- 1 cup Long grain riceuncooked, or basmati rice, rinsed and drained
- 1 ¼ cups Watercold
Italian Dressing Ingredients:
- 5 tbsp Olive oil
- ½ Lemonjuiced
- 1 tbsp Dried Italian seasoningor dried herb mix of oregano, thyme, basil, parsley, sage, red pepper flakes
- 2 tsp Garlic pureeor 4 cloves minced
Italian Salad:
- 8 Sun-dried tomatoeschopped
- 1 Yellow bell pepperdiced
- ½ Cucumberdiced
- 1 Red oniondiced
- ¾ cup Cherry tomatoesor plum tomatoes, quartered
- ¾ cup Sweet corntinned
- ½ cup Olivesgreen or/and black , halved
- 4 tbsp Pine nuts
- 3 tbsp Basilfresh , chopped
- 2 tbsp Parsleyfresh , chopped
Optional:
- 7 oz Fresh Mozzarella Ballchopped
Italian Style Rice Salad
Looking to find new ways to eat more vegetables? Fall in love with the deliciousness of this colorful Italian Style Rice Salad! It looks beautiful, it’s budget-friendly, healthy, and it all comes together in less than 30 minutes.
Start out by making the rice. Next, make the dressing. It’s a simple mix of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and Italian dried herbs. Mix this up in a glass jar and shake well. Last up, toss your Italian salad ingredients together and drizzle with the dressing. Serve it up with more fresh herbs and mozzarella. Bite-sized fresh mozzarella balls add just a bit more substance to this salad and turn it into a perfect side salad or a light lunch. Omit mozzarella if you want it vegetarian or vegan.
To make the Italian Style Rice Salad, you will need the following ingredients:
Steps to make Italian Style Rice Salad
1 | Cook rice | 8 |
Rinse and drain 1 cup long-grain rice. Place the drained rice and 1 ¼ cups cold water into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover with a lid, and cook for 8 minutes. Do not lift the lid. | ||
2 | Steam rice | 10 |
Once 8 minutes have passed, remove the saucepan from heat and leave the lid on for 5-10 minutes. Then use a fork to fluff up the rice. Transfer the cooked rice to a bowl and place in the fridge to chill. | ||
3 | Make dressing | 2 |
In a glass jar with a lid, combine 5 tablespoons olive oil, juice of ½ lemon, 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, 2 teaspoons garlic puree or 4 minced garlic cloves and shake well. | ||
4 | Assemble salad | 3 |
Combine the rice with 8 chopped sun-dried tomatoes, 1 diced yellow bell pepper, ½ diced cucumber, 1 diced red onion, ¾ cup quartered cherry or plum tomatoes, ¾ cup sweet corn, ½ cup halved green or/and black olives, 4 tablespoons pine nuts, 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley. Add in 7 ounces chopped mozzarella balls if using. Pour over the dressing and mix well. | ||
5 | Serve | |
Serve garnished with more fresh herbs if desired. | ||
Recipe Reviews
So delicious and bright salad! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
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