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!!
Hello. Where can chipotle powder be purchased?
Thx
Hi John! Where do you live? 🙂
Oh, sorry, we are in southern Sydney, where it is always sunny!! ?
Bah! We’ve had more rain this summer than ever in history! What a shocker of a summer 🙂 Though at least it’s cleared up now!
Ummm, Even if it’s raining a lot, Where do you get your Chipotle powder? ?
Harris Farms, Thomas Dux, Heribies and Firework Foods -> http://www.fireworksfoods.com.au/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&category_id=305&product_id=291&Itemid=53&vmcchk=1&Itemid=53 🙂
Nagi, you did it again! I have never had a rice salad but I am sold on this. What a brilliant idea!
Hahaha I totally understand what you said about homemade baked goods. Simply irresistible!
Pinning this!
I know, right?? What is it with homemade baked goods!!!
yum! i used to love cowboy caviar as a kid (my mom randomly found the recipe, and it became a really great make ahead lunch). and a little off topic, but salad isn’t really a thing in chinese culture either. most of the time, vegetables are steamed (or fried!), and i feel like they skew towards hot preparations rather than cold.
This Rice Salad looks delicious! I pinned it so I can make it next week!
Perfect post and a lovely recipe. I see this setting next to the pork steak (fläskkarre) we be grilling tomorrow night.
Thanks Nagi..
Hi Nagi, thank you so much for this recipe it was easy and delicious , I like all your recipes I tried many already, oh! please give a big hug to Dozer.
GOSH you tried it already?? Whoot! So pleased you enjoyed it! I would normally oblige your request to give a hug to Dozer but I just took him for a walk where he not only ROLLED in horse ?, he also ATE it too! YUCK!!!!! I have to give him a bath again – I just washed him yesterday! ?
Mmm, totally delcious. I will be making this one this evening, and serve it with one of your gorgeous Chicken dishes. Thanks Nagi. 🙂 Hugs for Dozer, he is so gorgeous.
Usually I would oblige but we just got back from a walk where he not only ROLLED in horse ?, he ATE IT as well. EEEEEWWWWW!!!!
Can’t wait to make this, I just love your recipes. Is this suitable to freeze?
Hi Michelle! I’m so glad you are enjoying my recipes, thank you for the compliment! I don’t recommend freezing this unfortunately 🙂 The vegetables are definitely best served fresh in this, so they are nice and juicy, not watery which is what happens when frozen veg defrosts. N x
Hi Nagi — This looks like the perfect dish to take to a potluck Thursday night, thank you! Your dressing looks like it will be perfect and I can hardly wait to try it. I generally substitute cauliflower for rice and will try it with this salad as well. For any who are curious, I’ve found that grating cauli on the large side of a box grater gives the same texture as rice and takes on favoring very well. (Be sure to put the grater in a bowl or you’ll end up with “grains” all over the place.) I generally microwave a whole grated head for about 4 minutes before adding it to a dish. I love your recipes and am remiss in not complimenting you more often. 🙂
That’s such a great tip Marion! I’ve only made cauli rice by blitzing it in a food processor – a box grater is much smarter!
Good Morning Nagi!
Can you recommend a substitution for Coriander with this recipe?
Many Thanks
Fiona
PS I added those tips in the recipe too because I know there are lots of people out there who don’t like coriander!!!
Fantastic! thanks for the advice!
Hi Fiona! Thanks for the question, I forgot to include that! I think about 1 1/2 cups of sliced shallots/scallions (the long green onions, green and light green parts only) or 3/4 cup chopped chives would be best. Parsley would also work ok but it doesn’t provide quite as much a burst of freshness that the coriander does, that’s why I suggest scallions/shallots or chives. Hope that helps!
Love this Nagi! It’s perfect picnic or lunch box food!
YES Debs! YES!!
What a beautiful Salad Nagi!
My daughter is getting a dog for her birthday, so I show her yours every time I get a chance to visit your blog!
She will be excited to see Dozer with those Dog friendly Easter eggs when she comes back from school! I didn’t know such treats existed!
