Wild Rice and Kale Salad

This wild rice and kale salad is a copycat recipe for Cubby’s wild rice and kale salad. This salad is full of flavor, delicious textures and will leave you feeling satisfied and refreshed. It’s a great salad and I would recommend it to anyone!

Cubby’s is a Utah restaurant that has delicious salads and burgers. It’s a favorite of so many people I know and definitely worth checking out if you have never tried it.

I know so many are obsessed with their wild rice and kale salad so I knew I wanted to create a copycat recipe that you can make at home. So many people aren’t close to a Cubby’s and i’ll be honest that the price tag of the salad, $15 means it’s a definite meal time splurge if you get it in the restaurant so why not save some dough and make it at home.

The ingredients are higher quality ingredients, like goat cheese, wild rice, avocados and balsamic vinegar, so you may end up spending about the same amount as one salad on ingredients, if you don’t have them in your house already. HOWEVER, these ingredient will make you about 5 salads for the same price as 1.

When I roughly added up each ingredient being generous on cost for more expensive stores, it was about $5 to make a extra large salad that will easily feed 2 people. So this recipe is great for meal prepping or making more than once in a month or two while ingredients are still good or if you are going to use goat cheese. balsamic vinegar and wild rice in other recipes then it’s totally worth investing in the ingredients.

What you need to make this wild rice and kale salad (cubby’s wild rice and kale salad copycat): (printable recipe is below)

Makes 1 full salad – serves 1-2 people as an entrée

• 2 handfuls kale – chopped finely, I buy chopped kale and then chop it even finer
• 1/2 teaspoon oil – any flavor neutral oil like grape seed or avocado
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons goat cheese – the soft one, not crumbles (although crumbles will also work)
• 1/2 of an avocado – diced
• 1/2 of a small apple – diced
• 2 tablespoons silvered almonds – toasted
• 1/2 cup chopped grilled chicken – can be found in the freezer section or season chicken with salt and pepper and cook on grill, stove or oven
• 1/2 cup cooked wild rice blend
• 1 tablespoon dried cranberries

Lemon Balsamic dressing:

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon cilantro – chopped, if not using a blender, finely mince it
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• pinch salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons oil – flavor neutral like grapeseed, avocado or vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon mayonnaise

Garnish:

• 2 fresh lime wedges

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, add finely chopped kale, oil and salt and mix together with your hands so the kale gets “massaged” or rubbed with oil, this soften it.
2. Add goat cheese and mix it onto the kale so you don’t have big clumps of goat cheese.
3. Add the avocado, apple chunks, slivered almonds, grilled chicken, wild rice and dried cranberries and mix together well.
4. To make the dressing, add the ingredients into a blender, food processor or small bowl if you don’t have something to blend in.
5. Mix together until it combines well.
6. Squeeze lime wedges over the salad, add dressing and enjoy.

Here are a few other recipes you may also enjoy:

Rainbow Crunch Chopped Salad
Grilled Steak and Nectarine Salad
Beet and Mandarin Orange Panzanella Salad
Tomato and Avocado Salad
20 Spectacular Summer Salads

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Wild Rice and Kale Salad

A delicious blend of kale, goat cheese, apples, almonds, chicken, dried cranberries and a lemon balsamic vinaigrette.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Course: Dinner, Main Course, Salad

Cuisine: Dinner, main course, Salad

Keyword: Dinner, main course, Salad, Salad Dressing, Weekend Dinner, Weeknight Dinner

Servings: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 2 handfuls kale chopped finely, If buying chopped kale and then chop it even finer
• 1/2 teaspoon oil any flavor neutral oil like grape seed or avocado
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons goat cheese the soft one, not crumbles (although crumbles will also work)
• 1/2 of an avocado diced
• 1/2 of a small apple diced
• 2 tablespoons silvered almonds toasted
• 1/2 cup chopped grilled chicken can be found in the freezer section or season chicken with salt and pepper and cook on grill stove or oven
• 1/2 cup cooked wild rice blend
• 1 tablespoon dried cranberries
• For the lemon balsamic dressing:
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon cilantro – chopped, if not using a blender, finely mince it
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• pinch salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons oil – flavor neutral like grapeseed, avocado or vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon mayonnaise
• 2 fresh lime wedges

Instructions

• In a large bowl, add finely chopped kale, oil and salt and mix together with your hands so the kale gets “massaged” or rubbed with oil, this soften it.
• Add goat cheese and mix it onto the kale so you don’t have big clumps of goat cheese.
• Add the avocado, apple chunks, slivered almonds, grilled chicken, wild rice and dried cranberries and mix together well.
• To make the dressing, add the ingredients into a blender, food processor or small bowl if you don’t have something to blend in.
• Mix together until it combines well.
• Squeeze lime wedges over the salad, add dressing and enjoy.