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Roasted Cauliflower, Mushroom and Wild Rice “Stuffing”

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This Roasted Cauliflower, Mushroom and Wild Rice “Stuffing” is easy to make and full of the BEST savory flavors (plus a touch of sweet from those cranberries). It’s also naturally gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan. So it’s the perfect dish that everyone can enjoy on Thanksgiving…or any day of the year!

This Roasted Cauliflower, Mushroom and Wild Rice "Stuffing" is the perfect recipe to serve as a Thanksgiving side dish...or as dinner any night of the year! It's naturally gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan. It's made with delicious lemon-garlic rice, dried cranberries, toasted pine nuts, and roasted veggies. And it's AWESOME.

I think that this will officially be my first Thanksgiving celebrated out of the country…and I’m actually pretty excited about it!

Since it’s clearly an American holiday, Thanksgiving isn’t traditionally celebrated here in Spain. In fact, none of our Spanish classmates — who hail from 6 other European countries — really new much about the holiday when the subject came up in class last week, which Barclay and I actually loved. (So refreshing to be in a place that’s no longer completely US-centric.)  It was fun to be able to tell them all about the spirit of the holiday, and the traditions we each love. But the best part of the conversation was seeing the looks on their faces when I mentioned pumpkin pie. Ha, they were completely mystified by the concept of a pumpkin being turned into a baked good, and kept asking questions about how on earth that could be possible. ? (Ha, which also confirmed why canned pumpkin puree is impossible to find at grocery stores here in Barcelona!)  Oh my gosh, it was so much fun.

Anyway, clearly after that conversation, I know what I will be bringing to class for dessert in two weeks. ? But Barclay and I also came away from the conversation convinced that this would be a fun American tradition to share with all of our new friends here. So in a few weeks, we’re going to host a big Friendsgiving here at our place, and I’m going to do my best to track down the ingredients to make a traditional American thanksgiving meal to share with everyone, and I’m totally excited about it. We’re going to make turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, roasted veggies — the works. But for my vegetarian husband (and also two of our gluten-free friends here), I’m also going to be making a big batch of non-traditional “stuffing” that Barclay and I have been loving lately.

Yep, I’m talking about this Roasted Cauliflower, Mushroom, and Wild Rice goodness.

We improvised this one over the weekend with some random ingredients we already had at home. (Although we did pop down to the organic market on our block to track down some dried cranberries to add because — Thanksgiving.)  And we both agreed that it was a total hit. It’s totally easy to make, it’s naturally gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan (great big gatherings), and it’s SO hearty and delicious. Wherever you’re living in the world this Thanksgiving, you’ve gotta make some. ?

This Roasted Cauliflower, Mushroom and Wild Rice "Stuffing" is the perfect recipe to serve as a Thanksgiving side dish...or as dinner any night of the year! It's naturally gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan. It's made with delicious lemon-garlic rice, dried cranberries, toasted pine nuts, and roasted veggies. And it's AWESOME.

To make the “stuffing”, roast up a big pan of cauliflower and mushrooms here, which will serve as the hearty backbone of this recipe in place of bread. Then, while those are cooking, whip up a batch of lemony, garlicky wild rice (or you could use any kind of rice, quinoa, farro, etc.) on the stovetop.

This Roasted Cauliflower, Mushroom and Wild Rice "Stuffing" is the perfect recipe to serve as a Thanksgiving side dish...or as dinner any night of the year! It's naturally gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan. It's made with delicious lemon-garlic rice, dried cranberries, toasted pine nuts, and roasted veggies. And it's AWESOME.

Once everything is cooked and ready to go, combine them on a serving dish. And sprinkle galore with toasted pine nuts (or any kind of nuts), dried cranberries and fresh parsley. And if you’re making this non-vegan, I highly recommend giving everything a very generous sprinkle of freshly-grated Parmesan cheese. (Or if you’re making this vegan, a sprinkle of nutritional yeast would also be super tasty.)

This Roasted Cauliflower, Mushroom and Wild Rice "Stuffing" is the perfect recipe to serve as a Thanksgiving side dish...or as dinner any night of the year! It's naturally gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan. It's made with delicious lemon-garlic rice, dried cranberries, toasted pine nuts, and roasted veggies. And it's AWESOME.

Then dish it up…

This Roasted Cauliflower, Mushroom and Wild Rice "Stuffing" is the perfect recipe to serve as a Thanksgiving side dish...or as dinner any night of the year! It's naturally gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan. It's made with delicious lemon-garlic rice, dried cranberries, toasted pine nuts, and roasted veggies. And it's AWESOME.

…and enjoy!!!

Seriously, we couldn’t get enough of this one. It’s the perfect dish to complement your Thanksgiving spread, or it’s simple enough to whip up on a random weeknight any day of the year. And with all of those healthy ingredients in there, hey, it’s a “stuffing” you can feel good about.

Be sure to check out my other Thanksgiving recipes here this season. And happy cooking, everyone!

