This delicious Curried Rice Salad recipe is the quick and easy vegan version of Moms fruity Curry Rice Salad with Mandarins (without chicken, eggs or dairy). We also like to make the simple curry salad with noodles and pineapple instead of rice and mandarins – both versions are super delicious and perfect as a side dish for potlucks, barbecues and summer parties!
The Best Curried Rice Salad with Mandarins
Rice salad with mandarins and curry is a delicious and refreshing twist on the classic rice salad! The sweet and juicy mandarin orange pieces add a fruity touch to the salad, while the curry powder gives the dish an Indian flavor with wonderful aromas and little spicy heat. The yogurt in the dressing has a cooling effect, making the salad perfect for summer!
If you have leftover rice from the previous day, this easy rice salad is ready in just 10 minutes! In fact, to make the salad, all you need to do is mix the rice with vegetables and mandarins. For the dressing, mix yogurt, vegan mayonnaise, curry powder, salt and pepper and pour it over the top – and the delicious rice salad is ready!
Optionally, you could also add other ingredients such as toasted cashews, chopped scallions or raisins to give the rice salad even more flavor and texture. Feel free to get creative here and try different combinations!
What type of rice for rice salad?
Long grain rice or jasmine or basmati rice is best for a rice salad, as it stays grainy when cooked and doesn’t turn into a mushy mass. A good alternative would also be whole grain rice, which adds more fiber and a nutty note to the salad. Depending on your desired taste and availability, you could of course use other types of rice.
Ingredients and Recipe Variations
This curried rice salad recipe is quick and easy to make with just a few ingredients and very versatile, as you can also swap out the ingredients. Here is an overview of the ingredients used with possible alternatives:
Rice Salad
- Rice: as already mentioned here, you can use any kind of rice.
- Mandarins: also known as Tangerines or sub other fruits like pineapple, sultanas, peaches, nectarines, papaya, apples.
- Peas & corn: just go perfectly in this salad! Of course you can add other veggies or legumes like carrots, celery, lentils or beans.
- Bell pepper: I like to use red peppers, but you can also use yellow, orange or green peppers. If you don’t like peppers, you can simply replace the ingredient with another vegetable.
- Scallions: or mild white onions, red onions, shallots, leeks or chives.
- Vegan bologna sausage: alternatively, you can use smoked tofu, chickpeas or white beans. With vegan cheese cubes, homemade vegan mini mozzarella balls or vegan feta, the rice salad is also very tasty!
Curry Salad Cream Dressing
- Dairy-free yogurt: to make the salad dressing lighter and lower in fat. Of course, you can also use only mayo as in classic recipes.
- Vegan mayonnaise: makes the salad dressing richer and tastier. I always make this from scratch but you can also buy a ready-made vegan Mayo. Alternatively, vegan sour cream or creme fraiche is also suitable.
- Curry powder: I like yellow curry Madras best, but you can also use another kind for the rice salad.
- Garlic powder: or 1 fresh clove of garlic. Of course, if you’re not a fan of garlic, you can make the rice salad without it.
- Turmeric: is optional, but adds another intense color to the creamy salad. Plus, turmeric is super healthy!
- Paprika or chili powder: are optional, but give more flavor and provide a touch of spiciness.
- Salt and pepper: to taste.
How to make Curried Rice Salad with Mandarins
As always, I recommend checking out the recipe video and these step-by-step instructions first. Then you can then find the full recipe with the exact measurements in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Cook the rice and allow to cool
First, cook the rice according to package directions in twice the amount of water and 1/2 tsp salt for about 20 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is ‘al dente’. Then let cool, loosening occasionally to keep it fluffy (or use rice from the day before).
Step 2: Chop veggies and whip up the salad dressing
In the meantime, you can prepare the other ingredients for the salad. Thaw the peas. Drain the mandarins and the corn in a sieve. Then chop the bell peppers, scallions and vegan bologna sausage. Also, stir together all the ingredients for the creamy curry sauce.
