Christmas Rice Salad
In New Zealand Christmas is about... wait for it... Christmas is about sunshine, barbecues and backyard cricket. If you are from the Northern Hemisphere you may find this strange. If you are from the Southern Hemisphere you will know a dish like this Rice Salad is the perfect Christmas Fare.
Why This Recipe Works
- Easy and Quick
- Festive Red and Green Colours
- Tasty and Filling
Ingredients you will need
My rice salad is based on brown rice, an easy soy sauce dressing (soy sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic), and of course a selection of yummy red and green ingredients (red and green capsicum, spinach, red onion, dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds).
Substitutes
- Lemon: This recipe works well with any citrus, orange, or lime work well too.
- Garlic: You can use crushed garlic or garlic powder if you prefer.
- Cranberries: These can be swapped out for raisins, sultanas, or currants.
- Pumpkin seeds: This rice salad works really well with cashew nuts.
- Red onion: You can use spring onions or regular brown onions instead.
- Soy Sauce: I have included this recipe in my gluten-free section. To be gluten-free you will need to select a gluten-free soy sauce or tamari.
I am an ambassador for Countdown supermarket, they support my blog by providing ingredients for recipe creation and testing. I used spinach, pumpkin kernels, and olive oil from their range in this recipe.
Step by step instructions
- Finely dice the red onion (photos 1), place in a small bowl, and cover with the lemon juice (photos 2).
- Dice the capsicum (photos 3), and shred the spinach (photos 4).
- In a large bowl place the cooked brown rice, vegetables, cranberries and pumpkin seeds (photos 5).
- Dressing: Add the soy sauce, olive oil, and crushed garlic to the soaked onions (photos 6-8). Whisk with a fork (photos 9).
- Add the dressing to the salad and mix until combined (photos 10).
Top Tips
Here is how you can make this rice salad recipe perfectly every time, plus a wee cheat which means it's even quicker and easier!
- Take the time to soak the onions in the lemon juice. This decreases their pungency. They stay crunchy and retain flavour, but their flavour becomes more delicate and less overpowering.
- No judgment if you use pre-cooked brown rice. Although I usually cook my own brown rice for this, at Christmas time, the pre-cooked brown rice certainly speeds up the making of this salad!
FAQs
This rice salad will last up to 3 days in the fridge. If it does sit out for a long period of time. i.e. over a summery Christmas lunch, I would be inclined to discard the leftovers as rice if not stored properly can be a source of food-borne illness.
Soaking onions in an acid (i.e. lemon juice, orange juice, lime juice or vinegar) will take the strength out of their flavour, leaving them delicate and crunchy.
Christmas Day Ideas
If you are on the hunt for other Christmas Salad Recipes or food ideas for Christmas Day. These might be worth checking out.
- Christmas Wreath Salad
- Christmas cake decorating without marzipan
- Mixed bean salad
- Pasta salad
- Avocado and Mango Salad
- Strawberry Santas
- Peppermint Hot Chocolates
- Low Sugar Christmas Cookies
- Coconut snowball bliss balls
- Healthy coconut ice
Christmas Rice Salad
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Ingredients
- 4 Cups cooked brown rice
- ½ red onion
- 1 lemon
- 1 red capsicum
- 1 green capsicum
- 1 ½ Cup spinach Leaves 40g
- ½ Cup dried cranberries 70g
- ½ Cup pumpkin seeds 70g
- ¼ Cup soy sauce
- ½ Cup olive oil
- 1 clove garlic crushed
Instructions
- Finely dice the red onion, place in a small bowl, and cover with the lemon juice.
- Dice the capsicum, and shred the spinach.
- In a large bowl place the cooked brown rice, vegetables, cranberries and pumpkin seeds.
Dressing
- Add the soy sauce, olive oil, and crushed garlic to the soaked onions. Whisk with a fork.
- Add the dressing to the salad and mix until combined.
Notes
- Lemon: This recipe works well with any citrus, orange, or lime work well too.
- Garlic: You can use crushed garlic or garlic powder if you prefer.
- Cranberries: These can be swapped out for raisins, sultanas, or currants.
- Pumpkin seeds: This rice salad works really well with cashew nuts.
- Red onion: You can use spring onions or regular brown onions instead.
Nutrition
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This looks so fresh and yummy. I need to research some of the ingredients. I may not be able to get them all here in the states but I would love to at least try to make something close to this. It really looks refreshing.