Artificial Flavors Free Mediterranean Brown Rice Salad with Tomatoes, Olives & Cucumber
Bright, herby, and loaded with Mediterranean character, this grain salad is the kind of dish that tastes like it came from a sun-drenched kitchen rather than a bottle of shortcuts. Every single flavor here is completely real — fresh lemon juice, dried oregano, ground cumin, and a handful of chopped parsley and mint do all the heavy lifting without a synthetic flavor enhancer in sight. That matters more than you might think, because a lot of store-bought grain salads and bottled dressings quietly rely on artificial flavoring agents to mimic the brightness that whole ingredients deliver naturally. Here, the dressing is just whisked together from pantry staples, and the vegetables — cherry tomatoes, crisp cucumber, briny Kalamata olives, and sharp red onion — bring their own bold, unprocessed personality to every bite. Cooking the brown rice low and slow until perfectly tender, then letting it cool before tossing, means the grains stay distinct and soak up that lemony, cumin-kissed dressing beautifully. It keeps well in the fridge for up to three days, making it a genuinely easy option for meal prep when you want something satisfying that you can trust completely.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the rice
- 1 cup long-grain brown rice
- 2 cups water
- ¼ tsp salt
For the dressing
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice (from about 1 large lemon)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
For the salad
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 english cucumber, diced (about 1 ½ cups)
- ½ cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
- ¼ cup red onion, finely diced
- ¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh mint, roughly chopped (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the brown rice, water, and 1/4 tsp salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low, cover tightly, and cook until the water is fully absorbed and the rice is tender, about 40–45 minutes.
- 2
Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the rice rest, covered, for 10 minutes, then spread it out in a large mixing bowl and let it cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
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