Created by Laura Wright
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Broccoli avocado salad is creamy with a citrus dressing, and hearty with wild rice tossed in. A great vegan picnic salad!
Spring is starting to show its true colours where I live! The sunshine had me thinking about his broccoli avocado salad with hearty wild rice and a creamy citrus dressing.
So I give you a big bowl of broccoli. Yes! With crunchy soaked/sprouted wild rice, toasted salty sunflower seeds (you could use raw if you want to maintain an overall raw preparation), the very traditional golden raisins (you bet), and chive blossoms. The dressing is the best part though. It’s super creamy with avocado, full of basil, healthy fats and citrus-y goodness. I could eat it straight up with a spoon, no problem.
The sprouted rice (technically a grass; not a grain) provides some complex carbs, protein, B vitamins, folic acid, and very delicious crunch. It won’t have the same texture as cooked rice, but I think you’ll be fine with that once you enjoy it here. I actually wouldn’t bat an eyelash at the idea of eating the whole recipe for this salad in a day. It would certainly be a fantastic barbecue potluck contribution to sway the steak eaters over to the plant enthusiast side maybe? MAYBE.
Broccoli Avocado Salad with Wild Rice & Creamy Citrus Dressing
Broccoli avocado salad is creamy with a citrus dressing, and hearty with wild rice tossed in. A great vegan picnic salad!
No ratings yet
Print Recipe
Prep Time: 30 minutes mins
SOAKING TIME: 1 day d
Total Time: 30 minutes mins
Servings 6
Ingredients
Avocado Dressing (makes extra)
- 1 medium ripe avocado, pitted and peeled
- juice of 1 orange
- juice of 1 lemon
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon agave nectar
- 1 small jalapeño, seeded
- 1 cup lightly packed basil leaves
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Salad
- 1 bunch broccoli, stems removed
- ½ cup sprouted wild rice (see note)
- ½ cup golden raisins
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
- salt and pepper
- 6-7 chive blossoms, broken up into smaller pieces/petals
Equipment
Notes
- I simply sprouted the rice by soaking it for a day or so, changing the water 3-4 times. The shot in the blog post (with the rice in the sieve) shows what stage it should be at.
- Don’t have chive blossoms? Just use actual chives or finely minced shallots/red onion/green onion.
Instructions
Make the dressing: Combine all of the dressing ingredients except for the basil and oil in a blender. Blend on medium-high speed until a smooth and creamy mixture is achieved. You may have to stop the motor and push the avocado down a couple times. Add the basil leaves and oil to the blender pitcher. Put the lid on and slowly bring the speed up to medium-high. Once you have a creamy consistency similar to mayonnaise, you’re set. It should taste sweet, tangy and rich. Adjust seasoning to your liking and set aside.
Chop the broccoli into very small florets. They shouldn’t be bigger than the end of your thumb (see photo above). Place florets into a large bowl with the sprouted rice, raisins and sunflower seeds. Pour about 3/4 of the dressing over the broccoli mixture. Give the salad a good seasoning with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Place salad into your serving bowl of choice. Garnish with chive blossoms and a sprig of basil if you like.
Author: Laura Wright
Course: Salad
Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan
Keyword: avocado, basil, broccoli, chives, spring, summer, wild rice
23/05/2012 (Last Updated 28/01/2024)
Posted in: autumn, broccoli, creamy, earthy, gluten free, nut free, salad, salty, side dish, spring, summer, sweet, vegan, winter
32 comments
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Juliette Soule Made this salad tonight and it was amazing! I added miso to the dressing, and subbed sunflower seeds for pine nuts and almonds. Such a heavenly combination!
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Pat Hi,
I made this unbelievable salad again for out-of-town guests and they loved it. I wanted to let your readers know that I have found the wild rice that ‘sprouts’ really quickly. It’s from Trader Joe’s: Cultivated Wild Rice.Reply
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Jess I just made this salad for my work lunches for the next couple days. Seriously yum!
I added some thinly sliced raw kale and some cauliflower to the salad, and used a mixture of sunflower seeds and pepitas as I didn’t have enough to either to make the ½ cup measurement.The dressing was a bit too tangy for my liking, so when I make it again I’ll probably use the juice from ½ a lemon as these ones must have been super juicy!
