Our delicious, Italian-Style Rice Salad Recipe is so easy to make. The dish features a medley of chopped salad combined with chilled long-grain rice, all tossed in a homemade dressing of olive oil, lemon, herbs, and garlic.

This Mediterranean recipe is great served as a main dish for vegetarians and vegans or as a simple side salad in the spring. It is also a fantastic cold-sharing dish for BBQs or parties in the Spring or Summer.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need for this rice salad recipe to serve 6 people as a side dish.
- 200 grams Long Grain Rice Uncooked weight (makes 600 grams (3 cups) once cooked)
- 310 mls Cold water
Italian Dressing Ingredients (make your own or buy shop brought one)
- 5 tablespoon Olive oil
- ยฝ Lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning/ Dried Herbs mix of Oregano, Thyme, Basil, Parsley, Sage, Red Pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoon Garlic Puree or 4 cloves minced
Italian Salad (this is what we used but get creative and use what you like/have!)
- 8 Sundried Tomatoes Finely chopped
- 1 Orange Pepper Diced
- ยฝ Cucumber Diced
- 1 Red Onion Diced
- 100 gram Cherry or Plum Tomatoes Quartered
- 100 g Sweetcorn Tin
- 60 g Green or/and Black Olives pitted
- 4 tablespoon Pine Nuts
- 3 tablespoon Fresh Basil chopped
- 2 tablespoon Fresh Parsley chopped
Optional extras
- 130 gram Cooked Diced Pancetta
- 1 tin Tuna drained
- 200 g Mozzarella Balls or chopped
Rice
Cook the rice and allow it to cool before adding to the salad items.
We tend to use long-grain rice, but basmati rice will work for this recipe too.
Alternatively, use brown rice or wild rice, but you will need to adjust the measurements and cooking times.
Homemade Salad Dressing
You can buy a dressing, but Italian salad dressings are so simple and easy to make; all you need is to mix the below ingredients!
We use a small clip-top jar for quick and easy mixing; seal the lid and shake!
- 5 tbsp Olive oil
- ยฝ a lemon juice
- 1 tbsp of Italian Seasoning/ Dried Herbs (ours contained a mix of Oregano, Thyme, Basil, Parsley, Sage, Red Pepper Flakes.)
- 2 tsp garlic puree or four cloves minced
Now it's time to get busy chopping all your salad bits!
What to put into a Rice Salad?
We used sun-dried tomatoes,ย orange pepper, cucumber,ย red onion, plum tomatoes,ย sweetcorn, green and black olives, pine nuts,ย fresh basil & parsley.
But you can use whatever you like best, or whatever is in your fridge!?
It looks great served up for a BBQ like this for everyone to choose a scoop of whatever they like to add.
Or mix the cooked rice, salad and olive oil dressing together, and you are ready to serve!
Such a great-looking salad! Top with some extra fresh herbs.
๐ Step by Step Recipe
Italian Style Rice Salad
Ingredients
- 200 grams Long Grain Rice - Uncooked weight (makes 600 grams (3 cups) once cooked)
- 310 mls Cold water
Italian Dressing Ingredients (make your own or buy shop brought one)
- 5 tablespoon Olive oil
- ยฝ Lemon - juice
- 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning/ Dried Herbs - mix of Oregano, Thyme, Basil, Parsley, Sage, Red Pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoon Garlic Puree - or 4 cloves minced
Italian Salad (this is what we used but get creative and use what you like/have!)
- 8 Sundried Tomatoes - Finely chopped
- 1 Orange Pepper - Diced
- ยฝ Cucumber - Diced
- 1 Red Onion - Diced
- 100 gram Cherry or Plum Tomatoes - Quartered
- 100 g Sweetcorn - Tin
- 60 g Green or/and Black Olives - pitted
- 4 tablespoon Pine Nuts
- 3 tablespoon Fresh Basil - chopped
- 2 tablespoon Fresh Parsley - chopped
Optional extras
- 130 gram Cooked Diced Pancetta
- 1 tin Tuna - drained
- 200 g Mozzarella - Balls or chopped
Instructions
- Cook 200 grams Long Grain Rice in 310 mls Cold water beforehand. Giving it time for it to cool off. Follow the instructions in the notes below to make sure you cook the rice correctly. If adding 130 gram Cooked Diced Pancetta, cook that off in the sundried tomato oil and allow time to cool.
- Make the dressing by mixing all the Italian Dressing ingredients 5 tablespoon Olive oil, ยฝ Lemon , 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning/ Dried Herbs, 2 teaspoon Garlic Puree.
- Put cooked rice in a mixing bowl and add all the chopped Italian Salad ingredients. We used 8 Sundried Tomatoes, 1 Orange Pepper, ยฝ Cucumber, 1 Red Onion , 100 gram Cherry or Plum Tomatoes, 100 g Sweetcorn, 60 g Green or/and Black Olives, 4 tablespoon Pine Nuts, 3 tablespoon Fresh Basil, and 2 tablespoon Fresh ParsleyPour the dressing over and mix all in together.
