Simple Curried Rice Salad Recipe

A simple curried rice salad recipe made with aromatic basmati rice, green apples, dried cranberries, chopped peppers, and crunchy toasted cashew nuts.

This vibrant and tasty rice salad is super healthy too! Serve it alongside my spicy potato salad at your next BBQ, or enjoy it as a satisfying lunch dish on its own.

This has to be one of my favourite no mayo rice salad recipes to make during the summer months, and best of all it's super easy to put together!

The dressing for this curry rice salad uses simple pantry ingredients like mild curry powder, mango chutney, soy sauce, and lemon juice. Combined with aromatic basmati rice, sweet fruits, and crunchy vegetables, it creates the perfect flavour pairing.

👩‍🍳 Have you seen my Tuna Pasta Salad? Another delicious summer salad recipe for those long hot summer days!

Jump to:

• ✔️ Why should you try it?
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🔪 How to make curried rice salad
• Top Tips
• 🍴 Serving suggestions
• 📖 Variations
• 🥡 Storage
• ❓ FAQs
• 😋Related recipes
• Recipe
• 💬 Comments

✔️ Why should you try it?

1. The fruity rice salad is vegan-friendly (just make sure the soy sauce is certified vegan).
2. The salad is bursting with vibrant colours and flavours.
3. It's straightforward to make, and you won't have to spend hours in the kitchen.
4. You can prepare the salad in advance and store in the fridge.

🥘 Ingredients

Cooked Basmati Rice - Basmati rice is a fragrant, long-grain rice that is commonly used in Indian cuisine. However, you can use any long-grain rice you prefer, such as jasmine or white rice. As a rule of thumb, rice weighs about three times as much after it's cooked so you will need 200g dry weight of rice to get 600g of cooked rice you need for this recipe.

Apples - Tart apples like Granny Smith apples work best in this salad because they provide a lovely contrast to the sweetness of the dried cranberries.

Dried Cranberries - Add a delicious sweetness to the salad. If you don't have them, you can use raisins or sultanas instead.

Red Pepper - For crunch and texture. You can use yellow or orange peppers if you prefer.

Red Onion - Finely chopped red onion (or spring onions if you prefer) can be used in this recipe to add a bit of bite and flavour.

Cashew Nuts - When toasted, cashew nuts add a nutty crunch to the salad, but you can also use other nuts such as pecans or walnuts.

Parsley - Half of the parsley is mixed into the salad, while the other half is used to garnish it. Parsley adds a fresh, herby flavour to the salad. You could also use other fresh herbs such as coriander or fresh mint.

You will also need the following ingredients for the easy salad dressing:

Mild Curry Powder - For that all-important curry flavour. For a more yellowy-coloured rice dish add a small pinch of turmeric too!

Mango Chutney - A sweet and tangy condiment that adds depth and complexity to the dressing.

Soy Sauce - Provides umami flavour and saltiness.

Olive Oil - Used to emulsify the dressing and adds a fruity, slightly bitter flavour.

Lemon Juice - For acidity and to help to balance all of the other flavours. You can also use lime juice if you prefer.

Brown Sugar - Brown sugar provides sweetness and a delicious caramel flavour to the dressing.

🔪 How to make curried rice salad

The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post

One: Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.

Two: In a large mixing bowl place the cooked rice, chopped apples, chopped red pepper, finely chopped onion, cashew nuts, dried cranberries, and half of the chopped parsley.

Three: Stir with a spoon so everything is mixed thoroughly and pour on the dressing. Mix again until all of the rice grains are coated in the curry dressing. Garnish with the remaining parsley.

🍴 Serving suggestions

Serve the basmati rice salad on its own, or with chicken or honey glazed salmon for a light lunch. It's great as part of a BBQ or buffet.

Pack up a tub to take on a picnic. It goes well with my cheesy courgette fritters or carrot fritters.

📖 Variations

• Instead of using red pepper and red onion, try using other salad vegetables like radish, spring onions, celery, or fennel. This will add more crunch and flavour to the salad.
• If you want to add some sweetness and colour to the salad, add 150g of frozen peas to the pan when cooking the rice. The peas will cook along with the rice and add a pop of green to the salad.
• For an extra protein boost, stir in a tin of drained and rinsed chickpeas or leftover roast chicken. This will make the salad more filling and satisfying.
• If you like things spicy, use hot curry powder in the dressing instead of mild curry powder. This will add some heat and depth of flavour to the salad.
• If you're not a fan of dried cranberries, swap them for raisins or sultanas. These will add a similar sweetness and texture to the salad.
• In addition to the apples and dried cranberries, you can also add other fruits like chopped mango, pineapple, or grapes. These will add a juicy sweetness and tropical flavour to the salad.
• If you want to reduce the carb content of the salad, try using cauliflower rice instead of basmati rice. Simply pulse cauliflower florets in a food processor until they resemble rice grains, and then cook as you would normally cook rice. This will give you a low-carb, grain-free version of the salad.

🥡 Storage

Store - The fruity curried rice salad can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days. Store it in an airtight container to retain freshness. If the salad looks dry or the rice has absorbed all the dressing, you can add a little more dressing or a splash of lemon juice to moisten it before serving.

❓ FAQs

😋Related recipes

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