Mushroom and Wild Rice Pilaf will become your new favorite side dish! It’s packed with flavor and texture from brown butter, juicy sweet raisins, crunchy almonds, and oregano, with nutty wild rice and earthy sautéed mushrooms. You’ll love this one pot side or light main recipe all year round.
Sometimes, I love spending time on a truly amazing side dish and serving it up with something simple as a main. Side dishes have so much potential to steal the show of the meal, and this is no exception!
We enjoyed this mushroom and wild rice pilaf with simple seared salmon for dinner. But I kept going in for seconds – and thirds! – of the pilaf. This would be a great side dish for Thanksgiving or any holiday, but is delicious year round and easy enough to make for a casual weeknight dinner.
Mushrooms and brown butter are a match made in heaven (and this is a twist on one of my favorite other recipes – one pot brown butter orzo and mushrooms – made gluten-free and with a few other changes). The sweet and plump raisins and crunchy slivered almonds will have you wanting to eat this all the time – as a side, or even as a light main course!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Wild Rice Blend – I love RiceSelect Royal Rice Blend because it has a great combination of textures and flavors and is fast to cook. Keep in mind: other blends of wild rice, and especially pure wild rice, may take longer to cook or require different liquid ratios. Check the package directions and adjust the amount of broth and time to cook accordingly.
- Sliced Mushrooms – I used baby portobello, or cremini, since they are widely available and pretty flavorful. Use whatever kind you want, or a mix.
- Butter – or a vegan substitute, or olive oil in a pinch (and skip the browning part).
- Broth – chicken or vegetable will do, or water in a pinch.
- Raisins – or dried cranberries.
- Fresh oregano – or dried, or thyme if you prefer.
- Slivered almonds – or sliced almonds, or another nut of choice (like pecans or walnuts). You can also use sunflower or pumpkin seeds for a nut-free version but still enjoy that crunch (or just omit entirely).
How to make Mushroom Wild Rice Pilaf
- Start by browning the butter in a large pot with a lid (such as a Dutch oven). Melt the butter over medium-high heat, allow it to foam, then stir it constantly until it develops a brown color.
- Once the butter is brown, immediately add the mushrooms (which will stop the butter from burning), salt, and pepper, and sauté until deeply brown (here’s more on how to perfectly brown mushrooms).
- Add the raisins, almonds, oregano, and wild rice, and stir to coat everything.
- Pour in the broth, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on low until rice is cooked.
- Finally, turn off the heat and allow the rice to stand covered for a little while – this will help make it fluffier.
FAQs
Yes! Use a vegan butter substitute, which should brown fine, or olive oil (and skip browning it).
Yes, as long as you use vegetable broth.
I found that it reheated very well. You can zap it in the microwave, or put it in a pot with a little extra water and heat over medium-low for a few minutes until it’s heated through.
Other mushroom recipes
- Mushroom Brie Soup
- Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy
- Healthy Chicken Mushroom Stroganoff
- Creamy Chicken and Mushrooms
- Wild Rice and Mushroom Casserole
What to serve with Mushroom Wild Rice Pilaf
- Roast Chicken
- Slow Cooker Turkey Breast
- Greek Meatballs (Keftedes)
- Chicken Zucchini Meatballs
- Top with a fried egg
- Pork Chops
Mushroom and Wild Rice Pilaf
Equipment
Ingredients
- 16 oz. sliced mushrooms (I used baby bella/cremini)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth or water, in a pinch
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup slivered almonds (see notes)
- 1 cup wild rice blend (see notes)
Instructions
- In a large pot with a lid (I used my Dutch oven), brown the butter by melting it over medium-high heat, allowing it to get foamy, and then stirring constantly until it develops a brown color. Once it gets brown, immediately add the sliced mushrooms (16 oz.) and stir to coat.
- Season the mushrooms with the salt (½ teaspoon) and black pepper (¼ teaspoon). Stir again to coat, then sauté the mushrooms until deeply brown, stirring only occasionally to allow the liquid to evaporate and color to develop (about 5-7 minutes, see notes).
- Add the fresh oregano (1 tablespoon), raisins (½ cup), and slivered almonds (½ cup) to the pot. Stir to coat. Add the wild rice blend (1 cup) and stir to coat in all the butter and spices for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Pour in the broth (2 cups), bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on low for 10-15 minutes (or until rice is fully cooked, double check the package instructions, see notes).
- Turn off the heat and allow the rice pilaf to remain covered for 5-10 more minutes. Then, uncover and fluff with a fork or spoon. Serve.
