Rice Dressing
Rice Dressing combines long-grain brown rice with sausage and mushrooms and is super tasty. This healthier dressing makes a perfect side dish for your holiday table but also makes a nice weeknight meal!
For other healthier holiday sides, try my Balsamic Glazed Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potatoes, Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad, or some Maple Grazed Roasted Carrots!
Brown Rice Dressing
While this brown rice dressing sounds like a holiday dish, I make it regularly as a main dish! It’s great for so many reasons, including it being healthy, filling, inexpensive to make, and most importantly, it’s DELISH!
However, you can totally make it as a holiday side. It pairs wonderfully with about anything and you can easily prep it ahead of time and simply warm up at meal time.
For other rice dishes, try my Cilantro Lime Rice, Weeknight Spicy Fried Rice, or Spanish Rice and Beans.
Ingredient Notes:
The ingredients used are easy to find in your grocery store and quite inexpensive too.
- Uncooked Long Grain Rice – I recommend using long-grain brown rice but white rice works too.
- Sausage – I used turkey sausage and removed it from the casings. You could also use any type of sausage.
- Veggies – Onions, celery, mushrooms, and garlic are a delicious combo.
- Seasonings – Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes (if desired).
How to make this Rice Dressing Recipe:
Step 1
Brown sausage. Remove sausage from casings. In a stock pot (or dutch oven), cook the turkey sausage over medium-high heat, stirring with a slotted spoon until done.
Step 2
Sauté onions and celery. Add some olive oil to the stock pot and cook the chopped onion and celery for a few minutes over medium heat. Add seasonings.
Step 3
Add mushrooms and garlic. Then add the sliced mushrooms and cook for another 6-7 minutes, or until chopped vegetables are soft and liquids absorb. Add garlic at the end of the cooking and stir well.
Step 4
Make brown rice. Cook the rice in an instant pot or on the stovetop (according to package directions).
If using the instant pot, combine uncooked rice and chicken broth and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. Do a natural release for about 8 minutes and release vent. Stir rice.
Step 5
Combine dressing ingredients. To the veggies, add the cooked sausage and brown rice and stir well.
Step 6
Serve. Serve the rice dressing with some extra black pepper and a little bit of chopped cilantro.
Store. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for several days. We like to meal prep the leftovers in small airtight containers.
What to serve with Rice Dressing
The following are a few ideas for main dishes to serve with this delicious rice dressing. If serving at Thanksgiving, definitely give the spatchcock turkey a try!
Recipe Variations:
Feel free to play with various ingredients to achieve the right flavors for you and your family.
- Instead of turkey sausage, you can use chicken or pork sausage.
- You can try using white rice instead of brown, if preferred.
- Feel free to use other veggies like red or green bell pepper, zucchini, or green onions.
- Use other seasonings, like garlic powder, onion powder, or ground cumin. A dash of Worcestershire sauce would be nice too.
If you’re looking for a regular stuffing recipe with bread instead of rice, try my Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe. It’s a Norma Jean recipe!
Kitchen Tools Used: (affiliate links)
xoxo ~Sue
Rice Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups long-grain brown rice
- 2 cups lower-sodium chicken broth (or water) – more if cooking on stove top
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 20 oz. turkey sausage – or other sausage
- 1 medium yellow onion – chopped
- 4 stalks celery – chopped
- 16 oz. sliced mushrooms
- 3 cloves garlic – minced
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper – to taste
- a pinch of red pepper flakes – optional
Instructions
- Brown sausage. Remove sausage from casings. In a stock pot, cook the turkey sausage until done. Remove to a bowl.
- Sauté onions and celery. Add some olive oil to the stock pot and cook the chopped onion and celery for a few minutes. Add seasonings.
- Add mushrooms and garlic. Then add the sliced mushrooms and cook for another 6-7 minutes, or until veggies are soft and liquids absorb. Add garlic at the end of the cooking and stir well.
- Make brown rice. Cook the rice in an instant pot or on the stove top (according to package directions).
- Combine dressing ingredients. To the veggies, add the cooked sausage and brown rice and stir well.
- Serve. Serve the rice dressing with some extra black pepper and come chopped cilantro.
Absolutely delicious! I made a quick version of this recipe, using ingredients that I had on hand…Near East Long Grain & Wild Rice mix and a jar of sliced mushrooms. Otherwise, I followed the recipe, including the turkey sausage, which I had never used before. We loved this dish on a cold winter night at our beach house and will definitely make it again, next time with your recommended brown rice & fresh mushrooms.
Hi Shirley! I’m thrilled to hear that you enjoyed this recipe!
This is what I’m eating all week. It’s such a great complete meal. Mushrooms are one of my fav foods so I added extra and it’s sooooo good!! I wish I had added extra celery as well. Where do you use celery and it’s a main ingredient?!! I used chicken sausage cuz I have trouble finding the turkey one but it was just as good. This is a go to recipe for me on the regular with such great leftovers!!!
We love this too! Thanks Shari!
DELICIOUS! This was a hit on our Thanksgiving table, and especially appreciated by our gluten free and dairy free guest who loves tradition dressing.
So wonderful to hear, Traci!
Tastes great and a budget friendly is a bonus!
YES!