Wild Rice & Kale Salad is packed full of good for you greens, wild rice, fruit, nuts and is topped with a honey balsamic vinaigrette.
Kale is rich in nutrients and it can help lower cholesterol and protect you against cancer. With that being said, I guess everyone should eat more kale. Lacinato and baby kale are by far my favorite varieties.
I like to treat kale like a lettuce but sometimes kale can be kind of heavy in a salad. What I really like about today’s recipe for Wild Rice & Kale Salad is the fact that the warm rice is added to the kale and the heat from the rice helps soften the kale and in my opinion, it tastes more like lettuce.
Wild rice can take a long time to cook, so I opted for a quick cooking wild rice and I think it’s perfect for this recipe. I also like the taste of the goat cheese with kale, a very nice combination in Wild Rice & Kale Salad.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch kale, stems removed & chopped
- 1 large apple, chopped
- 2oz goat cheese, crumbled
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup salted cashews
- 1 ½ cups warm wild rice blend, I used quick cooking
- For the Honey-Balsamic Vinaigrette:
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 1 ½ Tbsp. honey
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the kale, apple, goat cheese, cranberries, cashews and rice. Take two spoons and mix to combine. You want the rice to still be warm so it breaks down the kale and makes it more tender.
- In a jar or bowl, add the ingredients for the vinaigrette, shake or whisk until combined. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and mix to combine.
Kale, Wild Rice, Apple, Cashews, Cranberries & Goat Cheese
Toss everything together.
Wild Rice & Kale Salad
The wild rice blends well with the other flavors.
The kale tastes more like lettuce in this recipe.
The crunch of the apple & cashews adds a nice touch.
A new favorite of mine!
Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats
