Serve this savory, sweet, and hearty wild rice recipe as one of your impressive side dishes for any holiday meal. Its bright and bold colors will wow your guests while the yummy flavors and textures will make your tastebuds dance.
We grew up eating Jeweled Rice and Sweet Carrot and Raisin Rice for holidays and it was always so special to have a dish we didn't ordinarily eat throughout the year. This is what inspired this wild rice recipe with quinoa, pistachios, and dried cherries.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Different textures and flavors: This super colorful and flavorful side dish has a chewy texture from the dried cherries and wild rice, a crunchy and nutty flavor from the pistachios, warm spices, and a sweet and tangy dressing.
- Versatile dish: Serve this wild rice with a big hearty salad, as a dinner side dish, or as a vegan dressing or stuffing for your holiday menu.
- Looks impressive: A show-stopper dish that is full of a variety of colors, textures, and flavors.
Ingredients for the Wild Rice Recipe
- Wild rice.: make sure to buy only wild rice and not wild rice mix or blend
- Quinoa. You can use any type: red, white, brown, multicolored...
- Pecans or pistachios and dried cherries: They add flavor and texture to this side dish.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Salt, Turmeric, Black Pepper, Cardamom, Lemon Zest: add flavor and warmth
Ingredients for the Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes.
- Whole Grain Mustard.
- Lemon Juice.
- Maple Syrup.
How to Make Wild Rice Salad
- Step 1: Cook the wild rice according to package directions. Cook the quinoa with the spices. Whisk all the salad dressing ingredients or place them in a glass jar with a tight lid and shake until smooth.
- Step 2: In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, wild rice, and salad dressing. Just before serving, toss with the dried cherries and pistachios. Serve hot or cold.
Substitutions and Variations
Wild Rice - We love the chewy texture of wild rice in this recipe, we recommend that you try wild rice if you haven't yet done so. It is preferable not to use a Wild Rice Blend, a combination of wild rice and other kinds of rice and grains.
Dried Cherries - you can also use raisins or dried cranberries.
Pistachios - You may also use homemade candied pecans or store-bought candied pecans - If you are using homemade candied pecans, make them while the rice and quinoa are cooking.
How to Serve
Serve this beautiful recipe with your Rosh Hashanah, Thanksgiving, or holiday meal. Serve it with mashed potatoes, vegan Wellington, mushroom gravy, hasselback butternut squash, Air Fryer green beans, and Beet Salad
Top or toss with the pistachios before serving to ensure they stay crunchy.
Storage and Reheating
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. This dish can be served cold straight from the refrigerator, at room temperature, or warmed. If you'd like to reheat it, sprinkle it with a little water and pop it in the microwave for about 1 minute.
If you enjoyed this recipe, it would help us tremendously if you left us a star rating in the comments below or on the recipe card. Do you have any questions about the recipe? Do you need a swap for any of the ingredients? We are here to help, just leave us a question in the comments below.
Wild Rice with Quinoa Pistachios and Dried Cherries
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4.5 cups 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Serve this savory, sweet, and hearty wild rice recipe as one of your impressive side dishes for any holiday meal. Its bright and bold colors will wow your guests while the yummy flavors and textures will make your tastebuds dance
Ingredients
- 1 cup wild rice, rinsed
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed (any type)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ tsp salt, divided
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- ⅛ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- 1 ½ tsp lemon zest ( about 1 lemon)
- 4 tbsp dried cherries ( you can also use raisins or dried cranberries)
- 3 tbsp raw or roasted pistachios - See Note 2
Sun-dried Tomato Salad Dressing
- 3 tbsp sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped
- 2 ½ tbsp whole-grain mustard
- 2 ½ tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- ⅓ cup water
Instructions
TO COOK THE WILD RICE:
- In a medium pot bring 6 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt to a boil.
- Rinse the rice in a fine mesh colander.
- Add wild rice and boil uncovered for 35-40 minutes until the rice is cooked. Wild rice should be tender but still have a bite. Some of the wild rice grains will split open.
- Remove rice from heat, drain, and transfer to a large bowl.
TO COOK THE QUINOA:
- In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil. Add quinoa, turmeric, black pepper, cardamom, and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, sauté for 3-5 minutes, stirring often, so the quinoa is well coated with the oil and spices.
- Add 1 ⅓ cups water. Bring water to a boil, cover, lower the temperature, and simmer covered for 15-20 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed and the quinoa is tender, but not mushy. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly. Fluff it up with a fork.
TO MAKE THE SALAD DRESSING
- While the wild rice and quinoa are cooking make the dressing
- Mix all the ingredients in a blender until smooth
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
- In a large bowl combine, quinoa and wild rice, lemon zest sun-dried tomato dressing. Do this while the rice and quinoa are still warm, and mix gently so the salad dressing coats the rice and quinoa.
- Before serving add dried cherries and pistachios.
Notes
- This dish can be served hot, cold to at room temperature.
- You may also use homemade candied pecans or store-bought candied pecans -If you are using homemade candied pecans, make them while the rice and quinoa are cooking.
- This post was originally published on September 22, 2014
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Category: Side
- Method: Stove top
- Cuisine: International
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 263
- Sugar: 6
- Sodium: 4
- Fat: 7
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 44
- Fiber: 4
- Protein: 9
- Cholesterol: 0
Jenny @ BAKE
This sounds fantastic! and your photos are so vibrant and beautiful!
Vicky & Ruth
Thank you Jenny! This is definitely a beautiful dish to serve during a holiday!
Yosef {This American Bite}
Oh so pretty. And what a wonderful marriage of flavors.
Sarah Klinkowitz
I am a sucker for stuff with STUFF in it, especially rice. This looks exceptional.
Jestina
This looked lovely by the way
Vicky and Ruth
Thank you so much!