Step 3: Combine everything
Now put the vegetables, rice and curry salad cream in a bowl and mix everything well. Lastly, carefully fold in the mandarins. Taste again and adjust seasonings if necessary. Garnish with fresh parsley and enjoy!
How to store rice salad?
Rice salad is easy to make ahead and great for meal prep! Since there are no eggs in the mayonnaise, the salad will keep longer than traditional recipes! Stored in an airtight container, it will keep for 5 days in the refrigerator.
Can you freeze rice salad?
It is generally possible to freeze rice salad, but I do not recommend it. If you freeze rice and then thaw it, it will lose texture and flavor. This means that the rice salad may become mushy and tasteless after thawing.
If you still want to freeze the curried rice salad, it’s best to put it in airtight containers or freezer bags and freeze it right after it’s made. Then, the night before you want to eat it, take the salad out of the freezer and let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Stir thoroughly before serving, and you may want to spice it up again with a fresh dressing and extra spices to give the salad more flavor.
This Creamy Rice Salad Recipe is:
- Vegan, Vegetarian
- Lactose-free
- Naturally gluten-free, soy-free and nut-free
- Made with fresh natural ingredients
- And lots of vegetables
- Refreshingly fruity
- Crisp, colorful and healthy
- Light and filling
- Wonderfully creamy
- Totally delicious
- Better than the classic!
- Perfect as a side dish for many vegan and vegetarian recipes!
More Vegan Salad Recipes to Try
- The Best Pasta Salad
- Grandma’s Potato Salad
- Lentil Salad
- Mediterranean Pasta Salad
- Vietnamese Noodle Salad
- Mexican Pasta Salad
- Greek Orzo Pasta Salad
- Green Goddess Salad
- Turkish Bulgur Salad (Kisir)
- Chinese Cucumber Salad
- Korean Rice Noodle Salad
- Chickpea Tuna Salad
- Chickpea Couscous Salad
- Thai Peanut Noodle Salad
Recipe Video
If you try this vegan rice salad recipe with mandarin oranges and curry, feel free to leave me a comment and a star rating! And if you take a photo of your delicious rice dish and share it on Instagram or Facebook, please tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka so I don’t miss your post! Bon appetit! 🙂
Creamy Curry Rice Salad with Mandarins - Traditional German Recipe
Author:Ingredients
Rice Salad
- 1 cup (200 g) rice 200 g
- ¾ cup (150 g) peas frozen, thawed
- 1.5 cup (275 g) mandarins or pineapple, drained
- 1 cup (150 g) corn drained ot thawed
- 1 red bell pepper finely diced
- 3 scallions finely chopped
- 6.2 oz (175 g) vegan bologna sausage diced, or smoked tofu or chickpeas or white beans
Curry Salad Dressing
- ⅔ cup (150 g) dairy-free yogurt unsweetened
- ⅔ cup (150 g) vegan mayonnaise
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder or 1 fresh garlic clove, pressed
- ½ tsp turmeric optional
- 1 tsp paprika or chili powder optional
- salt and pepper to taste
To Garnish (optional)
- fresh parsley finely chopped
Instructions
*Note: Check out the recipe video + step-by-step pictures above!
- Cook the rice according to package directions in double the amount of water and ½ tsp salt for about 20 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is 'al dente'. Then let cool, loosening occasionally so it doesn't clump and stays fluffy (or use leftover rice from the day before).
- Thaw the peas. Drain the mandarins and corn in a sieve. Finely dice the bell pepper, removing the seeds. Finely slice the scallions. Dice the vegan bologna sausage.
- For the salad cream, mix the yogurt, mayonnaise, curry powder, garlic powder, turmeric, paprika or chili powder and some salt and pepper.
- Put the vegetables, rice and curry sauce in a bowl and toss to combine. Carefully fold in the mandarins.
- Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and enjoy!
Notes
- Feel free to replace the vegetables and fruit with other varieties (you can find variation suggestions in the post above).
- If you like, you can also add smoked tofu, chickpeas or white beans instead of vegan bologna sausage.
- Leftover rice salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- More tips and information are mentioned in the blog post above!
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