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Home » Salad » The Easiest and Most Delicious Wild Rice Salad Recipe.

The Easiest and Most Delicious Wild Rice Salad Recipe.

Oct 4, 2021 by Kelly Roenicke · 11 Comments

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Caramelized onions, bacon, basil, and tomatoes make this wild rice salad extra delicious!

This savory gluten free wild rice salad recipe is best served during the fall and winter. Bacon, white beans, fresh herbs, and onions make this salad a winner! Here’s how to make it.

wild rice salad in an aqua bowl

If you’re gluten free, rice is probably a very familiar grain to you. There are so many wonderful types of rice – from white, to brown, to Jasmine, to wild rice blends.

Rice is the perfect base for an allergy friendly side dish, like this cheesy garlic spinach rice. It’s also delicious for serving along side recipes like this dairy free curry.

I love a good wild rice salad. Wild rice has a great texture and flavor – it’s hearty and holds up really well in both warm and cold salads. You can be so creative with rice salads – they can be savory, or sweeter, or they can be served warm or cold.

Ingredients

  • Caramelized onions – these add such a nice note of sweetness to this salad. Take the time to caramelize them properly – don’t rush this step!
  • Bacon – very necessary for salty, savory flavor, and a good complement to the onions.
  • Tomatoes and fresh basil – these add freshness and color to this salad.
  • Homemade balsamic vinaigrette – this dressing is so simple. It’s just Balsamic vinegar, olive oil, fresh garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper. This is the perfect finishing touch for this rice salad.
wild rice salad with beans and bacon

Ideas for Substitutions

  • You can use a different variety of bean if you like. Try lentils, chickpeas, or black beans.
  • You can use different fresh herbs, such as Italian flat leaf parsley or cilantro.
  • If you’re vegan, try adding vegan bacon.
  • To add a little crunch, you can add some roasted pepitas or sunflower seeds.

This savory wild rice salad is wonderful when it’s warm and freshly mixed together, but it also works really well as a cold salad, too. Make this as a side dish at dinnertime, then enjoy the leftovers as lunch the next day!

How to Make this Wild Rice Salad

  1. Cook the wild rice. Place in a pot with the water and oil, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook for about 45 minutes, until the rice is tender.
  2. Caramelize the onions: place the sliced red onions and olive oil in a skillet and heat over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are soft and browned. This process will take about 45 minutes.
  3. Make the dressing. Combine the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic, sugar, sea salt, and pepper. Set aside.
  4. Place the wild rice blend, caramelized onions, crumbled bacon, navy beans, grape tomatoes, and basil in a large bowl and mix together.
  5. Pour the Balsamic vinaigrette over the top of the salad and stir gently. Enjoy!

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They should stay fresh for 3-4 days.

If you know you aren’t going to eat the salad right away, it’s best to keep the dressing separately. Once you add it to the salad, the rice really absorbs all the moisture and flavor. Keeping it separate is a great choice because you can add it right before serving.

rice salad in a ceramic bowl with cherry tomatoes

More Gluten Free Salad Recipes

  • Curried Quinoa Broccoli Salad
  • Wild Rice Salad with Lentils and Cranberries
  • Honey Mustard Quinoa Salad
  • Chopped Vegetable Salad

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Recipe

A flavorful wild rice salad with caramelized onions, bacon, tomatoes, and white beans. A great side dish or salad! #sponsored
5 from 1 vote
Print

The Easiest and Most Delicious Wild Rice Salad Recipe.

This wild rice salad is bursting with flavor from bacon, caramelized onions, tomatoes, white beans, and basil. This is an easy side to serve this fall!

Course Salad
Cuisine American, Dairy Free, gluten free
Keyword bacon, gluten free party food
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 235 kcal
Author Kelly Roenicke

Ingredients

  • 1 cup wild rice blend
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 2 red onions sliced very thin
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 6 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
  • 15 ounces navy beans rinsed and drained
  • 1 cup grape tomatoes sliced
  • ¼ cup fresh basil leaves

For the Dressing:

  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • ½ Tablespoon sugar
  • ¾ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Make the rice:

  1. Place one cup of wild rice blend, 2 cups water, and 1 teaspoon olive oil in a pot with a lid. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook for about 45 minutes, until all water is absorbed and rice is tender. Fluff with a fork.

Caramelize the onions:

  1. While the rice cooks, caramelize the onions. Place the sliced red onions and the 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet and heat over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are brown and soft, for about 45-60 minutes.

