Cold Rice Salad with Bacon, Tomatoes, and Basil

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Cold Rice Salad with Bacon, Tomatoes, and Basil

This is a flavorful, cold salad with caprese flavors: mozzarella cheese, fresh basil leaves, and tomatoes. Cold Rice Salad is a unique and delicious dish for lunch or potlucks!

Prep Time25

Cook Time30

Total Time55

Course: Fall Dish, Lunch, Salad, Side Dish, Summer Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 490kcal

Author: Nancy Mock

Ingredients

For the salad:

2 cups jasmine rice, uncooked
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
8 strips bacon: cooked, drained, and chopped into small pieces
3 Roma tomatoes
½ cup fresh basil leaves, plus a few more for garnish
8 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes

For the rice salad dressing:

½ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the rice:

Heat the 1 tablespoon of olive oil until hot in a pan over medium heat. Add in the minced garlic and toss quickly to sauté, for 30 seconds.
Add in the jasmine rice and stir to coat it in the oil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and stir the rice and garlic frequently for another 2 minutes—do not allow the garlic to burn.
Add in 4 cups of water and stir. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer the rice, covered, stirring it one or two times during cooking. Simmer the rice for 15-20 minutes until it's tender.
Spread the cooked rice out in a thin layer in a shallow, greased baking dish or on a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet. Place it in the fridge to let it cool.
While the rice cools, prepare the other ingredients.

Prepare the tomatoes and basil:

Slice the tomatoes in half. Remove the seeds and discard them. Dice the tomatoes and place them in a large bowl along with the chopped, cooked bacon.
Julienne the basil: place the basil leaves in stacks of 4-5, roll them up from the long edge and slice through the leaves crosswise to cut them into thin strips. Run the knife through the strips a few times to chop them into small pieces, and then add them to the bowl.
Add the cubed mozzarella to the bowl as well.

Make the rice salad dressing:

Pour the ½ of vinegar and ½ cup of olive oil into a small jar with a lid. Add in the pepper and salt. Close the jar and shake to combine everything.

Complete the salad:

Stir the cooled rice into the bowl with the basil, tomatoes, bacon and cheese, and toss the ingredients to combine.
Pour the vinaigrette over the ingredients in the bowl and toss to coat and combine everything. Taste the salad, and add a dash more of salt or pepper if you think it needs it.
Serve the salad at room temperature or chilled. Garnish the servings with torn or whole fresh basil leaves.
Makes about 4 cups. Store leftover salad covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Notes

Jasmine is my favorite, everyday rice because it's delicious and cooks up so quickly. Feel free to use a different kind of rice in this salad, and follow the package directions for the time to cook it.
Cool the cooked rice quickly by spreading it into a thin layer (in a shallow dish or baking sheet) before placing it in the fridge. This is important to prevent any bacteria from developing.
I recommend choosing a good quality, smoked bacon. Find a local bacon producer if you can! It makes a difference to use a well-smoked bacon that you can really taste in every bite. I like Dakin Farms of Vermont and North Country Smokehouse of New Hampshire.

Nutrition