Harvest Butternut Rice Pilaf – With a flavor profile similar to holiday stuffing, this hearty and healthy dish is a perfect accompaniment to your Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey!
It feels good to finally break a three month blogging silence with this recipe for Harvest Butternut Rice Pilaf! I originally intended to post this recipe around Thanksgiving, but I wasn’t able to quite get my act together. I’m going to school to train to be a nurse practitioner and I made the ill-advised choice of doubling up my classes this past fall. Who would have thought that nurse practitioner training would be so hard?! This, on top of being an acute care nurse during a pandemic that just won’t let up, while also juggling being a mom meant a lot of late night study sessions. This past fall has really been one for the books, and let me just say, I’m so thankful to be on break right now!
Blogging has always been cathartic for me. My job involves a lot of math, science, emergencies, short staffing, and being emotionally present. Food blogging on the other hand is free flowing and creative, adding balance to my day job. Honestly, throughout the years, having a creative outlet has helped me maintain my stamina as a nurse. Keeping with the belated Thanksgiving theme, I’m thankful that I found food blogging!
Today’s recipe for Harvest Butternut Rice Pilaf has a flavor profile similar to stuffing, with aromatic rosemary, sage, and thyme. It’s a great accompaniment to Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey, and it also works well as a vegetarian main course. This recipe is healthy too, with whole grains, veggies, and nuts.
Harvest Butternut Rice Pilaf
With a flavor profile similar to holiday stuffing, this hearty and healthy dish is a perfect accompaniment to your Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey!
Ingredients
- 1 C dry wild rice
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 C cubed butternut squash
- 1 C coarsely chopped celery
- 1 C coarsely chopped sweet onion
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp dried sage
- 1/8 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 C dried cranberries
- 1/3 C walnuts, finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF.
- Cook 1 C wild rice in a sauce pan per the package instructions along with 1 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp of salt. Use the amount of water that is recommended on the package instructions.
- While the rice is cooking, prep and cook the vegetables. Toss all of the vegetables and spices with 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil. Roast on a baking sheet or in a cast iron skillet in a 400ºF oven for 20 minutes. Flip the vegetables and then roast for an additional 15 minutes.
- Once the vegetables are done cooking, toss them with the cooked rice, dried cranberries, and the chopped walnuts. Serve immediately.
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