Vegan Brown Rice and Chickpea Salad

Name: Vegan Brown Rice and Chickpea Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 250 grams Brown rice (cooked and cooled); 1 medium Tomato (diced); 1 medium Lebanese cucumber (diced); 1 handful Red cabbage (sliced); ½ cup Corn kernels (pre cooked from a corn cob, or organic tinned variety); 4 medium Radishes (diced); 1/2 medium Capsicum ((bell pepper) any colour is fine. diced.); 1 small handful Fresh mint leaves (roughly chopped); 1 cup Chickpeas ((garbanzo beans) cooked); 1 small Avocado (chopped); 1 sprig Spring onion (chopped); 1 medium Lime (freshly squeezed); 4 tbsp Olive oil (extra virgin); 1 tsp Salt (or to taste); ½ tsp Black Pepper (freshly cracked, or to taste)

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A cold vegan brown rice salad with freshly chopped vegetables and chickpeas in a simple lime dressing. This rice salad can be enjoyed as a main or as a side, making it ideal for lunch or dinner.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients You'll Need
How to Make Brown Rice and Chickpea Salad
Pro Tips
Variations
❓FAQ
Related recipes
Vegan Brown Rice and Chickpea Salad

I absolutely adore this vegan brown rice and chickpea salad, not only for its freshness and taste but also for the ease of making it.

The other day I had family come over unexpectedly over the lunch period, I had to think quickly about what to make and this never fail quick meal came to the rescue.

I mention this as if you ever get stuck, this is the one easy healthy vegan meal you can turn to.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Vegan, gluten free, refined sugar free and nut free.
Easy preparation, only one bowl is needed, no need to prepare the lime dressing separately
It’s a colorful rice salad packed with goodness
Great as a work/school lunch
This vegan rice salad is adaptable, you can chop and change the ingredients as you like

Ingredients You'll Need

vegetables ingredients for the rice salad

brown rice and salad dressing ingredients

Notes on some of the ingredients, the full list of ingredients and their measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Brown rice is easily found on the shelves of your local supermarket, or you can shop for it here (affiliate link). You will want to cook the brown rice as per the packet instructions and allow it to cool down before combining it with the other salad ingredients.

Chickpeas aka garbanzo beans add protein to this salad and can be cooked from the dry variety or store-bought already cooked organic chickpeas (affiliate links). Drain them from their aquafaba, which you can use to make many wonderful foods such as vegan meringues.

Corn kernels can be freshly boiled and cut from a corn cob or store-bought.

All vegetables (see recipe card below for the list) should be fresh and of good quality, blemish-free. These should be chopped up into small bite-size pieces. The avocado adds a bit of creaminess and the radish and red cabbage add vibrancy and crunch. Capsicum (bell pepper) can be any color you prefer.

Fresh mint leaves are best.

Lime adds a wonderful subtle hint of citrus to this brown rice salad. It should be freshly squeezed. I like to select a lime that has no blemish but can easily be squeezed, this normally signals it has a lot of juice.

Olive oil should be a good quality extra virgin. I find that good olive oil makes a world of difference in a dressing.

How to Make Brown Rice and Chickpea Salad

Combine the rice and vegetables. In a large bowl, add the cooked and cooled brown rice and all chopped vegetables.

Toss the salad with the dressing. Pour over the lime juice, olive oil and sprinkle salt & pepper. Combine all the ingredients and serve cold.

Pro Tips

Brown rice can be cooked in advance and then later combined with the rest of the ingredients.

Ensure the rice is cool by immediately spreading it onto a tray. This will cool the rice quickly and stop the rice from turning mushy and cooking further.

Variations

Short on time? Pre-cooked brown rice pouches (affiliate link) can be used. Once heated as instructed on the packet, allow it to cool to room temperature.

Lime can be substituted with lemon.

Other vegetables can be substituted or added as per your liking. You may need to adjust the amount of dressing needed. Some other vegetables that would work include lettuce, kale, carrot, celery etcetera.

Types of rice - whilst brown rice is the recommended rice, white rice such as basmati, jasmine, or long grain could be used. Brown basmati rice also works well. You could even use black rice, check out this article for how to cook black rice.

Dressing can be changed to suit, check out these 20+ vegan salad dressings to choose from.

❓FAQ

Can I store brown rice salad?

Yes, this salad can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days. However, it is best consumed the same day it was prepared, as this brown rice salad uses fresh vegetables which tend to wilt when prepared and stored.

Can rice salad be made a day ahead?

Yes, this salad can be made ahead. Prepare the rice and chop the vegetables, keep them separate in the refrigerator. Add the dressing when serving or about 15 minutes before serving.

vegan brown rice in a white dish with brown serving spoons

If you like this vegan brown rice chickpea salad, you will also like my vegan couscous salad.

Try my glass noodle salad or banana blossom salad which are a family favorite or this spicy cucumber salad.

Another delicious salad with chickpeas is my Lebanese balela salad.

Or try this mouthwatering warm chickpeas recipe called balila.

Give this colorful vegan cobb salad a try.

Do you like the sound of this salad being paired with something else? Try my easy vegan butternut squash soup with coconut milk as a starter and finish off with our Lebanese Turmeric Semolina Cake aka Sfouf with a cup of tea or coffee.

Did you make this? I'd love to know! Leave me a comment below with a ★★★★★ rating or tag @plantbasedfolk on social media.