Leftover rice can be reused in this spectacularly colorful salad that is just perfect for summer meals, cookouts, and BBQ days.
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This rice and pineapple salad combines so many things I love: reusing leftovers, colorful summer salads, and things that require little cooking in the summer heat.
Perfect to serve at room temperature, this salad requires no chilling, keeps well, and has that sweet touch that we love so much with our savory dishes.
Versions
This dish can also be changed in many ways to adapt it to your taste, and whatever you may have in your fridge. It is just that versatile.
Rice salad with pineapple and raisins
If you love raisins (yeah, that's a prickly subject), add ¼ cup alongside the rice so they hydrate before adding the other vegetables. I prefer blonde raisins, in this salad, the dark ones look out of place.
Curry rice salad with pineapple
A tablespoon of curry powder added while the onions cook will transform this dish altogether. Leave out the corn and vinegar, I find that they just don't belong with the curry flavor.
Rice salad with pineapple and ham
One of my favorite versions: add a cup of cooked ham (York) diced small alongside the onions. It adds an entirely new flavor profile to this salad.
About this recipe
I am of the opinion that pineapple and rice go well together. I even sometimes add pineapple to arroz con maíz (corn and rice recipe). Pizza is another matter though, but this isn't the place to discuss that. This salad, though not traditional, combines many of the traditional salad ingredients and flavors we love.
What else would you add to this salad? What do you think goes well with it? Let me know in the comments.
Buen provecho!
[Recipe + Video] Rice and Pineapple Salad
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 small red onion, minced
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon of pepper
- 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar, or 1 TBSP of apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups of cooked rice, (see notes)
- ½ bell pepper, diced small (see notes)
- ¼ cup of sweet corn, (boiled soft, for canned)
- ¼ cup of blanched peas, canned, or frozen (thawed beforehand)
- 1 cup of pineapple, diced small
Instructions
Cooking onion: Heat oil in a medium-size skillet over medium heat.Add the onion, salt and pepper. Cook stirring until the onions have become translucent-
Heating rice: Stir in the rice and cook stirring until the rice has warmed up. Remove from the heat.
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Adding vegetables: Stir in red pepper, sweet corn, and peas.Stir until the temperature has reduced to lukewarm.Stir in the pineapple.
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Serving and storing: This salad keeps well at room temperature for a couple of hours if covered tightly. It's best not to refrigerate as the rice will have an unappetizing consistency, and the vegetables and pineapple do not do well reheated.
