Description
Cowboy Rice Salad is a vibrant and hearty dish combining cooked brown rice with fresh vegetables, black beans, and a zesty chipotle-lime dressing. Perfect as a colorful, nutritious side or light main, this salad offers smoky, tangy, and sweet flavors that deepen when served chilled or the next day.
Ingredients
Scale
Dressing
- 1/3 cup lime juice (plus more to taste)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp chipotle powder (or substitute with smoked paprika and cayenne pepper)
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder (or 1 garlic clove, minced)
- 3/4 tsp salt
- Black pepper, to taste
Salad
- 4 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
- 1 red capsicum/bell pepper, diced
- 1 green capsicum/bell pepper, diced
- 1 small red onion, chopped
- 1 x 400g (14oz) corn kernels, drained
- 1 x 400g (14oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 tomatoes, watery seeds removed and diced
- 1 cup coriander/cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Prepare the Dressing: Place the lime juice, olive oil, honey, chipotle powder, cumin powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper in a jar. Shake well until the dressing is fully combined. Taste the dressing and adjust seasoning or lime juice as desired to ensure it has a perfect balance of tangy, smoky, and sweet flavors.
- Assemble the Salad: In a large bowl, combine the cooked brown rice, diced red and green bell peppers, chopped red onion, drained corn kernels, rinsed black beans, diced tomatoes, and chopped coriander/cilantro leaves. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss everything gently but thoroughly to coat all the ingredients evenly.
- Serve and Store: Serve the Cowboy Rice Salad immediately for a fresh taste or refrigerate it to allow the flavors to meld. This salad tastes fantastic both freshly made and the next day after chilling, making it an excellent option for meal prep or potlucks.
Notes
- Make sure to rinse and drain the canned black beans and corn well to prevent excess liquid in your salad.
- Removing the watery seeds from the tomatoes helps avoid diluting the salad’s flavors and keeps the texture firm.
- This salad can be served cold or at room temperature and keeps well for up to 2 days in the fridge.
- For a spicier version, add extra cayenne pepper or chopped jalapenos to the dressing.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes (brown rice should be pre-cooked)
- Category: Salad
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: Southwestern
Keywords: Cowboy Rice Salad, brown rice salad, southwestern salad, chipotle dressing, vegetarian salad, healthy rice salad
