Junked Up Kale Salad

Kale salad is loaded with apples, wild rice, nuts, seeds, and Italian cheese blend for a hearty salad having a variety of flavors with every bite.

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 30 mins
• Calories: 490 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 lemon, juiced
• ¼ cup sesame seeds
• 1 ½ teaspoons olive oil
• 2 cups cooked wild rice
• 2 tablespoons bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, or as needed
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ cup flax seeds
• 2 cups walnut pieces
• ¼ cup chia seeds
• ¼ cup hemp seeds
• 1 bunch curly kale, stemmed and leaves shredded
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, or as desired
• 2 apples (such as Gala or Pink Lady), diced
• 2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese, or to taste (Optional)

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Place kale in a large bowl. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over kale and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Massage oil and salt into kale until evenly coated, adding more oil or salt if needed.

Step 2

Mash garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt together using a mortar and pestle until it forms a paste; add 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil and mix well. Spoon garlic mixture over kale.

Step 3

Crush walnuts using the mortar and pestle until a granular texture forms; add to kale mixture. Pour lemon juice into mortar to loosen any remaining walnut and garlic pieces and pour over kale mixture. Mix kale mixture together using your hands until evenly mixed.

Step 4

Mix wild rice, apples, dried cranberries, Italian cheese blend, sesame seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, flax seeds, and bread crumbs into kale mixture using your hands until salad is evenly combined. Transfer salad to serving bowls and top with blue cheese.