With pink radishes, sweet mango, creamy avocados, and chewy black rice, all topped off with a vibrant Golden Turmeric Tahini Dressing, this salad is as bright and colorful as it delicious, making it the perfect Healthy Summer Salad recipe for meal prep lunch or dinner. It is packed with lots of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory ingredients to leave you feeling your best.
There is something about a good salad that just makes you feel good inside and out – like you can take on the world and anything the day throws at you. Loaded with bright and vibrant colors, fresh flavors from lots of fruits and veggies, and lots of crunch, a healthy salad is the best pick me up during a busy weekday lunch or a welcome accompaniment to any dinner.
While I have hardly met a salad that I didn’t like, for me there are a few elements that make a really good salad. The best healthy salad should offer a balanced combination of sweet, sour, and savory, it should include plenty of crunch paired with some delicate creamy elements, it should be loaded with superfood ingredients offering lots of nutritious benefits, and it should pack plenty of healthy fats, protein, and fiber to keep you full and satisfied. This Healthy Summer Salad with Mango and Black Rice checks all of those boxes and more!
This is the kind of salad that I want to eat for lunch every day of the week, all summer long. It is the kind of salad that leaves me feeling full and powered up to take on the day. This healthy summer salad is perfect for meal prep or a quick lunch or healthy dinner.
And what is possibly the best part, this salad is full of a vibrant rainbow of colors that is sure to boost your mood and leave you feeling as sunny as the Golden Turmeric Tahini Dressing.
How Do You Make This Healthy Summer Salad with Mango and Black Rice?
Loaded with a vibrant rainbow of ingredients, this Mango and Black Rice Salad is as much a pleasure to look at as it is to eat. To make this salad, you will need:
- Shredded Kale: For this healthy salad recipe, I used red russian kale, that features green leaves with vibrant purple veins and stems. Make sure to shred the kale finely, and then massage it gently before making the salad to make the kale more tender and easier to eat. If you aren’t a fan of kale, you can substitute baby spinach, arugula, or even spring mix in this healthy salad recipe.
- Black Rice: Also known as purple rice or forbidden rice, this rice offers a chewy texture and slightly fragrant nutty flavor. If you can’t find black rice, quinoa, faro, heirloom red rice, or jasmine brown rice would be a nice substitute.
- Mango: With it’s sweet taste and silky texture, mango is the perfect balance to kale, which can be slightly bitter. The little mango pieces are like bright jewels in this Mango and Black Rice Salad.
- Avocado: Offering loads of nutritious benefits including fiber, potassium and several vitamins, and healthy fats, the avocado adds a nice creamy richness to this Healthy Summer Salad with Mango and Black Rice.
- Sliced Radishes: Radishes are one of my favorite additions to healthy salad recipes right now. Radishes are rich in antioxidants like vitamin C and minerals like calcium and potassium. They add the perfect crunch and peppery bite to salads, like this Spring Salad with Lemon Dill Vinaigrette.
- Feta: A little crumbled feta adds extra pops of saltiness to this salad.
- Hemp Hearts: Hemp hearts or hemp seeds are tiny seeds that offer a subtle nutty crunch, perfect for sprinkling over everything from salads to oatmeal or smoothie bowls. They are a good source of insoluble fiber, are great source of vitamin E and minerals, such as phosphorus, potassium, sodium, magnesium, sulfur, calcium, iron, and zinc, and are high in protein, omega 3 and 6, and all 9 essential amino acids.
- Red Onion: I love a little thin sliced red onion in most salads to add a pop of bright flavor. If you find the flavor of onions too strong, substitute pickled red onions or you can soak the sliced onions in cold water for a few minutes before using to take a little of the pungency out.
- Anti-Inflammatory Turmeric Tahini Dressing: Finishing off this Healthy Summer Salad recipe is a stunning golden turmeric and tahini dressing. The dressing is slightly earthy and nutty with bright lemon flavor. It is loaded with antioxidants and boasts great anti-inflammatory benefits.
What is Black Rice?
While many may be unfamiliar with black rice, a black rice salad offers a number of health benefits (plus it’s delicious too!). Also known as purple rice or forbidden rice, black rice was originally cultivated in small quantities only for the emperor’s consumption in ancient China. Today, the rice is still one of the less common rice varieties, especially compared to traditional white and brown rice varieties.
Black rice is a dark grain that develops a deep purple hue when cooked. This gorgeous deep purple rice is loaded with health benefits – the most prominent being a great source of antioxidants, which is what gives the rice it’s dark purple color. In fact, the color can be attributed to the same chemicals that give acai berry and blueberries their distinctive coloring.
Black rice contains a large amount of anthocyanins, a flavonoid that has been attributed to lowering the risk of heart attack, lowering blood pressure, reducing inflammation and certain cancer risks, and preventing the build up of plaques in the arteries.
What Are Other Healthy Salad Recipes for Summertime?
If you enjoy this Healthy Summer Salad Recipe with Mango and Black Rice, check out some of my other favorite salad recipes, many of which are perfect for meal prep or healthy lunch salads.
- Beet and Kale Salad with Ginger Turmeric Dressing
- Mango Kale Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette
- Wild Rice and Kale Salad with Lemon Dill Vinaigrette
- Greek Salad with Kale and Quinoa
- Kale and Shredded Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad
- Mediterranean Kale Caesar Salad with Creamy Tahini Dressing
Healthy Summer Salad with Mango and Black Rice
Ingredients
- 4 cups kale (stems removed and shredded/chopped fine)
- drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup cooked black rice (cooled)
- 1/2 mango
- 1/2 avocado
- 3 radishes (thinly sliced)
- 1/4 red onion (thinly sliced)
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta
- 2 tbsp hemp hearts
- Turmeric Tahnini Dressing (see recipe link in notes)
Instructions
- Make the Anti-Inflammatory Turmeric Tahini Dressing according to the instructions at the link below (see recipe notes)
- Add kale to a large bowl. Drizzle with a little oil, and gently massage kale between finger tips until kale is tender and bright green.
- Chop mango and avocado. To kale add cooked and cooled rice, mango, avocado, sliced radishes, red onion, and crumbled feta cheese. Add desired amount of dressing and toss to coat. Sprinkle hemp hearts over top.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!