A wonderfully flavorful wild rice stuffing with sweet potatoes and mushrooms. Vegan and gluten free, and perfect for Thanksgiving!
What’s your favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal?
For many people, it’s the stuffing. Whether it’s cornbread stuffing, or a more traditional bread stuffing, everyone loves this delicious side dish.
We love all types of stuffing at our house. The traditional recipe that I grew up with was a bread and meat sage stuffing – so delicious! My mom made it every year, and it was the highlight of our meal.
Since we have a few different dietary needs in our family, I came up with this mushroom sweet potato wild rice stuffing. It’s full of delicious colors and textures, and it’s very easy to make, too.
I’m not ashamed to say that on the day that I made this sweet potato wild rice stuffing I ate a bowl for lunch AND dinner. It’s that good. We are definitely making a huge batch of this for Thanksgiving, and I will probably knock my brother over to get a serving. Just kidding, I’m a good hostess – guests first, of course. ;)
Is wild rice good for you?
Yes, wild rice is very good for you! It’s higher in protein and fiber than regular rice, and it contains more vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It also adds a delicious chewy, nutty texture to this stuffing.
Is wild rice gluten free?
Yes, wild rice is gluten free. In fact, all forms of rice are gluten free.
Should you cook stuffing inside a turkey?
No, it really isn’t safe to cook stuffing inside the bird. As the turkey cooks, all the juices will go into the stuffing, and unless that reaches the proper temperature, you could get food poisoning.
Getting the stuffing to the proper temperature of 165 degrees F will also mean that the turkey will be overcooked, and that’s not great. No one likes a dry, overcooked turkey. Read more about stuffing and food safety here.
Can I use a different rice in wild rice stuffing?
Sure, if you don’t have wild rice, go ahead and use more brown rice. But the wild rice gives this stuffing a nice chewy, nutty texture, so it’s worth getting the wild rice for this recipe.
Can I make this wild rice stuffing ahead of time?
Yes, you can make it the night before, but be sure to cool it quickly and properly before refrigerating, and then reheat it to 165 degrees before serving the next day. Leftover rice can cause food poisoning due to the spores that are naturally on rice, and thrive when it sits out too long. Read more about reheating rice safely here.
This vegan sweet potato wild rice stuffing is:
- great for a holiday meal
- perfect for a lunch
- full of color
- packed with nutrients like iron and vitamins A and C
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Recipe
Sweet Potato Wild Rice Stuffing.
Ingredients
For the rice:
- ½ cup wild rice
- ½ cup brown rice
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
For the roasted sweet potatoes:
- 2 sweet potatoes peeled and diced
- 1 sweet onion sliced thin
- 6 garlic cloves sliced
- 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Place the wild rice and brown rice in a large pot with 1 teaspoon olive oil and 1 ¾ cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover. Cook until tender, about 40 minutes.
- While the rice cooks, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the sweet potatoes, onions, and garlic on a baking sheet and drizzle with a three tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and cumin. Roast at 425 degrees for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Saute the mushrooms in a tablespoon of olive oil over low heat until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain off excess liquid.
- Once the vegetables are done roasting, and the rice is tender, prepare the spinach. Place the frozen spinach in a bowl with a couple of tablespoons of water, and microwave for two minutes or until hot. Drain off water.
- Place the roasted vegetables, mushrooms, and spinach in the pot with the cooked rice. Add the sea salt, pepper, cumin, and Italian seasoning. Stir to combine over low heat, and add more seasoning if needed. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
What kind of stuffing do you have for Thanksgiving? Sausage, bread, sage, cornbread? What’s your favorite kind?
This post was originally published in November 2014. It has been updated with new text.
Follow along:
Kristin Visaggio
Anyone make this ahead of time and just reheat day of?
Darryl
Delicious stuffing, new favorite!
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely
This is great! My mom and sister don’t eat meat, so this stuffing is perfect for them. Thanks for the recipe Kelly!
Kelly
You’re welcome, Natalie! I hope they like it!
Alex @ DelishKnowledge
Gorgeous photos! I love the idea of sweet potato stuffing! I’m like you this time of year, I can’t get enough sweet potatoes.
vegetarianmamma
Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays Party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! :) I can’t wait to see what you share next time!
-Cindy
Lisa
I really like the wild rice in this stuffing! Pinning this so I can try it later!
Rose - QuickHealthyDelicious
I feel like this would be delicious as a stand-alone lunch! :)
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice
I love your creative take on this sweet potato stuffing, Kelly! What a great idea to add in some wild rice, too. Sounds delicious!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
I don’t use wild rice enough! It is such a beautiful grain though! Paired with sweet potato and mushrooms….fabulous!
Julia
I’m already jazzed about Christmas, too! I LOVE rice stuffings! This one is so colorful and looks like it has so much flavor to it. I love the idea of making this for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, and would totally eat it for two meals in a row :)
Sarah@WholeandHeavenlyOven
Okay, this stuffing I have GOT to try! Wild rice and sweet potatoes are two of my fav dishes on Thanksgiving and I love that you combined them into one awesome stuffing! I might not be able to wait all the way til T-Day to make this. :) Pinning!
gretchen | kumquat
i would eat that alone for lunch today. i am so ready for thanksgiving!!
teaspoonofspice
Forget Thanksgiving, this is a worthy side dish all through fall & winter – can’t wait to try it (and your mom’s sage stuffing sounds pretty darn good too :)