Sausage Wild Rice Stuffed Mushrooms

Sausage Wild Rice Stuffed Mushrooms ~ Baby bellas stuffed to the gills with an herbed sauté of sausage, wild rice, dried cranberries, and leeks.

When most people have a craving for a particular dish or recipe, they usually go about making it sooner rather than later. When you’re a recipe developer with a to-make list longer than the Great Wall of China, well, cravings sometimes get sat on the back burner.

Wild rice is one of those.

Last Thanksgiving, Matthew, his daughter, and grandson joined Elizabeth and me. The meal prep was divided between myself and Matthew. It was a very non-traditional year for me as far as the meal went.

No full bird that had to be stuffed, different side dishes than I usually made. But this wasn’t just my Thanksgiving dinner, this was their’s as well-I was excited to try new things.

Wild rice stuffing with dried cranberries was one of the dishes he made for our meal. They are from Minnesota and wild rice is pretty much a stable there.

The recipe he made was delicious, as was everything else that day. But the rice has stayed with me since then. I’ve wanted to recreate whatever it was that he made.

10 months later, I finally have.

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Cooking with Mushrooms

I had recently read an article about mushrooms being a “superfood”. The article was inspiration enough to finally make wild rice and instead of having it as a side dish, stuffing it inside mushrooms as a perfect appetizer for any one of my numerous entertaining/dinner parties I have on the calendar.

I was already planning on running to the store to pick up some essentials like fresh produce, fresh and frozen meats along with other items I would need for my party. I added mushrooms to my list.

Now that my plan was made, Sausage Wild Rice Stuffed Mushrooms were all I could think about. I wanted to keep these lighter or healthier, so I used chicken sausage instead of traditional pork.

The blend of cranberries, sausage, and rice with the herbs and leeks proved to almost be too delicious to make it inside the actual mushrooms. But I found my restraint and got them stuffed and baked, then I dug in and ate plenty.

These are the perfect little appetizer, but stuff a Portobello instead and you’ll have a full meal on your hands-any way you serve them, Sausage Wild Rice Stuffed Mushrooms are fabulous and will make a great addition to your table.

I love how all the flavors this recipe utilizes combine for a major punch of tastiness.

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Sausage Wild Rice Stuffed Mushrooms

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Appetizer, finger food, mushrooms, sausage

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Author: Michelle De La Cerda

Baby bellas stuffed to the gills with an herbed sauté of sausage, wild rice, dried cranberries and leeks.

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Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked wild rice (prepared according to package directions; about 1 cup dry)
• 24 oz whole cremini/baby Bella mushrooms; stems and gill removed (12-18 mushrooms)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (plus more for skillet, if using)
• 1 leek; rinsed and chopped (about 2 cups chopped)
• 4 links chicken and apple sausage (12 oz); diced
• 1 cup dried cranberries (sweetened or not, both work)
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp dried marjoram
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter (plus more for skillet, if using)

Instructions

1. Cook rice according to package directions-will take approximately 45 minutes.

2. Prepare the mushrooms, wipe the tops clean, remove stems and gills. Set aside.

3. Pre-heat oven to 375° F.

4. Butter/Oil a skillet or baking dish liberally (or cook the rice mixture, remove to a bowl and use the same skillet for baking the mushrooms)
5. While the rice has begun cooking, chop the leeks and sausage.
6. Measure out herbs/spices and cranberries.
7. In a large skillet (12") over medium high heat and once hot add the oil.
8. Add the leeks, stir and cook for 3 minutes.
9. Add the sausage, mix together well and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes or until the sausage begins to brown and the leeks have softened and decreased in size.
10. Add the cranberries, mix well.
11. Add the herbs, mix well.
12. Add the rice and butter, stir until everything is combined and heated through.
13. Spoon in the sausage and wild rice mixture into the mushrooms caps, allowing to mound up at the top.

14. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, but begin checking after 15, as mushroom size and oven temps vary.  Bake time could take as long as 25 minutes.

15. Serve and enjoy.

Thank you for sharing!