Eggless Mediterranean Brown Rice Salad with Tomatoes, Olives & Cucumber
This vibrant grain salad is everything you want on a warm day — bright, herby, and packed with satisfying textures from juicy cherry tomatoes, crisp cucumber, and briny Kalamata olives. The whole thing comes together with pantry staples and fresh produce, no special techniques required. A zippy lemon-oregano-cumin dressing ties it all together, soaking beautifully into the nutty brown rice as it sits. Because every component here is naturally free of eggs, there's no need to swap anything out or second-guess a single ingredient — it just works. The salad actually improves after a few hours in the fridge, making it a brilliant option for meal prep or a make-ahead lunch. Fresh parsley and optional mint keep the flavor lively and Mediterranean through and through. Whether you're serving it as a main or a side, this is the kind of bowl that disappears fast.
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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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