A vibrant brown rice salad with currants, crunchy sunflower seeds, cashews, bell peppers, and tangy garlic-soy dressing—perfect as a nutritious side or light meal.
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 5 minutesminutes
Total Time 20 minutesminutes
Servings 8serves
Calories 469kcal
Ingredients
Salad
3cupscooked brown rice(approx. 510 g)
¼cupcurrants(approx. 35 g)
5green onionssliced
1smallgreen bell pepperdiced (approx. 120 g)
1smallred bell pepperdiced (approx. 120 g)
1 ⅓cupssunflower seeds(200 g)
1 ¾cupsraw cashews or almonds(200 g total)
Dressing
4tbspsunflower oilor mild olive oil
3clovesgarlicminced (approx. 9 g)
1tbspfresh flat leaf parsleyminced (approx. 3 g)
6tbspsoy sauce(approx. 90 mL)
Instructions
Heat a dry skillet over low heat and add the sunflower seeds, stirring constantly until they turn golden, about 3–4 minutes. Transfer them to a large bowl.
In the same skillet over low–medium heat, toast the cashews (or almonds), stirring until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add them to the bowl with the seeds.
Add the cooked brown rice, currants, green onions, and diced bell peppers to the bowl and gently toss to combine.
In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine sunflower oil, minced garlic, minced parsley, and soy sauce, then shake until the dressing is emulsified.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until everything is evenly coated. For maximum crunch, keep the toasted nuts and seeds separate until just before serving.
Notes
Keep nuts and the dressing separate until ready to serve (otherwise nuts will soften).