Wild Rice Salad is hearty and satisfying salad worthy of a main meal. This bright and beautiful vegan salad is full of flavorful and tender wild rice tossed along with apples, oranges and pomegranate and walnuts. Use this festive and elegant salad for your next Thanksgiving and holiday dinner. It sure will be a guest favorite.
This delicious wild rice salad will be a sure fire hit at your holiday dinner. Use as a side dish, for stuffing, meal prep or wholesome salad type meal by itself. This vegan rice recipe is so easy but so delicious and fragrant! And it is easy to adapt so make it as you like it !
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I am including detailed instructions on how to cook wild rice from scratch in Instant Pot as well as stove top. Once you have wild rice ready, you can assemble this salad in no time. You can also make a big batch and freeze cooked wild rice for meal preps. To save time, you can buy cooked wild rice as well.
Recipe Highlights
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Dairy Free
- Eggless
- Soy Free
- Easy to Make
- Stores well - Suitable for prep ahead and meal preps
Wild Rice is sautéed in oil and mirepoix. Then cooked with aromatics for the perfectly textured flavorful side dish. Sautéed celery and onions give this rice a classic “stuffing” flavor. The harvest fruits like apples, oranges and pomegranate add beautiful fall colors and pop of freshness.
This recipe is my adapted version of Ina Garten Wild Rice Salad. Similar to Mushroom Wild Rice Soup, it is our family favorite wild rice recipe. And for all good reasons!
You can use this recipe instead of traditional stuffing for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner to impress your guests. It surely brings a WOW factor and the festive vibes to the holiday menu !
Ingredients
- Wild Rice : Wash and Rinse in cold water before using.
- Mirepoix Mix : shallot ( onion) celery and carrots
- Aromatics and Seasoning: minced ginger and garlic, all purpose seasoning ( I use Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute )
- Herbs : use fresh or dried rosemary, thyme and chives.
- Toppings : chopped walnuts, apples, tangerines or oranges and pomegranate arils.
- Dressing : Lemon juice, Olive Oil, salt and pepper
Substitutions
- Instead of wild rice, you can use various other grains. Aged basmati white rice, long grain brown rice, mixed rice mixture, bulgar, barley, couscous, quinoa or cauliflower rice are all good options.
- You can add seasoning of you choice. Curry powder, Garam masala, Italian seasoning are some options.
- You can skip the walnuts to make it nut free.
- Pecans, almonds, pine nuts or cashews can be used instead of walnuts.
- Instead of fresh pomegranate arils, use dried cranberries, dried cherries, chopped dates or raisins.
- Besides apples and oranges, you could add other fruits like pears, kiwis, peaches or berries. You can also add peas , broccoli or beans as additional veggies.
- Add a simple dressing. Whisk orange juice, orange zest, vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and dijon mustard and use it for added taste.
How To Make
There are two major steps in making this recipe. First is to prepare seasoned wild rice. Second step is prep the rest of the salad ingredients and mix in the salad.
Prepare Seasoned Wild Rice :
- Press SAUTE mode and let the Instant Pot heat up for about a minute. Add oil and minced garlic and ginger, onions, celery, carrots. Sprinkle some salt. Sauté until onions start to become transparent.
- Stir in wild rice, all purpose seasoning and broth ( water ). Add ground black pepper. Make sure the rice is submerged in the liquid. Close the Instant Pot lid and pressure cook on High Pressure for 25 minutes.
- After it is done cooking, do a 15 minute Natural Pressure Release. Then release any remaining pressure using the quick release method. Once the float valve is down, open the lid. Fluff the rice with a fork. Your Seasoned Wild Rice is ready !
Prepare the Salad
- Wash and cut the apples. Peel the oranges. Gather rest of the ingredients.
- In a large bowl, add cooked and seasoned wild rice. Stir in lemon juice, chopped walnuts, apples, oranges and pomegranate seeds.
- Adjust salt and pepper if needed. Mix well. Garnish with fresh herbs. Serve, share and enjoy!
Pro Tips
- Thoroughly rinse the rice under cold water and let the water drain off completely before cooking. A lot of people prefer to soak the wild rice for extended period of time. You can do so, if you like. I cook it straight after washing and never had any issues with it.
- Cook the wild rice beforehand. You want the rice to cool down and be at room temperature or cooler before adding it to the salad.
- Use it as a meal prep or make ahead fast and easy side dish for holidays. Keep the rice ready well in advance. Then just assemble the salad when you are ready to eat.
