By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- About 3 hours
- Rating
- 4(322)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Like many Thanksgiving dishes, this pilaf combines sweet and savory foods. Apples and cranberries are high in phenolic acids, which are believed to have antioxidant properties.
Featured in: Well's Vegetarian Thanksgiving 2011
Learn: How to Make Rice
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Ingredients
Yield:Makes about 8 cups, serving 12 to 16
- 1½cups wild rice
- ¾cup short-grain brown rice
- 6cups vegetable stock or water
- Salt to taste
- 1tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1small or medium onion, finely chopped
- 1cup diced celery
- 2garlic cloves, minced (optional)
- 1tablespoon butter
- 2apples, cored and cut in ½-inch dice
- ⅓cup lightly toasted pecans, coarsely chopped
- 2tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage
- ⅓cup dried cranberries
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (14 servings)
165 calories; 4 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 30 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 408 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Combine the wild rice with 4½ cups stock or water in one saucepan and the brown rice with 1½ cups stock or water in another smaller saucepan. Add salt to taste and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer the brown rice for 35 to 40 minutes, until the rice is tender and all of the liquid has been absorbed. Turn off the heat, place a clean kitchen towel over the pot and return the lid. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Simmer the wild rice for 40 to 50 minutes, until the grains have begun to splay. Drain through a strainer if there is liquid in the pot, and return to the pot. Place a clean kitchen towel over the pot and return the lid. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
Step
2
While the grains are cooking, prepare the remaining ingredients. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until the onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the celery and a generous pinch of salt, and continue to cook until the onion is completely tender, another 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook, stirring, until it is fragrant, another 30 to 60 seconds. Remove from the heat and transfer to a large bowl. Add the cooked grains and stir together.
Step
3
Return the skillet to the stove and heat over medium-high heat. Add the butter, and when the foam subsides add the apples. Cook, stirring or tossing in the pan, until lightly colored, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add to the bowl with the grains. Add the remaining ingredients and stir together. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a lightly oiled or buttered baking dish and cover with foil.
Step
4
Warm the stuffing in a 325-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.
Tip
- Advance preparation: The cooked grains will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator and can be frozen. The stuffing benefits from being made a day ahead.
Ratings
4
out of 5
322
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Cooking Notes
Joyce
Living in the upper Midwest, I like to use the real wild rice, the kind the Ojibwa collect from the lakes up north. It’s a different grain from the cultivated “wild rice,” and worth spending extra to get it; once you taste the real thing, you won’t want to go back to the cultivated kind. I order mine directly from the Ojibwa, T Bineshii. One important thing is that the real wild rice cooks differently. You cook it like pasta: add it to a pot of boiling water, and cook 15 to 20 minutes maximum.
Kay
Loved this! I wanted to serve it as a pilaf, not a stuffing/dressing, and made the following changes: I went generous on the apples, pecans, and especially cranberries. At the end when adjusting the seasoning I added fresh lemon juice (1-2 tbsp), extra dash of good quality olive oil, and tossed it all with fresh pomegranate arils. It was a big hit and got better with every passing day - not just for gluten free folk, either, we all loved it.
Trisha
Would the stuffing do well INSIDE the turkey and baked? Thanks
Pam
I used Lundberg Wild Rice Blend which eliminated the need to cook both wild rice and brown rice. This was absolutely a hit with the whole Thanksgiving crowd. I didn't make as a stuffing but served in a casserole. It's a winner!
Debbie Weinstein
My children loved this, and never want me to make a cracker/bread stuffing again. This has the advantage of being gluten free. I did use dried sage instead of fresh, but it came out fine.
lu bleveans
Thanksgiving 2017. Amazing! Everyone loved it. Used brown basmati along with the wild rice. Increased apples to 3 and pecans to a heaping 1/2 cup. Used large onion and twice as much garlic. added 1-2T lemon juice at serving time along with a dash of OO and broth. Made 5 days ahead.
