Cowboy Rice Salad Recipe
Cowboy Rice Salad is a vibrant, hearty, and flavorful dish combining cooked brown rice with a zesty lime and chipotle dressing. Packed with colorful veggies like bell peppers, red onion, corn, black beans, and fresh tomatoes, it’s perfect as a refreshing lunch or a satisfying side that’s delicious both fresh and chilled the next day.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes (for cooking brown rice)
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: American Southwestern
- Diet: Vegetarian
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 + 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 all dressing ingredients—lime juice, olive oil, honey, chipotle powder, cumin powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper—into a jar. Shake well to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning or lime juice if desired to balance 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 leaves.
- Toss and Serve: Drizzle the prepared dressing over the salad ingredients. Toss everything gently but thoroughly to ensure all components are evenly coated with the dressing. Serve immediately for fresh, vibrant flavor, or refrigerate to enjoy the next day when the flavors meld beautifully.
Notes
- You can substitute chipotle powder with a mix of smoked paprika and cayenne pepper if chipotle powder is unavailable.
- Removing watery seeds from tomatoes prevents the salad from becoming soggy.
- This salad tastes fantastic both immediately after preparation and when chilled the next day, making it ideal for meal prep.
- Use fresh coriander/cilantro leaves to add brightness and fresh herb flavor.
- Cook the brown rice ahead of time and cool before assembling the salad for best texture.
Keywords: Cowboy Rice Salad, brown rice salad, vegetarian salad, southwestern salad, black bean salad, healthy rice salad
Find it online: https://platedandproud.com/cowboy-rice-salad-recipe/
