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Healthy Meal Prep Squash and Wild Rice Salad with Green Veggies
Grain salads are defined by the phrase “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
Don’t like the bitterness of collards, kale, or other bitter vegetables? Toss it in a bowl with an earthy grain, acidic vinaigrette, and sweet squash to create a perfectly balanced wild rice salad.
This vegan and vegetarian winter grain bowl recipe is all about balance. It is loaded with healthy vegetables for a filling meal.
How Long Will This Wild Rice Salad Keep?
It will keep for 3-4 days covered in the refrigerator.
This salad is a great meal prep dish that you can eat for lunch or dinner throughout the week. It is also great warm or cold. The greens are hearty enough that it can be dressed ahead of time.
So, seriously consider scaling up the recipe to meet your household size and intended number of meals.
How Can I Use This Wild Rice Salad for Meal Prep?
This recipe produces 4 servings. Simply increase the amounts of each ingredient in the same ratios for a larger yield.
This wild rice salad should be stored, covered in the refrigerator. I love these OXO glass containers for storing completed dishes like this one. You can store, cover, and serve all in one container.
They’re perfect for meal prepped lunches like this one.
What Type of Rice Should I Use?
I used a wild rice mix. You may find black wild rice at your local grocery store which will work great. Other long grain rices will work great too, just follow the cooking instructions on the package instead of what is listed in the recipe.
Variations to This Salad
Experimenting is one of the most fun parts of cooking! There are an infinite number of possibilities with this salad. Here are a few ideas:
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Use a different dressing – Use one of these 10 healthy homemade dressings to switch things up.
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Substitute a different hearty green – Cabbage, endive, radicchio, spinach, or escarole would all work great as replacements for kale. Just make sure you pick a hearty green so it combines well with the quinoa.
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Add dried fruit – Add dried raisins, cranberries, apricots, or dates for a blast of sweetness.
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Top with cheese – Adding cheese to a salad is never a bad idea. Parmesan, goat, or feta would taste great.
Want More Vegan Recipes? Check These Out.
Sometimes, you just need a healthy vegetable salad. A light dish that resets your appetite.
Check out these simple salad recipes:
Winter Squash and Wild Rice Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup wild rice
- 1 medium acorn or butternut squash, seeds removed and reserved, cut in to 1” pieces
- 1 bunch collard greens leaves and stems separated. Stems chopped in to 1” pieces. (or kale, chard, or beet greens),
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 cup basic apple cider vinaigrette
- Kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Place wild rice and 3 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and cover. Set heat to low and let simmer for 40-45 minutes. The wild rice is done when it has just started to crack. It should be a bit chewy. Strain.
- Toss squash with 2 Tbsp olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet and season with salt. Set timer for 25 minutes, toss occasionally.
- When timer goes off, reduce oven to 400 degrees. Toss squash seeds with 1 tsp olive oil on a separate small baking sheet, season with salt and place in oven. Set timer for 5 minutes.
- When timer goes off, toss leaves and stems with 2 tsp olive oil and season with salt in a large bowl. Place on baking sheet with squash. Roast squash, seeds, stems, and leaves for 10 more minutes.
- Combine rice, roasted squash, stems, leaves, seeds and apple cider vinaigrette in the large bowl that you tossed the stems and leaves in. Mix together and season with salt.
This recipe is so easy! I loved it.
That’s great Stephanie! Glad to hear it was both easy and yummy.