Our kids LOVE rice… especially any type of rice mixed into a casserole or stew. So a few months ago, I started looking into different types of rice, as well as new rice recipes to mix up our meal plan a bit.
In my “research” I learned that wild rice is very nutritious and actually has several grams of protein in each serving. Rice with protein? Who knew! It is quite a bit more expensive than regular white or brown rice, but I was curious, so I bought some.
Not long after that, my blogging friend Brenda, from a Farmgirl’s Dabbles, shared a yummy chicken and wild rice recipe on The Pioneer Woman’s blog. I instantly added it to our meal plan for that week… and, as expected, it was amazing!
Since then, we’ve enjoyed this dish a few more times — however, I’ve tweaked it and simplified it quite a bit, so I thought it might be time to share my simplified version here on my blog!
If you’re looking for an excuse to eat wild rice, a new recipe to add to your winter menu rotation, or a delicious way to get your kids to eat a few more veggies, this recipe is for you. I pack our stew full of mushrooms, carrots, celery, onions, etc. and my kids gobble it right up!
Recipe for Chicken and Wild Rice Stew
serves 6
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 package (4 oz.) uncooked wild rice (about 3/4 c.)
- 2 T. butter or oil
- 1 T. minced garlic
- 1 small onion; diced
- 2 carrots; peeled and diced
- 2 stalks of celery
- 8 oz. fresh mushrooms; sliced (you can also use a drained 15 oz. can)
- 2 c. liquid (I use 1 c. water + 1 c. milk)
- 2 T. soy sauce
- 1/4 c. flour
- 1 t. dried Parsley
- 1 t. dried Thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 c. cooked, cubed chicken
- 1 c. shredded Swiss cheese
OPTIONAL TOPPING:
- 2 c. cubed bread (stale bread or crusts works great)
- 1/4 Parmesan cheese
- 4 T. melted butter or oil
DIRECTIONS:
1. Cook rice (see my notes below)
2. While the rice cooks, heat butter or oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic, onions, carrots, celery, and mushrooms to the frying pan and suteeé until veggies are tender (about 15 minutes) stirring occasionally.
3. In a large measuring cup or small bowl, mix 2 c. liquid, soy sauce, flour, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper (I do this while veggies are simmering)
4. Add flour mixture to cooked veggies and stir until thickened (this will only take 2-3 minutes)
5. Add in cooked chicken, swiss cheese, and cooked rice. Stir to combine and heat through.
At this point, you can serve it as is — or you can add the optional bread topping (see instructions below) and bake it in the oven.
OPTIONAL TOPPING:
Pour stew mixture into a greased baking dish.
Top with cubed bread and cheese, then pour melted butter over top.
Bake at 375º for 20-30 minutes or until bread is toasted.
A Few Variations
This recipe is SO versatile — you can use chicken, turkey, or even a leftover beef roast. You could also just add a bunch more veggies and serve it as a side dish or vegetarian meal (of course, feel free to use whatever veggies you have in the house).
I’ve never tried it in a slow cooker before, but I have a feeling it would work well. At the very least, you could make the dish on the stove, and then put it in the slow cooker with a bit of extra liquid to stay warm. This would be a great option for bringing it to a potluck or party.
I LOVE this meal as leftovers during the week (so feel free to make a double batch). It also freezes well too (as long as you do it before adding the bread); in fact, you could even freeze it in individual serving sizes and pull them out of the freezer for a quick lunch.
Like I mentioned above, it’s a very versatile meal!
Tips For Cooking Wild Rice
If you’ve never cooked with wild rice before, I should mention that it takes a REALLY long time to cook — like an hour, or more!
I cook my rice in a rice cooker using 3 cups of water for about 3/4 c. rice and it turns out perfectly (but it still takes a full hour).
You can also cook it on the stove according to the directions on the back of the box — but you will need to stir it constantly throughout that hour.
I often cook the rice in the morning since it’s definitely the most time-consuming part of this dish. I just pop it in my rice cooker and let it stay warm until I make the rest of the dish.
Also, if you don’t feel like taking the time to make wild rice, you can substitute a similar amount of white rice. It will change the flavor, but it doesn’t taste bad at all — just different.
Finally, if you’re wondering how to tell when your wild rice is fully cooked, it should look like the 2nd picture below (the first picture is completely uncooked). The black “shell” will split and the rice will curl up and be very tender.