Notes
- I love RiceSelect Royal Rice Blend because it has a great combination of textures and flavors and is fast to cook. Keep in mind: other blends of wild rice, and especially pure wild rice, may take longer to cook or require different liquid ratios. Check the package directions and adjust the amount of broth and time to cook accordingly.
- When it comes to browning mushrooms, don’t rush it, and don’t stir too often. Here are more specifics on how to get deeply browned sautéed mushrooms.
- Sliced almonds, or another nut of choice, such as walnuts or pecans, can be used instead of slivered almonds. For a nut-free version, use a seed (such as sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds), or omit entirely.
- For a vegetarian version, be sure to use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. For a dairy-free or vegan version, us a vegan butter substitute, or olive oil (skip the browning part if using oil).
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Kimberly
This is an amazing recipe! Thank you. I adored the umami. It’s my first recipe of yours – but it won’t be my last. Thanks!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Thanks for the lovely comment, hope you find some other recipes you love here!
shameikyah
if it aint got raisins in it white people cain’t cook it
Elizabeth Lindemann
Haha! To set the record straight, this pilaf recipe is inspired by Middle Eastern / North African traditions of putting dried fruit – raisins, currants, etc. – in pilafs. Rest assured, I don’t put raisins in my potato salad (though I DO put grapes in my chicken salad!) lol 😉
Chris george
Terrible recipe. Wild rice needs way more time than this. Proportions are all wrong too.
Elizabeth Lindemann
There’s a recipe note about this that you seem to have missed about type of wild rice/blends/proportions. Here, I’ll copy and paste it here for you. The blend I use from RiceSelect takes a short time to cook.
— I love RiceSelect Royal Rice Blend because it has a great combination of textures and flavors and is fast to cook. Keep in mind: other blends of wild rice, and especially pure wild rice, may take longer to cook or require different liquid ratios. Check the package directions and adjust the amount of broth and time to cook accordingly. —
penny
This was certainly a hit in my house. Great recipe. I love toasted nuts so I actually used whole blanched almonds and toasted them in the butter as it was browning, and I would definitely do that again. I didn’t any wild rice or wild rice mix, so I used black rice from the Camargue, red rice from the Camargue, semi brown basmati and white basmati (I’m in France). Of course, they all have different cooking times, but rather than cook and add later I decided to soak each and add at different times. I think this kept the flavour better. It was a bit of a faff with the different rices, so I threw in a small handful of green lentils to cheer my self up. I also used thyme as I like how it works with mushies. Really happy with the result and it will be on rotation chez moi.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Jill Shipman
Have you ever used pre-cooked wild rice?
Elizabeth Lindemann
I have not, but I think it would be easy to just mix in the pre-cooked rice to the mushroom mixture and call it a day! Great shortcut.
rebeccalarose50 LaRose
I served this at a ladies lunch, paired it with cranberry/orange chicken – it got lots of oohs and has and many requests for the recipe.
I did add sautéed garlic, onions and celery and I used dried cranberries instead of raisins. Hope to serve it again on Christmas Day!
Thank you for a very flavorful wild rice recipe!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Ed Dodson
I made this to go with a dinner for a large group to accompany smoked duck (2 ducks in fact). I had trouble with the timing because the instructions said to simmer on low for 10-15 min or until the rice was done. I used Royal Blend Wild Rice Mix which needs to simmer for 45 minutes, so I cooked it for 30 minutes in a separate pot and added it to the main mix. It took more than 15 min for the rice to be done, but, fortunately the ducks took longer than expected so everything worked out well. I used pecans in place of the almonds and that added to the flavor. The dish was a big hit and I will do it again, but cook the rice blend by itself and add it to the main dish at the end.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Glad you liked it! Different wild rice mixes will have different timings. The Royal Blend “rice” mix takes 15 minutes to cook, but the “whole grain” mix takes 45 minutes. I assume you used the whole grain mix? I’ve been there, and had to serve dinner later than I planned because of it! Here’s the product that takes 15 minutes: https://riceselect.com/product/riceselect-royal-blend-rice Hope that helps!
Sharon
Love this recipe. Was a hit with family. Used 1/2 mushrooms,
Thyme instead of oregano, added dash each of onion powder
And garlic powder. Ymmmmm
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Tillie
Excellent recipe! I used Better Than Bullion Mushroom and the flavors were spot on. I paired it with herb marinade baked chicken breasts and steamed broccoli – absolutely fantastic!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!