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Wild Rice Cranberry Pecan Salad

Wild Rice Cranberry Pecan Salad

This rice salad is a perfect accompaniment to many fall and winter dishes - roast chicken, stews, pork chops. You can use brown rice, wild rice (not really a rice at all), or a combination of the two. Both wild rice and brown rice have a rich, nutty flavor that complements the cranberries and pecans, and the citrus in the dressing.

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Wild Rice Cranberry Pecan Salad Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice wild rice mix
2 1/3 cups water (see package instructions)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon butter

1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans (toasted or un-toasted, your choice)
1/4 cup sliced green onions

1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

1 Use the amount of water for the rice according to instructions on the rice package. Typically straight brown rice is a 1:2 ratio of rice to water. Straight wild rice is a ratio of 1:3 of wild rice to water. For this brown rice wild rice mix that I got from a bin (no package) I used a ratio of 1 cup of rice to 2 1/3 cups of water. Bring rice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, butter, and water to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 50 minutes. Do not stir. Do not uncover. Remove from stove and let sit, covered for 10 minutes. Then uncover, fluff up with a fork, and let cool to almost room temperature.

2 In a medium sized serving bowl, mix the rice, cranberries, pecans, and green onions together.

3 In a separate jar, mix the lemon juice, olive oil, orange peel, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, mix dressing in with the rice mixture. Serve warm, chilled, or room temperature.

Serves 4 to 6.

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14 Comments

I like the sound of this a lot, especially the addition of the orange peel in the dressing. Salads like this with some crunch to them are one of my favorites all year round.

Posted by: Kalyn on December 7, 2006 5:40 AM

I'd like a combo of wild/brown rice...sometimes wild on its own is too nuttay for me

Posted by: Jeff on December 7, 2006 6:51 AM

Sounds good.
I'm confused why you would say it's not really a rice at all. Sure, it says it's a grass, but the link to "true rice" claims it's a grass too. So then all rice is grass.

Posted by: Michelle on December 7, 2006 7:09 AM

Are dried cranberries the same thing as "craisins"?

Posted by: Nick on December 7, 2006 11:50 AM

Could you use walnuts instead of pecans for this recipe? I like walnuts better than pecans.

Posted by: Donna on December 7, 2006 12:23 PM

The ingredients for this salad are almost exactly the ones I used to make a wild rice cranberry dressing for Thanksgiving. Epicurious was the source this year, and a very similar recipe came from another source (I couldn't find again!) was made for Thanksgiving last year.

Posted by: IA girl on December 7, 2006 2:00 PM

Is 50 minutes the correct time for this? I've never cooked rice longer than 15-20 minutes.

Note from Elise: white rice cooks up in 15 minutes, brown rice 45 minutes, and wild rice about 50 minutes.

Posted by: Jeremy Henderson on December 7, 2006 3:57 PM

Mmmm, sounds good. I will probably try this with brown rice, because that's what I usually have on hand. I love rice! Thanks, again!

Posted by: billie/ca on December 7, 2006 8:06 PM

Elise,
I made the salad with dinner last night and added some cut up clementines along with the cranberries. It was fantastic. My husband even enjoyed it and he can be a picky eater. Thank you for the recipe. I look forward to more.

Posted by: Terry on December 8, 2006 5:24 AM

I may have to forsake my recipe for this one — it sounds wonderful.

Posted by: Mimi on December 10, 2006 7:40 PM

Thank you. I've found so many wonderful recipes on this website. I'd like to add that this recipe is similar to recipes I have which call for cracked wheat, bulghar, or cous cous and would probably be great with any grain.

Posted by: Julie on May 17, 2007 6:46 AM

This is such a great recipe. I made it earlier this week and added some dried cherries with the cranberries, as well as a little OJ to the dressing. It's delicious! Thanks for sharing it. :)

Posted by: Kate on November 20, 2007 12:32 PM

We first made this recipe two weeks ago with half brown rice, half wild rice (cooked in a rice cooker), and used dried cherries and pistachios for the fruit and nuts. We are making it again today, we love it!

Posted by: Vicki on January 13, 2008 10:18 AM

I love the comments as much as the recipes...and this really sounds delicious!

Posted by: Debbie Newton on May 9, 2008 3:17 PM

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