Herbed Bean & Rice Salad

Mix up your summer lunches with this Herbed Bean and Rice Salad. It’s packed with plant-based protein and lots of flavour, plus it’s incredibly easy to make! This dish is for the days when you are in the mood for something light and refreshing but you don’t feel like a leafy green salad.

With busy summer weeks ahead, I have been loving preparing large batches of food on the weekends. And since the weather has been warming up, it’s so much nicer to spend the extra hours of daylight outside instead of stuck in the kitchen. 

Making this Herbed Bean and Rice Salad will give you back time to do the things you love! Instead of worrying about lunches, serve up a plate of this salad! Instead of scrambling to find side dishes for dinner, toss a big bowl of it on the table for everyone to dig into.

Because this salad meets many dietary requirements, it makes for the perfect recipe for large groups. It is gluten-free, dairy-free (just omit the feta cheese), and vegetarian/plant-based. 

Ingredients for this Herbed Bean and Rice Salad

My goal is to make your life easier in the kitchen. This ingredient list isn’t too complicated and hopefully you have several items already!

• Rice
  • You can use any kind of rice you would like in this recipe: white, brown, wild, parboiled, etc. 
• Chickpeas and black beans
  • Please remember to drain and rinse canned beans to reduce the sodium content.
• Cucumber
• Bell pepper
  • Feel free to use your preferred colour of bell pepper.
• Parsley
  • I recommend using flat-leaf or curly parsley in this salad.
• Feta cheese
  • Omit the feta cheese if you want to make this salad dairy-free or vegan.
• Salt and pepper

 

For the salad dressing, you will need:

• Olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Red wine vinegar
• Garlic
• Dried dill

Now it’s time to put it altogether!

How to Make this Salad + Serving Suggestions

Preparing this salad is very simple. Once the rice is cooked and has had time to cool, add it to a large bowl. You can then add your drained and rinsed chickpeas and black beans. Next is the cucumbers and bell peppers. Season with the chopped parsley and feta cheese (if using). Finally, drizzle on the salad dressing if you are serving the salad right away. If you plan to prep the salad in advance, you can leave the dressing on the side and just pour it on when ready to serve, so it doesn’t get soggy. 

Because this salad is full of nutrients like protein, carbohydrates, fat and more, it can actually serve as a snack or a meal. I love to have this salad as a light lunch or dinner, an afternoon snack or even as a side dish. You may enjoy pairing it with some grilled meat or fish, alongside burgers, other BBQ’d mains or even as part of an array of different salads. The possibilities are endless!

I hope you love having this Herbed Bean and Rice Salad on hand for quick meals or snacks. Don’t forget to check out some of these other salad recipes to make for lunches:

• Easy Mediterranean Pasta Salad
• Shrimp Orzo Salad with Honey Lemon Dressing
• Quinoa Black Bean Salad
• Dill Falafel Rice Bowls

 

If you make this Herbed Bean and Rice Salad I would love to see your comment and rating below. It also makes my day seeing your creations of my recipes on Instagram- don’t forget to tag @allnutrition.rd!