Wild Rice Salad With Apples, Pomegranate, Cranberries, And Walnuts Recipe: Wild rice salad is a real treat for the taste buds. A colorful, healthy, and tasty side dish is made with nutty wild rice, sparkling pomegranate seeds, crisp apples, fresh herbs, and a lemony sauce.
People say, “We eat with our eyes first,” and it’s true! On the Mediterranean Diet, you eat a lot of colorful foods. But this wild rice salad takes eating the rainbow to a whole new level!
With its long, thin, multicolored grains, wild rice makes a beautiful plate, especially when paired with baby spinach, chopped apples, pomegranate seeds, and fresh herbs. The USDA says that each cup of wild rice has 6 and a half grams of protein. Grain salad that looks good, tastes good, and is good for you is made with all the other fruits and veggies.
But the mild nutty taste and springy feel of wild rice are what I love most about it. The rice soaks up all of the wonderful tangy garlic flavor from the sauce as it cools down. It’s also served at room temperature, which makes it easy to bring to holiday parties, office parties, or even to your friend who just had a baby!
Whether it’s barley, farro, freekeh, or wild rice salad like this one, grain salads give classic veggie salads body and heft. They also add a delicious layer of texture and flavor. If you haven’t tried it before, this salad is a great way to start with adding taste.
Wild Rice Salad With Apples, Pomegranate, Cranberries, And Walnuts Recipe
Ingredients
For The Dressing
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
For The Salad
- 1 ½ cups wild rice
- 2 cups spinach
- 2 crisp semi-sweet apples (I used a combination of Granny Smith and honeycrisp), chopped
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 1 cup pomegranate seeds (from about 1 small pomegranate)
- 1 cup roughly chopped walnuts
- ¾ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup chopped parsley leaves
- ½ cup chopped mint leaves
Instructions
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and honey. Add the garlic powder, sumac, and a large pinch of kosher salt and black pepper. Whisk continuously as you drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil. Set aside.
- Cook the wild rice. Cook the rice according to the package instructions (mine took about 40 minutes). Transfer to a large serving bowl.
- Mix the salad. When the rice has cooled just slightly (but not completely), add the spinach, apples, shallots, pomegranate seeds, walnuts, dried cranberries, parsley, and mint.
- Dress and rest. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking, then set aside to cool completely before serving, and serve at room temperature.
FAQ
What to Serve with Wild Rice SaladÂ
You can make a big batch of this wild rice salad to meal prep lunches for the week. It’s filling enough on its own, but you can always add a boiled egg or chicken to increase the protein if you’d like.
This salad keeps well so it’s also great for getting ahead of a dinner party. And it covers the grain and salad in one easy dish! The pomegranate seeds give it a festive feeling that’s perfect for holiday parties. Serve as a side to roast meats like baked cranberry chicken or leg of lamb.