I feel really good about feeding this meal to my family — especially with the extra protein in the rice. Also, I secretly love that my kids are eating a bunch of mushrooms without realizing it!
Do you have any other sneaky ways to work veggies into your meals?
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Ann says
Would you share more details about your rice cooker? The brand it is and how you get wild rice & brown rice successfully done in a rice cooker?
Also have you ever cooked Purple rice? Looking for a good rice cooker! Thank u
Andrea says
Hi Ann — I’ve never cooked purple rice, but we do use our rice cooker all the time (usually multiple times a week) for white rice, brown rice, wild rice, and even quinoa.
This is the exact rice cooker we have (just without the pink flowers on it!) We got it as a gift from our exchange students 13 years ago and it’s still going strong.
For wile rice, I usually just add in a little more water and realize that it’s going to take A LOT longer to fully cook. Otherwise, I don’t do anything special.
Sarah says
Finally had time to make this. It was great! Thank you for sharing! Thank you for the tip about the rice cooker, by the time I was done chopping everything up the rice was done.
Andrea says
glad you enjoyed this stew, Sarah. I think it’s one of those recipes that goes A LOT faster once you make it a few times. I often make a bunch of rice and chicken at one time and freeze it for later — so that saves cooking time when I can just assemble the ingredients and bake!
PW Wolf says
My hubby loves all rice. White and brown rice I cook in my rice cooker. I use the same brand wild rice you have and I cook in instapot pressure cooker. Rinse rice do not soak. 1 part wild rice to 1 and 1/4 cup water cook 25 min hi pressure.Cool down 10 min. then release. It has just a bit of chew to it. Adjust to how firm/soft you like it. Stores in bag in freezer freezer well.
Andrea says
Good to know — I do like using a rice cooker more than cooking it on the stove. I’ll have to try this next time!
Teri says
My family does not like mushrooms at all. Any thoughts on a substitute? The mushrooms make such a big amount of the bulk in this dish. Thanks.
Andrea says
I suppose if you don’t want to use mushrooms, it would probably be best just to make a completely different recipe. Something like a Chicken, Broccoli, Rice casserole. You could try subbing wild rice for the white rice in the Chicken, Broccoli Rice Casserole, but the wild rice pairs REALLY well with mushrooms!
Also, is your family used to the taste of fresh mushrooms, or canned? If you’ve only tried canned, the fresh will make a HUGE difference. My kids eat fresh mushrooms no problem — I’m pretty sure they don’t even realize they’re eating mushrooms!
Lorrie says
The dish looks amazing but I don’t like mushrooms either! However I’m going to take you at your word and try fresh (maybe a lesser amount!) and see if I can take them!!
Andrea says
yes, just use fewer mushrooms if you’d like… and fresh are SO much better than canned. I think they just “melt” right into the meat and are hardly detectable!
Ann says
And I was SHOCKED when my mom told me that even white rice has protein. I checked and it does!
Andrea says
yes, white flour has protein too — but basically no other vitamins or nutrients at all.
Ann says
Wild rice is 25% off at Fresh Thyme through next week Wednesday! Might be worth a trip into GR for you!
Debbie says
This looks really good! Wondering if quinoa would be a good substitute for the wild rice?
Andrea says
It IS really good!
Since it’s a “wild rice” stew, I’d definitely stick to using wild rice instead of quinoa — especially since wild rice is MUCH more nutritious than traditional white rice. It has lots of protein and very hearty and filling. Save the quinoa for another meal (we LOVE quinoa) and use wild rice for this dish 🙂
Nic says
This look like a good meal to bring to people- if you make it to the point of bread topping could you put it in the fridge and bake it a day later?
Andrea says
yes definitely! You can make most of my recipes ahead and keep them in the fridge (I almost always make dinner in the morning!) Just put the bread topping on right before you bring it to them — or leave it off entirely, it’s not completely necessary for the dish to be tasty!
Lee Cockrum says
I made this, saw the recipe on FB a few weeks back. I ended up mixing in extra regular rice as the wild rice was so expensive, I only got one of the tiny boxes! But I happily pay extra for Gruyere, because I love it so much!!
Christine @ The (mostly) Simple Life says
This looks great! We make chicken and rice soup with broccoli in it and I bet we’d like this. We’ve been trying to eat more rice . It’s good for you and filling.