Caramelized Sweet Potato and Kale Fried Wild Rice is a healthy and flavorful side dish recipe that's anything but forgettable!
“I am OBSESSED with this dish. I make it multiple times every fall. It is the perfect balance of textures and flavors – sweet, savory, tangy.”
I recently replaced all the rogue rice bags in my pantry with pop lid organizers and if you would’ve told me I had the power to solve half the world’s problems afterwards, I would have believed you.
Ah, the power of feeling organized!
Anyhow, I scooped my favorite wild-blend rice out of its shiny new bin to make Caramelized Sweet Potato and Kale Fried Wild Rice.
Fried rice meets sizzling salad meets HELLO-delicious in this wholesome, 1-skillet stir fried side dish that’s full of tongue-tingling flavor!
Healthy Side Dish or Light Main
A hearty, wild-brown rice blend is cooked in chicken broth, stir fried with caramelized sweet potatoes and cooked kale, then drizzled with a zippy Maple-Dijon Vinaigrette. Crunchy, roasted salted pepitas are sprinkled on top.
Your eyes will see stir fry but your tongue will taste warm rice salad with pops of dijon, maple, and sweet potato. SO delicious, with the perfect balance of savory, tangy, and sweet.
You’ll find every excuse in the book to make this flavor-packed dish from Labor Day to Easter!
Enjoy all on it’s own or serve as a side dish with:
- Baked Chicken Thighs
- Air Fried Chicken
- Roast Chicken
- Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
- Baked Chicken Breast
- Maple-Dijon Pork Tenderloin
How to Make this Recipe
Step 1: Cook the wild-blend rice.
Start by cooking a wild rice blend according to package directions, using chicken stock or broth instead of water. I like Lundberg Wild-Blend Rice, which is a blend of brown rice, wild rice, red rice, etc.
Step 2: Cook the kale.
Meanwhile, remove 1/2 bunch curly kale from its stems then chop it into bite-sized pieces. This dish is a great intro to kale for newbies as it becomes very tender in the end.
Recipe Tip
To easily strip kale leaves from the stems, grip the stem with one hand then pull the stem out with the other hand, scraping the leaves off with it.
Fill a wok or large skillet with high sides with water then bring it to a boil. Add the kale plus a heavy dash of salt then boil until the kale is tender, 4-5 minutes.
Drain the kale then, when it’s cool enough to handle, squeeze the excess moisture out with your hands. Crumble the kale into a bowl then set it aside.
Step 3: Cook the sweet potato.
While the kale is cooking, chop a medium-sized sweet potato into 1/2″ cubes.
First peel the potato then cut it in half. Next, slice each half into 1/2″ planks.
Lay the planks on their side, cut into 1/2″ slices, then chop.
Melt butter, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt in the skillet over medium-high heat then add the sweet potato and stir fry until the cubes are tender and caramelized, 8-10 minutes.
Step 4: Make the Maple-Dijon Vinaigrette.
While the sweet potatoes are caramelizing, mix up the dressing. To a small mixing bowl or mason jar with a lid, add:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
- Maple syrup
- Dijon mustard
- Pressed or minced garlic cloves
- Salt and pepper
Whisk or shake the jar to combine.
Step 5: Combine.
To the caramelized sweet potatoes in the wok, add the cooked rice and kale then drizzle the vinaigrette over the top. Toss until everything is hot and sizzling.
Scoop onto plates then sprinkle with roasted and salted pepitas (pumpkin seeds). They add a wonderful crunch, and loads of health benefits too!
Caramelized Sweet Potato and Kale Fried Wild Rice is unexpected, filling, and truly delicious. Perk up dinner tonight with this nutritious and delicious side dish!
More Healthy Side Dish Ideas
- Air Fryer Green Beans
- Healthy Mashed Potatoes
- Roasted Spaghetti Squash Rings
- Air Fryer Asparagus
- Seasoned Broiled Potatoes
- Sweet Chili Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Wild Rice Stuffing
Caramelized Sweet Potato and Kale Fried Wild Rice
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Wild Blend Rice, Lundberg Wild-Blend Rice recommended
- 1-1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1-1/2 cups 1/2″ cubed sweet potato, ~1 medium-sized sweet potato
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 4 cups packed chopped curly kale, ~1/2 bunch
- 1/4 cup roasted salted pepitas
For the Maple-Dijon Vinaigrette:
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- salt and pepper
Directions
For the Maple-Dijon Vinaigrette:
- Add the ingredients to a jar with a tight fitting lid or small mixing bowl then shake or whisk to combine and set aside. Can be made up to 5 days ahead of time.
