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    Home » Vegan Recipes » Wild Rice & Watercress Salad

    Wild Rice & Watercress Salad

    Published: May 18, 2016 · Modified: May 2, 2021 by Kate Ford · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Wild Rice & Watercress Salad
    JUMP TO RECIPE
    20 Min Meals | Vegetarian & Vegan

    Here's one of those 'bung it all in and see what happens' sort of suppers - supposedly celebrating all the fabulous produce that early British summertime brings, (though I fear that summer might in fact have been and gone.... oh well, it was fun whilst it lasted).

    If you're a regular reader you'll have noticed that I'm not much of a salad fan.... I rarely find a salad filling and satisfying enough to count as a main meal in its own right, but adding grains like giant cous cous (here), bulgur wheat (here), or rice (here) transforms a collection of vegetables (ie. a side dish), into a proper stand-alone main course.

    I love the wild rice mixes you can get from supermarkets these days - either in a bag to boil your own, or if you're as lazy as me, the microwaveable pouches which take 2 minutes to steam.  I know Tilda, Veetee and Uncle Ben's all do a microwaveable wild rice - I just happened to have this one in the cupboard as it was on special offer!

    You can bung any vegetable into this sort of 'substantial salad'. I opted for all the spring veg which are at their best at the moment - asparagus, radishes and watercress.  Add some protein and crunch from pine nuts and pumpkin seeds, lots of fresh parsley, a generous squeeze of lemon juice, a drizzle of dressing, and bingo - that's supper sorted.

    Wild Rice & Watercress Salad

    Being lazy again, I've used a bottle of French dressing which lives in my fridge door, but if you're keen to make your own I haven't found a better recipe than Felicity Cloake's 'Perfect Vinaigrette' from the Guardian - worth making a batch to keep in the fridge.  Getting the right balance of acidity, sweetness and saltiness in a dressing is tricky, and this one is indeed perfect.

    Loved this recipe? ⭐️ Leave a star rating below! 📸 Snap a photo of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram, tagging me @thevegspace or #thevegspace 📩 And get all my latest recipes in a weekly e-mail by subscribing to my newsletter.

    🍽 If you liked that...

    .... you might also enjoy these vegan recipes from The Veg Space:

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      Tenderstem Broccoli Salad with noodles
    • Spelt Flatbreads
      Spelt Flatbreads
    • baked onions with stuffing
      Stuffed Onions with hazlenuts & sun-dried tomato
    • Satay Tofu
      Satay Tofu

    📖 Recipe

    Wild Rice & Watercress Salad

    Wild Rice & Watercress Salad

    Kate Ford | The Veg Space
    A healthy and filling salad that's perfect for a lunchbox or a side dish for BBQ and buffets.
    5 from 5 votes
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    Prep Time 5 minutes mins
    Cook Time 5 minutes mins
    Total Time 10 minutes mins
    Course Salad
    Cuisine British
    Servings 4 servings or 2 as a main meal
    Calories 201 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 250 g pack microwaveable Long Grain & Wild Rice
    • 8 asparagus spears cut into two pieces
    • 5 radishes finely sliced
    • 1 spring onion finely sliced
    • 60 g watercress
    • 25 g parsley finely chopped
    • 1 lemon juice only
    • 3 tablespoon french dressing
    • 2 tablespoon pine nuts
    • 2 tablespoon pumpkin seeds

    Instructions
     

    • Cook the rice according to packet instructions, then tip into a large bowl and spread around to cool.
    • Meanwhile, bring a small saucepan of water to the boil, and add the asparagus. Cook for 3 minutes until just turning tender. Drain and add to the bowl with the rice.
    • Add all the remaining ingredients, and toss together until everything is fully coated with the dressing. Taste and season with a little salt if required.
    • Divide between two plates and serve immediately. (NB. If you are preparing this in advance, eg, to take to work in a lunchbox, leave the lemon juice and dressing off until you are about to eat it, or else the watercress will turn soggy and unpleasant).

