Sweet & Savory Holiday Harvest Rice
This recipe for Holiday Harvest Rice is the perfect vegan and gluten-free Thanksgiving side, complete with rice, mushrooms, sage, apple, and pomegranate seeds.
Servings: 6 -8 servings
Ingredients
Grains
- 1/4 cup long grain brown rice
- 1/4 cup white or tri-colour quinoa
- 1/2 cup wild rice
- 2 1/3 cups vegetable broth
Everything Else
- 1 red onion minced
- 1 shallot minced
- 1/2 cup celery minced
- 3/4 cup carrots minced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 12 oz mushrooms of choice I used button, oyster and shiitake
- 1 tbsp fresh sage minced
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme stems removed
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary minced
- 1 tbsp gluten free soy sauce
- 1/2 large apple diced
- 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1-2 tbsp vegan butter* optional
Instructions
For the grains:
- Add grains and vegetable broth to a saucepan and bring to a low boil. Reduce the heat, cover and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Once grains are ready, give them a gentle fluff and set aside.
For everything else:
- In a large saucepan, sauté onion, shallot, celery and carrots with a touch of neutral oil until tender. Add garlic, mushrooms, herbs and gluten free soy sauce and sauté for another 3-4 minutes.
- Add the cooked grains to the mix and gently fold to evenly combine all of your ingredients. Finally add apples to warm for a few minutes. If using vegan butter, toss into the rice until melted and nicely incorporated. Taste, and season your rice with salt and pepper as desired.
- When ready to serve, toss pomegranate seeds into the rice and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Secrets for Success
Use these tips to nail your holiday harvest rice salad:- First, I recommend finely chopping the celery and carrots to speed up the cooking process. If you prefer crunch, however, feel free to keep your pieces a little larger.
- In addition, you can even prep the vegetables the day ahead. If you do, store them in an airtight container or Stasher bag until you make the salad.
- Next, to make the dish oil-free, simply omit the vegan butter. However, you may want to use ground-dried herbs instead of fresh. The oil helps to bring out the flavor in the fresh herbs, so I recommend using at least a small amount.
- Finally, you can prepare your grains in advance or use leftovers instead of the grain mix.
- *Adding the vegan butter gives the dish an extra oomph and richness. You can exclude it if you'd like.
Substitutions & Mix-Ins
This is a very forgiving recipe. So, if you'd like to mix things up flavor-wise, here are a few swaps and additions to try:- Add toasted nuts or seeds like hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds, or pine nuts.
- Swap the apple for pear, dried cranberries, or cherries.
- Use different herbs like tarragon or oregano.
- Finally, try mixing different mushroom varieties for added texture and flavor.