- Serve up in a large bowl or large plate with more fresh herbs.
Video
Notes
How to cook rice for salad recipe?
We want to make sure that the rice grains stay separate and doesn't stick together once cooked. Correct ratio for making rice suitable for a salad is 1 cup rice ( 200g)ย : 1 ยผ cup (310 ml) cold water. It does not matter if you do not own American measurement cups you can use a teacup, wine glass or mug as long as you use the above measurement of 1 rice to 1 ยผ cold water. We used long grain rice but basmati rice will be the same!- Rinse the rice first until water runs clear to remove starch.
- Put the drained rice and the correct amount of water into a pan, bring to the boil.
- Once boiling, turn down to simmer, place the lid on and time for 8 minutes. Do not lift the lid the rice will cook perfectly in this time and will not need stirring!
- After 8 minutes turn the heat off and leave the lid on for 5-10 minutes. Finally use a fork to fluff up the grains.
- Transfer to a bowl and place in the fridge to help it cool down quicker whilst you prepare the rest of your salad!
Nutrition
This Italian Rice Salad Recipe was updated on 7th May 2024, with an easier-to-follow recipe card, a more user-friendly layout of the blog post.
Serving Suggestions
If you want to serve it up with meat, cook some air-fried sausages, chop them up and stir through. Or serve with our lamb shish or chicken kebab skewers.
To stay with the Italian theme, fry some chopped pancetta in the oil from the sundried tomatoes and mix it in the final step!
We also sometimes add tuna to make it into a tasty main course, or for a more substantial meal, try serving with a whole cooked sea bream.
How to make rice suitable for a salad?
To make rice suitable for a salad, the key is to cook the rice grains in a way that keeps them separated so they don't all stick together once cooked.
The correct ratio for making rice suitable for a salad is 1 cup rice to 1ย ยผย cup cold water. It does not matter if you do not own American measurement cups.
You can use a teacup, wine glass or mug, as long as you use the above measurement of 1 rice to 1 ยผ cold water.
First, rinse the rice until the water runs clear to remove starch. Then, put the drained rice and the correct amount of water into a pan and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, place the lid on and set the time for 8 minutes. Do not lift the lid. The rice will cook perfectly during this time and will not need stirring!
After 8 minutes, turn the heat off and leave the lid on for 8 minutes. Finally, use a fork to fluff up the grains.
Transfer cooked rice into a bowl and place it in the fridge to help it cool down quicker while you prepare the rest of your salad!
Make Ahead
Making this recipe ahead of time requires separate containers to ensure your dish retains its vibrant flavours and textures.
Cook your rice as you normally would, transferring it to an airtight container and kept in the fridge.
Similarly, prepare your salad items by chopping them according to the recipe instructions and place them in a separate airtight container.
Keeping the salad items chilled and away from any moisture will help maintain their crispness and freshness until you're ready to serve.
The dressing should also be prepared ahead of time and stored in a small container. This allows the dressing's flavours to meld together beautifully, enhancing its taste when combined with the rice and salad.
When you're ready to serve, simply bring out all three componentsโthe chilled rice, crisp salad items, and flavourful dressingโand mix them together. So each bite is as fresh and delicious as possible, making for a truly enjoyable eating experience.
Storage
Proper storage of rice salad is crucial to keeping it fresh, delicious, and safe to eat! Once you've made your rice salad, don't leave it out at room temperature for too long. Ideally, you want to pack it up and put it in the fridge within an hour or two.
The reason? Rice can be a sneaky breeding ground for bacteria if left out too long, especially at room temperature. Keeping rice chilled will prevent the growth of these bacteria.
So, grab an airtight container and spoon your rice salad into it once you have had enough. Seal it up tight and pop it in the fridge. This way, your rice salad stays fresh and tasty for your next meal.
Cooked and cooled rice should only be refrigerated for one day before use. Note that this recipe is not recommended for freezing.
We hope you enjoy this Italian Style Rice Salad as much as we did!
More Salad Ideas
Another great Mediterranean salad recipe is our orzo pasta salad or for a Thai inspired salad, try our prawn salad.
Other Rice Recipes
Are you looking for more rice recipes? Check out our plain basmati rice, Jasmine Sticky Rice or pilau rice. Or, for more flavoursome rice recipes, we have onion rice and coconut rice.
Please leave us a comment below; we love to hear what you add when making a cold rice salad recipe.
Liz says
I have made this salad before to go to a sharing barbecue, and it was delicious, thank you.
I am about to make it again, but canโt get hold of sun dried tomatoes.
Do you have any ideas of what would make a good substitute?
Juyali says
Delicious and nutritious salad. I made it for meal planning and added some tuna. It saved me so much time! Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Luke and Kay says
Hi Juyali, We are thrilled to hear you enjoyed our Italian-style rice Salad recipe! We love hearing about how people are incorporating their own ideas into our recipes, and adding tuna sounds delicious. Thanks for trying out the recipe and for taking the time to leave a review. ๐