad
Black Rice
Dark in colour with purple hues, not only it looks beautiful on the plate – Black rice is also very good for you. It’s a lot less processed than white rice and is high in fibre and antioxidants, thanks to its black colour. Flavour wise it’s very nutty, similar to brown rice, and has a much chewier texture than white rice. It holds its shape very well, if cooked right, and is perfect for cold salads.
More tips in the next section after the ingredients on How to Cook Black Rice!
You can find Black Rice in your local supermarket or Asian Grocer. A lot of versions of rice salads you can find online are with brown rice and that is also equally as delicious and healthy. If you can’t get a hold of Black Rice, Brown Rice is the perfect substitute!
Red Capsicum
Perfect to add some freshness and crunch to the salad, any type of capsicum or peppers are great. I like sweeter ones so I often use sweet Italian long peppers
Spring Onion & Parsley
You can also use red onion if you prefer instead of the spring onion!
Nuts and Seeds
- Cranberries – add a lovely tang and sweetness to the salad. Can also be substituted for raisins or sultanas
- Peanuts – for crunch and can be replaced for chopped cashews, hazelnuts or slivered almonds, or omitted completely
- Pepita Seeds – can be substituted for sunflower seeds
Dressing
- Sesame Oil – or you can substitute for vegetable or peanut oil if you prefer a less flavoured oil
- Soy Sauce – or tamari for a healthier option that has less sodium. I do not recommend substituting for dark soy as it’s quite strong in flavour and should be used in much smaller quantities
- Lemon Juice – or lime juice
How to make this Black Rice Salad
Cooking the Black Rice
Follow packet instructions and make sure to not overcook the rice as it will go very mushy otherwise. I like to usually cook Black Rice the same as when I cook Brown Rice on the stove. After thoroughly rinsing the rice under cold water, I just boil it in a big pot of water for around 30-35 minutes then strain it. There is a great post online HERE on How to Cook Black Rice.
Chop ingredients
Dice the capsicum in small 1 cm pieces. Roughly chop the cranberries & peanuts. Thinly slice the spring onion and chop the parsley.
Make Dressing & Assemble
To make the Black Rice Salad dressing, combine the lemon juice with the sesame oil & Soy sauce. After the back rice has cooled down, combine with all the ingredients and the dressing.
Serving Suggestions & Storage
This salad recipe is for 2 to 3 main-size portions (3 cups of cooked rice). As a side, it will serve up to 4 people. It’s great served as a side dish with roast meats and seafood dishes like salmon and prawns.
Store any leftover salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. The salad will keep for longer is not dressed with the dressing, for up to 4 days. If the rice becomes dry in the fridge, re-heat gently in the microwave for 30 seconds.
Like this recipe? You might also like my Healthy Soba Noodle Salad Recipe!
Enjoy!
Black Rice Salad
Ingredients
- 3 cups Cooked Black Rice ((roughly 1 cup uncooked black rice))
- 1 large Red Capsicum (diced in 1 cm pieces)
- 4 tbsp Peanuts (roughly chopped)
- 2 tbsp Dried Cranberries (roughly chopped)
- 2 tbsp Pepita Seeds
- 4 Spring Onions (thinly sliced)
- 1 small bunch Parsley (chopped)
- 6 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 4 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 4 tbsp Soy Sauce
Instructions
- Cook the Black Rice as per packet directions, strain and set aside to cool. See notes below for cooking of the rice.
- While the Black Rice is cooking chop the capsicum, peanuts, cranberries, parsley and spring onion
- Combine the Sesame Oil, Lemon Juice & Soy Sauce for the dressing
- Mix all the ingredients together and serve!
