This colorful and nutritious Black Rice Salad with Shrimp & Mango Salsa is LOADED with vibrant flavours! Perfect for a quick lunch, or as a side for your next picnic or BBQ party!
This Black Rice Salad with Shrimps & Mango Salsa always gets amazing reviews from my family and friends! It’s super easy to prep, bursting with flavour and packed with healthy goodness.
This salad has quickly become one of my favorite lunch options lately. I love that is so quick to make, packed with nutrients, and SO refreshing.
As an added bonus, this Black Rice Salad with Shrimps & Mango Salsa is also gluten-free and dairy-free.
Plus, you can easily double up the ingredients and store the extra portions in the fridge for a quick grab-and-go lunch option during the week.
More on Italian black rice
For this recipe, I’ve used the Italian Venere rice, which has an unexpected hearty and nutty flavour, plus contains tons of nutrients such as iron, vitamins and fiber and is also naturally gluten-free.
If you can’t find Italian Venere rice, go for the Chinese version called forbidden black rice. I haven’t tried it yet, but I reckon wild rice would work well too.
Did I mention black rice is SO pretty? It really makes a wonderful addition to a colourful veggie-loaded salad!
Easy fuss-free Black Rice Salad
This Black Rice Salad with Shrimps & Mango Salsa is just WAY too easy to make and requires just a little bit of veggie chopping up and a pressure cooker to cook the rice.
The salad is ready in just 30 minutes and is made with incredibly simple ingredients: black rice, mango, red bell pepper, cooked shrimps, spring onion, red onion and cilantro.
I decided to add a Mexican-style twist and combine the nutty flavour of black rice with a refreshing mango salsa, and gosh what a great combo!
The rice soaks up all the tangy and vibrant mango salsa flavors, but keeps a nice crunchy texture, so you don’t end up with a soggy rice salad.
I’ve tried many rice salads over the years, and most of the time the rice texture tends to be disappointingly soft and moist.
So, if you like your rice to keep its texture very well, I totally recommend this Italian variety of black rice.
What kind of dressing should you use?
This black rice salad is super versatile, and you can pair it pretty much with any of your favourite dressings.
I've kept mine plain and simple this time, seasoning with just a glug of olive oil, lime juice and a pinch of fresh chili pepper for a nice spicy kick.
A few of my other favorite ways to dress up this amazing black rice salad include pea pesto or arugula pesto, but chimichurri sauce works wonderfully too.
If you’re looking for an easy spring & summer meal that is bursting with healthy goodness and is quick to make, this gluten-free rice salad is sure to become a favorite!
Recipe
Black Rice Salad with Shrimp & Mango Salsa
Ingredients
For the rice:
- 200 g black rice, Venere rice or Forbidden rice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- sea salt
For the shrimp & mango salsa
- 1 mango, diced
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, deseeded and finely diced
- 2 spring onions, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon of fresh coriander, finely chopped
- 200 g freshly cooked shrimps
For the dressing:
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ fresh red chili, finely minced (optional)
- sea salt & black pepper
Instructions
- Place the rice in a fine colander over a large bowl, and rinse under fresh running water, until the water in the bowl is no longer purple, about 2-3 minutes.
- Combine black rice, water, a glug of oil and salt in the pressure cooker pot. Lock the lid on, select high pressure mode and cook for 20 minutes. When the timer goes off, remove the lid to release excess steam, transfer the rice into a large bowl and allow to cool.
- In a large bowl, mix together all the salad ingredients: diced mango, onion, red pepper. coriander and cooked shrimps. Season with salt and pepper to taste, fold the cooled rice and mix all the ingredients together.
- In a small bowl, mix the dressing ingredients: olive oil, lime juice, chopped red chili (optional), and season to taste.
- Pour dressing over the salad, mix well all ingredients and serve.
- Store leftover salad in airtight containers for up to 2 days.
Notes
Shrimps: you can cook the fresh (or defrosted) shrimps in different ways: steamed, grilled, stir-fried.
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Natalie Ellis says
I've never tried to eat cooked black rice but fermented one, how is its taste compared to white rice?
Andrea says
Hey Natalie! In my opinion black rice has a distinct lovely wild & nutty flavour, whether white rice has a quite plain flavour instead.