Tangy Italian Black Rice Salad

Here’s an Italian rice salad recipe that you’ll LOVE. Made with forbidden rice (black rice), soft chunks of mozzarella, ripe tomatoes and tender frills of kale in a bright lemon vinaigrette. This tangy Italian black rice salad is a healthy vegetarian option for lunch and dinner.

This is penance for all those ice creams I made (and ate) this summer.  Restitution for those burgers, and that insane pork sandwich.  Atonement for those french fries and pancakes.   In short, I’m back on the wagon.  At least for now.

That said, I can’t think of a tastier, more satisfying or filling way to do it than with this tangy italian black rice salad.  Seriously.  It’s that good!  Scott had thirds.  

With colorful, crunchy peppers,  green onions and toothsome black rice,  there’s a lot going on here.

Join our community of food lovers!

Get my latest recipes, helpful kitchen tips and more good things each week in your inbox.

First Name Email Address

By subscribing, I consent to receiving emails.

Fresh mozzarella and a chiffonade of bright, herby basil meld beautifully with the rest of the flavors.  

And yes, there’s kale.  Not much. 2-3 leaves.  Just enough to round out this dish.

This is not your typical salad.  Nope, it’s the kind of dish that makes you want to eat more.  The kind of meal you eat with your arm protectively guarding the contents of your plate from passersby.  You never know when someone’s going to swoop in for a bite of fresh mozzarella. 

And fortuitously, it stores for 2-3 days without wilting, so it’s ideal for brown-bagging.  If you can wait that long to eat it.

More kale salads:

• Peach and Baby Kale Salad with Bacon Dressing
• Farro Pomegranate Kale Salad
• Crunchy Cabbage and Kale Salad
• Pearl Barley and Kale Chopped Salad
• Chicken Kale and Farro Salad
• Caramelized Pear and Gorgonzola Salad

Tried this recipe? Leave a rating and review.

Your comments and shares are invaluable to me and the thousands of readers who use this site daily. If you've made the recipe, leave a star rating and review. We want to hear how you liked it.

We'd love it if you shared the recipe with your friends on social media!

Print Pin

5 from 3 votes

Tangy Italian Black Rice Salad

This salad is great for lunch or dinner – add chicken or shrimp for a heartier meal.  Also, the salad lasts, even with the dressing for a few days…  Great for brown bag lunches!

Author: Lisa Lotts

Course Main Course, Salad

Cuisine Italian

Keyword kale, mozzarella, rice

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups cooked black rice at room temperature
• ½ red bell pepper cut to 1/2″ dice
• ½ yellow bell pepper cut to 1/2″ dice
• 4 green onions thinly sliced
• 1 large tomato seeded and cut into 1/2″ dice
• 1 cup fresh mozzarella cut to 1/2″ dice
• 2 cups kale leaves tough stems removed, finely chopped
• ¼ cup fresh basil leaves thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves thinly sliced

for lemon vinaigrette

• 1 lemon zested and juiced
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 large clove garlic minced

DIRECTIONS:

Make the rice salad

• Combine the rice, bell peppers, onion, tomato, mozzarella and kale into a large bowl. Set aside.

Make the vinaigrette

• In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, juice, dijon mustard, olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic until emulsified.

Assemble the salad

• Add the basil, mint and dressing to the salad and toss well to combine. Serve.

NUTRITION:

Calories: 359kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 571mg | Potassium: 508mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 4605IU | Vitamin C: 84.8mg | Calcium: 227mg | Iron: 1.7mg

Don’t Forget To “Pin It” For Later!