This zesty wild rice and kale salad is super tasty and satisfying! It is a hearty and delicious meal salad that is full of nutrition, texture and flavor. A great meal for any season, it's filling enough to be a winter salad yet cooling enough for a summer night. The zesty red pepper blender dressing will have you craving this salad.
What is wild rice?
Wild rice is actually not rice at all. It is made from seeds of several species of grass! It is actually higher in protein and vitamins and lower in calories and carbs than regular rice. The hardy and chewy texture makes it ideal for dressed salads like this zesty wild rice and kale salad. It keeps its integrity even after a couple of days unlike other rices that would become mushy and unpalettable. For this salad I used a wild rice blend, but you may use any that you like.
Ingredients for Zesty Wild Rice and Kale Salad
This wild rice salad has ingredients that are readily available year round. However, it will really shine in the warmer months when you are able to include garden fresh produce like tomatoes and cucumbers. A couple of good add ins to this salad are (vegan) feta cheese, green peas for extra protein or even shelled edamame.
- bell pepper
- garlic
- olive oil
- red wine vinegar
- italian seasoning
- agave or maple syrup
- salt and pepper
- wild rice blend
- kale
- persian cucumbers
- cherry tomatoes
- olives
- parsley
- basil
- cannellini beans
How to Make Zesty Wild Rice and Kale Salad
This recipe is super easy to make. Simply cook the rice and cool it down, roast the peppers, chop the salad, mix the dressing and voila.
- Blend all dressing ingredients together in a food processor or blender until smooth.
- Put the kale in a large salad bowl, add a couple drops of extra virgin olive oil and salt and massage it into the leaves for 2-3 minutes.
- Put all salad ingredients in a large salad bowl with the massaged kale and toss with dressing.
- Eat within 3-4 days for best flavors
Other delicious vegan kale salads
- Spring Chopped Salad with Asparagus and Lentils
- Kale and Bean Salad
- Kale and Rice Salad with Radishes and Dill
- Superfood Rice Salad With Roasted Veggies
Zesty Wild Rice and Kale Salad with Herbs and Red Pepper Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1 bell pepper oven roasted for 20 minutes at 400 degrees or use one from a jar
- 1 clove garlic
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp italian seasoning
- 1 tbsp agave or maple syrup
- pinch salt and pepper
For Salad
- 8 oz wild rice blend cooked according to package instructions and cooled
- 4 cups kale stemmed, chopped into bite sized peices and massaged with 1 tbsp olive oil, pinch of salt
- 2 persian cucumbers chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 10 pitted kalamata olives sliced
- ¼ cup parsley chopped
- ¼ cup basil chopped
- 15 oz cannellini beans rinsed and drained
Instructions
cooking
- Cook wild rice according to box and cool
- Preheat oven to 400 and roast peppers for 20 minutes on a sheet pan
For Dressing
- Blend all dressing ingredients together in a food processor or blender until smooth.
For Salad
- Add the kale to a large salad bowl, add a couple drops of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt. Massage it into the leaves with your clean hands to tenderize the leaves for 2-3 minutes.
- Add cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, parsley, basil, cannelini beans and cooled wild rice to the large mixing bowl and toss with dressing.
- Eat within 3-4 days for best flavors.
Barb S
I made this for dinner tonight and due to the amount of kale on hand, I added about 1-1&1/2 cups of Napa cabbage. The dressing and combination of ingredients make this a flvour explosion with every bite. I absolutely loved it and will undoubtedly make it more often.
Sara Tercero
Thats wonderful to hear! What an excellent jazz cook! Thanks for the 5 stars Barb, I appreciate it.
Kat
Just made this today - so yummy, flavorful and filling - it will now go into recipe rotation - thank you!
Megan
So, it turns out that I'm not a big kale fan. I can't decide whether I will continue to make this with kale or switch out the greens, but I will definitely make it again! The roasted red pepper dressing is great and will probably be even better with a fresh pepper. All I had on hand were roasted red peppers in the jar. All around wonderful flavor and a great healthy dish! Thank you!
Sara Tercero
Hi Megan thanks for the review and feedback. Might I suggest that if you decide to use another green, rather than tossing them into the salad keep them separate and just serve it over a bed of greens. That way the other greens will not wilt in the dressing!
Sara Tercero
So happy you liked it! Thanks for the 5 stars!
Beth
Delicious and super easy! Love the dressing and all the veggies! Definitely a keeper!
Sara Tercero
So glad you liked it! Thanks for the feedback and rating!
Cindy
Loved it. Thank you! I didn't want to buy basil, so I left that out but it was still good. Would you use dried basil in the dressing if you didn't have fresh?
Sara Tercero
Hi Cindy, sure you could use dry but certainly not at same measurement. I would quarter it. Or sub any herb you have on hand like cilantro, parsley or mint!
Simone
I'm currently eating this and it's delicious. I added dill and tempeh bacon for extra protein. Yummy!
Sara Tercero
Those sound like excellent additions!
Karen McGregor-Lucchesi
Sara your salads are amazingly delicious!! This is a fantastic recipe! Thank you!!
Sara Tercero
Thank you Karen. I appreciate the feedback.