This Vegetarian Harvest Wild Rice Recipe is colorful, healthy, and the flavors are out of this world. Serve it anytime as a stand alone dinner, or pair it with roasted chicken, baked ham, or pork chops. No matter what you choose, you’re gonna love this dish.
If you are thinking of bringing this to a Thanksgiving potluck or serving it at your own Thanksgiving table, rest assured, it will be the star! This is the one that everyone will want the recipe to take home and make for family and friends. Print a few copies of the recipe for them now. It’s going to happen so let’s just be prepared!
How to Make Harvest Wild Rice
Step one: Prepare the rice according to package directions, and set aside.
Step two: Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into bite size (roughly one inch) cubes. Place them in a microwave safe bowl, with two cups of water, and cook for three minutes, then stir and cook for three minutes more. Remove them from the microwave.
Note: You should be able to pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork. If you can, then drain, cover them, and set them aside. If you can’t, microwave them in one minute intervals until they are done. You want them to be a little bit firm.
Step three: Wash and chop the kale, and set aside.
Step four: Chop and sauté the onion with a tablespoon of butter, until it’s tender and golden brown. Remove from heat, and add the chopped kale to the onions, and stir.
Vegan Cooking Tip: The only thing in this recipe that isn’t vegan-friendly is the butter. Use a butter substitute like sunflower or olive oil. If you use coconut oil as a substitute, use about ¾ of a tablespoon to start and see how it does. If you have a vegan “butter” spread, you can use that as well. This is an easy one to adjust!
Step five: Chop the parsley and pecans.
Step six: Add the basmati and long grain wild rice to a large serving bowl. Add the sweet potatoes.
Step seven: Add the Kale, sautéed onions, cranberries, raisins, mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, and parsley.
Step eight: Pour the melted butter (or vegan butter substitute) over the rice and vegetables, and toss to coat.
Make the Dressing
Step one: In a blender, add the red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, honey, brown sugar, Italian seasoning, garlic salt, seasoned salt, and pepper, and blend well.
Step two: Add olive oil, and blend again for one minute. Pour the dressing over the rice and vegetables, and toss to coat. Sprinkle with pecans, and serve.
Take note of this dressing as it works on so many roasted vegetables or rice/vegetable combinations! Put this one in your back pocket as a steady eddy!
Meal Prep Instructions
Almost every recipe we feature should have some sort of meal prep instructions to ease the stress of preparing meals and this one is no different!
- Cut the vegetables ahead of timeand store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Prepare the rice and store in the refrigerator.
- Measure out all ingredients for the dressing and set aside until ready to make it. Alternatively, you can make it 100% ahead of time and store in the refrigerator. That part alone will save you a tremendous amount of time and dishes the evening you serve it!
Substitution Options
This recipe is great for changing up a few of the vegetables and keeping with the same idea!
- Swap out the sweet potatoes for butternut squash.
- Replace Roasted Tomatoes for the Sun Dried Tomatoes. You will lose some flavor but if you happen to not like the Sun Dried, this is a great alternative.
- Change up the mushrooms. This recipe makes it easy to substitute with items you have on hand
- Cut the sweet potatoes back to two cups and add in two cups of brussel sprouts or broccoli.
- Swap out the kale for spinach.
- Swap out the nuts for ones that you like if pecans aren’t to your liking.
If you like Harvest Wild Rice, make sure to check out these other delicious recipes!
Slow Cooker Lemon Herb Turkey Legs – If you haven’t had a chance to check out the Slow Cooker Lemon Herb Turkey Legs, make sure to take a peek as the two recipes marry perfectly with each other. Make it on a Saturday night and invite friends over or maybe the new neighbors you need to get to know better!
One Pan Cranberry Chicken Thighs – I love one pan meals! This one whips up in just a little bit and if you present a side of Harvest Wild Rice with it, your family will thank you.
Honey Dijon Baked Salmon-This salmon recipe is so simple, yet delicious! Honey and dijon are natural together so when cooked with the salmon, they produce a crowd pleasing meal!
Vegetarian Harvest Wild Rice
Ingredients
- 1 box Uncle Ben's Long Grain Rice
- 1 box Organic Basmati Rice
- 4 tbsp butter melted
- 1 sweet onion chopped and sauteed
- 4 cups sweet potato cubed
- 1 cup kale chopped
- 2 cups dried cranberries
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 cup sun dried tomatoes
- 1/2 cup Italian flat leaf parsley chopped
Dressing
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp coarse ground garlic salt with parsley
- 1 tsp seasoned salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup sweet balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup pecans
Instructions
- Prepare the two rices as according to package instructions.
- Peel the sweet potatoes and cut in bite size cubes, about 1 inch size pieces.
- Place the sweet potatoes in a microwave safe bowl, with 2 cups of water, and cook for 3 minutes, then stir the sweet potatoes, making sure they are moist, and cook for 3 minutes more. Remove from the microwave, and stir or spoon water over the potatoes. If you can pierce the cubes of sweet potato with a fork, but they're still a little firm, then cover the sweet potatoes, with foil, and set aside. If you cannot pierce them with a fork, place them back in the microwave on 1 minute intervals, checking the potato's between cooking. Do not overcook – you want them a little firm, but not hard.
- When the potatoes are done, cover and set aside.
- Wash and chop the Kale, and set aside.
- Chop the onion, and saute the onion in about a Tablespoon of butter, until it's tender and golden brown, then remove from heat, and add the chopped Kale to the onions, and stir.
- Chop the parsley and pecans (unless you bought chopped pecans).
- Place the two rice's in a large serving bowl, and remove the sweet potatoes from the dish, and place them on the Rice – but do not add the water you cooked the sweet potatoes in – simply discard the water.
- Add the Kale and sauteed onion, cranberries, raisins, mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, and parsley.
- Pour the melted butter over the rice and vegetables, and toss to coat.
- In a blender, add the red wine vinegar, and the balsamic vinegar, honey, brown sugar, Italian seasoning, garlic salt, seasoned salt, and pepper, and blend well. Add the Olive oil, and blend again for 1 minute.
- Pour the dressing over the Rice and vegetables, and toss to coat. Sprinkle with pecans, and serve. Enjoy!
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