Best Ever Wild Rice Stuffing is full of fall flavors like herbs, dried cranberries, and bacon. A delicious gluten free version of the classic!
“This is the BEST RECIPE!!!! I have been making it for years now. Made it again tonight & it seems to get better every time. Thank you!!”
It’s time to think outside the (stuffing) box, with Best Ever Wild Rice Stuffing!
Say goodbye to stale, boxed bread with its mile-long ingredient list, and hello to tender wild rice tossed with all the fixin’s including bacon, mushrooms, herbs, almonds, and dried cranberries – plus a secret ingredient you do NOT want to miss.
This easy, no-bake, gluten free side dish will change the holidays as you know them!
Watch How to Make It
Wild Rice Stuffing vs Bread Stuffing
I think you’re either a bread-stuffing person or you’re not. My family is a stuffing family in that we serve it at Thanksgiving because we feel like the pilgrims of yesteryear would frown upon our holiday gathering if we didn’t have a giant bowl of wet stale carbs on the table, I guess?
This year I challenge you to serve this sophisticated yet simple, totally scrumptious wild rice stuffing that’s full of ALL the fall flavors instead. Like I said, you don’t even need to bake it.
Your friends and family will swoon!
Prep Ahead to Save Time
Since we’re talking the holidays, know that the components in this dish can be prepped a day ahead of time.
- 24 hours ahead of time: chop the vegetables, bacon, and almonds, then freshly grate the parmesan cheese. Store separately.
You can actually fully make the stuffing several hours ahead of time, if need be. Warm it up covered with foil in the oven, or pop the serving bowl in the microwave for a couple minutes.
Your family will be making this scrumptious, wild rice stuffing side dish for many years to come!
How to Make This Recipe
Step 1: Cook the Wild Rice blend.
Start by adding a wild rice blend to a medium saucepan with chicken stock or broth, a bay leaf, and a dash of salt.
Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat then turn the heat down to low, cover, and simmer until the rice is al dente, 40-45 minutes. Take the pan off the heat the let it sit with the lid on for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.
Recipe Tip
I highly recommend Lundberg Wild Blend Rice. If using a different brand, be sure it’s a wild rice/brown rice BLEND, vs straight wild rice or plain brown rice.
Step 2: Brown the bacon.
Meanwhile, brown chopped bacon in a large, 12″ skillet over medium heat then scoop the bacon into a bowl and set it aside, reserving the bacon fat in the skillet.
Step 3: Saute the aromatics.
Turn the heat up to medium-high then melt butter in the skillet and add chopped onion or shallot, mushrooms, and celery. Saute until the mushrooms have released their liquid, the liquid cooks off, and they begin to brown, then season with dried thyme, salt, and pepper.
Once the vegetables are fully tender add chopped fresh sage and minced garlic then saute until the garlic is very fragrant and golden brown, 1-2 minutes.
Step 4: Combine the ingredients.
Last step is to add the cooked wild rice and bacon into the skillet along with chopped almonds, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and dried cranberries.
The parmesan cheese is the “secret” ingredient I mentioned. It gives the rice stuffing a totally unique flavor.
Stir well to combine, adding a splash of chicken broth if needed to loosen the stuffing up a bit.
That’s all she wrote — told you it was easy! Garnish with a couple whole fresh sage for a beautiful presentation, then scoop and serve next to all your holiday favorites.
As I mentioned, leftovers reheat wonderfully in the microwave so you can extend the holiday experience for several days afterwards. I hope you love every bite of this flavor-packed, delicious take on stuffing. Enjoy!
More Gluten Free Holiday Side Dishes
- Green Beans and Bacon
- Gluten Free Scalloped Potatoes
- Gluten Free Gravy
- Gluten Free Green Bean Casserole
- Healthy Mashed Potatoes
- Gluten Free Traditional Stuffing
- Gluten Free Cornbread Stuffing
- Gluten Free Party Potatoes Deluxe
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups wild blend rice, Lundberg recommended, see notes
- 2-1/4 cups chicken stock or broth
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper
- 4 slices bacon, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 large shallot or small onion, chopped
- 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
- 2 ribs celery, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh sage
- 1/4 cup chopped almonds
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, optional
Directions
- Add the wild blend rice, chicken stock or broth, bay leaf, and a pinch of salt to a medium-sized saucepan then bring to a boil over high heat. Place a lid on top then turn heat down to low and simmer for 40-45 minutes or until the rice is al dente. Let the pan sit off the heat with the lid on for 5 minutes then remove the bay leaf, fluff the rice with a fork, and set aside.
- Meanwhile, add the bacon to a large, 12" skillet then turn the heat to medium and brown. Scoop the browned bacon into a bowl, reserving the bacon fat in the skillet, then turn the heat up to medium-high. Melt the butter in the skillet then add the shallots or onion, mushrooms, and celery. Saute until the mushrooms have released their liquid and begin to brown then add the dried thyme and season with salt and pepper. Saute until the mushrooms are golden brown and the vegetables are tender, 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and fresh sage then saute until the garlic is very fragrant and golden brown, 1 minute.
