Crispy Wild Rice Salad with Kale and Sweet Potato
Sep 22, 2026 by Hannah Sunderani
Say hello to this crispy wild rice salad with kale, and sweet potatoes – made by combining crispy wild rice with tender roasted sweet potatoes, juicy red grapes, crunchy pecans, dried cranberries, and hearty kale. Drizzled with a bright and tangy orange vinaigrette, made with freshly squeezed orange juice, white wine vinegar and dijon. It’s a cozy and flavourful warm salad that’s perfect for the cooler months!
This harvest grain bowl is a wholesome and nourishing salad, made with real-food ingredients that really deliver in terms of taste and texture! It’s truly what I call an elevated plant-based dinner salad. It’s layered in texture and flavour for a memorable fall salad. This salad is satiating enough to be a stand-alone main, or serve alongside my crispy pan-fried tofu or tofu skewers for an ultra filling dish.
This crispy wild rice salad is also great for meal-prep! Using kale as the leafy green; it maintains its structure well, and actually tastes better as it sits in my opinion! You can easily meal-prep this recipe to enjoy throughout the week, or to have as a make-ahead recipe for large Holiday gatherings, like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Now, let me tell you exactly how to make it, so that you can enjoy this recipe pronto!
Why You’ll Love My Recipe
What makes my recipe different, and in my opinion better than other Wild Rice Salad recipes online, is the technique for crisping the wild rice before adding to the salad.
Instead of adding boiled wild rice to our salad, we add an extra element of crisping the rice in the oven first. This gives the base of the salad an addictive nutty crunch, that prevents it from feeling heavy or soggy under the dressing.
Additionally, most recipes online rely on tart cranberries or tart apples for adding sweet fall flavour, I love the addition of red grapes because elevates the salad by adding a bursts of juicy acidity that instantly lifts the roasted root vegetables and hearty grains.
With these small additions, this fully plant-based, fall salad really becomes an elevated and memorable dish. I really think you’re going to love this harvest wild rice salad as much as we do!
Hannah xx
Ingredient Notes
- Wild Rice: Wild rice is cooked and then toasted in the oven, tossed in olive oil for a crispy and crunchy bite! Wild rice is nutty in flavour, with a firm exterior and a chewy texture. If you wanted to soften the texture of the rice to more of a traditional rice salad, then I would recommend a wild rice blend (which is wild rice typically mixed with long grain white rice and brown rice). I recipe tested the crispy rice with both options. The wild rice blend was a little less crispy and more chewy. It really depends on personal preference.
- Sweet Potatoes: Tossed with warm spices like cinnamon and cumin, and roasted in the oven until tender with crispy edges. It adds a delicate sweetness to this recipe, and really makes it feel autumny and harvesty. You could also sub the sweet potatoes for roasted butternut squash!
- Kale: My preference of salad green in this recipe is kale, because it’s a fall harvest vegetable. It also holds its structure well; meaning this recipe is great for meal-prep!
- Red Grapes: Sweet, juicy and crunchy red grapes are such a nice addition to this recipe! Most recipes online use apples, but I really like crisp red grapes for its juicy texture and sweet flavour. It also adds a beautiful pop of purple.
- Pecans: I’ve toasted the pecans in the oven to really make them crisp and fragrant. My preference of nut in this recipe is pecans, but walnuts or almonds would also be delicious and still feel harvest and festive.
- Cranberries: Dried cranberries adds another layer of sweetness and a pop of red to this salad, which I adore. I also recipe tested with dried cherries and it was delicious. You could absolutely leave this out if you prefer no dried fruit, as the sweet notes are still available in the sweet potatoes, grapes, and orange vinaigrette.
- Orange: Fresh orange juice and orange zest is used in this recipe for a sweet and tangy vinaigrette. I recommend using a fresh orange and squeezing out the juice to for the dressing. I recipe tested the dressing with store-bought orange juice, and it just wasn’t the same in my opinion in terms of it’s fresh and delicate sweetness.
- White wine vinegar: Used in the vinaigrette, it’s a nice acid to balance out the sweet in the orange juice, and the sweet flavours in the salad.
How to make this Crispy Wild Rice Salad with Roasted Kale and Sweet Potato!
This crispy wild rice salad is a component-style recipe, made by preparing the individual components such as the crispy rice, roasted veggies, and the simple orange vinaigrette. Then tossing them all together into an elevated autumn salad. Overall, the recipe is simple to follow, using mostly the oven for roasting and toasting. Here’s exactly what you’ll do:
So there we have it! A wholesome and nourishing autumn salad that’s full of fall flavours and texture! I really think you’re going to love this harvest crispy rice salad with roasted kale and sweet potato as much as we do.
If you do make this recipe please let me know in the comments below what you think! I truly love hearing from you, and I’m always here to answer any questions you might have. And of course, tag me on Instagram with your pictures using the hashtag #twospoons. Nothing makes me happier than to see your recreations.
Crispy Wild Rice Salad with Kale and Sweet Potato
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked wild rice (or 2 cups cooked – day old rice works great here)
- 4 cups water
- 1 large sweet potato , cut into cubes (about 4 cups cubed)
- ½ red onion , thinly sliced (about 1.5 cups sliced)
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp cumin
- sea salt Generous pinches
- pepper Pinch
- 1/2 cup pecans , chopped
- 2 cups kale , packed and chopped (about 2 handfuls)
- 1 cup red grapes , halved
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup parsley , finely chopped, tightly packed
Orange Vinaigrette:
- zest of 1 orange
- ⅓ cup orange juice
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar , or champagne vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp red onion , finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic , finely chopped
- ½ tbsp Dijon
- sea salt and pepper Pinch
Instructions
- Cook the rice in boiling water with a generous pinch of salt until tender and pleasantly chewy, 40-50 minutes. Strain the water from the rice in a sieve and spread the cooked rice onto a baking tray to cool. Set aside.
- Pre-heat oven to 400F/200C, and make the orange vinaigrette: In a small jar combine the orange juice and zest, white wine vinegar, olive oil, chopped red onion and garlic, dijon, salt and pepper. Whisk together to combine. Set aside.
- Drizzle the cooked rice with 1.5 tbsp olive oil and a generous sprinkling of salt. Toss to combine. Cook in the oven until the wild rice is crackling and popping, with a crisp bite, about 15 minutes.
- Spread cubed sweet potato onto a baking tray and sprinkle with the cumin and cinnamon, and a generous pinch of salt and pinch of pepper. Drizzle with 1.5 tbsp olive oil and toss to combine. Place in the oven to bake. Remove the sweet potatoes after 25 minutes and add the red onion. Drizzle with another 1 tbsp olive oil and another pinch of salt. Toss to combine. Place the tray back in the oven to continue baking for another 10 minutes, or until onion are softened, and the sweet potatoes are crisp and lightly browned on the edges.
- Add the chopped pecans on a separate small baking tray and pop in the oven. Roast for 5 minutes until they’re lightly browned and fragrant.
- Massage kale generously with your hands to soften, and toss in a large mixing bowl. Add the crispy wild rice, sweet potato and onion mixture, roasted pecans, grapes, cranberries, and chopped parsley. Drizzle with the orange vinaigrette and toss to combine. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
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