Take a trip out to the wild west with this SouthWestern COWBOY RICE SALAD! Based on the famous Cowboy Caviar, this brown rice salad is filled with bright, zesty flavours, plenty of juicy veggies, nutty brown rice and drizzled with a fabulous SouthWestern lime dressing!
Cowboy Rice Salad
The words “rice” and “salad” do not come naturally for people of Asian background. Rice is to Asians what bread is to Western countries. Growing up, we rarely had bread. In fact, when I visit relatives in Japan, the only reason they would buy bread is for us, thinking that we’ve been so westernised that we must have our bread fix, that rice is not enough!
For clarity, that’s not true. But I always find it funny that they purchase bread just for us!
So rice as a salad? Hmm. I don’t think that even exists in Japan. And I can’t think of a single rice salad from any Asian country – anyone care to enlighten me??
This is the first rice salad I’ve shared here on RecipeTin Eats. (Update: And in 2020, I shared another!) So I wanted to start off with a bang – and this Cowboy Rice Salad is a ripper! It’s a rice salad version of Cowboy Bean Salad which is also known as Cowboy Caviar, a Midwestern salsa/salad that’s popular in the States. Made with tomatoes, capsicum / bell peppers, red onion, corn, beans and coriander/cilantro, Cowboy Caviar is dressed with a fairly sweet vinaigrette then served as a salad or salsa for scooping up with corn chips.
And you know what? The very first thought that popped into my head when I made it was that it would be purrrrrfect to adapt to a rice salad. And it is!
While the salad ingredients are largely the same – except, of course, the addition of rice (*head smack!*) – I opted for a lime dressing which is a bit lighter and has that citrus zing to it.
And I add a touch of spices to the dressing to really drive home that Southwestern flavour. And to give myself the best possible Cowgirl experience. 😇 Because we can all dream. 😂 Of living in the wild, wild west? – Nagi xx
PS I like making this with brown rice because I think the slight nutty flavour is fabulous for salads. But this works just as well with white rice.
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Cowboy Rice Salad
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
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 (sub 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
Salad:
- 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 then diced
- 1 cup coriander/cilantro leaves , roughly chopped (Note 2)
Instructions
- Place Dressing ingredients in a jar, shake. Taste test, adjust to your taste.
- Place Salad ingredients and rice in a bowl. Drizzle with dressing. Toss, then serve. Fantastic served straight away and even the next day!
Recipe Notes:
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Cowboy Rice Salad recipe video!
LIFE OF DOZER
Look who the Easter Bunny remembered to visit…. Don’t worry! They’re dog friendly Easter eggs, they aren’t made of chocolate!!
Steph says
Nagi: This was a winner! I cook for ranches here in Montana. Our cowboys give it a big thumbs up. Thanks for a healthy salad to add to my recipe book!
Nagi says
Yeehaaa! That’s awesome to hear Steph, thanks so much!! N x
Susan Battistessa says
Why is it 4 cups of Brown rice and only 1 cup of white rice
Nagi says
Hi Susan, the recipe calls for 4 1/2 cups of cooked brown rice. If you wanted to sub with white, you’ll need to cook up 1 1/2 cups of UNCOOKED white rice. I hope that clarifies things 🙂 N x
Yvonne Moloney says
Thank you. It’s great.
Lynda Wilson says
Super colourful and nutricious salad which was also absolutely delicious and quick and easy to prepare. The dressing is particularly good!!
Thanks Nagi
Jeremiah Figueroa says
So I’m assuming this is a cold salad? Like the rice is the only thing cooked and it has raw corn and veggies
Amanda says
Easy to prep, very tasty & inexpensive
Micaela says
Hi! This looks delicious and I’m very excited to make it this week. Can you tell me should the rice still be warm when you mix the salad or should we cool it first?
