Name: Harvest Wild Rice Pilaf
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons butter; 1 medium onion, peeled and diced; 2 cloves of garlic, minced; 2 stalks of celery, diced; 1½ cups wild rice; 2 tablespoon olive oil; 1 acorn squash, peeled seeded and diced; 1 Honeycrisp apple, diced; ½ cup dried cranberries; 1 cup chopped toasted pecans; Zest of 1 orange; 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves; Salt and Pepper, to taste; Chopped parsley, as desired

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Get yourself ready for fall with this effortless Harvest Wild Rice Pilaf that’s perfect for any weeknight or fall dinner.

This post has been sponsored by T-fal. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Can you believe that it’s already Fall?! I couldn’t be happier because fall and winter produce is actually my favorite. Bring on the acorn squash and Brussels sprouts! The recipe I am sharing with you today is a Harvest Wild Rice Pilaf that’s perfect for a busy weeknight or a holiday side. It has earthy wild rice, roasted acorn squash, apples, walnuts, dried cranberries, and orange zest. Has anything ever sounded more autumnal? I think not.

This recipe was actually inspired by a giant cooking FAIL of mine. Now, you may think that just because I have culinary training and run a food blog as my job that I would be a perfect cook every time. WRONG. The truth is, I hate to cook rice. It doesn’t matter what kind of rice, I hate cooking it all.

Without fail, I always either cook the rice too high, causing the water to evaporate or absorb too quickly which makes the rice stick to the bottom of the pan, or I have it too low and it takes way longer than it should.

It’s infuriating. I recently got the T-fal Thermo-Spot Pro Grade Cookware, and my rice cooking life has forever been changed. Seriously, nothing sticks to these pans. The unique T-fal Thermo-Spot heat indicator shows when the pan is perfectly preheated to seal in the flavor of your food.

I have a gas stove and the pots and pans work exceptionally, but they’re safe to use on any cooktop. I’ll be getting a set for my mom, who has a glass cooktop, and I know that they’ll be exactly what she needs. You can see in the pics below that not one grain of wild rice stuck to the bottom of this pan, and once I finished everything and cleaned up, it looked as if it had never been used.

Don’t forget to PIN this recipe so that you can find it quickly when the holidays get closer!

Harvest Wild Rice Pilaf

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1½ cups wild rice
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 acorn squash, peeled seeded and diced
1 Honeycrisp apple, diced
½ cup dried cranberries
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
Zest of 1 orange
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Chopped parsley, as desired

Instructions

Set a medium pan over medium heat. Add the butter, onion, garlic, and celery, and saute for 2 minutes. Then add the rice and toss to coat in butter. Add 3 cups of water and 1 1/2 tsp salt, cover, and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, stir, lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until cooked through about 45-50 minutes.
Preheat oven to 450ºF. Toss cubed acorn squash in olive oil on a sheet pan. Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and tender.
Toss together the cooked wild rice with roasted acorn squash, chopped apple, dried cranberries, toasted pecans, orange zest, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or at room temp.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 251Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 73mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 5gSugar: 13gProtein: 3g