Breakfast • Christmas

Easy Wild Rice Pilaf

Name: Easy Wild Rice Pilaf
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 1 cup wild rice, rinsed; 1/2 cup long-grain white rice; 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth; 3 tbsp unsalted butter, divided; 1 small onion, diced plus 2 celery ribs, diced; 8 oz mushrooms, sliced; 1/2 cup dried cranberries; 3/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted; 1 tsp dried thyme plus salt and pepper

Chewy wild rice pilaf with cranberries, pecans, and herbs in a savory broth base for Christmas dinner.

Updated: Oct 7, 2026

⏱ 1 hrtotal

6servings

290 kcalper serving

Easylevel

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Why you'll like it

Ready in about 1 hr.
Serves 6 — easy to halve or double.
Easy level — everyday equipment only.
Stays juicy when cooked to 165°F (74°C).
Storage, freezing and reheating covered below.

Ready in 1 hr, this easy Wild Rice Pilaf serves 6. Wild rice pilaf is a festive Christmas side dish in northern American holiday cooking, valued for its chewy texture, nutty flavor, and deep color on the dinner table.

Food safety: do not wash raw chicken — it spreads bacteria around the sink. Pat dry, avoid cross-contact with ready-to-eat food, and cook to 165°F (74°C) internal temperature.

Helpful guides

Instructions

Step 1

Melt one tablespoon of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook the onion and celery five minutes until softened. Add the wild rice and thyme, stirring two minutes so the grains toast lightly and absorb the buttery flavor base.

Step 2

Pour in the chicken broth and one teaspoon of salt, then bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a low simmer, cover tightly, and cook twenty-five minutes so the wild rice begins to soften while the broth seasons every grain.

Step 3

Stir in the long-grain white rice, re-cover, and simmer twenty more minutes until both rices are tender and most broth is absorbed. Avoid lifting the lid often, since escaping steam extends cooking and leaves the wild grains tough.

Step 4

While rice cooks, melt the remaining butter in a skillet and brown the mushrooms eight minutes until golden and their liquid evaporates. Season with salt and pepper, then set aside so the mushrooms stay meaty instead of steaming soft.

Step 5

Fold the mushrooms, cranberries, and half the pecans into the cooked rice, then cover and rest ten minutes off the heat. Resting lets the cranberries plump slightly and the grains firm so the pilaf scoops in fluffy separate spoonfuls.

Step 6

Fluff with a fork, top with remaining pecans, and serve warm in a covered dish. Pair with roast turkey, gravy, and green vegetables, holding the pilaf covered until the table is ready so it stays steamy.

Troubleshooting — fixes, not repeats

If wild rice stays tough, it needed more liquid or time. Keep the lid tight, simmer the full forty-five minutes, and add broth one quarter cup at a time if the pan dries early.
If the pilaf turns mushy, the heat ran too low or rice overcooked. Simmer gently without stirring and check at forty minutes so grains stay separate and chewy.
If flavor tastes flat, salt was undermeasured or broth was weak. Use seasoned broth, salt the cooking liquid, and finish with an extra tablespoon of butter for richness.
If cranberries stay hard, they skipped the steam rest. Fold them in while rice is hot and rest covered ten minutes so residual heat softens them evenly.

Make it your way

Old Dhaka style: For a vegetarian version, use vegetable broth and fold in one cup of roasted butternut squash with the cranberries.
Serving with rice or naan: For a sausage version, brown eight ounces of pork sausage before the onion and cook the rice in the rendered drippings plus broth.
Keep rice amounts, liquid ratio, and cooking times unchanged so grains cook evenly across versions.
Toast the pecans fresh and fluff with a fork just before serving for the best texture.

Storage & reheating

Cool leftovers within 2 hours, then refrigerate in a covered container and use within 3 to 4 days. Reheat only the portion you will eat until steaming hot throughout — poultry and reheated rice should reach 165°F (74°C).

Freeze up to three months in a freezer bag with air removed.

Reheat with a splash of broth in a covered saucepan to one hundred sixty-five degrees, fluffing with a fork.

FAQ

Is wild rice really rice?
True wild rice is the seed of an aquatic grass native to northern lakes, not standard white rice, which explains its chewy texture and longer cooking time. It costs more and needs about forty-five minutes of simmering. Blending it with long-grain rice, as here, balances cost, texture, and timing for holiday cooking.

Can I cook it in the oven?
Yes, combine the toasted rice mixture and boiling broth in a covered baking dish and bake at three hundred fifty degrees for fifty minutes. Stir in mushrooms and cranberries after baking and rest covered ten minutes. The oven method frees stovetop space during busy Christmas cooking.

How do I keep it warm for guests?
Hold the covered dish in a two hundred degree oven up to forty-five minutes, fluffing once halfway. Add pecans just before serving so they stay crisp. Do not hold longer than one hour total, and refrigerate leftovers within two hours of the meal.