- Remove the skillet from the heat then add the cooked rice, bacon, chopped almonds, dried cranberries, and parmesan cheese, and stir well to combine. Add a splash of chicken broth if needed to loosen the stuffing up a bit. Taste then add salt and pepper if necessary, and then serve.
Notes
- Be sure to use a wild blend rice, vs straight wild rice, or plain brown rice.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
We just cleaned up after our Thanksgiving dinner for 3 and this stuffing was a huge HIT! I actually cooked the wild rice the night before and refrigerated it. Everything else went together this morning (I used baby portobello shrooms and increased the craisins and fresh sage (because we never get enough sage), did not add the parmesan, then we stuffed Cornish game hens, and I had enough left over to bake in the oven in a small casserole dish. Oh my! Can’t wait for leftovers!
YUM! I looooove the idea of stuffing the hens with this – I bet they paired perfectly!
Tried this stuffing recipe today and it was the star of the meal! We omitted the bacon, but I will be making this again for Christmas and possibly on repeat for get togethers all winter. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!
That makes me so happy, Andrea!! I agree – I’ll be making it often for weeknight dinners!
I mixed this up tonight for our Thanksgiving tomorrow and can’t WAIT to try it! My family is going to love eating a different type of stuffing! Yum! :)
I hope they loved it, Shelby!
I ALWAYS use that rice for my holiday stuffing–it’s perfect! I’ve never added almonds, parm, and cranberries, though. Awesome idea! Thanks for the inspiration!
You bet – I hope you love it!
I am on Weight Watchers. Can you tell me the nutrition information? Thanks so much!
Hi Joyce! I don’t calculate nutritional information for my recipes but recommend Livestrong’s recipe calculator tool if you need it! https://www.livestrong.com/login/
This sounds so delicious but it’s really a dressing recipe. Do you have instructions for if you actually want to stuff the turkey with it and cook it that way? I’m afraid if I follow these directions and then stuff the bird, the rice will turn to mush. Any advice?
If you stuff the bird you’ll just want to make sure the internal temperature of the stuffing reaches 165 degrees.
That’s a good dish, especially for rice lovers.
Is wild rice contains more carbs? Can’ t we replace wild rice with brown rice?
One of the perfect dishes for this thanksgiving. Thanks for sharing with us.
Hi Kalista! You could definitely use brown rice in place of wild rice if you like.
I’m testing out Thanksgiving recipes today and this dish is a keeper! I have to eat GF and my brother is a vegetarian. I omitted the bacon and used veggie broth. Still tastes great!! Wonderful flavor and easy dish. Does rice (or a dish like this freeze well at all?)
I also have your white chili chicken in the crockpot (not for Thanksgiving, but to enjoy tonight!) I love all of your creations, thanks for all you do!
I’m so glad you loved it, Lindsey!! I haven’t tried freezing this dish and hesitate only because mushrooms don’t defrost well, and rice can be tricky to freeze then reheat. Let me know if you give it a try though!
This sounds divine! Since I will be making a number of dishes for Thanksgiving, wondering if this can be made ahead and then reheated in the oven on day of? Suggestions? THANK YOU!!!
Hi Debi! This dish definitely reheats well. You could cover and bake at 350 until warm or you could honestly just microwave to reheat!
Looks so delicious! I definitely plan on making this. I always have trouble finding nuts that aren’t manufactured in a facility that processes wheat, so I was thrilled when you mentioned the Fisher nuts are gluten free. I tried to verify this on their website, and it says their GF nuts may be processed on the same line as their products that contain gluten. Do you know if that is maybe outdated information? Or maybe you are not sensitive to the possible slight traces of gluten? Thank you for a great recipe, and knowledge in this area!
Hi Amanda! I never ever buy products that are processed on shared lines because I’m so super sensitive to even trace amounts of gluten. This is new information to me since I’ve been working with Fisher over the past several years, so I will definitely reach out and find out if their processes have changed. All that said, I have never had a reaction to their nuts!
The site mentioned that they wash the lines in-between processing, but they cannot guarantee they would be free from trace amounts. I will look forward to finding out if you hear any different. Thanks!
Hi Amanda! I heard back from the processor – Fisher Nuts are produced in a facility that manufactures products containing gluten, but not on the same equipment/lines!
How much does this recipe make? What should I change if omitting mushrooms?
I love a good wild rice stuffing! My aunt used to always make the best one, I will definitely be trying this. Unfortunately, I live in Canada now (I’m from Minnesota), so we celebrate Thanksgiving in October, and US thanksgiving is just another day for me now. But I may have to make this sometime this week because it looks too good to pass up!
Yes! Never a bad time to make this dish, Emily! :) Hope you love it!
This looks delicious and I’m definitely going to make it as a Thanksgiving side! I’m still buying the red box of stuffing I grew up with though too!
This looks so delicious!