Greek rice salad is delicious. The dressing gets a little creamier because of the avocado, but you can omit it if you like. It is best prepared the day you plan to serve it.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 45 mins |
| Additional Time: | 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 15 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked long grain brown rice
- 2 ½ cups water
- 1 avocado – peeled, pitted, and diced
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 vine-ripened tomatoes, diced
- 1 ½ cups diced English cucumbers
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ⅓ cup diced red onion
- ¼ cup sliced Kalamata olives
- ¼ cup chopped fresh mint
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Bring brown rice and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool, fluffing occasionally with a fork.
- Toss avocado and lemon juice together in a large bowl. Add tomatoes, cucumber, feta, onion, olives, mint, olive oil, lemon zest, garlic, salt, and pepper to the bowl; lightly toss the mixture until evenly combined.
- Fold cooled rice gently into the mixture. Serve immediately or chill up to 1 hour; the salad does not last well for more than a day as the tomato and cucumber begin to release their juices and the salad becomes watery.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 224 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 25 g |
| Cholesterol | 8 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Protein | 5 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 304 mg |
| Sugars | 3 g |
| Fat | 13 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Really liked the salad. Used Arborio rice and it gave it more density I think Otherwise followed the recipe
Real good, I made it as written but took advise of others and mixed in tomatoes and other elements right before serving. People in my group of 6 liked it and couldn’t tell rice was brown not white. I advise making the dressing a day or two before and prepping much of this the day before.
Unbelievable. I was searching for rice and avocado and found this. Yes I changed it because I didn’t have everything and it was only for 1, but… the point is, the flavors work together so it is flexible. I really hate people who change the recipe and review it, but the point is, it is probably superb as written. It is also excellent if you don’t have onions and use scallion greens or substitute 6 cheese italian for feta or use green olives instead and use a regular cucumber with some skin, but most off…I did have the mint. However the measurements were adjusted for a single albeit large serving… But oh… I have another avocado to use up… I will make another tomorrow! This is getting printed!
Halved the recipe. Good. Could use a bit more lemon next time
I love this recipe. Its a good base recipe to start with. I made it exactly as written and we liked it. But I wanted more veggies so the second time I made it I added roasted corn, broccoli, and celery. Instead of 1 avocado I used two and doubled the olive oil. This came out great. My daughter wont stop eating it. definitely a keeper.
Ok, I hat people who tweak recipe, but I made with orzo instead of brown rice and it was fantastic!! Lighter than if it were rice, and it lasted many days in fridg and kept getting better. My new go-to when I make Greek chicken kabobs, hummus and pita.
I didn’t have purple onion so I used Vidalia. Other than that, I followed the recipe. Very tasty. I loved it. I will definitely make this again.
I followed the recipe as directed but I used mt leftover coconut parsley rice and I did add some small diced red and orange peppers. I also blended the mint and oil to create a smoothe herb dressing. Very tasty!
One of the few rice recipes that my wife actually requested a 2nd day in a row! I left out the olives and cheese, but we devoured it all the same. Will definitely be keeping this one handy when we want something super fresh and super tasty. =D
I love this salad. I did not change anything the first time I made it and it was really good. I made it again, and this time I used leftover cold brown rice I added about a tbsp. balsamic vinaigrette, some roughly chopped flat leaf parsley, 1 used lime instead of lemon, 1/8 tsp Lawrys seasoning salt and did not use pepper. Served it with plain canned tuna on the side. Light but satisfying. Simply delicious and perfect for hot summer days.
Made exactly as written – delicious, light, and refreshing. Took it to a church luncheon and there were no leftovers!
I have made this many times at this point. I now eliminate the fresh garlic – it’s too sharp a flavor for my kids because it is uncooked – and halve the onion – again, too strong a taste for my kids’ palates. One of my sons gets freaked out because this is lukewarm when served, so beware if you are serving to anyone who dislikes cold salads.
Holy cow, this is great!! I didn’t have all of the ingredients so, I substituted white long grain rice (Brown rice), black olives (katamala), garlic salt (minced) and dill (mint). I didn’t have avocados but Everything else I had and used. It is fabulous!!! I kept the tomatoes and cucumbers separate until I was ready to serve. I also made sure to seed both. I also had fresh corn so, I added it. Omg!! It adds a sweet crunch that makes this salad. I even added a tiny amount of sugar and Apple cider vinegarto the dressing. I also liked mixing everything up with the dressing before adding the tomatoes and cucumbers. I think it melds the flavors together wonderfully. So super yummy!!
Made this salad for a work potluck lunch. EVERYONE wanted the recipe!!
I added some broiled peppers instead of avocados because simply I had peppers and not avocados, 🙂 it was delicious 🙂
Really, really good. I will put this in my menu rotation.
This was fantastic! I think of it like guacamole in rice. My husband loved it. I didn’t have cucumbers, brown rice, olives, or lemon zest. I used basmati rice instead. My husband kept raving about it. Needless to say, this one will definitely come back to our dinner table. It’s very fresh tasting.
As written, this recipe was just okay for me. But when I took one reviewer’s suggestion and added a teaspoon and a half of vinegar, the flavors really took off. Especially the feta. I live in a very dry climate, so I didn’t worry about the cucumbers and tomatoes mushing up the salad. I found they did a little, but not enough to be off-putting. The salad was still good next day.
Great and easy recipe! You can make this a day ahead of time and it will be fine for the next day! I followed the recipe and didn’t change anything up
Very good the day I made it, even better the next day. A couple of grandchildren even loved it! This would also make a good wrap or pita sandwich.
I made this salad for a pool party, and it was a major hit.. by the end of the party there was very little leftover and compliments from all! I made it with a mix of short grain and wild rice, cooked and dressed it the night before.. then added feta, veggies and mint in the morning.. and put the avocado in just before serving it. So delicious.