Cookbook Reviews/ Recipes/ Seasonal Recipes/ Side Dishes/ Vegetables

Broccoli-Wild Rice Casserole

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I could hardly hold in my excitement a few weeks ago when a signed copy of The Pioneer Woman’s new cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays, arrived to my doorstep! I’ve met Ree a few times now and let me tell you — she’s just as sweet and down to earth in real life as she appears on her blog. Both my mom and my grandma {who is addicted to Ree’s show on the Food Network and refers to her as “that pioneer lady”} are super jealous that I’ve gotten a chance to meet Ree in real life. They both love her recipes just like I do!

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I couldn’t wait to share a recipe out of Ree’s new book with you guys! The book is beautiful and HUGE…we’re talking almost 400 pages huge. It’s divided up into different holidays with fun menu plans for each. Since Thanksgiving is one week away I decided to share her Broccoli-Wild Rice Casserole. It’s really yummy and perfect for your Turkey Day feast!

PicFrameThe casserole is made by layering wild rice, broccoli and deliciously creamy veggie gravy/ broth all together. You know it’s a good recipe when it calls for butter AND heavy cream.

My favorite part was the thick vegetable gravy. Just look how creamy and delicious it is!

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You finish off the casserole with a crunchy, buttery layer of breadcrumbs. Perfection. Each bite is creamy, crunchy, buttery and broccoli-filled.

I like to think the broccoli here cancels out the butter and cream.

Thanks, Ree, for writing such a lovely cookbook that I know I’ll treasure for years to come as we start to make our own family traditions!

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Broccoli-Wild Rice Casserole

from The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays

serves 12

Print this Recipe!

Ingredients:

2 cups wild rice

8 cups low-sodium chicken broth

3 broccoli heads, cut into small florets

1 stick butter

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 lb white button or cremini mushrooms, finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and finely diced

2 celery stalks, finely diced

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 cup Panko breadcrumbs

2 tbsp minced fresh parsley

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Add the wild rice into a medium saucepan with 5 cups of the chicken broth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat then reduce the heat to low and cover the pan.

Cook the rice until it’s started to break open and is slightly tender, about 35-40 minutes. Set aside. {Jenna’s note: cooking the rice took me about 50 minutes, FYI}

While the rice is cooking, blanch the broccoli by throwing the florets into boiling water for 1 1/2 – 2 minutes until bright green and still slightly crisp. Immediately drain the broccoli and plunge it into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. {Jenna’s note: I just ran cold water over the broccoli – our ice machine is broken!} Set aside.

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat, then melt 6 tbsp of the butter. Add the onions and the mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes until the liquid begins to evaporate. Then, add the carrots and celery and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes until the veggies are soft and tender and the mixture starts to turn darker.

Sprinkle the flour on the vegetables and stir to incorporate it, then pour the remaining 3 cups of chicken broth over top. Stir to combine and bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Allow to thicken — this will take about 3-4 minutes. ‘

Pour in the heavy cream and stir to combine. Let the mixture cook until it’s nice and thick. Season with the salt and pepper, then taste and adjust the seasonings as needed.

To assemble the casserole, add half the cooked rice to the bottom of a 2-quart baking dish. Spoon on a ladle-full of broth then lay on a layer of broccoli. Add another layer of broth, followed by more cooked rice, broth and broccoli. When you get to the top, smooth the remaining broth evenly on top.

Melt the remaining 2 tbsp of butter then pour it into a separate bowl with the Panko breadcrumbs. Toss the mixture well to coat the breadcrumbs with the butter then sprinkle the breadcrumbs all over the top of the casserole.

Cover the casserole with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for 15 more minutes. Sprinkle with parsley when you remove from the oven.

Dig in!

Time:

1.5 hours

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  • brittany @ brittany cooks
    November 21, 2013 at 3:17 am

    I can’t wait to snag a copy of her new book! Holiday baking is the best! πŸ™‚

  • Live Love Yum
    November 21, 2013 at 3:22 am

    Love that you no longer have the “Read More” feature. So much easier (took forever to download new page with each click before…)

  • Averie @ Averie Cooks
    November 21, 2013 at 3:39 am

    I saw Ree post this on her site yesterday! It looked awesome there and I pinned it, and yours looks awesome, too. I love wild rice (and broccoli and easy casseroles). Perfect easy comfort food, Jenna!

