With the weather cooling down and snacking on spiced cookies and hearty stews, I'm emotionally ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Too early? I say it's never too early for the holidays! Tristan disagrees, but he sure wasn't complaining when I served him this brown rice stuffing with jackfruit!
This rice stuffing with jackfruit is truly THE BEST stuffing ever! It’s both vegan and gluten-free, making it perfect for the holidays when you have guests over with different dietary restrictions. Full of brown rice, vegetables, cranberries, nuts, and jackfruit confit, there’s so much flavor in this stuffing you won’t be missing the meat!
Rice stuffing vs. Traditional bread stuffing
Traditionally, stuffing and dressing is made using bread. I'm pretty sure my mom used to use the Stove Top stuffing mix, and it was definitely my favorite side dish at the holiday dinner table!
Last Christmas, my mom was so thoughtful and made a wild rice stuffing since I had gone mostly gluten-free (Note I said mostly; I do have the occasional gluten-filled bread or cookie). Oh man, was this stuffing delicious! And it got me thinking, there should be at least one dish on any holiday table that everyone can eat, whether they're gluten-free or vegan.
Jackfruit as a meat substitute
If you've seen my cream stew recipe (bonus points if you've tried it!), you'd know jackfruit is a great meat substitute because of its stringy texture!
I used young green jackfruit confit from Nature's Charm in this rice stuffing recipe and it's perfect! It almost looks like tuna packed in oil, but it's young green jackfruit in olive oil and rice bran oil with herbs, sea salt, and garlic. It's so flavorful and versatile, I had it for lunch today on some sliced baguette, bruschetta style. So good!
How to make rice stuffing with jackfruit
Rice stuffing is so easy to make! Although the oven-baked stuffings have a delicious crunch on top, I prefer stuffing that can be made on the stovetop because I have a relatively small oven, and I don't want to be running the oven all day on Thanksgiving.
In a pot, add the brown rice and vegetable stock, and bring to a boil. Once the stock starts boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover it with a lid, and let it simmer until the rice is cooked through.
While the rice cooks, sautée the onion, celery, mushrooms, green onions, garlic, and jackfruit confit in a pan. Add that to the cooked rice with the almonds, pecans, and dried cranberries.
That's it! How easy was that? I like to serve my jackfruit rice stuffing in a casserole dish for a traditional oven-baked stuffing look, but any large serving bowl or dish would work!
Whether it's Thanksgiving or Christmas or just another Thursday, I highly suggest you make this rice stuffing because it's absolutely delicious! So delicious that I wouldn't mind being served just this for dinner...
Followed by dessert, of course!
This is sure to be your new go-to stuffing recipe for Thanksgiving and Christmas! It's so flavorful with all the aromatics, mushrooms, and jackfruit confit. With the sweetness from the dried cranberries and the crunch from the almonds and pecans, it's holiday perfection!
Make sure you make this jackfruit stuffing for the upcoming holidays! It makes for awesome leftovers the following day, too! I had a bowl of it for breakfast and turns out, starting the day with a hearty meal with lots of vegetables makes me feel healthy and satiated!
Go try the recipe, and comment below how it turns out!
I’m also sharing these at this week’s Fiesta Friday co-hosted by Mollie! Come join the party!
Rice Stuffing with Jackfruit
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (280g) brown rice
- 2¼ cups (540ml) vegetable stock (try to use reduced-sodium so you can control your seasoning)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
- 7 oz (200g) cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup sliced green onions
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon ground sage
- 2 cans Nature's Charm young green jackfruit confit, drained
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ⅓ cup chopped nuts (I used ¼ cup/27g pecans and 2 tablespoons/15g sliced almonds)
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot, add the brown rice and vegetable stock, and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot with a lid, and let it simmer for 40 to 45 minutes. Turn the heat off, and let the rice rest with the lid on for 5 minutes before taking the lid off and fluffing the rice with a fork.
- While the rice is cooking, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, mushroom, green onions, thyme, sage and sautée until the onions turn translucent. Add the jackfruit and garlic, and sautée for another couple of minutes.
- Add the sautéed vegetables, nuts and cranberries to the rice, and stir. Taste for seasoning. Pour it into a casserole dish or large serving dish.
Disclosure – Thank you to Nature’s Charm for sponsoring this post! It’s a delight to be working for people and a business I find inspiring. I love the values the company is built on, and am proud to be collaborating with them!
Erika says
I love the idea of using jackfruit instead of meat. This looks delicious.
Ai says
Thanks Erika!
Angela says
Great alternative to traditional stuffing.
Ai says
It really is! So delicious! Hope you get a chance to try it 🙂
frugal hausfrau says
This is going to be so much healthier for you, too! Thanks for sharing with us at Fiesta Friday this week!
Mollie
Ai says
Exactly! Healthy, but full of flavor 🙂 Thanks for hosting Mollie!
Christy Boston says
This is an innovative twist on stuffing and I am intrigued... I want to try this! Thanks for sharing.. 🙂
Ai says
Thanks Christy! Hope you do try this delicious stuffing 😀
Anindya Sundar Basu says
Jack fruit is the latest in thing and we Indians and Bengalis too eat Jack fruit so much . Loved this recipe . Will try
Ai says
Hope you like it Anindya!
Lisa H says
Love jack fruit but only when its ripe 😛
Beautifully presented dish 😀
Ai says
Thanks Lisa!
Foodopi says
Never thought about jack fruit in this way, nice recipe will try it our sure. Thanks for the recipe
Ai says
Hope you like it! 🙂
Angie | Fiesta Friday says
That seriously sounds delicious, Ai. I'd better get green jackfruit right away!
Ai says
Thanks Angie! You sure should!
Judith says
This sounds well worth trying as a meat alternative. Totally different from any stuffing recipes I’ve tried before. Will save this recipe for our Christmas meals.