Wild Rice Pilaf

A bowl of mixed wild rice with Brussels sprouts, carrots, bell peppers, cranberries, and fresh herbs, with a spoon resting on the side.

5 from 1 vote

🥕🍁🌲 Holiday-inspired dish with hearty wild rice mixed with Brussels sprouts, carrots, pecans, dried cranberries, and more! A light maple-Dijon vinaigrette ties it all together. It's a spectacular and healthy side dish for Thanksgiving and Christmas meals or for holiday entertaining because it holds well and you can make it in advance. See Notes below for more details.

Prep Time15

Cook Time45

Course: Salad, side, Side Dish, Sides, Sides, Salads & Vegetables

Cuisine: Sides

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword: holiday wild rice pilaf, pilaf with wild rice, wild rice pilaf

Servings:

Calories: 331cal

Equipment

Large Saucepan (with lid)
large skillet

Ingredients

Pilaf

1 cup wild rice blend (rinse well before using; use Lundberg for best taste, texture, and to prevent bleeding/color running
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 to 5 medium carrots peeled and sliced into small pieces no bigger than 1/2-inch each (regular or multi colored carrots may be used)
2 medium celery stalks sliced into thin half moon pieces
1 medium red onion diced small
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
1 cup halved or sliced Brussel sprouts
2 cloves garlic finely minced
2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves (removed from stems, or use about 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or to taste)
½ cup chopped pecans (chopped walnuts, pistachios, or sliced almond may be substituted
½ cup dried cranberries (golden raisins, dried cherries, or dried apricots) may be substituted
2-3 teaspoons fresh parsley finely minced

Vinaigrette

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (lemon juice may be substituted)
1 ½ to 2 tablespoons maple syrup (honey may be substituted)
½ to 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste

Instructions

Wild Rice: Add the rice to a colander and rinse the rice thoroughly before cooking it under cold running water. To a large saucepan, add water, wild rice, cover, and cook according to package directions.
Cooking Tips - Wild rice takes longer to cook than other types of rice, about 45 minutes, but start checking it at 35 minutes. But if your simmer is very low, it could take up to about 1 hour. Cook until done, however long it takes. In the last 15 minutes or so before it's done, start the next step.
Saute Vegetables: To a separate large skillet, add the olive oil, carrots, celery, red onions, salt, pepper, and saute over medium-high heat for about 5-6 minutes, or until vegetables are beginning to soften; stir frequently. Size Tip - Make sure to keep your carrots and Brussels spouts on the smaller side unless you like really al dente vegetables. They'll be the items that take longer to cook through compared to the celery or onions.
Add the Brussels sprouts and saute for about 3-5 minutes, or until they're as tender as desired: stir frequently.
Add the garlic, thyme, and saute for 1 minute; stir continuously.
Transfer: Transfer the cooked veggie mixture to a large bowl along with the cooked rice.
Add-Ins: Add the pecans, cranberries, parsley, and stir everything very well to combine; set aside momentarily.
Vinaigrette: To a small bowl (or Mason jar with a lid), add all ingredients, whisk (or shake) well to combine, taste and make any necessary flavor adjustments you'd like, and evenly drizzle over the ingredients in the bowl. Stir very well to combine. Make sure to read Flavoring Tips below!
Taste: Taste and make any necessary flavor adjustments. It's almost certain you'll want to add more salt and likely more pepper since there's very little that's been used up until this point. Serve when ready!
Flavoring Tips – If it tastes at all flat or boring, it likely will benefit from additional salt, and perhaps pepper. There's acid from the apple cider vinegar and Dijon, but you can always add more of either. I personally like to use 2-3 tbsp maple syrup (or honey) but I love overall savory dishes with a healthy undercurrent of sweetness. If you want it to have a hint of spiciness, a couple generous shakes of red pepper flakes are great. Love lemon? Lemon zest is great.

Notes

Meal Prep/Holiday Prep: This is a great meal-prep recipe because it keeps well in the fridge and reheats well; or you can serve it at room temperature, or serve it chilled straight from the fridge. Because of this, it’s a great holiday side salad because you can prepare it the day before your event and it’ll be just fine. And it holds really well at room temperature and doesn't need to be piping hot to be enjoyable.

Reheating: If you want to reheat it, I suggest letting it come to room temp on your counter for about 30-45 minutes, then microwaving it for 1 minute, and determining from there how much more microwaving time it may need.

Storage: Leftovers will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months, noting that the texture of everything (especially the Brussels sprouts) will soften and change a bit after being frozen and thawed, but it doesn't affect the flavor.

Nutrition