Our Favorite Holiday Recipes
- Creamed Corn
- No Drain Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes with Skin
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Air Fryer Hasselbeck Sweet Potatoes
- Delicious Cranberry Orange Sauce
- Vegan Creamed Spinach
- Mulled Apple Cider
Recipe FAQs
In a heavy bottom saucepan, add wild rice, all purpose seasoning, salt and pepper and broth ( or water ). Make sure the rice is submerged in the liquid. Let the liquid come to boil. Reduce the heat to medium low. Cover the pot. Let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Check intermittently to ensure there is enough liquid for proper cooking. Cook until rice morsel are fork tender, almost doubled in size and most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off the heat. Let it stay covered for 30 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork. Use as needed.
Put wild rice, all purpose seasoning, salt, pepper and broth ( or water )in the main insert of Instant Pot. Make sure the rice is submerged in the liquid. Close the Instant Pot lid and pressure cook on High Pressure for 25 minutes. After it is done cooking, do a 15 minute Natural Pressure Release. Fluff the rice with a fork. Your Seasoned Wild Rice is ready !
The cooking time to make wild rice is roughly 25 - 30 minutes. It largely depends upon your texture preference. I usually cook it for 25 minutes which I find to be just right. The grains have a little chewy bite to them , which I like. If you’d like the rice to be cooked softer, add another 2 minutes of cooking time.
Wild rice is a species of grass that produces edible seeds resembling rice. It has an outer sheath (or shell) on the outside and a soft grain on the inside.
Yes. Wild rice is a whole grain with complex carbohydrates and full of several nutrients, including protein, manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, and zinc. It also has double the amount of protein and fiber than regular rice. This Healthline article is a great resource for this information.
More Amazing Salads
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📖 Recipe
Wild Rice Salad
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
For Seasoned Wild Rice
- 1 cup Wild Rice - washed and rinsed
- 3 cup low sodium vegetable broth or water
- 1 medium onion -finely chopped
- 1 stalk celery -chopped
- ½ cup carrots chopped
- 1 teaspoon ginger minced
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon oil I used Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon All Purpose seasoning Blend I like Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute
- Fresh Herbs : Rosemary chives and thyme ( ¼ teaspoon each if using dry)
Salad and Garnishes
- 2 cups apples cored and chopped
- 2 cups tangerines or oranges separate the petals
- 1 cup Pomegranate seeds
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- salt and pepper
- ¼ cup Fresh chopped herbs like rosemary or chives
Instructions
Prepare the seasoned Wild Rice in Instant Pot
- Press SAUTE mode and let the Instant Pot heat up for about a minute. Add oil and minced garlic and ginger, onions, celery, carrots. Sprinkle some salt. Sauté until onions start to become transparent.
- Stir in wild rice, all purpose seasoning and broth ( water ). Add ground black pepper. Make sure the rice is submerged in the liquid.Close the Instant Pot lid and pressure cook on High Pressure for 25 minutes.
- After it is done cooking, do a 15 minute Natural Pressure Release (NPR). Then release any remaining pressure using the quick release method.
- Once the float valve is down, open the lid. Fluff the rice with a fork. Rice is Ready.
How to Prepare seasoned wild rice on stove top
- In a heavy bottom pan, heat the oil. Add minced garlic and ginger, onions, celery and carrots. Sprinkle some salt. Sauté until onions start to become transparent.
- Stir in wild rice, all purpose seasoning and broth ( water ). Add ground black pepper. Make sure the rice is submerged in the liquid.
- Let the liquid come to boil. Reduce the heat to medium low. Cover the pot. Let it cook for about 15-20 minutes. Check intermittently to ensure there is enough liquid for proper cooking. Cook until rice morsel are fork tender, almost doubled in size and most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off the heat.
- Let it stay covered for 20 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork.
Prepare the Salad
- In a large salad bowl add cooked and seasoned wild rice. Stir in lemon juice, chopped walnuts, apples, oranges and pomegranate seeds. Adjust salt and pepper if needed. Mix well. Garnish with fresh herbs. Serve, share and enjoy!
Notes
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Carolyn Carroll
This is absolutely beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing. I live in Southern CA and have many of these fruit trees growing on my property. I’m going to try it with my Fuyu Persimmons.
What a great combination you’ve created.
admin
Thank you. I can imagine how marvelous home grown fresh persimmons will taste in this combo ! Enjoy