What’s better than the perfect side dish recipe? Here’s an amazing, flavor-packed Simple Rice Stuffing recipe to please even the pickiest eaters!
I’m sure we all have our own holiday must-haves, but I’ll be the first to admit that I am ALL ABOUT the side dishes! And I’ll be honest–for me it is just doesn’t feel like Thanksgiving without an amazing, super-flavorful stuffing!
I especially love how versatile this recipe is. You can omit the sausage if you would rather a meat free version. You could also add chopped walnuts and dried cranberries for a bit sweeter and crunchier stuffing. Either way, it is delicious and you really can’t go wrong!
Simple Rice Stuffing
Here is what you need:
2 cups cooked rice 1 8oz. package white button mushrooms, cleaned and chopped 1 15oz bag frozen peas 2-3 stalks of celery, chopped 1 medium onion, chopped 4-6 TBS olive oil 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped fresh parsley 1 1/2 cups Pecronio Romano 1 loaf Italian bread- stale, cubed 1/2 cup milk 1 package chicken and apple sausage, dicedStep 1: Cook rice according to package directions.
Step 2: Chop onions, celery, parsley and garlic; set aside.
Step 3: Clean and chop mushrooms and set aside.
Step 4: Cube bread; and add to bowl of milk seasoned with salt and pepper.
Step 5: Add 2 tablespoons of oil to large frying pan. Then saute 1/2 cup of onion and 2 tablespoons garlic with pinch of parsley.
Step 6: Squeeze milk from bread then add bread to large frying pan with onions and garlic. Mix well. Once a little golden brown remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl.
Step 7: Slice sausage; set aside.
Step 8: Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large pan. Then saute remaining onions, garlic, celery, mushrooms and parsley. Cook till onions, mushrooms and garlic are soft.
Step 9: Then add sausage and frozen peas to pan and mix well. Once peas are cooked remove all vegetables from pan and mix with bread.
Step 10: Then add cooked rice and 1 cup of grated Pecronio Romano to vegetable and bread mixture.
Step 11: Transfer to baking pan top with remaining cheese and bake for 10-15 minutes if serving that day. If making ahead- reheat in covered baking dish for 20-30 minutes or until stuffing mixture is warm.
Step 12: Serve alone or along side your favorite holiday meal.

Simple Rice Stuffing
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 1 8 oz. package white button mushrooms cleaned and chopped
- 1 15 oz bag frozen peas
- 2-3 stalks of celery chopped
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 TBS olive oil
- 3-4 cloves garlic chopped
- fresh parsley
- 1 1/2 cups Pecronio Romano
- 1 loaf Italian bread- stale cubed
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 package chicken and apple sausage diced
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Cook rice according to package directions.
- Chop onions, celery, parsley and garlic; set aside.
- Clean and chop mushrooms and set aside.
- Cube bread; and add to bowl of milk seasoned with salt and pepper.
- Add 2 tablespoons of oil to large frying pan. Then saute 1/2 cup of onion and 2 tablespoons garlic.
- Squeeze milk from bread then add bread to large frying pan with onions and garlic. Mix well. Once a little golden brown remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl.
- Slice sausage; set aside.
- Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large pan. Then saute remaining onions, garlic, celery, mushrooms and parsley. Cook till onions, mushrooms and garlic are soft.
- Then add sausage and frozen peas to pan and mix well. Once peas are cooked remove all vegetables from pan and mix with bread.
- Then add cooked rice and 1 cup of grated Pecronio Romano to vegetable and bread mixture.
- Transfer to baking pan top with remaining cheese and bake for 10-15 minutes if serving that day. If making ahead- reheat in covered baking dish for 20-30 minutes or until stuffing mixture is warm.
- Serve alone or along side your favorite holiday meal.
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Wow, this looks so good!!! It looks delish, and the photos are great!!! Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe, Ruth!!!
This is interesting with the rice and the bread; I can’t say I have ever tried anything like that. It would be interesting to experiment with wild or black rice. I always love the side dishes too; since I am mostly vegetarian I am all about the sides on Thanksgiving!
This does look delicious Ruth. I’ve been trying to find a new side dish, thx.
This looks like a super low calorie recipie. I love your pictures I can’t wait to try this it looks super easy.