Wild Rice Stuffing with Cranberries, Apples and Pecans

Wild Rice Stuffing is the perfect addition to your dinner or weeknight meal.  It’s super simple and full of fall flavors!  It’s gluten free and vegetarian!

November is just flying by.  I’m already trying to figure out what I want to make for Thanksgiving this year.  We have a fun Friendsgiving the weekend before Thanksgiving and I’d love to bring a stellar dish or two.  Not to mention cooking for Thanksgiving. This wild rice stuffing is making me give the typical stuffing a serious side eye.

Fresh food made with love and some extra special touches really makes it feel like the holidays for me.  Every year I try so hard to love stuffing. But in all honesty, its usually dry, bland, too mushy, or overly complicated. Am I alone? Well short of making Stove Top Stuffing (which is not going to happen – have you seen the ingredient list?) I decided to try out a whole new approach to stuffing; wild rice! It’s pretty genius – no oven, can be made ahead of time, and really versatile! My step dad, Dave and I all are pretty sensitive to gluten so using wild rice is an added bonus – it’s gluten free! Want more gluten free and whole foods recipes Thanksgiving recipes? Make sure to check out the Orange Ginger Cranberry Sauce with no added sugar, it’s so good!

As I was making this recipe, I asked Dave what he would like to have in stuffing this year. He replied “I don’t know but I want it to be CRUNCHY”!  Apparently mushy stuffing is his pet peeve.  I like the contrast of apples and cranberries, the sweetness from the apples and the tart bite from the cranberries perfectly balances out the dish for me. To make sure there was enough “crunch” in this dish, I added chopped pecans as well.  This was a last minute addition but it makes the dish if you ask me and I wouldn’t leave them out unless you really don’t like them.  Who doesn’t like pecans??

If your loved this recipe, you should try

• Paleo (or Vegan) Sweet Potato Casserole
• Orange Ginger Cranberry Sauce
• Stuffed Acorn Squash
• Instant Pot Rosemary Garlic Potatoes
• Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad

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Wild Rice Stuffing with Cranberries, Apples and Pecans

Wild Rice Stuffing is the perfect addition to your dinner or weeknight meal. It’s super simple and full of fall flavors! It’s gluten free and vegetarian!

5 from 1 vote

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Course: dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: stuffing

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 40 minutes mins

Servings: 4 people

Author: Samantha Rowland

Guided Recipe Video

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup wild rice - rinced and drained
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/2 cup organic vegetable stock
• 4 sage leaves - finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp fresh rosemary - finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 onion diced
• 2 stalks celery - diced
• 1 large granny smith apple - peeled and cubed
• 4-6 leaves of sage - finely chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh cranberries - rough chopped
• 1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Instructions

• In a large pot, combine the wild rice, water, vegetable stock, 4 sage leaves, rosemary and dried bay leaf in a pot.  Bring the water to a boil and turn the heat down to medium low. Cover and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Prepare the onion, celery, apple and cranberries as the rice is cooking.
• With 10 minutes left, spray the pan with non-stick spray and saute’ over medium heat.  Add onions, celery and salt and cook 2-3 minutes.  
• Add apples and cranberries to the onion and celery mixture.  Cook 3-4 minutes and then add maple syrup and cook an additional 1-2 minutes over medium heat.  Note: If you notice the onions and celery starting to stick to the pan, you can add a little vegetable stock.
• Once the rice is done, transfer it to a large bowl.  Add the vegetable mixture and stir to combine. Add 1/4 cup chopped pecans.

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Nutrition Information

Nutrition Facts

Amount per Serving

Calories

247

Carbohydrates

 

54

g

Fiber

 

5

g

Sugar

 

13

g

Protein

 

7

g

Where does nutrition info come from? Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy, sourced from the USDA Food Database.

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For presentation I highly recommend adding a few whole cranberries, some sage leaves, and whole pecans.  It really makes the dish pop!  Just make sure the sage leaves don’t get eaten whole (bleh!).

If you’re looking to add an easy turkey recipe to go along side this stuffing make sure to check out this slow cooker turkey breast!