Roasted Corn & Tomato Wild Rice Salad
on May 23, 2025
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For this summer wild rice salad, I roast a sheet pan of sweet corn and tomatoes. Then I combine the grains and veggies with kale, toasted walnuts and scallions and toss everything in red wine vinaigrette. Each bite has fantastic flavor and texture. Serve this easy gluten-free and vegan salad as a hearty side or light main dish for potlucks and barbecues.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
You can think of this wild rice salad as a gluten-free alternative to a vegetarian pasta salad. Here I start with a base of grains instead of pasta and add lots of roasted vegetables and kale.
Serve this as salad or a side dish at potlucks, barbecues and backyard dinners. It can play both roles in a single meal. Tomatoes and corn are summer classics. The flavors in this recipe go with grilled and roasted dishes with fresh Mediterranean flavors.
Wild rice salads are satisfying and convenient. You can enjoy them warm, at room temperature or cold. They’re also great for meal prep because you can cook the rice and make the dressing ahead of time.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- Wild rice is nutty and chewy. When cooked perfectly, it gives you the bite of al dente pasta. Use wild rice and not a blend which has other types of rice mixed in.
- Corn: I slice the kernels off 3 ears of corn. Canned corn will also work. Rinse it in a colander and pat off the excess water with a towel. Frozen corn is another option. Don’t thaw it, and know that it might take a few minutes longer to roast.
- Tomatoes: You can use cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes cut in half. Before you put the pan in the oven, make sure the tomatoes are cut side up.
- Kale: Either lacinato kale or green kale are good in the salad. The leaves are hearty, so they won’t get soggy, and they pair well with the bite of the rice grains.
- Walnuts: To bring out their nutty flavor, toast the chopped walnuts on a baking sheet in a 350-degree F oven for 5-7 minutes.
- Scallions give the salad fresh green onion flavor. You can substitute with finely diced red onions.
- Parsley: I toss in chopped parsley for fresh herbs. Depending what you have in your kitchen, you can also add chives or basil too.
- Red wine vinaigrette: The dressing has minced garlic, whole grain mustard, fresh lemon juice, red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper.
How To Make This Wild Rice Salad
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
1. Cook the rice. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the rice and continue boiling until the rice is tender, about 35-55 minutes. It should turn out chewy. Drain the rice and put it back in the pot, so it can rest for 10 minutes before you fluff it.
2. Prep the tomatoes and corn. Toss them with oil, salt and pepper on the pan. Then spread them out in a single layer. Flip the tomatoes, so they are cut side up.
3. Roast the corn and tomatoes. Give them 30-35 minutes. The corn should be lightly browned and crisp on the edges, and the tomato should be wrinkled.
4. Make the vinaigrette. Whisk the garlic, mustard, salt, pepper, lemon juice, red wine vinegar and olive oil in a small bowl.
5. Toss the rice and kale with half the vinaigrette.
6. Stir in the roasted corn and tomatoes, scallions, walnuts and parsley. If you want, you can drizzle in more dressing.
Serving
You can serve this wild rice salad as a main dish or a side dish. It’s a good choice for make-ahead lunches and meal prep or for a potluck or summer barbecue. If you serve it as a main, you can include slices of crusty bread or focaccia.
Make-Ahead Tips, Leftovers &Storage
You can make the rice 2 days in advance. Let it cool to room temperature before you put it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Also, you can make the dressing up to 2 days in advance. Store it in a jar in the fridge. Let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. This will allow the oil to turn to liquid again if it has hardened in the cold temperature of the refrigerator.
If you have leftovers, store the rice salad in one container and extra dressing in another up to 3 days. The corn will lose some of its crispness, but it will still taste great.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t overcook the rice. You don’t want it to be mushy. As mentioned, think of it like pasta that should have a toothy bite.
- It is up to you if you want to line the pan with parchment paper. I like when the veggies make direct contact with the hot metal, but I know lining makes clean-up easier.
- Taste the salad and see if you need to adjust the seasonings. Food served cold needs more salt and pepper, so this is important if you are eating leftovers.
- You can substitute with different vegetables depending on the season. Take this wild rice salad from summer to fall with roasted sweet potatoes, butternut squash or cauliflower.
More Wild Rice Recipes
Roasted Beet Wild Rice Pilaf
Lemon Herb Rice Salad
Lentil Rice Soup
More Grain Salads
Roasted Asparagus Barley Salad
Zucchini, Corn & Tomato Barley Salad
Barley Tabbouleh Salad
Roasted Sweet Potato Cauliflower Salad
Healthy Quinoa Taco Salad
Quinoa Chickpea Salad
Roasted Broccoli Quinoa Salad
Find more salad ideas in my seasonal salad roundup featuring leafy green salads, bean salads and pasta salads.
Roasted Corn & Tomato Wild Rice Salad
Ingredients
For rice
- 1 cup wild rice
- Water
For corn and tomatoes
- 3 ears corn, kernels sliced off
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For vinaigrette
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 lemon, juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
For salad
- 1 cup chopped kale leaves
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- For the rice, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the rice and continue boiling until the rice is tender, about 35-55 minutes. The rice should be tender with a chewy bite. Drain the rice and put it back in the pot. Then let it rest for 10 minutes and fluff it with a fork. (You can spread it across a plate to get it to cool down faster.)
- On a sheet pan, toss the corn and tomatoes with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Spread them into a single layer across the pan, arranging the tomatoes, so they are cut side up.
- Roast the corn and tomatoes for 30-35 minutes until the corn is golden brown on the edges and the tomatoes are wrinkled.
- While the vegetables are in the oven, make the vinaigrette. Whisk the garlic, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, red wine vinegar, lemon juice and 1/4 cup olive oil in a small bowl.
- To assemble the salad, combine the rice and kale in a large bowl. Pour in half the dressing, stirring to combine.
- Fold in the roasted corn and tomatoes, scallions, walnuts and parsley, drizzling in more dressing as desired.
Notes
- For canned corn, rinse it in a colander and pat off the excess water with a towel before stirring it with the tomatoes, oil, salt and pepper.
- For frozen corn, do not thaw it. Stir it with the tomatoes, oil, salt and pepper and roast it. You will likely need to add a few minutes to the roasting time.
- One ear of corn is about 1 cup of kernels, so you will need around 3 cups of corn kernels for the recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
