Coconut Rice Salad is a light, flavorful rice salad mixing coconut rice, red bell pepper, edamame, cucumber, broccoli slaw, cilantro, green onion, peanuts and dressed in a flavor peanut style sauce. This salad is a great addition to meals as a side dish or could be served with grilled chicken, seafood or beef.
When I make meals throughout the week I like to have salads to serve each meal with.
Today’s Coconut Rice Salad is a nice change from traditional green salads and is one my kids really like.
I use rice in a lot of recipes in my house from this One Pot Mediterranean Chicken and Rice to Slow Cooker Cuban Pork Rice Bowls or this Curried Chicken and Rice Casserole.
It mixes together coconut rice with fresh vegetables like edamame and bell peppers, adds in crunchy peanuts and fresh cilantro and then tosses the salad in a peanut style sauce.
This rice salad pairs so nicely with a variety of meals whether it is a seafood meal like these Mediterranean Crab Cakes or beef like these Beef Bulgogi with Zucchini Noodles or these Air Fryer Tandoori Chicken Legs.
Not only is this salad nice for weeknight meals or lunches it also is a fun dish to bring to a party or backyard BBQ.
If you like salad recipes check out more salad recipe here. You also might like this Lemon Arugula Salad Recipe, Mediterranean Bean Salad or this Summer Orzo Pasta Salad.
Why You Will Love this Salad
- Light and Flavorful: This rice salad is so light but packed with flavors. It is the perfect side dish for a family. You will love the coconut rice paired with fresh vegetables, cilantro and mixed in with a peanut style sauce. This is one of my favorite rice salad recipes.
- Easy to Make: Coconut Rice Salad is easy to make and you can save time by preparing the coconut rice ahead of time and cutting and dicing your vegetables ahead of time. If you have leftover rice this would be a great use for that and you could make it without the coconut flavor or just stir in a small amount of the coconut milk to the rice and reheat.
- Great for Meal-Prep: When I meal prep on weekends I will often make this rice salad so I have it throughout the week and pair with a variety of dinners or eat it at lunch with this Honey Garlic Sriracha Shrimp or this Air Fryer Salmon.
Recipe Ingredients You’ll Need
- Rice: I used jasmine rice for this salad but you could use brown rice, brown basmati, long grain rice or white rice.
- Coconut Milk: The rice is cooked in coconut milk to infuse that coconut flavor into the rice.
- Vegetable Broth: I added vegetable broth to the rice when cooking it to give it additional flavor with the coconut milk. You could use any broth you like or water in its place.
- Vegetables: This salad mixes fresh vegetables with the rice. I used red peppers, edamame, cucumber, a bag of broccoli slaw and red onion. Other vegetables that would be a nice addition are broccoli, green beans, carrots, peas or cauliflower.
- Cilantro: I love mixing in fresh cilantro but any fresh herbs will work like fresh basil or fresh parsley.
- Green Onions: I like to use the green and the white parts.
- Nuts and Seeds: Peanuts or cashews add that extra crunch to the rice salad but you can skip them if you don’t want to add them in. Other options you can add are chopped almonds or sesame seeds.
For exact ingredient amounts and instructions, see the full recipe card below.
Dressing Ingredients
- Nut Butter: The peanut style sauce uses peanut butter or almond butter but you can also use sun butter.
- Sweet Chili Sauce
- Fresh Ginger: If you can use fresh ginger that works best but you can sub in ginger powder if that is all you have.
- Sambal Olek: This adds a nice spice to the dish. If you don’t have this try Sriracha, crushed red pepper or cayenne red pepper.
- Rice Vinegar: Rice vinegar helps balance the flavors. You also can use red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar.
- Soy Sauce: I suggest low sodium soy sauce if possible to help control the salt.
- Chili Flakes
How to make Coconut Rice Salad
Step 1: Cook Rice: In a medium-sized cooking pot or in a mixing bowl, rinse the jasmine rice in several changes of cold water until the water runs clear.
Drain any excess water in a large fine-mesh sieve and place the rice back into the cooking pot. Add coconut milk, vegetable broth and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Once it starts to boil, turn the heat down to low and cook covered for 20 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
Fluff the rice with a fork scraping up the crispy bits from the bottom of the pot and set aside to cool completely.
Step 2: Whisk Dressing Together: In a small bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients, set aside.
Step 3: Mix Salad: In a large bowl, combine the cooled rice and fillings. Toss to combine and serve with the satay sauce.
Storage Tips
Store this rice salad in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You might need to add more dressing when you eat the leftovers as the dressing can soak into the salad.
Recipe FAQ
White rice, jasmine or basmati rice is ideal because these will absorb coconut milk well and remain fluffy. Brown rice can also be used for a nuttier texture and added fiber.
Yes you can! You can prepare this salad a few hours in advance and refrigerate. You might want to add half of the dressing when you prepare the salad and then the remaining half of the dressing when you are ready to serve the salad.
You can enjoy this either way! It’s typically served cold or at room temperature, but warm coconut rice works too.
Other Side Dish Recipes
Vegetarian
Bok Choy Stir Fry
Sides
Easy Bok Choy Recipe
Vegetarian
Quick Pickled Red Onions
Vegetarian
Edamame Chickpea Feta Salad
Coconut Rice Salad
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups dry jasmine rice
- 1 – 15- ounce can of full-fat unsweetened coconut milk
- 3/4 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 red bell pepper, seeds removed, finely chopped
- 1 cup edamame, shell removed, cooked
- 1 english cucumber, finely chopped
- 1 – 8- ounce bag broccoli slaw mix
- 1 small red onion, finely diced
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped
- 5 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 cup crushed peanuts or cashews
- 1 serrano or Thai chile, minced {optional for spice}
FOR THE DRESSING
- 1/3 cup unsweetened peanut butter or sunflower butter
- 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon Sambal Olek
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes
Instructions
- HOW TO COOK IN THE INSTANT POT: Combine the rice, coconut milk, vegetable broth, garlic, and sea salt in the Instant Pot. Cover and set to the rice function. Manual release when the time has elapsed.
- HOW TO COOK ON THE STOVE: In a medium-sized cooking pot or in a mixing bowl, rinse the jasmine rice in several changes of cold water until the water runs clear. Drain any excess water in a large fine-mesh sieve and place the rice back into the cooking pot.
Add coconut milk, vegetable broth and salt.
Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Once it starts to boil, turn the heat down to low and cook covered for 20 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook for 5 minutes. - Fluff the rice with a fork scraping up the crispy bits from the bottom of the pot and set aside to cool completely.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients, set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the cooled rice and fillings. Toss to combine and serve with the satay sauce.
Your coconut rice salad recipe is a delightful combination of flavors and textures. The fluffy basmati rice, sweet mango, crunchy vegetables, and the aromatic coconut dressing create a refreshing and tropical dish that’s perfect for summer. I love how it strikes a balance between lightness and satisfaction. The addition of toasted coconut on top adds a lovely touch of nuttiness. Thank you for sharing this vibrant and delicious recipe. It’s definitely going on my summer menu!