Flavorful Wild Rice Chicken Salad with Cranberries is a stunning, make-ahead, cold main dish salad showcasing a kaleidoscope of vibrant colors and textures.
Rinse the rice in a fine mesh strainer under cold running water. Then, place the drained rice in a pan along with two cups of water and a half teaspoon of salt. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat, and when it starts boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and bring it to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 50
Add the apples, red onion, red bell pepper, dried cranberries, celery, and pecan pieces to a large bowl. Combine, and then add the rice and cooked chicken. Mix well.
Add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, remaining kosher salt, and pepper to a small mason jar. Shake well and pour it over the salad. Toss to combine.
Wild Rice Chicken Salad can be served warm or cold. If making it ahead, cover and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
Notes
For the best results with this recipe, it is really important to use 100% wild rice and not brown rice or a wild rice blend such as Uncle Ben's. I have tried both, and they are not suitable substitutes.If you need to cook the chicken for bone-In skin on breasts, check out my recipe for Roasted Chicken Breasts. If you have boneless, skinless chicken breasts, coat the breasts with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and bake in a 375-degree oven for about 20 minutes or until an instant-read meat thermometer registers 165 degrees F. Wild rice can usually be found at the grocery store close to where the regular rice, rice blends, and grains are. Unfortunately, it is more expensive than regular rice and usually packaged in smaller bags. You will often find it on the top or bottom shelves. Because cooking the wild rice is the most time-consuming part of this recipe, I usually make two or three times as much as I need and then freeze the leftover rice so I can save that step the next time I make it.If you are like me and use roasted pecans a lot in your cooking as I do, another time-saving tip is to roast a pound or two pounds at a time and store them in the freezer in a plastic freezer storage bag until you need them.Because you only need half of a cup of pecan pieces, the easiest way to roast them is in the microwave. To do this, spread them out in a single layer on a microwave-safe plate and microwave in one-minute intervals until they are toasted. Depending on your microwave, this will take between four and six minutes.