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Roasted Cauliflower, Mushroom and Wild Rice “Stuffing”

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 6 reviews
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 8 servings 1x

Description

This Roasted Cauliflower, Mushroom and Wild Rice “Stuffing” recipe is full of delicious savory flavors, it’s easy to make, and it’s also naturally gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan.  Perfect for Thanksgiving, or any day of the year!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 small white onion, peeled and diced
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1.5 cups wild rice blend
  • 3 cups vegetable stock (or half stock + half dry white wine)
  • juice of 1 lemon (about 34 tablespoons)
  • 1 small head cauliflower, cut into small florets
  • 1 pound (16 ounces) baby bella mushrooms, halved or quartered*
  • 1/3 cup each for toppings: dried cranberries, chopped fresh parsley, freshly-grated Parmesan**, toasted pine nuts

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 450°F.
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.  Add the rice and cook for 30 seconds, stirring occasionally. Add the vegetable stock (or stock + wine combo), and cook the rice according to package instructions.  (Different varieties of rice will take more/less time too cook.)
  3. Once the rice is cooked and tender, drain off any extra stock.  Stir in the lemon juice until completely combined.  Taste, and season with salt and pepper, if needed.  Set aside.
  4. Meanwhile, turn the cauliflower and mushrooms onto a large baking sheet.  Drizzle evenly with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and toss until everything is evenly coated.  Season with salt and pepper.  Roast for 15 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until the mushrooms and cauliflower are tender and lightly browned.  Remove and set aside.
  5. Once everything is ready to go, combine the rice and cauliflower/mushroom mixture in a serving dish.  Sprinkle evenly with the cranberries, parsley, Parmesan (if using), and pine nuts.  Feel free to also crack some extra black pepper on top, if desired.  Serve warm.

Notes

*For even cooking, try to cut your cauliflower and mushroom pieces so that they’re roughly the same size.

**If making this recipe vegan or dairy-free, omit the Parmesan.  (And feel free to sprinkle on a little nutritional yeast, if you’d like, although it’s still great without it.)  That said, if you are using Parmesan, feel free to use more than 1/3 cup if you’d like!

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17 comments on “Roasted Cauliflower, Mushroom and Wild Rice “Stuffing””

  1. This recipe is definitely one I will try soon. I love hearing about your life in Barcelona! Your Friendsgiving plans with new friends sounds so sweet!

  2. Great to see you are settling in to European ways already – ha ha. You probably already know this, but if you can’t get canned pumpkin, just chuck in a whole load of pumpkin pieces (peel removed) into a dish in the microwave, cover with pierced cling wrap, and zap for a few minutes. Mash with a fork and hey presto, just like canned pumpkin. Make loads becauses it freezes really well, and thaws in minutes. You should come to Turkey – they don’t use pumpkin for savoury dishes, only baked pumpkin desserts. The first time I tried to give our Turkish friends pumpkin soup, I think they really worried I was pulling their leg.

    Have fun guys and best wishes from Turkey.

  3. I’m pretty meh about traditional stuffing. But this one looks right up my alley! ?






  4. This recipe sounds absolutely wonderful. I have no idea what we’re doing for Thanksgiving, other than that my husband is supposed to be cooking that week. :-) It sounds like you are fitting very well into Barcelona already (I haven’t had a chance to watch your video yet), and I’m happy to know that Barcelona is a great place to live..

  5. We lived in Germany for four years. Most Europeans consider pumpkin to be squash and not a dessert. My high school friend married to an Italian and living in Florence made pumpkin pie once and no one would eat it. They even told her they thought it was disgusting except for the whip cream. You know Italians (I am one, so I can say that!). My other friend made pumpkin pie for some Polish people. They called it squash pie, said that was not dessert and wouldn’t eat it. Hopefully, your friends will be kinder to you. Personally, I prefer desserts from other countries-much less sugar. My niece live in Barcelona with her Catalan husband. I hope the unrest doesn’t touch you. Blessings

  6. Love all of these ingredients! Your photos are always so bright and inviting too. Thanks for the recipe!






  7. Sounds delicious. Yes, canned pure pumpkin is difficult to find in many countries…. even in Australia, where I was for an extended stay. If I remember correctly, 1 grocery in Sydney had some. It’s cool you’re introducing your new friends to pumpkin pie +++ Tell us how it goes :)

  8. This is fab!!! I know it’ll be delicious and on my list for sure for thanksgiving dinner ??
    Thank you so much!!

  9. Honestly, I didn’t like Cauliflower but after seeing this recipe I cooked and It was just delicious and thanks for restoring my faith in Cauliflower.






  10. I lived with my aunt + uncle in Barcelona for 5 months while I was studying abroad. I made Thanksgiving dinner for them too — their favorite thing was the traditional southern cornbread dressing, they loved the depth that celery added to the overall flavor, and marveled that it was something we actually cooked with. Who knew?? I am not a big pumpkin pie fan, but I made one for them using a baking pumpkin I found in La Boqueria. I roasted it in the oven and then mashed (a little time-intensive) and by the end of the week there was still practically an entire pie left. They were not fans despite LOVING cabello de angel — a yummy pastry made with candied spaghetti squash. Go figure!

  11. This sounds great. We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving and living in Australia we don’t eat a hot dinner of Christmas Day. The part I especially like about this is that it is gluten free. I have to try if first but I think I’d even serve it any day as an side dish. Thank you

  12. Hi Ali!

    I’m spanish girl who lives in Madrid and loves to make pumkin pie! Here they sell the canned pumkin pureé if you need it! They have a store in Barcelona if not you can order online.

    https://www.tasteofamerica.es

  13. I’m excited to make this for Thanksgiving this week. Luckily, I can find alllllll of these ingredients in Korea. Nothing like celebrating our traditions from afar!

  14. This looks great – Definitely want to try it out!

  15. this is my now go to rice dish! Wonderful recipe…I will be sure to make oftern…delicious!






  16. I hace made this dish several times and it never disappoints. Delish. Greetings from Galicia.






  17. I just wanted to say that I made this recipe for Thanksgiving and it was delicious! It was huge hit with many. I will definitely make this on a regular basis throughout the year. Thank you for this delicious and healthy recipe!