Wild Rice Stuffing

Wild Rice vs Wild Rice Blend – Which one should I use?

Many people are intimidated to cook rice beyond the white and brown varieties they’ve eaten their whole lives. But there’s no need to be intimidated by the healthier and cleaner cousin in this grain family — wild rice.

I dedicated an entire blog post to show you how to cook wild rice perfectly and also covered the benefits of incorporating this grain into your diet, storage tips, and recipes to pair with it. Consider this your go-to guide for this healthy side dish, but I’ll go over some of the basics here.

With that being said, in this wild rice dressing recipe, I used Lundberg wild rice blend (affiliate link). I have been a fan of it since I started cooking wild rice blend in Instant pot and enjoy the various textures coming from the combination of long-grain brown rice, sweet brown rice, wild rice, red rice, and black rice. As listed on their website, it’s also certified organic, non-GMO, kosher, and gluten-free.

If you do not have an instant pot, you can cook it on the stove top as well. Compared to the pressure cooking method, it takes 15 minutes longer to cook this way but the good part is that neither methods require soaking in advance.

Additionally, while I used wild rice blend this recipe would work with only wild rice as the base as well.

Ingredients:

Once the wild rice blend is cooked and ready, you will need onion, celery, salt, pepper, garlic cloves, butter, cored and cubed apples, freshly squeezed lemon juice, chopped pecans, and dried cranberries, along with butter, vegetable oil, and cooking liquid for the wild rice (vegetable or chicken stock is best).

The sprinkling of fresh sage and pomegranate seeds is optional, but I highly recommend including them if at all possible as they add a fresh bite of herby and fruity flavor to the rich, savory wild rice stuffing.

A Few Helpful Tips for the Ingredients

• Cook your wild rice blend with chicken or vegetable broth. This Thanksgiving side dish can be made vegetarian by opting for vegetable stock and serving as a dressing or casserole. Or, if your family eats meat, you could cook it with chicken broth and bake it inside of your turkey as a traditional stuffing.
  If you want to take it up a notch, you can add a bay leaf into the cooking liquid for extra flavor, but be sure to remove it before mixing it with the rest of the ingredients.
• Do I have to peel my apples? This is more of a personal choice. I personally like to keep it on because (1) I am lazy, and (2) it adds an addition of color to the overall dish.
• No apples, no problem: You can also make a variation of this recipe by using pears instead of apples. Simply use two firm (not-so-ripe) pears and turn this into a delicious cranberry pear wild rice stuffing. 
• Any fresh herbs you have on hand would work. I used fresh sage as it is a classic stuffing flavor we all love but other herbs like fresh parsley or thyme would also work.
• Add pomegranate arils for color. As you can see in the pictures, I garnished it with a handful of pomegranate arils for a pop of color and some additional sweetness/ However, it is optional.
• Add more veggies to your liking! Sliced or chopped carrots would work beautifully in this vegan wild rice stuffing recipe, as would shallots or leeks (in the place of onion), a chopped bell pepper, and even minced sautéed mushrooms. It’s truly up to you!
• It is also optional, but if you want to brighten it up you can add in a teaspoon of orange zest to compliment the sweet apple and cranberry flavors.

How To Make It?

1. Cook the wild rice blend: As I mentioned earlier, you can use my Instant Pot Wild Rice Blend recipe or cook it on the stovetop by following the instructions on the packaging to cook it. Once it is cooked, let it rest for 10-15 minutes of the heat and fluff it with a fork.
2. Get your oven ready: While your rice is resting, preheat oven to 325 degrees F. 

3. Saute the aromatics: Add the chopped onion, chopped celery, salt, and black pepper to a large skillet prepared with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Saute until the veggies are softened but not translucent. You want them to maintain some bite while they bake in the stuffing. Stir in your minced garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds until you can smell the garlic. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside. Don’t you dare wash that pan! You’ll do away with all of the flavors we just created with those sauteed veggies.
4. Saute apple: In the same pan, heat a tablespoon of butter over medium heat and add the cubed, apples and sauté. Stir frequently until it turns light golden brown, then remove from heat and squeeze in the lemon juice.

5. Combine everything in a bowl: Combine the cooked apples and wild rice blend in the large bowl housing the sautéed veggies. Add the remaining ingredients; chopped pecans, dried cranberries, chopped fresh sage, and then give it a gentle, but thorough, toss.

5. Transfer to a baking dish: Transfer the cooked rice mixture to a prepared 9×11 casserole dish and warm in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. This isn’t to cook anything, but rather to warm all of the ingredients and help them meld together. 
6. Garnish: Turn off your oven, and remove the wild rice stuffing casserole. Garnish with a generous sprinkle of pomegranate seeds, chopped fresh sage, and pecans.
7. Serve: Enjoy it right away or cover it with foil to keep it warm.

Storage, Make-Ahead, and Freezing Instructions

One of my favorite aspects of this gluten-free stuffing recipe is that it can be made ahead of time, which all of you Thanksgiving hosts and hostesses can appreciate. Anything to cut down on the amount of cooking to be done on Turkey Day, am I right?

To turn this easy side dish into a make-ahead wild rice stuffing recipe, follow these freezing and reheating instructions:

• To freeze: Cook this wild rice stuffing as directed in the recipe, then let it cool completely and come to room temperature. Omit the pomegranate seeds and save those for when you serve the stuffing. Ideally, you would freeze this in a container that is both freezer- and oven-safe, but you could always freeze it in a plastic container or even a plastic Ziplock bag and then transfer it to a disposable or glass baking dish when you’re ready to reheat.
• To reheat: Let the frozen wild rice stuffing first thaw completely in the fridge overnight. The day of serving, remove it from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature before baking. Then, transfer it to an oven-safe baking dish. If needed, add in a splash of vegetable broth to moisten. Bake at 325 for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until thoroughly warmed through. Top with pomegranate seeds, fresh sage, and chopped pecans before serving.
• To Store leftovers: The wild rice turkey stuffing recipe below make a good 9-10 cups of stuffing. If you have any leftovers, you can store the unconsumed wild rice stuffing in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to 4 days. When ready to serve, transfer it to a casserole dish and heat it in a preheated 325 degrees F oven for 25-30 minutes to heat it thoroughly.

But trust me, it won’t last that long! Garnish with additional pomegranate seeds before re-serving, if desired.

What Pairs Well with This Recipe?

There you have it friends, a delicious and easy-to-make wild rice apple cranberry stuffing recipe that you can make to stuff your turkey or serve it as a dressing. 

I am serving it as a side dish with roasted Cornish hens (or Air Fried Cornish Hens), but you can serve it with any chicken or turkey recipe you like.

Additionally, if you liked this gluten-free rice stuffing recipe, then you might also enjoy checking out my collection of holiday side dishes or pick from my favorites below:

• The Best Meat and Cheese Platter
• Sweet Potato Biscuits
• Layered Mashed Potatoes
• Butternut Squash and Quinoa
• Roasted Stuffed Acorn Squash with Quinoa
• Easy Mashed Sweet Potatoes
• Roasted Asparagus Recipe
• Roasted Delicata Squash Recipe

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