This brown rice salad is given a Greek twist with cherry tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, creamy feta, and Kalamata olives.
Greek salad and all of it’s salty, crunchy, creamy, briny goodness is one of my go-to favorite ways to serve whole grains. Not many dishes allow you to serve such a wide variety of ingredients in one – corn, tomatoes, olives, cucumber, and chickpeas are just a few of the ingredients that come together in my delicious Greek Brown Rice Salad.
How to Make Greek Brown Rice Salad
Start your Greek Brown Rice Salad by roasting your tomatoes (if desired) and cooking your rice. Then add them to a large bowl.
Next you’ll add the chopped cucumbers, chickpeas, scallions, and corn.
Followed by the Kalamata olives and feta cheese.
Then season with dried oregano, mint, and some salt and pepper for taste.
Next you’ll dress the salad with a drizzle of olive oil.
Then the zest of a lemon.
And then juice the same lemon to add to the dressing.
Finally, use a microplane to freshly grate in some garlic and stir until combined.
Add more salt and pepper to taste, then serve and enjoy your Greek Brown Rice Salad!
Easy Substitutions
- Don’t like olives? I highly recommend trying Kalamata olives, as they have a very different taste than the usual black olives, but you can omit them and still have a very tasty salad!
- Make it dairy free. Skip the feta cheese or replace it with a soy or rice copycat.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What’s the best way to serve this salad?
Warm or cold, whatever you prefer!
What grains are good for salads?
Brown rice is my favorite go-to grain. But other options include bulgur wheat, spelt, farro, or freekeh.
How do you store the leftovers?
Kept in an airtight container, this salad will keep for 2 to 3 days. You may need to add more dressing as the rice will continue to absorb.
Complimentary Main Dishes
- Greek Style Baked Chicken Breasts
- Lebanese Baked Fish with Tahini Sauce
- Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
- Grilled Chicken Shawarma
- Baked Salmon with Fresh Herbs
Did you try this salad and love it? The next time you make it, snap a picture and share it to your socials! Tag @thelemonbowl and #thelemonbowl so we can admire and share your dish.
Whether you’re looking for a healthy lunch or a delicious side for dinner, my Greek Brown Rice Salad will be sure to please.
Your fork is waiting.
Greek Brown Rice Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown rice (prepared)
- 1 cup chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes (roasted or fresh see below for directions on roasting)
- 1 cup cucumber (diced)
- ½ cup scallions (minced)
- ½ cup corn (fresh, frozen, leftover grilled, etc.)
- ¼ cup feta cheese (crumbled)
- ½ cup kalamata olives
- 1 Zest and juice of lemon
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried mint
- 2 cloves garlic (grated)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- If you'd like to roast your tomatoes, cut them in half and layer on a sheet pan. Drizzle in olive oil and some salt and pepper, then roast in the oven at 400 for 30 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, combine brown rice with tomatoes, chickpeas, cucumber, scallions, corn, feta and olives.
- Stir in lemon juice, zest, olive oil, oregano, mint, garlic, salt and pepper.
- Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Video
Nutrition
Be sure to follow my {Satisfying Salad Recipes} Board on Pinterest!
My two-year-old adores this recipe as much as I do!
I’m so happy to hear that Stacey!!
I have been looking for easy summer recipes. Guessing it would also taste good if I added chicken. Excited for another recipe where I can use mint!
Oh yes!! I love mint! Enjoy!
We’re new to the whole brown rice thing and we’ve cooked it a few times, and it’s still coming out still crunchy! What do you do to make sure yours is soft enough to absorb all the flavors you’re mixing in with this awesome sounding salad? I want to make this so badly and I could sub white rice my husband and I are both having to switch to whole grains for our diets. Please share your trick!
Thanks!
You need to find a good brand! I love the Trader Joe’s frozen organic brown rice or the Uncle Ben’s 90 second brown rice. I’ve used Japanese style brown rice also but each brand is different so you have to follow their specific instructions I’m afraid. Another option is bulgur, spelt, farro or freekah. I love Bob’s Red Mill brand of all of those!
I doubled the recipe,, added 1 1/2 cups of artichoke hearts (water base, drained.) Reduced the amount of mint to 1 tsp. It was a huge hit for everyone, even the ones who don’t care for brown rice! The roasted cherry tomatoes are really easy to do (I just cut them in half and followed the directions, perfect!) I did keep the lemon zest down to one lemon w/juice, even after doubling the recipe.
The only thing I will do differently next time is add a bit more corn and those delicious roasted tomatoes!
PS. We were camping, I forgot to bring the garbanzo beans so used kidney beans instead. It was still delicious!
