Wild rice is hearty and nutritious on its own, which is why it makes the perfect addition to soups (i.e. my Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup) and salads (i.e my Vegan Wild Rice Salad), but the addition of apples and cranberries truly takes this dish to another level. The nuttiness is met with natural sweetness, the earthiness with tart, the richness with freshness. It is sure to be the perfect side dish of your holiday spread! For past Thanksgiving dinners, I’ve always served my crowd-pleaser recipes wild rice salad or wild rice pilaf, as one of my side dishes, and they have always been a huge hit. But this year, I have totally fallen head over heels for this old New York Times wild rice stuffing recipe and will be making the swap with this as my star rice side dish. Plus, it is a gluten-free stuffing recipe that happens to be vegan, so you can easily serve this to your guests who are following a gluten-free and/or vegan diet. Adapted from this New York Times’ Wild Rice Stuffing recipe with minimal changes to the original recipe. 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. 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.
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. 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