    And a 400 pg book…that will keep me busy for awhile. I need it!

  • taylor @ taylormade
    November 21, 2013 at 4:01 am

    I, for one, LOVE casseroles… especially in the winter! and this one looks sooo delicious πŸ™‚ Ree’s the best and you made this look extra mouthwatering!

  • Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat
    November 21, 2013 at 4:58 am

    This looks so beautiful! I’m losing count of the cookbooks on my Christmas list this year – there are SO many. Thanks for sharing this one!

  • Sara @ LovingOnTheRun
    November 21, 2013 at 5:45 am

    This looks delicious! I love her cookbooks I wasn’t even aware she was coming out with a new one! Maybe this will have to go on my list to Santa this year πŸ™‚

  • Kelly @ Laughter, Strength, and Food
    November 21, 2013 at 7:20 am

    I need to get Ree’s cookbook and this recipe is a perfect example of why!! Looks delicious!

  • C.
    November 21, 2013 at 7:26 am

    Ooh this looks delicious! Cannot wait to get my hands on this cookbook.

  • erin @hooleywithaz
    November 21, 2013 at 7:27 am

    i love ree! i want this cookbook so bad. also, my husband calls ree “that pioneer lady” just like your grandma haha.

  • Katy @ Classic Katy
    November 21, 2013 at 8:32 am

    This looks amazing! I’ll have to check out Ree’s book!

  • amybtwink www.funfoodiefamily.com
    November 21, 2013 at 8:33 am

    Yum! I love a good broccoli and rice casserole, esp. when there is butter and cream involved!

  • Jessica
    November 21, 2013 at 9:06 am

    Looks delicious!

  • Laura @ Lauras Baking Talent
    November 21, 2013 at 9:09 am

    I got her new cookbook too and love it πŸ™‚ This looks amazing πŸ™‚ Thanks for sharing.

  • Michelle @ A Healthy Mrs
    November 21, 2013 at 10:13 am

    Ooooh, this looks so good! And I definitely need to check out that cookbook — I love the Pioneer Woman! πŸ™‚

  • Tatyana Gray
    November 21, 2013 at 11:16 am

    This looks delicious!!! Unfortunately, my husband is intolerant of heavy cream. Can I substitute whole milk for it (he tolerates milk just fine)?

  • Kelly Mitchem
    November 21, 2013 at 11:49 am

    This looks so amazingly good, I might just have to buy this cookbook!

  • Caroline L.
    November 21, 2013 at 1:53 pm

    I saw this on PW yesterday and was already majorly drooling!

  • Coty and Mariah@quirksandtwists
    November 21, 2013 at 3:51 pm

    The color of this is dish is so pretty! Great side-dish!

  • jes
    November 22, 2013 at 11:01 am

    I’m confused…the ingredient list says 2 cups of broth…and then the instructions mention a total of 8 cups…

    • jenna
      November 22, 2013 at 11:45 am

      good catch!

  • Joshua Hampton
    November 22, 2013 at 11:45 am

    This casserole looks amazing. I’ve got to have a copy of that cookbook.

  • Laura Ann
    November 24, 2013 at 6:14 pm

    Does the broccoli get added into the gravy mixture? And if so, when?

  • Laura Ann
    November 24, 2013 at 6:22 pm

    Or by “broth” in the layering part do you mean the gravy/veg?

  • Mary @ Health and Fitness
    November 25, 2013 at 6:48 am

    OMG! A complete healthy food, loaded with veggies I love it! By the way, What do you call those black thinggy? Sorry I’m not familiar with it.

  • Anderea
    December 2, 2013 at 7:15 am

    I tried this for our thanksgiving feast, and it was wonderful. But it was even better the next day when I made leftover turkey soup by boiling down the leftover turkey carcass and then adding the rest of this casserole to the broth (minus the Panko bread topping). It was DELICIOUS!!

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    December 11, 2013 at 12:52 pm

    […] entrΓ©e…Broccoli-Wild Rice Casserole…looks like a totally comforting cold-weather […]

  • Allie
    January 7, 2014 at 7:30 am

    Made this with leftover smoked turkey stock from Thanksgiving and it was AWESOME! Great recipe

  • Karen
    June 30, 2014 at 7:19 pm

    This was bland and brought 80% of it back from a pot luck. Will not make again and should have stuck to my go to recipe.