Nagi says
Hi Micaela, sorry for the delayed response, I’ve been offline all weekend without reception! Let it cool down (it can still be slightly warm) just not hot. N x
Tracy says
I would like to make this to take on vacation. Do you think it can be frozen to keep longer? We’ll be there about a week.
Nagi says
Hi Tracy, you could freeze it but I’d leave out the tomatoes & herbs and add them once thawed. Keep the dressing separate too! N x
Anne says
It takes an amazing taste to excite our pallets. This recipe was the only one to do it for a holiday/no guests can come over but we deserve wow/I could eat it every day/every week during Covid stay-at-home.
Sue says
Not sure if I did something wrong Nagi , but my rice took 25 minutes to cook. I used Sunrise brown rice .
It was certainly worth the wait however as it was just delicious and so healthy.
Even better that I had all the ingredients in my pantry and fridge !
Cheered us up somewhat in this gloomy time . Thanks Nagi 😊
.
Nagi says
I’m so glad it was worth the wait though Sue!! N x
Hazel says
Had this for dinner tonight – really good! Used spring onions instead of coriander, and maple syrup instead of honey. Thank you!
Nagi says
Sounds like you nailed it Hazel!! N x
Maria says
Hi Nagi, I am not a fan of honey, so can I substitute it with something else?
Love your recipes as I am not a very good cook and need all the help that I can get!!
Nagi says
Hi Maria, you can sub with maple syrup – the sweet just balances the flavour in the dressing 🙂 N x
Simone says
This salad is really yum, so colourful & fresh. Love the dressing! Another one to add to my favourites.
Nagi says
I’m so happy you enjoyed it Simone! N x
Catherine says
I made your Cowboy Rice Salad for Christmas and everyone commented on how delicious it was! Thanks
Marcy youker says
great recipe,;ove rice and legumes, thank you for sharing.
Nagi says
Hi Marcy, thanks so much!
Danielle Montour says
A friend recommended this recipe to me yesterday as something I could do for my potluck at work that was very easy to make vegan friendly while still being perfect for those of my friends who are on the keto diet (they have higher carb allowances than most people I know on keto, So the brown rice ends up working out well).
Completely unrelated from that, though, and my main reason for commenting? I am blind. I see the alt text on your images, and I sincerely, sincerely appreciate it. If everyone can see the same text description for the photos I do, just know that it appears to be the sort of text used to describe images to blind people, and that it works just as well.
Please keep doing that, and highlighting the importance of it. It’s not often I see this in the blogosphere, and that one tiny change is very likely to keep me coming around here, because someone thought about people like me and what we need to access the world equally. Thank you so very much.
Bikebird says
Awesome recipe. I like a little more of a kick, so I added somewhere between 1/4 – 1/2 cup diced pickled jalapeños. I had no honey, so I used 1 tbsp agave nectar. I also added a couple of shots of balsamic vinegar for a sweet/sour punch. Great stuff.
Nagi says
Sounds great!!
Debbie says
Hi Nagi
I’m having 35 people or so over for a 50th. I wonder if you can give me an indication of how to upscale if you are serving 3 salads with lamb and or chicken? Also your smashed potatoes- will 60 be enough and can you cook and warm up for 30 mins or so before serving.
Nagi says
Hi Debbie, I’d scale up to 15-20 servings to cater for 35 as a side. You can never have enough potatoes, I always cater at least 2 per person (but that’s because I’m a spud queen). I’d have them precooked and smashed ready to put in the oven to cook before serving – N x
jackie says
Really nice used chipotle in abode sauce (just the sauce) used parsley instead of coriander and added a avocado. great the next day. Thanks Nagi another great salad.
Nagi says
Nailed it! I’m so happy you loved it Jackie!
Carol T Fray says
Chocolate is toxic for dogs.
Check with your vet – NEVER feed your dog chocolate!
Nagi says
Hi Carol, thanks for your concern but that’s why the caption says “Don’t worry! They’re dog friendly Easter eggs, they aren’t made of chocolate!!” – N x