This Wild Rice Stuffing with Raisins and Apples is a perfect side dish to holiday turkey, or an everyday roast chicken!
If you are looking for a new way to serve rice, this Wild Rice Stuffing with Raisins and Apples is such a great side dish! Full of flavourful and healthy ingredients, this rice dish is not just for fancy holiday turkey dinners. I mean, it is perfect alongside a roasted turkey for the holidays, but it’s easy enough to make that you can also serve it on any weeknight with Roast Chicken!
This rice stuffing is really meant as a delicious alternative to traditional bread stuffing. We LOVE bread stuffing, but sometimes a change is nice. The great thing about this wild rice stuffing is that it has all the spice flavours that you come to expect with traditional bread stuffings, like sage and thyme, so it tastes just like how you think it should. Like a turkey dinner.
One of the best things about this recipe is that you probably have most of the ingredients right now in your own pantry, which makes this an easy side dish to make! Rice, raisins, chickpeas, apples, onions, celery and spices…so good.
Simple. Every day festive. Comforting.
Wild Rice Stuffing with Raisins and Apples
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
This Wild Rice Stuffing with Raisins and Apples is a perfect side dish to holiday turkey, or an everyday roast chicken!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup uncooked wild rice (you can use brown rice too)
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 cups water
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup celery, chopped
- 1/3 cup onion, chopped
- 1 tsp sage
- 1 tsp thyme
- salt & pepper
- 1/3 cup raisins (or cranberries, or a mixture of the two)
- 1 apple, cut into small chunks (smaller than bite size)
- 1 cup canned chickpeas (strain the liquid)
Instructions
- In a pot over low-medium heat, simmer the rice, water and bay leaves until the rice is fully cooked. (About 45 minutes for wild rice.)
- When the rice is done, drain any remaining water, and remove the bay leaves. Set aside.
- In the meantime, in a frying pan, cook the celery and onion in the butter until tender.
- Stir in the sage, thyme, salt & pepper, apples, raisins and chickpeas and cook for about 1 minute more.
- Stir in the rice. Mix well.
- Serve and enjoy!
Keywords: stuffing, gluten free stuffing, wild rice stuffing, side dish
Recipe Tips and Options:
- Brown rice works well for this recipe as well.
- This recipe is very versatile! Feel free to add any kind of ingredients that you like, such as chickpeas, pine nuts, cranberries, chopped dried apricot. The possibilities are endless.
- This is a perfect side dish alongside roasted turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
- Leftover tip! If I have any of this wild rice stuffing leftover, I’ll add it to my Homemade Turkey Soup…just pick out the raisins. 😉
11 Comments
Lindsay @ Delighted Momma
October 12, 2011 at 12:23 AMHey I actually Dooo have most of these ingredients in my pantry..this is rare haha! What a perfect little sounding meal
Amy
October 12, 2011 at 4:00 AMThis looks and sounds delicious. You’re so right, this could be good for weeknight side dish…I don’t think I need to stuff this anywhere beside straight to my tummy! hahaha….thanks for sharing.
Mary
October 12, 2011 at 4:45 AMThis sounds delicious, Jo-anna! I am always looking for new rice ideas. I like the look of this dish. Thanks!
Jesica @ Pencil Kitchen
October 12, 2011 at 8:42 AMI could eat it like that! mm mm!
Stephanie @ henry happened
October 12, 2011 at 2:23 PMYou’re right – I have most of the ingredients already (yahoo!). Great way to fancy up my brown rice a bit, thanks!
Amy @ Positively Splendid
November 14, 2011 at 8:33 PMThis sounds absolutely delicious, and so autumnal! Thanks so much for linking up to my party.
Friday's Faves | The Happy Housie
October 6, 2017 at 10:31 AM[…] been focused on eating a more nutritious and balanced diet, I think I just might give her Wild Rice Raisin Apple Stuffing at try instead of the traditional bread-based […]
Ivory
October 8, 2017 at 2:37 PMThis sounds amazing. This will be on our table for X-Mas Eve. Thanks to you! ?
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October 11, 2017 at 10:48 AMThank you Ivory!
Patricia Viviano
November 14, 2019 at 12:28 PMSounds delicious! Tell me about the chickpeas — are they canned or dried? If they’re dried, do you soak them or cook them first? Thank you
Jo-Anna Rooney
November 14, 2019 at 3:44 PMHi Patricia! I use canned chickpeas and they work great! If you want to, you can soak them and cook them first. I just find using canned ones much easier! Enjoy.