Make the vinaigrette:

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the ¼ cup olive oil, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic, sugar, sea salt, and pepper. Set aside.

Assemble the salad:

  1. Make the salad: In a large bowl, place the wild rice blend, caramelized onions, crumbled bacon, navy beans, grape tomatoes, and basil. Mix together.
  2. Drizzle the dressing over the salad, then stir to coat. If you are not serving the salad immediately, keep the salad and the dressing separate until you are ready to serve.

Recipe Notes

Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container. They should stay fresh for 3-4 days.

You can leave the bacon out if you like, or use a vegan bacon substitute.

Nutrition Facts
The Easiest and Most Delicious Wild Rice Salad Recipe.
Amount per Serving
Calories
235
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
12
g
18
%
Saturated Fat
 
1
g
6
%
Sodium
 
298
mg
13
%
Potassium
 
388
mg
11
%
Carbohydrates
 
24
g
8
%
Fiber
 
8
g
33
%
Sugar
 
3
g
3
%
Protein
 
6
g
12
%
Vitamin A
 
235
IU
5
%
Vitamin C
 
7.1
mg
9
%
Calcium
 
64
mg
6
%
Iron
 
1.9
mg
11
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This post was originally published in March 2015. It has been updated.

Related

« Delicious Dairy Free Italian Meatball Soup
The Best Dairy Free Pancakes (That Actually Taste Good). »

Filed Under: Dairy Free, food, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Recipes, Salad, Side Dish Tagged With: Dairy Free, Egg Free, Fish Free, Gluten Free, Peanut Free, Sesame Free, Shellfish Free, Soy Free, Tree Nut Free

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Kelly Roenicke
Kelly Roenicke
Mom to two boys with food allergies and sensitivities, Kelly is passionate about allergy friendly cooking and baking. She believes that you can enjoy amazing, easy recipes even when cooking for multiple food allergies.
Kelly Roenicke
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Darryl

    March 15, 2020 at 8:49 pm

    5 stars
    This is delicious and wildly satisfying!

    Reply
  2. Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice

    March 11, 2015 at 7:44 am

    This salad looks delicious, Kelly! I love that you caramelized the onions in here. Such a great touch! And your pictures are gorgeous, too!

    Reply
  3. genevieve y

    March 10, 2015 at 5:09 pm

    Growing up Chinese, rice was a huge staple of my diet. I’d love to try a bacon-free version of this! Yum!

    Reply
    • Kelly

      March 11, 2015 at 1:30 pm

      It’s really good without bacon, too!

      Reply
  4. Julia

    March 10, 2015 at 12:19 pm

    Rice is my all-time favorite grain and this salad is sheer brilliance! LOVE caramelized onions and I can taste all those flavors through my computer screen!

    Reply
  5. Deanna Segrave-Daly (@tspbasil)

    March 10, 2015 at 10:45 am

    Wow – this is like all my favorite ingredients in one pot. Admittedly, this is something I would make with pasta (Italian girl) but I love all different varieties of rice and am cooking with them more than ever. Gotta replenish my wild rice supply to make this.

    Reply
  6. Serena Ball

    March 10, 2015 at 9:31 am

    All my fave foods: Bacon, beans and balsamic (wow- I just noticed they all start with B)! (: I’ll be making this for sure!

    Reply
  7. Sarah@ Whole and Heavenly Oven

    March 10, 2015 at 9:20 am

    I love a good wild rice salad and this is looking fantastic with all that veggie and bacon goodness! Gotta try this!

    Reply
  8. Natalie @ Tastes Lovely

    March 09, 2015 at 1:43 pm

    I just love rice of ALL kinds. This wild rice salad sounds delicious! I can definitely see making a big batch of this and eating it for lunch for the week. Yum!

    Reply
    • Kelly

      March 09, 2015 at 6:17 pm

      Thanks so much, Natalie!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 20 Mouth-Watering Bacon Recipes - Menu Planning Central says:
    October 19, 2015 at 7:02 am

    […] Chicken Kabobs:  Only 5 ingredients! 2. Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad:  Perfect for a potluck! 3. Caramelized Onion Bacon and Tomato Wild Rice Salad:  Gluten-free and flavorful. 4. Bacon Maple Chocolate Chip Cookies:  Ready to try bacon cookies? […]

    Reply

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Caramelized onions, bacon, basil, and tomatoes make this wild rice salad extra delicious!
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Hi! I’m Kelly, and I believe that you can enjoy amazing, easy recipes even when cooking for multiple food allergies.

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