Arugula and Wild Rice Salad
This wild rice salad includes arugula, dried cherries, toasted almonds and feta, tossed in a zippy lemon dressing! It's gluten free, filling and delicious. Recipe yields 4 medium salads, or 8 small side servings.
Nutrition Facts
Ingredients
Instructions
To cook the wild rice, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the rinsed rice and continue boiling, reducing heat as necessary to prevent overflow, for 40 minutes to 55 minutes, until the rice is pleasantly tender but still offers a light resistance to the bite. Remove from heat, drain the rice and return the rice to pot. Cover and let the rice rest for 10 minutes, then remove the lid and let the rice cool.
To toast the almonds, warm one teaspoon olive oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add the almonds and a pinch of salt and cook until they’re turning lightly golden and fragrant, about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Set aside to cool.
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Continue Reading at Cookieandkate →Chef's Notes
Recipe inspired by Plenty More and my trip to Michigan to learn about tart cherries.
Make it vegan: Skip the feta cheese and substitute maple syrup for the honey.
Make it nut free: Substitute pepitas for the pecans.
Instant pot option: Add the wild rice and 1 ¼ cups water to the Instant Pot. Secure the lid and move the steam release valve to Sealing. Select the Manual/Pressure Cook option and cook on high pressure for 22 minutes. When the cooking cycle is complete, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes, then move the steam release valve to Venting to release any remaining pressure. When the floating valve drops, remove the lid and give the rice a stir. Let the rice cool for at least 10 minutes before tossing with the remaining ingredients.
Change it up: You can change up the whole grains (farro would be my top pick), almonds (pecans or pepitas would be lovely), feta (goat cheese would work just as well), and dried cherries (simply use dried cranberries). If you can’t find fresh basil this time of year, you can safely omit it.
Recipe inspired by Plenty More and my trip to Michigan to learn about tart cherries.
Make it vegan: Skip the feta cheese and substitute maple syrup for the honey.
Make it nut free: Substitute pepitas for the pecans.
Instant pot option: Add the wild rice and 1 ¼ cups water to the Instant Pot. Secure the lid and move the steam release valve to Sealing. Select the Manual/Pressure Cook option and cook on high pressure for 22 minutes. When the cooking cycle is complete, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes, then move the steam release valve to Venting to release any remaining pressure. When the floating valve drops, remove the lid and give the rice a stir. Let the rice cool for at least 10 minutes before tossing with the remaining ingredients.
Change it up: You can change up the whole grains (farro would be my top pick), almonds (pecans or pepitas would be lovely), feta (goat cheese would work just as well), and dried cherries (simply use dried cranberries). If you can’t find fresh basil this time of year, you can safely omit it.
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Reviews from the Original Source
We made this yesterday. REALLY GOOD. Did everything exactly like the recipe, except toasted instead of frying the almonds, and our arugula was a little skimpy so we added some spring mix.
Wonderful! Made this today using black rice and cranberries because that's what I had. The peppery bite of the arugula with the lemon dressing and chewy rice is perfect! Looking forward to leftovers.
I made this as a side dish for Thanksgiving and it was a huge hit! I followed the recipe almost exactly, except for reducing the honey to a 1/2 teaspoon, as we try to cook with minimal added sweeteners. None of us had ever tried wild rice in salad before, and it was surprisingly just yum! This will most definitely become a regular in my salad rotation..thank you, Kate!
Absolute favourite salad! Kids love it, Guests love it - haven’t met anyone yet who doesn’t like it! Make it for meal prep for the week and it works great as leftovers. It’s easy to prep before and throw together for dinner parties. Thank you!
I had some Forbidden rice (black rice) in the pantry that had been sitting for a few years. I know - it's so embarrassing when good ingredients are left to go bad. I came across this recipe while looking for a rice salad. What a perfect balance of flavors! The husband thought it was going to be "weird" but ended up loving it.
Reading the comments, I think subbing avocado for the goat cheese would be a perfect way to veganize it and retain the creaminess.
