2 min read

Cold Rice Salad with Vegetables and Lime

Cold rice vegetable salad with lime
VeganGluten-FreeDairy-FreeLunch
Prep Time15 min
Cook Time20 min
Total Time8 hr (mostly chilling)
Servings4

Rice fresh off the stove and rice that's been chilled overnight aren't nutritionally identical, even though nothing about the ingredient list changes. Cooling rewires some of its starch into a form your body digests more slowly. If you like the format but want more vegetables in the mix, how to eat more vegetables without eating salad has more ideas along the same lines.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups jasmine or long-grain rice, cooked and chilled overnight
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 cucumber, diced
  • 1 carrot, shredded
  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts
  • 3 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce or soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon neutral oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes, or to taste

Instructions

  1. Cook the rice according to package instructions, then spread on a tray to cool before refrigerating overnight.
  2. Whisk together the lime juice, fish sauce, oil, and chili flakes.
  3. Combine the chilled rice, bell pepper, cucumber, carrot, and red onion in a large bowl.
  4. Pour the dressing over and toss well.
  5. Top with cilantro and peanuts just before serving.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

Calories 220
Total fat 7g
Total carbohydrates 36g
Dietary fiber 3g
Protein 5g
Sodium 320mg

Why This Is Good for Your Gut

A study found that rice cooked and then cooled had two and a half times as much resistant starch as rice eaten fresh off the stove, and the cooled rice produced a smaller blood glucose response in the 15 healthy adults who ate it.[1] Resistant starch skips digestion in the small intestine and reaches the colon mostly intact, where gut bacteria can ferment it the way they would fiber.

Keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days, and the flavor improves as it sits and the dressing soaks in. Reheating the rice undoes some of the resistant starch effect, so this one is meant to be eaten cold. For other cold, make-ahead bowls, quinoa salad with roasted vegetables and millet, white bean, and tahini portion bowl hold up the same way.

This recipe is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional dietary advice.

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