Looking for a bread-free alternative to stuffing that’s healthy and flavorful? Look no further than this delicious wild rice stuffing!
A mixture of wild rice and brown rice is cooked with spices, then mixed with onion, mushrooms and celery. This recipe can be cooked on the stove while chicken or turkey is roasting in the oven.
An Easy Side Dish
- If you’re avoiding gluten or bread, then this recipe is the perfect stuffing alternative (or try our keto stuffing recipe).
- Easy, flavorful and quick – feel free to cook the rice in a rice cooker or instant pot for even less effort.
- Serve this with roasted turkey, or as a side dish with roasted chicken with root vegetables.
- Wild rice has a lovely texture, but it can be a little too much on its own. When served in side dishes, wild rice mushroom soup, or our roasted vegetable wild rice salad, it adds the perfect texture and healthy fiber.
- My husband is a major fan of this recipe and we regularly eat it as a simple side dish.
- Use leftovers for a quick lunch. Top with canned tuna, chickpeas or leftover chicken for added protein.
Recipe Ingredients
RICE: Wild rice is usually a combination of long-grain brown rice, sweet brown rice, red rice, and black rice. Personally, I enjoy using the Lundberg Wild Rice Blend for recipes like this one. This is combined with ½ cup of long-grain brown rice for the stuffing recipe. Short grain brown rice or white rice can also be used in this recipe if preferred.
SPICES: The rice is cooked in broth along with garlic powder, onion powder, dried parsley, and dried thyme. This adds the perfect amount of flavor to the stuffing.
VEGETABLES: Chopped onion, celery and mushrooms are mixed in with the rice. Feel free to add any other favorites. Asparagus, corn, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, and bell pepper would all be lovely additions. You might need to saute them a bit longer. Test for doneness by poking with a fork.
How To Make Wild Rice Stuffing
Regular stuffing certainly has its place. But sometimes it feels much nicer to have a breadless and gluten-free version to serve at the table.
- Cook wild rice and brown rice with broth and spices according to the full recipe instructions below.
- In a separate pot, melt butter and saute onion and celery. Add in the mushrooms and cook until soft.
- Mix the cooked vegetables and rice together. Season with salt and pepper. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Avoid mixing the rice too much while it’s cooking in the broth. This can create a mushier consistency.
- Broth adds more flavor to the rice, but water will also work.
- Be sure to cook rice until all extra liquid has been absorbed. Any excess liquid will just sit at the bottom of the stuffing bowl.
- Chop vegetables into the same size to ensure more even cooking.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days. Leftovers taste great mixed with shredded chicken, canned tuna, chickpeas or black beans for added protein.
More Side Dish Recipes
- Marinated Mushrooms is so easy to prep ahead of time and served cold.
- Black Eyed Pea Salad has a simple marinade that brings out the flavor of fresh vegetables.
- Avocado Quinoa Coleslaw is a healthy coleslaw with a quinoa base.
- Garlic Green Beans and Bacon is an easy recipe cooked in a frying pan.
Did you love this side dish recipe? Be sure to leave a rating below!
Wild Rice Stuffing
Ingredients
- ½ cup wild rice
- ½ cup brown rice - long grain or short grain
- 3 cups vegetable broth - or water
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 Tbsp salted butter
- 2 garlic cloves - minced
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 3 cups chopped mushrooms
- 1 celery stalk - chopped
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp ground pepper
Instructions
- Add wild rice, brown rice, broth, garlic powder, onion powder, dried parsley and dried thyme to a pot. Bring to a boil then reduce and let simmer until water is completely gone, about 30-40 minutes.
- Let rice sit 10 minutes before adding to a bowl to set aside.
- Melt butter over medium-high heat. Add in chopped onion, celery and minced garlic. Cook until onion turns translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the chopped mushrooms and cook until they soften, about 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add the rice mixture back in along with salt and pepper. Mix everything together and cook for 1-2 minutes, until heated through.
- Remove from heat and add to a dish to serve. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
- Avoid mixing the rice too much while it’s cooking in the broth. This can create a mushier consistency.
- Broth adds more flavor to the rice, but water will also work.
- Be sure to cook rice until all extra liquid has been absorbed. Any excess liquid will just sit at the bottom of the stuffing bowl.
- Chop vegetables into the same size to ensure more even cooking.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days. Leftovers taste great mixed with shredded chicken, canned tuna, chickpeas or black beans for added protein.