Have a wonderful day! 🙂
Awwww!!! What kind of dog are you thinking of getting her? ❤️ (Goldie, a goldie! te he he!!)
haha Nagi! 🙂 We have a neighbor across the street who has a Golden Retriever, so adorable, just like yours!
My daughter loves Golden Retriever dogs and all kinds of animals. But she already has a German Shepherd, so this time she wants a small dog. She would like to get a Westie (West Highland White Terrier). She is not 100% sure yet.
She asked where you got those treats! She said it’s so cute! I told her you live in Australia 🙂
I just got them at the local pet store!! 🙂 Westies are soooo cute….. and you can pop them in a bag and take them EVERYWHERE!!!
Hi Nagi! This can be a great salad for picnic!! BTW, I cook a lamb leg in the oven following your recipe. It was delicious! Everybody in our Red House loved it. Simple but effective. Thanks again for sharing!
You did?? Wow oh WOW! I’m so thrilled to hear that Wei! N xx
Dear Nagi, This is a must-make recipe! Thank you so much for all of your effort to find, create and share your amazing talents AND HUMOR with us, all around the world. I love getting your recipes emailed to me! Have a great week!
Hi Nancy! Your lovely message couldn’t have come at a better time, having just dealt with a really nasty message from an unpleasant person! 🙂 Thanks for cheering me up with this message. Hope you do try this, it really is DELISH!!! N xx
Don’t get upset about negative hateful people. Just keep doing what you do best! ?
I promise I don’t Jane! I delete without even reading properly 🙂 It just annoys me when one slips through the net and is displayed publicly before I can get to it, I don’t want people seeing nasty messages from crazies!!! So unpleasant! ?
This looks amazing! I’ve got it bookmarked and can’t wait to try it.
Hope you do Jodi! I really loved it, amazing flavours!
Perfect timing! we just came off one big eating holiday and on to another one with Cinco de Mayo so happy to a lighter salad today. I love rice salads and when you cut all your vegetables around the same size it makes for a fun salad and a great dish for a potluck. Glad to see those are dog friendly Easter eggs as my heart took a thump when I first seen sweet little Dozer. Pinned!
I agree! It works so great when you can scoop up the salad with a spoon! 🙂 I would never give Mr D chocolate, I don’t think he knows what real chocolate tastes like!!!
It looks fantastic..I will make this:)
Hope you do Monique!!! N xx
Oh, I knew it … I just knew there had to be connection between CulinaryHill Meggan and Nagi. It’s the photography I think. Happy to get confirmation in this post. Thanks … for everything, Nagi.
YES! We’re good mates, she even put me up the last time I visited LA!!
Would you believe Hubby and I were so busy making sure everyone else had plenty to eat we didn’t indulge in our bread or flatbread and baba ganoush. But, by the way it was devoured it was spectacular. I made a Cannoli cake and it looked amazing and everyone said it was phenomenal, but I didn’t take a slice. See, all leftovers go with the kids. Our two-year-old grandson had his first Easter egg hunt. He caught on so fast the older grandsons would take the eggs out of his basket and hide them so he’d continue to “hunt”. Really cute!!
Ohhh Marisa! That is SO like you, to be looking after everyone else! And that is so cute, hearing about your 2 yo grandson, he nailed it! 🙂 N xx
I swear I’m losing my memory. I meant to ask if farro would work in the salad instead of rice. I have a humongous sack of farro! This recipe looks so good and I love the addition of the citrus dressing. It would be perfect for our family fish fry. Dozer looks so cute with his eggs!!
Gosh yes, 1000x yes! I was actually thinking of using barley or even quinoa for the next time I make this!
Hi Marisa,
Just noticed your comment asking about faro. It would work so beautifully in this salad! Any sort of grain like couscous or bulgar wheat or even wheat berries would go really well in this. They’ll all hold up beautifully in the fridge too, so they would be perfect to make the night before.
Couscous! What a fantastic idea, I use it often because it’s so handy that you don’t need to actually COOK it! 🙂
I did eat more than I want to admit. Your hot cross buns was amazing and this salad looks perfect.
Oh WOW!!!! You made them! :)?