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1servingCalories: 201kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 6gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gSodium: 117mgPotassium: 349mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 1344IUVitamin C: 33mgCalcium: 53mgIron: 3mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was! Mention @thevegspace or #thevegspace
    If you enjoy my recipes please BuyMeACoffee.com!

    For more simple Spring Vegetable Salads from blogging friends, take a look at Laura's Spring Green Quinoa Salad from How to Cook Good Food 

    « Sun-Dried Tomato Scones
    Tenderstem Broccoli Salad with soba noodles »

    About Kate Ford

    Hi! I'm Kate, vegan home cook and blogger behind The Veg Space and author of Vegan in 15. I'm passionate about creating easy vegan recipes that even a first-time cook can follow.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Lisa says

      May 31, 2016 at 6:21 pm

      Wild rice is something I don't cook with enough. Lovely recipe. Thanks for sharing with NCR.

      Reply
    2. Vegan Heaven says

      May 23, 2016 at 8:50 am

      Love how healthy and easy this salad is, Kate! Can't wait to give it a try! 🙂 Just perfect for spring and summer!

      Reply
    3. RaeLikesFroot says

      May 20, 2016 at 9:21 am

      LOVE THIS! <3 Looks ultra tasty, and its Vegan too!! Perfect summer food

      You have gained a new follower x

      RaeLikesFroot 🙂

      Reply
      • thevegspace says

        May 20, 2016 at 12:02 pm

        Great to hear it - thanks!

        Reply
    4. Laura@howtocookgoodfood says

      May 19, 2016 at 2:07 pm

      What a lovely looking salad and I hope this eans you will enjoy more salads from now on but I would urge you to coo up your own rice, it's so much tastier. All I do is boil up rice in plenty of water, drain then let it steam with a lid on for 5 mins. You would love it, especially basmati! Thanls for linking to my salad too :))

      Reply
      • thevegspace says

        May 19, 2016 at 7:16 pm

        Thanks Laura - yes when I have the time I do prefer the flavour of home cooked rice, but do also like the convenience of these packs when time is short!

        Reply
    5. Chris @thinlyspread says

      May 19, 2016 at 1:05 pm

      A real taste of summer - I adore wild rice in a salad, it really lifts it!

      Reply
      • thevegspace says

        May 19, 2016 at 7:15 pm

        Thanks Chris - me too!

        Reply
    6. Ceri Jones says

      May 19, 2016 at 6:25 am

      I love big plates of food like this, and as Kellie says - they are definitley salad meals. Salad no longer needs to mean iceberg+toms+cuc (oh the salad of my youth!)
      Love wild rice, especially its dark colour and chewy texture, its just a shame as its so expensive those mixes don't include more of this interesting grain and pad it out with the other stuff (I regularly buy a red and wild rice mix, I can't find it on its own!)

      Reply
      • thevegspace says

        May 19, 2016 at 7:15 pm

        Ooh red and wild rice sounds fantastic - must look out for it!

        Reply
    7. Helen @ Fuss Free Flavours says

      May 18, 2016 at 8:43 pm

      Lovely flavours, textures and colours going in there Kate. I just my type of meal.

      Reply
    8. Diana says

      May 18, 2016 at 6:54 pm

      Love this recipe, simple and looks delicious too! I also buy Uncle Ben's rice haha it's very convenient and good 🙂

      Reply
    9. kellie@foodtoglow says

      May 18, 2016 at 6:43 pm

      I call these meal salads. Grains add heft, minerals and importantly, satisfaction. I always have bags of prepared grains around (I show them to my cancer and nutrition classes and tell them to concentrate on getting the protein right when tiredness is at its worst) and they are so good in quick salads like this Lovely images too, Kate. 🙂

      Reply
    10. Roz says

      May 18, 2016 at 6:32 pm

      This sounds like a perfect summer salad!

      Reply
    5 from 5 votes

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