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Pat Hi,
I’ve made this amazing salad several time and have recently (finally) gathered all the ingredients to make it again. We have another recipe (an unhealthy but delicious pasta dish) which my family devours as soon as it’s made. My daughter has named it crack (as in crack cocaine) due it’s immediate effect. So today I made your salad and as soon as I tasted it after a long hiatus, I immediately had to name it ‘crack2’. HA! This is delicious! Incredible! Thank you!Reply
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Sarah Made this for dinner tonight- really good! The dressing was amazing. Super complex. We are on a paleo diet so I subbed out the rice for some “rice” we made with cauliflower! Worked great.
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Cass Hi, this looks delish and I can’t wait to make it! I’m in Australia and can’t get chive blossoms – is there anything I can substitute it with?
Thanks
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Laura Wright Hi Cass, you can just use chopped up chives and it would be all the same :)
-LReply
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Sherry That is the MOST divine dressing that has ever graced my taste buds! It’s a lifetime keeper. I’ll be using it on everything I can think of. Thank you!
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smoothiejunkie My rice has been in water for 4 days and now just beginning to sprout. Good thing I didn’t make the rest of the salad for dinner last night. I’m using Lundberg Black Japonica Rice… is there something else out there that sprouts quicker?
Thanks
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Laura Wright Hi there, I definitely recommend/specify wild rice for this recipe (like this one: http://www.lundberg.com/products/rice/packaged_rice/Wild_Rice_Organic.aspx). I’ve never tried sprouting any other type, so can’t speak to how long they would take.
-LReply
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Claire Just made the dressing for this salad (rice is soaking now) and totally DID eat some of it with a spoon. Yum. Not sorry.
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Koko I LOVE the sound of this recipe. Just amazing….broccoli, avocado….mmmm!
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Laura Heck I made this last night, minus the sprouted rice because we didn’t have enough time to sprout it ourselves. Added some chopped white onion and diced avocado to the salad and it was absolutely delicious! Definitely a favorite for summer. We had baked red snapper and jalepeno cheddar grits too, such a good meal all together!
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Lj I made this salad and took to a Menorial Day family gathering. It went over very well! I didn’t have sunflower seeds so I used chopped almonds and it worked fine. I especially liked the avacado dressing because it was very rich and creamy with no mayo, so I didn’t have to worry about serving something that might have gone bad on a long hot carride. Thanks for the recipe, I will be checking back for more:)
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Jeanine Yum! I love all of these textures. I used to love that mayonaise-ey raisin-ey broccoli salad so I’m excited to try your healthier version :)
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Becs @ Lay the table Wow, I’ve never seen sprouted rice before, got to try this.
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myfudo I love broccoli! The avocado adds more flavor. I am making this definitely…
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sarah This looks so good, so delicious and healthy. Just what I need on a day like today {when I put chocolate in my coffee and made banana bread, ha}
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Kevin (Closet Cooking) That avocado dressing sounds so good!
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Sarah I have never sprouted rice! Very cool, chica.
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Margarita I love the healthy goodness packed in this fresh salad! Indeed a salad for healthy, glowing skin and a sexy body!
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Tine I definitely gonna make this salad! Beautiful colors, beautiful taste!
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Dara This is a beautiful salad! I am loving the flavors and colors.
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Carrie | acookgrowsinbrooklyn I’m not a big fan of mayo, so am constantly avoiding the creamy salads at BBQs – but using avocado to get the creamy factor is such a great idea! You got my wheels spinning!
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autumn I too have fond memories of broccoli salad and for me it was my grandma’s and also less-than-virtuous. I love that the creaminess in the recipe comes from avocado instead of mayo!
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Kathryn I need some serious work before any of my flesh is on display; this salad looks just the ticket.
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Cookie and Kate Oooh girl, this is my kind of meal. I just want to stick a fork in it. It’s salad weather around here, that’s for sure! The sheer thought of putting on a swimsuit has motivated me to start doing lunges across my apartment. Computer bum no more!
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Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar This salad is stunning! Love this idea!
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Brooke (The Flour Sack) Oh my goodness!!! This looks completely incredible… I am absolutely making this this weekend! I will report back when I do :)
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Aman C Yay, looks delicious! I’m gonna make it tonight! Thanks a lot!
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Rachel This salad screams summer to me, as if I needed another reminder of the changing seasons! I bet the crunchy raw broccoli and creamy avocado are wonderful together! Perhaps I’ll make this with my purple and orange cauliflower from this week’s CSA.
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Joyce Ooh! I can just imagine how awesome the texture of this salad would be from the seeds and wild rice. I’m definitely going to make this soon. Thanks for sharing!
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