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.
I’ve been around the block in gluten-free land. Been eating this way for 2 decades. This is a worthy recipe. Since it’s naturally free of bread, no one will be missing the wheat. Serve it to everyone without apology. For anyone also omitting dairy, this taste just fine without the parmesan. I promise. If you still wanted to try it with that taste, Follow Your Heart vegan parmesan shake is a decent enough sub for that background flavor. But what I wanted to mention is, chicken fat is a superior sub for butter in savory recipes. No vegan butter sub or oil comes close. I highly recommend it and say it is definitely worth the price tag, if buying pre made at the store. You are not missing out on flavor when you use it. It’s especially excellent in stuffing recipes, including this one.
THRILLED to read your review of this recipe, Kevin! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating. I am so, so happy that you think so highly of this recipe!
Can I use canned wild rice and is there gluten in jimmy deans sausage?
Hi Carolyn! I’ve never cooked with canned wild rice so I can’t speak to the texture and how it would turn out in this final dish. That said, Jimmy Dean’s breakfast sausage is gluten free — please always check labels on your product to double check though, as manufacturers can change without notice.
I agree this is the best ever, this was my second year making it for Thanksgiving. I skipped the parmesan and next time will probably skip the bacon. Made the wild rice blend in the rice cooker, probably added more mushrooms than called for chopped fine not sliced, and added a handful of dried cherries along with the dried cranberries. Oh, and we used slivered almonds which my husband toasted in butter — definitely doing that again.
I’m so glad to hear it, Christina! I love how versatile this recipe is too. :) So glad it’s an annual repeater! ;)
Simply delicious! My go to special rice dish not just with turkey.
Oh I’m so glad to hear that, Carin! Thank you so much for your feedback!
I was under the assumption that stuffing was baked INSIDE the bird & dressing was baked in a dish on the side?
That’s technically correct, Carla! In general many people, including myself, use the terms stuffing and dressing interchangeably — kind of like how Shepherd’s Pie is technically made with lamb, and cottage pie is made with ground beef, though many still call Shepherd’s Pie made with ground beef…Shepherd’s Pie.
I agree with “best” for this one. Loved it! Thank you for the recipe
Wohoo!! Thrilled to hear it, Catherine – Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
Made this for Christmas and loved it! Many flavors and textures that blended so well.
I’m thrilled to hear that, Susie!! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
Hi! I made this today! Yes, I had seconds! I did make substitution or raisins, as I didn’t have any dried cranberries. Will definitely make again….and again, thank you!
Fantastic, I’m so happy to hear that, Loanne! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
Your recipes are fabulous! But your website is so awful to use! Every time I need to refer back to the ingredients list, it jumps to the very bottom, and when I try to scroll up at jumps way back up to the top, it makes using your recipe while cooking, nearly impossible, and extremely frustrating! (On an iphone)
Same, unfortunately. It was nearly impossible to use while cooking on Thanksgiving. Thankfully I was familiar enough with the recipe steps to memorize them.
I’m so sorry to hear this, ladies! I am working hard on an updated site design and ad layout to hopefully get rid of the jumpiness. I so appreciate you hanging in there and cooking my recipes in the meantime!
This has been my go-to stuffing recipe since 2016. It’s spectacular ! I always make extra so I can freeze it in small portions; I love this for breakfast with an egg on top.
Fantastic!! Love the sound of a drippy egg on top. Thank you so much for your feedback and, Hillary!
I have a gluten-free vegetarian coming for Thanksgiving. I found some gluten-free veg sausage to sub for the bacon, but what can I use to sub for the bacon fat, that will impact that nice smoky flavor to the veggies? He’s not vegan, so I can do butter, but what to add? Smoked paprika? Or? I don’t even know what spices they use in bacon…
I think butter with a pinch of smoked paprika, or maybe even a couple dashes of worcestershire sauce, will do the trick!
Alison, if you can get your hands on some Wright’s Liquid Smoke Hickory Flavor, it will definitely impart that smokey bacon-y flavor. Just a tiny amount will do the trick. This is a clean ingredient, just smoke and water.
When I need a smoky flavor, I usually add a pinch of chipotle powder. It’s nice and smoky without being overly hot.
This recipe is outstanding, it is so good that everyone wants this stuffing instead of bread stuffing for Thanksgiving.
Ahh, I love hearing that, Craig! Happy Thanksgiving!
Can this be made ahead of time?
Yes, it can! I reheat in the microwave.