Judith
I have a gluten & dairy free family member, so did this with all olive oil. Also a leek fell into the chopping, and I used all the pecans I had (maybe 2/3 cup?) and more cranberries and 2 Honeycrisp apples. Everyone in my family raved. Next time: different apple, maybe Granny Smith. remember not to peel apples (I do so automatically, that's how I like to eat them). forgiving on proportions, easy to carry and reheat.
Dips
I've made this for Thanksgiving for the past 3 years and it's always a big hit. I do make a few modifications to make this less rice heavy; add extra cranberries and nuts. I also substitute the pecans with walnuts since I usually have those on hand.
Carolyn
This is my Christmas staple. I always use more pecans, apple, cranberries. It just tastes so good and everyone can enjoy it. Vegan (omit the butter) Vegetarian, meat eaters. You can bake it in a casserole dish or stuff your Duck or Chicken with it. Always so good.
D
I think the proportions for this are a little out of whack. I ended up with about 10 cups of grains, so I added more cranberries, apples and walnuts.
Liz
I made this for Thanksgiving with a few modifications due to what I had on hand and everyone loved it! Also was very easy because I made the grains in the instant pot 2 days earlier.I substituted buckwheat for the brown rice, added a bag of chopped precooked chestnuts, used a dried cherry/cranberry mix because my husband happened to buy that, and used water instead of broth in addition to adding some more spices: sage, rosemary, allspice. Delicious!
Diane
Made this with no butter, and took the advice of other commenters who said they increased the cranberries, apples and pecans. I did that and so glad. This was so delicious, I made this is a side for a big Thanksgiving recipe, got lots of compliments -- including the host who asked me if I could make this every year going forward!
Dips
This has now become a staple on my Thanksgiving menu. This year I didn’t have apples on hand (they all went into a pie), so I skipped them, used water instead of broth, and used a wild rice brown rice blend instead of cooking them separately. As always, I had multiple requests for the recipe.
MM
Delicious!! Only variations I did were to add a pound of ground bison, a little extra butter and oil at each cooking step per my preference, and used 3 cans of canned wild rice for ease.
Susan
I make this every year and improvise freely. I add a mashed celeriac — great flavor and makes the stuffing more cohesive.
Naomi
Can whole cranberries be substituted for dried ones? Is yes, is some adjustment needed such as cutting them in half, or cook longer because they will produce more liquid than the dried ones.
Jenni N
I didn't have any dried cranberries when I decided to make this, so substituted dried cherries. Delicious and, though I am a fan of cranberries usually, I think I might like it better with the cherries.
JLS
I was looking for a 4th of July eve potluck dish and saw this, one of my favorite stuffings, in my recipe box. I decided to try to adapt it into a salad. It worked well! I cooked only the rice, adding 1 whole garlic clove and a bit of dried sage to the pot. I added all of the add-ins to the rice - skipping the onion, garlic and fresh sage, and substituting dried Montmorency cherries for the cranberries. I topped it off with a bit of shallot vinaigrette made with champagne vinegar.
philly girl
This was a very popular side for our crown roast of pork for New Year’s. Made as written, but agree with the comments about using genuine wild rice and the lemon juice.
AB Coucous
Made exactly per recipe. Needs more salt and the addition of a little balsamic vinegar once served really brought out and brightened the other flavors
MGF
This was delicious! I changed the recipe somewhat and used a rice blend from Trader Joe's with red rice, brown rice and barley. At the end I added a splash of fruity balsamic vinegar. It was wonderful with broiled salmon that had a brown sugar glaze on it.
Rev. John Lindner
Omitted the apples and added orange zest and two shots of Cointreau at the very end once the rice was in the serving bowl. Also added the chopped sage and some chopped parsley at the end for fresh color. Used only wild rice and doubled the amount of dried cranberries (craisins) and chopped pecans.
Dips
I've made this for Thanksgiving for the past 3 years and it's always a big hit. I do make a few modifications to make this less rice heavy; add extra cranberries and nuts. I also substitute the pecans with walnuts since I usually have those on hand.
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