Seed Oil 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 tastes even better the next day after the dressing has had time to soak into every bite. The entire recipe is built around extra virgin olive oil — a cold-pressed, minimally processed fat — so there's no canola, soybean, or sunflower oil anywhere in sight. That matters more than people realize, since many store-bought grain salads and bottled dressings quietly sneak in refined seed oils as a cheap base. Here, the dressing is just olive oil, fresh lemon juice, oregano, and cumin — simple, clean, and genuinely delicious. Chewy brown rice holds up beautifully against the crisp cucumber, juicy cherry tomatoes, and briny Kalamata olives, giving you great texture in every forkful. Fresh parsley and optional mint keep things vibrant and aromatic without any fuss. Make a big batch on Sunday and you've got a satisfying, wholesome lunch ready to go for days.
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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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