Citrus and Wild Rice Salad

This Citrus and Wild Rice Salad is a wonderful way to use seasonal winter citrus, but is just as delicious made any time of year! Made with whole grain wild rice, loads of sweet citrus, crunchy toasted almonds, dried cranberries and a fresh citrus vinaigrette. 

This recipe and photos have been updated since the original post on 3/17/2016.

Winter is peak season for citrus even though you can find it in the grocery store year round. I love to just eat it as is for a snack or to have along with my breakfast in the morning. 

I also love to find ways to incorporate it into recipes, especially salad recipes. I love the combination of the sweet citrus paired with earthy, nutty, and savory flavors.

I recently used citrus in this sweet and tangy citrus cabbage salad. It’s sort of like coleslaw and goes great with my slow cooker shredded barbecue chicken.

Today’s recipe, Citrus and Wild Rice Salad is a vegetarian whole grain salad that’s can be served as a side dish with your favorite protein or as a main dish salad. You can also easily turn this into a vegan salad by replacing the honey in the vinaigrette with maple syrup.

What Is Wild Rice?

You might be surprised to find out that wild rice isn’t actually a true rice. It’s an aquatic grass. Within the grass is the edible grain. Wild rice is longer, chewier, and has a nuttier flavor than traditional rice.

Ingredients For Citrus and Wild Rice Salad

• wild rice blend – This is different from straight wild rice in that it typically includes brown rice and sometimes red or black rice.
• naval orange – Naval oranges are easy to find in most grocery stores. If you’re looking to use something different try Cara Cara or blood oranges.
• grapefruit – I prefer to use a sweet variety of grapefruit such as Rio Red.
• mandarin oranges – Not the ones in the can or fruit cup. There are many varieties of mandarin oranges. Feel free to use whatever variety you want, I went with clementines.
• celery
• green onion 
• dried cranberries
• sliced almonds
• white balsamic vinegar
• dijon mustard
• honey – Use maple syrup to make this salad vegan.
• olive oil

How To Make Citrus Wild Rice Salad

Cook the wild rice blend according to the package instructions. If it calls for butter, omit that. Let the rice cool to room temperature or refrigerate it until you’re ready to assemble the rest of the salad.

Use a sharp knife to peel the citrus and cut off any of the remaining white pith. Cut between the membranes of the citrus to release the segments. Don’t throw away the remains as you’ll be using the juice from them for the vinaigrette.

Chop the celery and green onions and toast the sliced almond. Add the cooled wild rice, citrus segments, celery, green onion, almonds, and dried cranberries to a serving bowl.

Squeeze the remaining juice from the citrus segments into a glass measuring cup or jar. Strain out the pulp if you don’t want it in your vinaigrette.

To the citrus juice add in the vinegar, dijon, honey, olive oil, salt and pepper. Whisk everything together and then pour half of the vinaigrette over the salad. 

Toss the salad until everything is combined and coated in the vinaigrette. Taste it for seasoning and add more vinaigrette, salt and pepper as needed.

Serve the salad immediately or cover and refrigerate it until ready to serve. If you don’t plan to serve the salad right away, wait to add in the almonds so that they stay crunchy. 

Health Benefits Of Wild Rice

Wild rice is a good source of protein and fiber. It contains twice as much protein as white and brown rice and an equal amounts of fiber to brown rice. 

Wild rice is a whole grain and whole grains may help lower your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Wild rice is also a great option if you are gluten-free.  

How To Store Citrus And Wild Rice Salad

This wild rice salad can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days. If you don’t plan to eat the salad the day it’s made I recommend leaving out the sliced almonds. Add the almonds in with each serving so that they stay crunchy.

Time Saving Tips

• Cook the wild rice ahead of time. You can cook the rice several days in advance and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
• Peel and segment the citrus a day or two in advance.
• Make the vinaigrette a day or two in advance.
• If you’re short on time, use a couple pouches of the microwavable wild rice pouches.

More Wild Rice Recipes

• Southwest Sweet Potato, Black Bean, and Wild Rice Salad
• Sweet Potato, Wild Rice, and Arugula Salad
• Winter Kale and Wild Rice Salad
• Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
• Wild Rice Stuffing

Did you make this Citrus and Wild Rice Salad? I’d love if you’d leave a recipe rating and review below.