This wild rice salad with carrots, toasted pecans, crunchy pepitas and sweet cranberries can be ready in 20 minutes and it’s delicious anytime of the year.
Wild rice is nutty and hearty and is delicious on any kind of salad greens.
Did I mention it’s high in protein and a great way to get your daily vitamins.
This wild rice salad with carrots, dried fruit, seeds and nuts is an ideal side dish or summer salad for any barbecue or potluck.
It also makes a welcome addition to any holiday table.
If you’re trying to eat healthier this salad is a great choice and keeps well in the fridge for several days.
It can be served cold, at room temperature or slightly warm.
How to make wild rice salad:
To make this healthy side dish, you’ll need a large bowl.
- Add the cooked and cooled wild rice. Make the rice ahead of time for easy prep. There are also 5- minute variety rice blends available to help cut prep time.
- Mix in the carrots. My grocer sells precut matchstick carrots that are the perfect size for the salad. Grab a pack.
- Add cranberries, pecans and pepitas. Check the grocery produce section for blended bags of seeds, nuts and dried fruits to reduce prep time.
- Make the dressing. This salad dressing consists of four simple ingredients – apple cider vinegar, a shallot, honey and olive oil.
- Mix well and serve. Drizzle the dressing over the rice mixture and served over a bed of your choice of greens.
Variations to this wild rice salad:
- Veggies: While matchstick carrots make for easy prep, other veggies including cubes of roasted sweet potato, corn or sweet bell peppers work just as well.
- Dried fruit: raisins, dates or dried cherries would all be delicious in place of cranberries.
- Nuts and seeds: sunflower seeds, almonds or pistachios would be delicious on the salad.
- Greens: Spicy arugula, tender spinach or crunchy kale are all great power green options.
More healthy side dishes you will love
- Couscous with grilled vegetables, lemon and goat cheese
- Ancient grains salad with roasted veggies
- Summer sweet corn salad
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Wild Rice Salad
and sweet cranberries can be ready in 20 minutes and it’s delicious
anytime of the year.
Ingredients
- 2 cups wild rice or wild rice blend, cooked and cooled
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup toasted pecans
- 1/2 cup toasted pepitas
- 3 cups mixed greens, kale, arugula or spinach
For the dressing:
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 small shallot, minced
- Salt and fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- To make the dressing combine the shallot, honey, olive oil and apple cider vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix well.
- In a large bowl combine the rice, carrots, pecans, cranberries and pepitas.
- Drizzle the dressing over the rice mixture mixing to combine. Serve the rice mixture over the greens.
If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a photo and hashtag it #homeandplate. I’d love to see what you cook!
i love the nuttiness of wild rice and the flavours and crunch in this dish are delicious! Looks great for a work snack or with dinner too.
Yup…all these ingredients are versatile and so easy to add your favorite add ins.
What an incredible salad! I am definitely going to be giving this a try for lunch tomorrow; too good to pass up!
Thanks Sara. Easy to throw together for lunch and delicious with added chicken or shrimp too.
I love salads like this that have all these different textures and flavors. Will be making this for dinner real soon. Perfect to serve anytime.
Yes…perfect to serve any time of the year. Thanks so much.
The wild rice salad looks so amazingly refreshing, just perfect to welcome the hot summer days. And I love how versatile the recipe is to accommodate different ingredients to make up the salad.
Thanks Anita…it’s a great healthy salad for the summer. Hope you enjoy it.
Yum! So easy and tasty! Love this recipe!
What can I serve with wild rice salad? Pls let me know of any meat dishes that would go to make a delicious meal
Any grilled meat would be delicious with this salad including my Grilled Salmon Fillets with a Peach Glaze or Easy Marinated Flank Steak Enjoy