Made this tonight and it was delicious!
Brought this to a potluck and got rave reviews. It's delicious! I made it with the dried cranberries and feta and used honey in the dressing. I left out the basil because I didn't have any on hand. It didn't feel like anything was missing, though I may add it in the future if I have it. Will definitely be making it again!
Super good. Husband gave it 9.5 out of 10. Not 10 just because you should never close that door. Ha! We preferred it with dried cranberries but otherwise as written. Delish!
I am on day 5 of lunches with this great salad. I add more fresh lemon juice before serving and it does the trick. Next time I'll use-and buy-arugula. I only had baby spinach on hand - it was good with that but I think arugula will be fantastic. I also added pomegranate arils because I had them - little bursts of flavor along with dried cranberries!
I'm not exaggerating when I say my partner and I have made this salad about a hundred times. We love it! It's our go-to salad and often we eat it as a meal. Love your recipes, thank you so much for everything you do!
I have made this salad and loved it. I want to make it again, but since last time natural wild rice has become impossible to find. Two questions: Have you used "cultivated wild rice" in this recipe (I have found this available)--and liked it?; and 2) would you make any adjustments if you were going to add some rotisserie chicken to the recipe? (I'm feeding two carnivore men!). Thank you!
Delicious! My sister in law made this with baked salmon. We all needed this recipe!! My 13 year old son even devoured it.
I discovered your blog just a few months ago, and I LOVE IT!!
This recipe is AMAZING! Im thinking I might try dried blueberries as well. Thinking I could even add chicken for a switch up for the kids.
All in all, DELICIOUS!!
This salad is awesome! I find it even better the next day. I love your site and all the amazing recipes that you share with us.
Thank you Kate!
Huge hit in my house! Made it exactly as written. This is a seriously delicious salad -- I made it tonight and my partner has already requested it weekly. Thank you for yet another amazing recipe :)
I loved this salad. I doubled the dressing so I could marinate chicken and grill it. I eliminated the cheese since we don't like cheese but I don't think the recipe even needed it. I will definitely make it again.
I don't know if I already commented, but it can't hurt to say it twice. I love this recipe! I've made it for dinner guest twice and I'm bringing to someone's house for dinner tonight at their request. I've switched the arugula for baby spinach, and that works too. I love wild rice, and the dressing is great and versatile. Thank you for a delicious recipe
Amazing recipe! Just wow… what an incredible blend of flavors. Served alongside baked cod. Used spinach but otherwise kept the recipe as is. Both my son and I loved it, and my dog liked a few of the dried cranberries! So yummy. It will be gone by morning. For those wondering whether or not to keep the basil, I would make a special trip to the store for it every time. Or grow my own!
This was so good! I didn't have basil on hand, but used parsley and scallions I had and it was delicious! I paired it with salmon. Delicious! Thank you!
My 10-year-old son loves raw vegetables and salads, and he said this recipe is his favorite thing to eat in the whole world. We don't even use the dried fruit or feta cheese, and it's still absolutely fantastic. Thank you for all your delicious and healthy recipes!
If I want to double the recipe & am cooking the wild rice in my insopot, do I double the water? I love this recipe & have made it many times, but have never doubled it!
Delicious! There is an amazing synergy with the varied flavors and the chew of the rice. I've made it twice this week and am in process of making a third batch
Enjoyed this last night for dinner. All the flavors worked so well together, loved the toasted almonds. I didn't have basil but will put that in next time as this will be a repeat for sure. Thank you!
I love wild rice so I made this salad for Thanksgiving with a large crowd. A ton of people asked for the recipe afterward and are passing it on to their friends. Success!
I've made this salad for two Christmas Eve dinners in a row. Last year cranberries (couldn't get the cherries) and almonds, this year cherries and toasted pecans. Both were delicious, made a lovely presentation at the table and bonus, most of the recipe can be made ahead. Wonderful salad!
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