Brown rice is given a Greek twist with roasted cherry tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, creamy feta and kalamata olives.
It is hard to believe that a year ago today, I was in the hospital getting ready to have my first baby! Tomorrow my son turns one and I honestly can’t believe it.
Everyone warned me it would fly by and I knew it would as well. The first year is such a crazy blurr of desperately trying to sleep, shower and wear clean clothes that before you know it: he’s headed to preschool!
Needless to say, we are celebrating BIG this weekend! In honor of the cake, ice cream and celebratory beer for Mommy and Daddy, I am sharing one of my favorite “back on track” recipes. Or, as I like to call it “back in the salad.”
Greek salad and all of it’s salty, crunchy, creamy, briny goodness is one of my go-to favorite ways to serve whole grains. I’ve done it before and I’m doing it again, my friends.
In the meantime, I have a little boy to snuggle.
Your fork is waiting.
- 1 c brown rice prepared
- 1 c chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 c cherry tomatoes roasted or fresh see below for directions on roasting
- 1 c cucumber diced
- 1/2 c scallions minced
- 1/2 c corn fresh, frozen, leftover grilled, etc.
- 1/4 c feta cheese crumbled
- 1/2 c kalamata olives
- 1 Zest and juice of lemon
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 tbs dried oregano
- 1 tbs dried mint
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- Salt and pepper to taste
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To roast cherry tomatoes, pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking pan with an even layer of tomatoes and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes; let cool.
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In a medium bowl, combine brown rice with tomatoes, chickpeas, cucumber, scallions, corn, feta and olives.
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Stir in lemon juice, zest, olive oil, oregano, mint, garlic, salt and pepper.
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Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
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Kitty H.
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!
Liz DellaCroce
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!
dana
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!
Liz DellaCroce
What a great idea! So glad you enjoyed it!!
Emla
You have a child only one year old who is in preschool??
Liz DellaCroce
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?
KhadijahRising
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!
KhadijahRising
Just realized that the comment was from a couple of years ago, I Bern your boys are so much older now! Thanks again!
Liz DellaCroce
Yes they’re 4 and 6 now. :) Enjoy the recipe!!
Mary
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.
Liz DellaCroce
Yes to both! It will last a week and canned corn works great! Frozen too!
Mary
Yum yum yum. Just made this and its amazing. Going to pack some for work tomorrow! Thanks for the recipe!!
Liz DellaCroce
So glad you liked it Mary!
Cathy
Sounds really good. I wanna try making it with quinoa
Liz DellaCroce
Let me know how it turns out Cathy!
Heather
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.
Liz DellaCroce
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!
Liz
Just found your blog and this is the first page I’ve seen. This salad sounds TERRIFIC!
Off to read more. Thanks so much.
Liz DellaCroce
Thanks so much Liz!
Jane
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!
Jane
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!
Liz DellaCroce
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!! :)
The Jenny Evolution
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
Nikki
This may be a silly question but is this a cold salad or a warm salad??? :)
Liz DellaCroce
I eat it cold but it would be great warm too!!! :)
Nikki
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. :)
Liz DellaCroce
He would love this!! Hope he enjoys Nikki!
Beth
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?
Ruth
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.
Liz DellaCroce
I’m so glad to hear Ruth!!! Thank you for letting me know!
Nina
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.
Sandi
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.
Liz DellaCroce
You are so sweet – thank you so much for the kind words!!! I hope you enjoy this salad!!
Kelly
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.
Liz DellaCroce
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!
Olga@StardustDecorStyle
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!
Anna
Have made this many times with slight variations and its fantastic!
visha
Would this still be good the next day? If you kept it overnight?
The Lemon Bowl
Absolutely! You may need to add more dressing as the rice will continue to absorb but definitely great the next day. Enjoy!
Bree
Sounds delicious! I love Greek flavors and make something similar to this one :)
The Lemon Bowl
Thanks Bree!! I love Greek flavors as well. And I could eat a block of feta on it’s own…haha
Living The Sweet Life
First, happy birthday to your little man :) He is such a cutie!! I hope you all have a great celebration.
You salad, gorgeous! It looks rich, delicious and packed with a healthy punch – – sounds wonderful to me.
The Lemon Bowl
Thank you so much for the nice words – let me know what you think!! I loved it – so filling and tasty!
Aggie
This looks and sounds amazing, I can eat Greek everyday, my favorite flavors. I need to get “back in the salad” bad this week!
The Lemon Bowl
Well Savannah is a good place to get out of the salad bowl- haha! Btw I love Greek flavors too!
sunithi
This is seriously delish ! Looking for interesting ways to spruce up brown rice & this looks so wholesome & fresh ! Oooh the pic of you and your little man is too cute :) Happy birthday !!
The Lemon Bowl
Thank you so much!! I am always looking for new ideas for brown rice too. :)
lisaiscooking
Greek salad is one of my favorite things, and it sounds amazing in the form of a grain salad. Love the chickpeas in the salad too. Have fun celebrating your son’s first birthday!
The Lemon Bowl
Thank you so much!