Curried Rice Pecan Stuffing! Perfect for holiday tables or weeknight dinners alike, this stuffing not only elevates your menu with irresistible flavor.
This Curried Rice Pecan Stuffing bursts with bold curry flavors, fluffy rice, plump golden raisins, and the inviting crunch of toasted pecans. It’s a delightful break from traditional stuffing, adding aromatic spices, and a playful textural contrast that keeps every bite interesting. Imagine spoonfuls of seasoned rice mingling with the sweetness of raisins, the buttery warmth of curry, and the satisfying crunch of pecans, all coming together in a festive, crowd-pleasing side dish.
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
This Curried Rice Pecan Stuffing is super tasty, fun, and a refreshing change of pace from traditional stuffing. I love how the curry brings a warm, fragrant depth to every bite, while the rice gives it a light, fluffy texture that’s easy to scoop up on a busy holiday plate. The golden raisins add a kiss of sweetness, and the toasted pecans provide a satisfying crunch that makes this stuffing feel both wholesome and indulgent.
It’s a fantastic and healthier alternative to usual stuffing options, packing protein from the rice and nuts while delivering big flavor. You’ve got to give this one a try—trust me, your taste buds will thank you.
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: This Curried Rice Pecan Stuffing is bursting with delicious curry flavors with rice, golden raisins, and toasty pecans. A break from traditional stuffing this tasty stuffing adds interest and delicious flavor.
- Cooked and Refrigerated Rice: Cooked and refrigerated rice works best when making this dish. If you use recently cooked rice, it will be too gummy and sticky. Using cooked and refrigerated rice (preferably made the day before or earlier in the day) allows the rice to dry out enough to showcase distinct individual grains of rice making a better textured dish.
- Stirring the Rice: Do not over stir the rice while sautéing in Step 6. Over stirring will cause the starches to be released from the rice and could create a more risotto type mixture. Thoroughly stir the rice when you add it to the skillet to ensure they are completely coated, then allow it to sit, then stir only occasionally while heating, just until everything is thoroughly heated through and doesn’t stick to the bottom of the skillet.
- Spices: Feel free to ramp up the spices (curry powder, cumin) if you wish to suit your own personal preferences.
- Golden Raisins Substitutions: We loved using golden raisins; however, you can easily substitute with regular raisins, dried cranberries, or chopped dried apricots.
- Amount of Vegetable Broth: The total amount of vegetable broth 1 ¼ cups; however, if you prefer a moister stuffing, feel free to add additional vegetable broth.
- Tahini: The tahini is used to add a small amount of fat and to balance the flavors. You can substitute with almond butter or cashew butter. Be sure to thoroughly dissolve into the broth before adding the rice. If you leave out tahini (or other nut/seed butters), the dish will be acidic.
- Maple Syrup: Our family was completely divided over the amount of maple syrup required to properly balance the flavors. Most preferred 3 teaspoons while others felt the raisins were sweet enough to carry the dish. Additional maple syrup can always be stirred in at the end if you find that you want to accent the slightly sweet notes.
- Make Ahead – Travels Well: This dish travels well and can be made earlier in the day or the day before. To reheat, add several splashed of water and heat in the microwave or place in a skillet to reheat. Do not overstir.
- Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Leftovers and Freezing:
Leftovers will generally keep 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator. Store in a covered air-tight container.
This dish can be frozen.
Pantry Products:
- Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients. Feel free to use your favorite vegetable broth.
- Rice: We used Ben’s Original Whole Grain Brown Rice. Feel free to use your favorite rice.
- Tahini: We used Ziyad Premium Tahini (Sesame Paste). Feel free to use your favorite brand of tahini.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Kitchen Equipment:
- Large skillet
If you try this bold rice, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
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Curried Rice Pecan Stuffing
Description
This Curried Rice Pecan Stuffing bursts with bold curry flavors, fluffy rice, plump golden raisins, and the inviting crunch of toasted pecans.
Ingredients
Base Ingredients:
- 1 cup pecans halves *
- 1 medium yellow onion, fine dice
- 2 celery ribs, small dice (optional) *
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 ¼ cups low-sodium vegetable broth *
- 1 Tablespoon tahini
- 1 to 3 teaspoons pure maple syrup *
Spice/Herb Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 ¼ teaspoons cumin (+/-) *
- 1 ½ teaspoons curry powder (+/-) *
- Pinch to 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
Other Ingredients:
- ¾ cup golden raisins (or regular raisins)
- 5 cups cooked and refrigerated rice (of choice) *
Instructions
- Give the pecan halves a rough chop, then place into a large skillet over medium heat, heat until they become fragrant, gently stirring constantly for 3 to 5 minutes, then immediately remove from the stove and place on a plate to cool.
- Place all the Spice/Herb Ingredients into a small bowl, whisk well to combine, set aside.
- If using the same large skillet that the pecans were toasted in, give the skillet a thorough rinse to remove any pecan fragments, then add the diced onions and celery, sauté over medium-high heat for 9 to 11 minutes or until perfectly tender.
- Then lower the heat to medium, add the minced garlic, sauté, stir constantly for one minute.
- Next add all the remaining Base Ingredients (except the toasted pecans) and the Spice/Herb Mix, stir well to combine, bring to a boil, be sure to dissolve the tahini into the broth, then immediate lower to a simmer. Simmer over medium heat for 4 minutes.
- Add the cooked and refrigerated rice, raisins, and toasted pecans to the skillet, stir thoroughly to combine, continue to heat for several minutes until thoroughly heated through, approximately 3 minutes.
- Once thoroughly heated through, serve topped with chopped fresh parsley.
Notes
Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.
Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.  Â
Servings: Â 8 to 10 (makes 7 cups)
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