Once there was green bean casserole.

Kale and Wild Rice Casserole | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Now there is kale.

Yay!!

Of course, the yay is only if you like kale. If you don’t like kale maybe make this a spinach casserole, but in my book kale is better.

Kale and Wild Rice Casserole | halfbakedharvest.com

So it is officially the holidays. Thanksgiving is a week from tomorrow, the stores are filled with Christmas decorations, gifts and toys. Turkeys, yams and hams are everywhere.

Speaking of hams, I was asked to create a ham recipe. Little nervous on this one since I am not very familiar with hams but I am determined to top Honey Baked… wish me luck.

So just curious, do you guys like them? I feel like you either love them or hate them.

Kale and Wild Rice Casserole | halfbakedharvest.com

Personally, I grew up eating turkey for all holiday meals. I am not even sure ham was an option, and if it was I sure as heck did not know about it. Or maybe I just did not acknowledge it because it probably totally creeped me out. Ah huh, my guess is it totally creeped me out. However, I am now determined to rise above my uninformed childhood notions!

Kale and Wild Rice Casserole | halfbakedharvest.com

Anyway, so I have a little story about this dish.

Kale and Wild Rice Casserole | halfbakedharvest.com

It may totally freak and or gross you out.

It’s pretty funny, but I am warning you.

Kale and Wild Rice Casserole | halfbakedharvest.com

See, I ordered this really pretty casserole dish from West Elm after seeing this awesome giveaway.

FYI, West Elm has some cute stuff.

Kale and Wild Rice Casserole | halfbakedharvest.com

I order the casserole dish exactly for this Kale Casserole and waited over a week to make it just so I could bake the kale and wild rice in the new and pretty casserole.

Finally, the stinkin’ thing arrived on a Friday…..

Shattered.

Kale and Wild Rice Casserole | halfbakedharvest.com

I am not even joking, the dish was in a million pieces.

Completely shattered. I was SO bummed.

Until I took it over to my dad. You guys he is getting weirder and more handy with each and every day. Actually, his current project is taking apart my broken mixer, ordering new parts and resembling. He offered. And he is kind of pumped on his new “project”. Like I said, he is getting weirder by the day.

Kale and Wild Rice Casserole | halfbakedharvest.com

Anyway, my dad looked at the dish and said “Tieg, I can super glue it.”.

I thought he was joking.

He wasn’t.

Kale and Wild Rice Casserole | halfbakedharvest.com

The next day he showed up with the casserole dish….

All in one piece.

Which was awesome. I mean, it looked like the Grinch’s angel for Martha, but it was all in one piece!

And also very toxic. I mean super glue?!? Eww and Yikes. But I was desperate. I wanted to use the casserole dish so bad, so I did. And we enjoyed a super healthy dish that was turned probably very unhealthy from super glue leaking into the food. I know, gross. I tried to just eat the middle of the dish and pitch the spots close to any glue, so I am hoping we are all good.

If you look closely you can see the dish is glued together, but I tried to photograph around the handle, that I honestly have no idea how my dad got into one piece. It is actually kind of incredible.

Anyway, the food was delicious, toxic or not. It is a semi healthy holiday food that actually tastes good and does not make you wish you were just eating pie. Full of wild rice, kale, caramelized mushrooms and Gruyère it is the perfect side dish and fairly easy too. Oh, and it is perfect to assemble ahead of time and then just bake before dinner. Easy peasy and delicious!

Kale and Wild Rice Casserole | halfbakedharvest.com
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4.12 from 152 votes

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

The Recipe

Kale and Wild Rice Casserole

By halfbakedharvest

Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Full of wild rice, kale, caramelized mushrooms and Gruyère it is the perfect side dish and fairly easy too.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Calories 470 kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 bunches kales, leaves torn
  • 1 pound cremini mushrooms sliced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 cloves garlic minced or grated
  • 2 tablespoons fresh thyme chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 4 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup milk I used 2%
  • 1 cup chicken broth or veggie broth
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream or canned coconut milk
  • 4 cups cooked wild rice
  • 1 1/2 cup gruyere cheese shredded
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 large sweet onions sliced into thin rings
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Grease a 2-3 quart casserole dish. Set aside.
  2. Heat a very large skillet (the largest you have!) over medium-high heat. Add all of the torn kale to the skillet and add 1 cup of water. Cover the skillet and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the kale is wilted. Once the kale is wilted and all of the water has been absorbed, remove the kale from the skillet and set aside.
  3. Return the skillet to medium heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. When the skillet is hot, sprinkle in the mushrooms in a single layer. Don't stir them! Let them sizzle until they have caramelized on the bottom, about 2 minutes. When the bottoms are caramelized, toss them once and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Continue to cook without stirring for about 5 minutes. Now add the butter to the skillet and cook until the butter begins to brown. Once the butter is browned reduce the heat and add the garlic, thyme and nutmeg and cook for about 10 seconds. Now add the kale back to the skillet with the mushrooms, garlic and spices and toss well.
  4. Sprinkle the flour over the kale and mushrooms and cook for 1 minute. Add the milk and chicken broth, bring to a boil and cook 2-3 minutes or until there is a thick sauce. Add the cream and stir to combine. Remove from the heat and stir in the cooked wild rice. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish.
  5. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  6. Now wipe the skillet and add the olive oil, cook over medium-high heat. Add the onions and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until the onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes.Continue to cook until the onions are golden brown, about 20 minutes.
  7. Sprinkle half the cheese over the casserole and then add the onions and the remaining cheese. Bake the casserole for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the onions are crispy. Serve!
Kale and Wild Rice Casserole | halfbakedharvest.com

Take that, green bean casserole!