Wild Rice Fall Harvest Salad
with Apple Butter Drizzle
The BEST Fall inspired salad. I mean, butter roasted butternut squash and apples, with nutty wild rice, sharp wine soaked cheese, all the pecans and cranberries…then kale and the most amazing dressing with APPLE BUTTER.
I know, why haven’t I thought of putting apple butter in salad dressing before. It’s really the perfect balance of sweet and salt – with tangy prosecco vinegar, shallots and salt. So delicious.
I literally couldn’t stop eating this.
I have a hard time...
Just adding a few ingredients to salads. I mean, I may have gone a little crazy here but everything just goes so well together. Sweet + salty unite.
And I did the same thing in my Sesame Orange Chicken and Baby Bib Salad and of course in the Berry Chicken + Cornbread Panzanella Salad.
More salad recipes, I love.
Warm Wild Rice Fall Harvest Salad with Apple Butter Drizzle
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup wild rice blend
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 2 heaping cups diced butternut squash (about 1/2 of a medium sized squash)
- 2 honey crisp apples, sliced
- 2 large handfuls baby kale
- 1/4 heaping cup wine soaked cheese, crumbles or small diced
- 1/4 cup salted pecans, roughly chopped or broken with your hands
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cranberries
Apple Butter Dressing
- 2 tablespoons good quality olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Prosecco vinegar
- 1 pinch of each salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon shallots, minced
- 1 tablespoon apple butter
Mix all of the dressing ingredients together in a jar with a lid.
Instructions
- To make the rice, combine the rice, water, olive oil and a large pinch of salt together in a small sauce pot with a tight fitting lid. Bring up to a boil over high heat, then turn the heat to low and cover for 35-45 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400F. Toss the diced butternut squash with the melted butter and a pinch of each salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet tray and roast for 12 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven and toss in the sliced apples. Spread both the squash and apples around the pan so they are mostly in one layer and not in a pile. Roast for 6-10 minutes or until the apples are slightly browned and the squash is tender. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.
- When you are ready to assemble the salad, add the rice, squash and apples into a large bowl. Toss together to combine. Add in 1/2 of the prepared dressing and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
- Mix in the kale and cheese. Gently toss to combine everything.
- When ready to serve, divide into portions onto plates or shallow bowls. Garnish with the pecans and cranberries. Serve with additional dressing.
Notes
When the rice is finished cooking, use a fork to fluff it up and let it cool slightly with the lid off of the pot.
For the dressing, I suggest using a small glass jar with a lid so that you can shake the dressing together. It will separate, so make sure to shake or mix well before serving.
If you like a lot of salad dressing, double this recipe. It lasts great covered in your refrigerator too.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 45
- Category: salad
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: salad
Did you make this recipe? Take a picture and tag me @whitesparrowfoodco or #whitesparrowfoodco I’d love to hear what you thought of the recipe!
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