Try this light, refreshing rice salad for your next cook-out! It whips up in minutes, and is chock-full of smoky grilled veggies, soft feta cheese, and crunchy pistachios.
Looking for something a little different to bring to your 4th of July barbecue this year? I have an excellent suggestion: This salad.
And surprise, surprise, it’s HEALTHY! So you can eat 3 bowlfuls of it and not have smidge of guilt.
Seriously though, this salad is SO good for you. It’s made with brown rice, instead of white rice; and it’s loaded with tons of grilled veggies, crunchy pistachios (sorry, I couldn’t fit that in the title) and feta cheese.
Lots and lotsa feta. Simply because I’m a feta cheese-freak.
Totally obsessed with the stuff. I could devote an entire blog post to talk about my love for feta, but let’s talk about this salad, which I’m pretty sure is the real reason you’re here.
I’ll be honest and say that I’m not too big on rice. I tolerate it, but it’s not really my first choice for dinner. Hand me pasta and I’m a happy girl, but rice? Boredom city usually…
Not anymore. I have made it a personal goal of mine, to make rice fun and delicious at the same time. Simply because rice is SO good for you and is also super-filling which is definitely a plus on those crazy-busy summer days we all have.
I’m a bonafide salad-freak especially this time of year, so it’s pretty obvious what I did next. I whipped up a KILLER ‘dang-good rice salad.
Spell check totally just corrected the word “bonafide” to “boneheaded”. Whaaaa??! Hey, that’s offensive!
For real though, guys. You’ve gotta try this salad this summer! It’s super-simple, whips up in minutes and it’s COLD which is about the only temp I will take my food these days.
In other news, it is so hot and humid here.
This recipe makes a huge-ish batch of salad, so you’ll probably end up having more than enough for dinner and some leftover for lunch the next day!
Toasted pistachios are an optional addition to this salad, but I LOVED the extra crunch they gave it. Also, I just kind of love pistachios. 😀
This salad is an ideal side dish for any vegetarian, but if you wanna make this salad an entire meal, just throw in some cooked chicken!
I like grilling ‘up some chicken at the same time I’m grilling the veggies for this salad. Sometimes I’ll slice ’em up and throw them in the mix for an easy, fast, AND lighter dinner.
Bring this rice salad to your next cook-out and watch it disappear.
Tell the hamburgers and the spare ribs to watch out, because this salad just might steal the show. 😀
Summer Rice Salad with Grilled Veggies + Feta
Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchini halved
- 2 large sweet peppers halved and seeded
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 7 cups cooked brown rice
- 1 cup finely chopped fresh spinach
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 cup shelled pistachios toasted
- DRESSING:
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium heat. Brush halved zucchini and peppers with olive oil and cook on grill, turning occasionally until veggies are tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer veggies to a cutting board to cool. Once veggies are cooled, thinly slice. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine cooked rice, spinach, feta cheese, pistachios, and grilled veggies. Set aside while you prepare the dressing.
- For the dressing, place all ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake a few times until dressing is smooth.
- Pour dressing over rice salad and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate salad 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
You’ll love my other summer salads!
BLT Pasta Salad with Herb Ranch Dressing
Arpita@ TheGastronomicBong says
Hi Sarah, I have fallen in love with this rice salad.. I love the little addition of pistachios in it.. Perfect side dish for my veggie friends too… 🙂
Sarah says
Rice salad is just so delish, isn’t it? Perfect for any vegetarian! Thanks so much for the sweet comment, Arpita, and have an awesome rest of the weekend. 😉
Cindy @ Pick Fresh Foods says
Sarah this looks delicious!This is the kind of salad I could eat as a meal 😀
I am crazy for Feta cheese. I love adding it to lots of dishes. It really adds so much flavor. Pinning
Sarah says
I actually did make a dinner outta this rice salad the other day! Didn’t even miss my usual meat, it was so good. (obviously cause of all the feta!) 😉 Thanks for the pin Cindy!
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely says
These sounds delicious! What a perfect summer salad. I can definitely see myself making a big ‘ole batch of this, keeping it in the fridge, then slowly eating my way thru it over the week. Yum!
Sarah says
That’s exactly what I did, Natalie! Strangely, I never even got tired of eating it for lunch everyday! Awesome stuff. 🙂
Annie @Maebells says
I loooove this! I am a huge feta fan. I could eat it by the handful! Love that this salad is made with rice, such a fun twist!
Sarah says
Yea! A fellow feta-fan! Feta just makes anything tastier right? 😉 Thanks so much, Annie!
Christin@SpicySouthernKitchen says
This rice salad looks so good! Love that you added pistachios. I could eat this as a main dish for dinner!
Sarah says
Thanks Christin! And I totally did make this salad my main course at dinnertime the other day. Who needs meat when you’ve got deliciousness like this? 😉
Krista @ Joyful Healthy Eats says
Sarah, this seriously looks amazing! Love the pistachio addition, texture is key to any salad so love the way your thinking.
I’m a bonafide salad eater this time of year too, in fact I’ve had one for lunch and dinner every day this week! SOoo… now I want a hamburger!! haha.. but I need to make this salad next. Yum! Gorgeous pics too girl! 🙂 Pinned.
Sarah says
Thanks Krista! And yes, my salads have GOTTA have some fun texture to it otherwise it’s just boring. Oh, and I’m so glad I’m not the only one completely obsessed with salads right now! 😉
Tash says
A yummy medley of all of my fav things! It seriously inspires me to mix and match a little more! Delicious x