What a great idea! So glad you enjoyed it!!
You have a child only one year old who is in preschool??
Hi Emma – No my boys are 4 and 2… my oldest didn’t start preschool until he was 4 years old. What makes you think I have a 1 year old in preschool?
Hi, this recipe looks amazing. I think she thought that, because you said you were int he hospital a year ago giving birth and that your son is turning one and going to preschool….? I did a double take as well, but got distracted by the awesome salad to dwell on it! Thank you so much. I’m going to give it a try tonight!
Just realized that the comment was from a couple of years ago, I Bern your boys are so much older now! Thanks again!
Yes they’re 4 and 6 now. :) Enjoy the recipe!!
Wow sounds amazing. I am going to try this today so I can take with me to work for the week. Do you think this will stay good for the week? Also, can I use canned corn? Thanks for the lovely recipes.
Yes to both! It will last a week and canned corn works great! Frozen too!
Yum yum yum. Just made this and its amazing. Going to pack some for work tomorrow! Thanks for the recipe!!
So glad you liked it Mary!
Sounds really good. I wanna try making it with quinoa
Let me know how it turns out Cathy!
This was divine! I used pre-cooked frozen brown rice (thank you Kroger!!) and regular black olives (I don’t like Kalamata). I also HATE Chic-peas, but I ate them anyway and was pleased I couldn’t really taste them. I added shredded cooked chicken to my portion and made it a complete meal. Next time I might cut back on the mint just a bit because it seemed to overwhelm the rest of the seasonings. Although I like feeling like I’ve just chewed gum after I ate. Makes me less nervous about garlic breath! LOL! This is going into my rotation.
Oh I’m so thrilled to hear you liked it!!! And yes that’s exactly right, fresh mint is similar to parsley and is great for combatting garlic breath. ;-) Thanks for the feedback!
Just found your blog and this is the first page I’ve seen. This salad sounds TERRIFIC!
Off to read more. Thanks so much.
Thanks so much Liz!
Hey Liz, thanks for such a prompt response. Since we know that rice and pasta quantities will double when cooked, I didn’t want the rice to take over the recipe. I love brown rice but I will follow your recipe and I know it will be great!
Hi Liz. I found this Brown Rice Greek salad recipe on PINTEREST and I’ve already added the ingredients to my grocery list. I plan on making this real soon, looks delish.
My question is about the rice. Did you start with 1 cup of uncooked rice? as this will double when cooked?
Also, Happy Birthday to your little man. He is adorable!
Hi Jane – Great question! I actually only used 1 cup of cooked brown rice (which was 1/2 cup uncooked.) By the time you add all of the vegetables, beans and other items it bulks up to over 4 cups which is the reason for the 1 cup serving. Of course, feel free to add more rice if you wish!! Thank you so much for the birthday wishes – that is sweet of you!! :)
I saw this on a 4th of July roundup and just had to pin it. I hope you’ll share your best post of the week on my Friday Flash Blog Linky Party going on ALL weekend at The Jenny Evolution.
Jennifer
thejennyevolution.com
This may be a silly question but is this a cold salad or a warm salad??? :)
I eat it cold but it would be great warm too!!! :)
Oh good. I was thinking of sending this in my husband’s lunch (he works outside) and loves greek flavors. Thanks again for your response. :)
He would love this!! Hope he enjoys Nikki!
How well does this salad keep? If I make it on Sunday, will it keep through the week that I could take it every day for lunch?
this is so good. I’ve made it 3 times already and have given the recipe out to quite a few of my friends. Thank you so much.
I’m so glad to hear Ruth!!! Thank you for letting me know!
This was so delicious! Made it exactly as written and it was perfect. So much flavor. Enjoyed it along with some pita bread and hummus. My taste buds are still singing.
I really love your recipes and how your site is designed. Very colorful and easy to navigate. Love your rules for cooking chicken breasts..will follow them! This salad looks delicious and healthy.
You are so sweet – thank you so much for the kind words!!! I hope you enjoy this salad!!
I’m guessing the chickpeas, and everything on the list after ‘olives’, are to be added to the rice/salad, too? Ingredients listed but no further mention in instructions.
Hi Kelly- I apologize for that- I’m not sure what happened but I must have lost my mind! Recipe has been revised. Let me know if you have any other questions and I hope you enjoy the salad!
This variation of Greek salad really intrigues me. As a Greek myself, we have greek salad at almost every meal of ours, so kalamata olives and feta cheese are ingredients always stored in the refrigerator. So this would be a nice delicious addition to change things up a little bit! Will certainly try that!
Have made this many times with slight variations and its fantastic!