Mustard Free Mediterranean Brown Rice Salad with Tomatoes, Olives & Cucumber
Bright, herby, and loaded with Mediterranean flavor, this grain salad is the kind of dish that earns a permanent spot in your weekly rotation. Cherry tomatoes, crisp cucumber, briny Kalamata olives, and fresh parsley come together over nutty brown rice for a bowl that's as satisfying as it is colorful. The dressing is a simple whisk of extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, oregano, and cumin — no mustard, no mustard powder, and no emulsifiers that sneak it in through the back door. That matters more than you might think, since store-bought dressings and many restaurant vinaigrettes quietly rely on mustard as an emulsifier, making a homemade version like this one genuinely hard to replace. Letting the rice cool before tossing everything together keeps the vegetables crisp and prevents the dressing from getting absorbed too fast. A handful of fresh mint stirred in at the end adds an unexpected lift that takes the whole thing up a notch. It keeps well in the fridge for up to three days, so it's just as good packed for lunch the next day as it is served straight from the bowl.
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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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