Brown Rice Salad with Cranberries and Nuts is super good. Very filling. Simple. Good for you.

Brown Rice Salad with Cranberries and Nuts has a very tasty vinaigrette.
Brown Rice Salad with Cranberries and Nuts is such a good combo of flavors and textures.
Today I'm telling you about a delicious whole grain recipe an amazing rice salad you can eat as a main dish or side salad. I love it.
Whole grains are œcomplex carbohydrates. Until a few years ago I didn't really understand what complex carbs were. I thought all carbs were œbad and raised blood sugar quickly, something that I don't want to happen since I'm diabetic (Type II). But this isn't true. Simple carbs (fruit, sugar, candy, white bread, potatoes, etc.) are digested quickly and therefore, raise blood sugar quickly. But complex carbs take much longer to digest, include insoluble fiber (good for keeping things œmoving in your body), and do not turn directly into glucose in your body. If you are carb counting, you can subtract the fiber from the number of carbs, too!
Food Pairings
Brown Rice Salad with Cranberries and Nuts Salad is beautiful on a bed of spinach or lettuce, served with crisp green beans or another vegetable, sliced tomatoes, and orange quarters. It makes a spectacular accompaniment to any poultry, fish or meat. This salad can be made with wheatberries or wild rice instead of brown rice. It is scrumptious in all three ways.
The recipe was inspired by a recipe in a wonderful cookbook, The Candle Cafe Cookbook (affiliate link). The cookbook is a terrific vegan cookbook with loads of gluten free options, written by the chefs at Candle 79 in New York City (a MAH-vel-ous vegan restaurant!).
What You Need
You need a covered medium pot or a covered casserole dish. Try my Baked Rice recipe for the simplest way to make rice. (If you have cooked brown rice on hand, you won't need a pot or a casserole dish.) You do need a knife (affiliate link), a cutting board, measuring cups and spoons, a wire whisk, and a bowl.

Brown Rice Salad with Cranberries and Nuts
Ingredients
Salad
- 3 cups cooked brown rice
- 2 scallions green onions; chopped
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- ½ cup dried cranberries
Dressing
- ¼ cup lite soy sauce
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
Instructions
- Mix rice, onion, walnuts and cranberries. Set aside.
- Whisk remaining ingredients until emulsified and then pour this dressing over the rice mixture.
- Stir and refrigerate for one hour or more.
Elizabeth Cottrell
This sounds really good -- am printing it out to try it soon.
Don Crawford
Thanks, Elizabeth. It is delicious.