For the Fried Wild Rice:
- Prepare the rice according to package instructions using chicken broth or stock in place of water. Set aside – can be made up to 3 days ahead of time.
- Fill a wok or large skillet with high sides with water then bring to a boil over high heat. Add a heavy dash of salt and the chopped kale then boil until the kale is tender, 4-5 minutes. Drain then, when kale is cool enough to handle, squeeze out the excess water with your hands. Crumble the kale into a bowl then set it aside.
- Turn the heat down to medium-high then melt the butter in the wok or skillet. Add the brown sugar and sweet potatoes, season with salt, then saute until the sweet potatoes are tender and caramelized, 8-10 minutes.
- Add the kale, cooked rice, and Maple-Dijon Vinaigrette to the wok then toss to combine. Serve topped with pepitas.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
I’ll definitely make this again. I tried an experiment in advance of this dish to take with me to a Christmas Dinner. It is really delicious. My “experiment” was to determine whether it would re-heat well, and it does! I made a little extra dijon sauce and added that when I reheated it to make sure that it wasn’t too dry. Mmmm. Yummy. Thanks for sharing this. (The only modification I made was using a handful of toasted pecans instead of pepitas, since I had the pecans on hand.) In the future, I’ll probably make this with some diced chicken as a one-dish dinner that will make enough for a couple of leftover lunch servings.
This looks AMAZING! I am so making this for dinner tomorrow night. Thanks for another great vegan-friendly recipe ^_^
I made this tonight as a side dish with ham roast. It is a great dish. I did cut back on the kale, but otherwise followed the recipe. Great!
This salad is divine. Best side at our table tonight. I sautéed the kale instead of boiling & used half the syrup. The different textures make the salad. Plus it’s delicious! Thank you so much for this amazing recipe.
This is SO yummy. I doubled the recipe and made it to take to a potluck at work tomorrow. Thanks for a super recipe!
So glad to hear it, Ella! Great idea to take it to a potluck!
Was delicious! First time I cook kale and stuff, my roomates and I had the best meal! Thank you for this recipe
Awesome!! So glad it worked out for you, Bia, thanks for the great feedback!
Do you Think you could replace the Kale with Spinach ?????
Sure! I would add it at the very end since it only takes a minute to wilt.
I love this recipe! I made it again tonight and lightly steamed the kale instead of boiling it. The kale was wilted, but not completely limp, which added a bit of texture and a slight crunch (and more taste!) to the dish. Boiling vegetables depletes their nutrients, so steaming is always the healthier option. I will make this recipe again and again, but only with steamed kale.
This looks so amazing! I’m going to make some chicken using the same marinade as the rice to make it a full meal. I can’t wait to try it!
This salad is DELICIOUS! All of my favorite things! Making it for the third time tonight – thanks for sharing!
So glad to hear, Marie! Thanks so much for the feedback!
HA!! So glad you stuck with it and loved the result. You go girl!!
I loved this, I want to make it for a group for the holidays Would quinoa work in place of rice?
I think so! It won’t be as substantial, but should be just as delicious. :)
this is incredible!! I just made it and it is so delicious. on top of being delicious objectively, this is subjectively right up my alley flavor profile wise, with the sauce and such. do you have an instagram? i posted a pic but i want to tag you so people can find your site!! I’ve poked around your other recipes after eating this one & I can’t wait to make more of them!! thank you so much for this tasty glory!! :) <3
I do! :) http://instagram.com/iowagirleats
This is so yummy. Be sure to eat it when it is hot still. Ours got cold and was not good. If it gets cool though, just add a little water and re-heat on stove. Wah la! it”s yummy again. Also, we had quite a bit of leftovers, so I made a soup that ended up being “to-die-for!” I cooked 3 chopped carrots and more kale (1 lg handful) in 2 cans chicken stock until carrot was tender. Then I added 3 lg chicken breasts that were already baked with only Italian seasoning. I also added corn from 3 ears (canned would work fine too). I added some more pepitas. Lastly I dumped in my leftover rice from this recipe and it was SOO good. My hubby, mom and I all had some and were amazed. The vinaigrette flavor made everything come together. I will be making this rice as a side dish again then using leftovers for this soup again too.