Bacon brown rice salad is such a flavorful, nutrient-dense meal. And if you’re not a brown rice fan, you’ll be a believer after you’ve tried this brown rice ‘salad.’ I guess what makes it a salad is there is vinegar included in the recipe. (There aren’t any green leaves involved in this one.) This is one of our top favorite week night recipes we have adapted. I like that it can be partially prepared ahead of time so that you can save time in the evening.
Here’s how:
If you bake the brown rice (here’s my favorite way to bake brown rice!), you can refrigerate it, covering it up really well with plastic wrap, up to 1 day in advance. Then when you get home from work, just spend 20 minutes preparing the bacon and the rest of the salad.
Ingredients
- 8 pieces bacon, fried crisp and crumbled
- 1 tablespoon reserved bacon fat or olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 1/2 cup white or red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 1/2 cups baked brown rice
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, or 2 teaspoons dried dill
- Optional: Frozen peas or any frozen small-cut vegetable.
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add red onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add vinegar, chicken broth, mustard, sugar, salt and crushed red pepper to the pan and stir to combine.
- Add crumbled bacon and rice and stir occasionally until the liquid is absorbed, about 7 minutes.
- Stir in dill and frozen vegetables (if using) and cook through until warmed. Allow to cool just a bit before serving.
