Curry Rice Salad
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Curry Rice Salad is a delicious blend of wild rice, pecans, apricots, green onions and golden raisins tossed with a savory curry dressing. You'll love this wild rice salad recipe that can be served cold at summer picnics or warm at your holiday table!
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Why You'll Love It
- can be made ahead on the stove top and refrigerated for later
- made with a delicious wild rice blend and warm curry spice
- perfect cold rice salad to pack for picnics or tailgates
- great vegetarian and vegan option for your Thanksgiving table
- can be served cold as a main dish salad or warm as a side dish
Recipe Highlights
Curry Wild Rice Salad is one of those delicious side dishes you can't stop eating! It's packed with whole grains, dried fruits and crunchy pecans that will tickle your tastebuds. But, the flavorful curry salad dressing steals the show in this great recipe!
Since wild rice pilaf goes with just about everything, it's my first choice when I want to serve a cold salad that's packed with flavor. During holidays and special occasions, it tastes great with oven roasted turkey or glazed ham.
The curry in this recipe also makes a nice accompaniment to chicken or salmon. When summer rolls around, it's the perfect salad to go with pork tenderloin or smoked chuck roast on the grill.
What's the best part? This cold wild rice salad can be made ahead and kept for several days in the fridge, which allows room in the oven for holiday casseroles!
Ingredient Notes
See quantities in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- long grain & wild rice mix - purchase a 6 ounce box of pre-packaged wild rice mix
- chopped pecans - can use a rough chop or small dice if desired
- green onions - feel free to substitute chopped sweet onion
- dried apricots - this ingredient gives the salad tons of flavor
- golden raisins or dried cranberries - use whatever dried fruit you love most
The curry dressing is made with apple cider or red wine vinegar, sugar, curry powder, olive oil and salt. You can use fresh or dried parsley as a garnish if desired.
How to Make Curry Rice Salad
Start by stirring a package of wild rice mixture with 4 cups of boiling water in a stock pot or dutch oven. (ad) Cover and simmer for 30 minutes over medium low heat, stirring often.
While the wild rice cooks, chop green onions, a few apricots, and a cup of pecans and place in a large bowl or add to dutch oven. Add some golden raisins or dried cranberries for sweetness.
Next, gather the ingredients you'll need for the dressing which includes apple cider vinegar, olive oil, sugar, curry and salt.
Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl, then pour over cooked wild rice in the dutch oven.
Add the remaining ingredients and give it a big stir with a wooden spoon. Garnish with fresh or dried parsley. Serve immediately as a warm salad, or refrigerate to cool it down.
Once this hearty salad chills in the fridge for at least 4 hours, it absorbs all of the different flavors, which makes it taste even more amazing. It's actually better when refrigerated over night and eaten the next day!
Serve Warm or Cold!
Curry Wild Rice Salad can be served warm or cold, which makes it a very versatile dish. It tastes great as a cold salad when served as a main entree, or it's also delicious as a warm side with poultry, beef, seafood and pork.
Recipe FAQs
Wild rice has a variety of vitamins and minerals, including B vitamins and magnesium. Research has proven that its antioxidant activity is 30 times greater than white rice.
Wild rice is low in cholesterol and considered to be an anti-inflammatory food. It has been found to be a complete protein with all nine essential amino acids.
Any form of rice, such as white, brown or wild, is considered to be gluten-free. Wild rice is a great option for people who are sensitive to gluten, and for anyone who suffers from celiac disease.
Yes, this dish has no animal products, and it's also dairy free, so it qualifies as vegan as well. Be sure to check the ingredients in the wild rice mix to make sure it is vegan friendly. If not, use plain wild rice instead.
Variations
- add lemon zest and fresh greens such as spinach or kale
- include pomegranate seeds, orange zest and fresh herbs
- squeeze lime juice over the salad and top with pine nuts
- make it a hearty vegetarian meal by adding roasted sweet potatoes
- turn it into a warm wild rice stuffing by adding diced sweet apples
- add feta cheese or goat cheese crumbles with dried cranberries
- stir in leftover turkey or diced rotisserie chicken for a complete meal
Storage and Freezing
Make it ahead! You can store this cooled wild rice recipe in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Be sure to stir it well before serving.
Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. Freeze cold rice salad in an airtight container for up to 3 months in the freezer. When ready to serve, thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
More Salads to Love
Everybody loves a good salad, and these recipes are sure to please. Take them to cookouts or potlucks and watch the smiles appear!
- Rainbow Salad
- Steak & Potato Salad
- Cranberry Pecan Salad
- Rock & Roll Chicken Salad
- Toasted Pecan Peach Salad
- Roasted Chickpea Salad
- Strawberry Pecan Salad
Recipe Card
Curry Rice Salad
*See notes in blog post for detailed tips, photos and instructions.
Equipment
- dutch oven (or stock pot)
Ingredients
RICE
- 1 package long grain & wild rice mix (6 ounces)
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup pecans (chopped)
- 2 green onions (chopped)
- 1 cup dried apricots (chopped)
- ½ cup golden raisins
DRESSING
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley minced
Instructions
- Bring wild rice mixture to a boil in a dutch oven or stock pot filled with 4 cups of water.
- Turn down heat, cover and simmer rice for 30 minutes until soft, stirring frequently.
- While rice is cooking, chop pecans, green onion and apricots. Place in a large bowl and add golden raisins.
- To make dressing, whisk vinegar, olive oil, sugar, curry and salt together in a separate bowl.
- Pour dressing over cooked rice in dutch oven. (ad) Stir well.
- Add pecans, onion, apricots and raisins to rice and mix together.
- Garnish with parsley.
- Chill rice in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before serving.
Notes
- Substitute dried cranberries or cherries for apricots if desired. It's fun to change the dried fruit depending on the season.
- Make it ahead! You can store this cooled wild rice recipe in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Be sure to stir it well before serving.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
- Freeze cold rice salad in an airtight container for up to 3 months in the freezer. When ready to serve, thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is an auto generated estimate.
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I absolutely love this salad. They used to make a version of it at a local restaurant this recipe is very close to it! Thanks so much!