The Easiest Thanksgiving Rice Recipe {Blood Sugar Friendly}
Want to make a Thanksgiving rice that every guest can enjoy without worry? Then this simple recipe checks all the boxes. Gluten free, blood sugar-friendly, and easily adaptable to be vegan and dairy-free, this colorful side dish is the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving menu.
This post has been sponsored by RightRice. As always, all opinions are my own.
Why you’ll love this recipe
One of the most stressful parts of planning the Thanksgiving menu is taking into consideration the dietary needs of all your guests. That’s why this recipe is the perfect choice. Whether you have guests who have diabetes, follow a vegan diet, are gluten-free, or even dairy-free, this recipe works for everyone!
- This entire recipe can be made in under 20 minutes.
- The addition of RightRice in replacement of white rice allows the recipe to contain fewer carbs along with higher levels of fiber and plant-based protein for a blood sugar-friendly dish that incorporates all your favorite flavors of Thanksgiving.
- This recipe is easily adaptable to any dietary need. Swap chicken broth for vegetable stock and use non-dairy butter to transform this recipe into a vegan-friendly dish.
- You can easily add or change any of the vegetables included in this recipe to customize it to the taste preferences of all your guests.
What you’ll need
RightRice: I prefer to use RightRice in replacement of white rice for a few reasons: RightRice looks and tastes just like rice, but it’s actually made from 90% nutritious vegetables (lentils, chickpeas, and peas). Because of that, it contains more than double the protein, five times the fiber, and almost 40% less net carbs than white rice. And using RightRice makes it even easier to whip up this Thanksgiving side dish since itactually cooks up easier (and faster!) than white rice. If you can boil water, you can make it…no rice cooker needed.
Chopped vegetables: I like to use a combination of carrots, onions, and mushrooms to give this rice dish a similar flavor to traditional stuffing recipes. But the vegetable combinations you can incorporate are actually limitless. Have a guest who can’t eat mushrooms? No problem! Leave them out. Or love the flavor and color of bell peppers? Add them in. You can get as creative as you want!
Cranberries: What’s a Thanksgiving meal without cranberries, am I right? In this recipe, I love the color and flavor fresh cranberries add, but if you don’t have fresh cranberries available (or want to make this dish when cranberries are out of season), you can swap these with dried cranberries and maintain the same delicious flavor.
Pecans: Pecans add a rich flavor and crunchy texture to this dish. You can choose to incorporate them raw or roasted and halved or chopped. And if pecans aren’t your thing, you can easily swap these with chopped or halved walnuts instead.
How to make this recipe
- In a medium saucepan, bring chicken (or vegetable) stock to a boil.
- Once liquid has reached a boil, add in packet of RightRice and remove from heat.
- Cover pan and allow RightRice to sit for 10 minutes. Then, fluff with a fork.
- While the RightRice is cooking, place a pan over medium heat and add butter. Once melted, add in minced garlic, along with carrots, onions, and mushrooms. Sautee until vegetables become tender and then remove from heat.
- Add prepared RightRice to the pan along with cranberries, pecans, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir until all ingredients are evenly incorporated.
- Serve warm & enjoy.
FAQs
There are a lot of reasons I enjoy using RightRice in this recipe. I mean, the simplicity of preparation is part of it – all you have to do is boil water. But it goes way beyond that. Because it is made of 90% vegetables, this rice alternative provides 36% fewer net carbohydrates along with 10 grams of plant-based protein and 5 grams of fiber per serving, which means it may have less of an impact on blood sugar while keeping you full longer.
Absolutely! In fact, with the addition of RightRice, this recipe makes a great alternative to traditional Thanksgiving stuffing recipes and will have less impact on blood sugar levels.
Yes! If you wish to make this recipe vegan, just use vegetable stock in replacement of chicken stock and opt for a vegan butter.
Of course! I opted to include vegetables that align with traditional Thanksgiving flavors and colors, but you can include any vegetable combinations you and your guests would enjoy.
Planning a Thanksgiving dinner is stressful enough. But finding out some of your guests have dietary restrictions can make it even harder. That’s why I love this recipe so much. Not only is it delicious on its own, but it can work for almost every diet plan out there. Whether you have guests with allergies who need dairy and gluten free options, vegan guests, or guests trying to manage blood sugar, this dish works for them all. And with it being so easy to make, you really can’t go wrong with it.
This Thanksgiving rice is a new favorite in my house and I know it will be in yours too!
Thanksgiving Rice
Equipment
- Medium saucepan
- Cooking pan
Ingredients
- 1 package Original RightRice
- 1 ⅓ cup chicken or vegetable stock (low sodium)
- ½ cup raw carrots, diced
- ½ cup chopped yellow onion
- ¼ cup white mushrooms, chopped
- 1 Tbs butter (or dairy free butter)
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- ½ cup cranberries
- ¼ cup pecans
- pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring chicken stock to aboil.
- Once liquid has reached a boil, add in packet ofRightRice and remove from heat.
- Cover pan, remove from heat, and allow to sit for 10 minutes the fluff with a fork.
- While the RightRice is cooking, place a pan over medium heat and add butter. Once melted, add in minced garlic, along with carrots, onions, and mushrooms. Sautee until vegetables become tender. Then remove from heat.
- Add prepared RightRice to pan along with cranberries, pecans, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir until all ingredients are evenly incorporated.
- Serve warm & enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
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