Overhead shot of a colorful Mediterranean Brown Rice Salad in a large bowl.

Mediterranean Brown Rice Salad

This brown rice salad is nutritious, easy-to-make, and keeps well in the fridge! Utilizing mostly pantry staples, this recipe stars U.S.-grown long grain brown rice and is both vegan and gluten-free. This recipe comes to us from our friend @DaisyBeet in partnership with USA Rice & The FeedFeed.

  • Servings
    4
  • Prep Time
    15 min
  • Cook Time
    45 min
  • Total Time
    1 hr

Ingredients

  • 1 cup long grain brown rice
  • 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas
  • 1 (15 ounce) artichoke hearts
  • 1 cup jarred roasted red peppers, diced
  • 2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 2 cup cucumber, quartered and sliced
  • ½ cup kalamata olives
  • ¼ cup parsley, chopped
  • salt
  • pepper

Lemon vinaigrette

  • 4 tablespoons lemon juice
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • ½ tablespoon dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • salt
  • pepper

Directions

  • Cook U.S.-grown brown rice according to package instructions.
  • While the rice cooks, prepare the vegetables. Drain and rinse chickpeas and artichoke hearts. Cut artichoke hearts in half lengthwise.
  • Chop up the rest of the vegetables and parsley. Set ingredients aside.
  • Combine all the vinaigrette ingredients, plus a shake of salt and pepper, in a small jar. Tightly screw on the lid and shake vigorously for 30 seconds – 1 minute, until dressing is creamy and cloudy looking.
  • When rice is done cooking, let it cool to room temperature. Add rice to a large mixing bowl and toss with all the veggies, chickpeas, and parsley, plus a generous shake of salt and pepper.
  • Drizzle ⅓ cup of vinaigrette into the salad and toss to combine. Add more dressing, 1 tablespoon at time, to taste.