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Wild rice, roasted sweet potato and kale salad

Looking for a festive and nutritious salad to impress your family with on Thanksgiving? I've got you covered with this nutrient-dense Thanksgiving salad.
Print Recipe
Prep time + cook time in total 50 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Salad
Servings 4 people
Calories 279 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup wild rice (or sub cooked quinoa)
  • ½ cup sweet potato (cubed)(or sub butternut squash)
  • 3 cups kale (pref. Tuscan/ curly leaved)
  • ½ cup pecans
  • ⅓ cup dried cranberries

Instructions
 

  • Prepare the wild rice: Wild rice takes a bit longer to cook than regular rice. Count on 50-55 minutes.
  • Roast the sweet potatoes: Toss them with olive oil and sea salt on a baking tray and roast them for about 20-30 minutes until golden brown, depending on the size of your cubes.
  • In the meantime:
    Prepare the dressing: Add all dressing ingredients to a dressing shaker and shake well or use a tall measuring cup/jug and whisk all ingredients together until emulsified. (See recipe below).
    Prepare the kale: Chop it finely (almost call it shredding). Transfer it to a big salad bowl. Sprinkle a small pinch of sea salt over the kale and massage the leaves with your hands by lightly scrunching big handfuls at a time, until the leaves are darker in color and fragrant, about 30 seconds
    Toast the pecans: Toast them in a skillet on medium heat until the pecans are turning brown. Transfer them to a cutting board and once cooled off chop them finely.
  • Final assembly:
    Add the wild rice to the kale in the salad bowl and drizzle enough dressing into the bowl to lightly coat the rice and kale leaves (you might not need all of it), then toss to coat. Add the roasted sweet potatoes, pecans, cranberries and gently toss to combine. Drizzle in extra dressing if the salad seems like it needs it. 
  • For best flavor, let the salad rest for 10 minutes before serving. 

Notes

Nutritional information:
the information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.
Keyword healthy, nutritient-dense, Thanksgiving