Wild Rice Fennel Stuffing (Gluten Free)

Wild rice fennel stuffing in casserole dish with metal spoon.

4.67 from 6 votes

Wild Rice Fennel Stuffing (Gluten Free)

This homemade Wild Rice Fennel Stuffing is a great vegetarian Thanksgiving side dish! It's savory and baked with gluten free bread cubes.

Prep Time10

Cook Time1 15

Total Time1 25

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Keyword: wild rice stuffing, fennel stuffing, gluten free vegetarian stuffing, wild rice and bread stuffing,

Servings:

Calories: 449kcal

Author: Christine Rooney

Equipment

Baking Sheet large
9x13 inch Casserole Dish

Ingredients

1 loaf gluten free sandwich bread or any white sandwich bread if not gluten free
1 cup wild rice dry, yields 3-4 cups cooked
3 cups water
6 cloves garlic
1 onion white or yellow
1 bulb fennel yields 1 cup diced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 Tbsp. butter
5 eggs
2 ½ cups low sodium vegetable broth or low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp. kosher salt split
½ tsp. pepper

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For The Wild Rice:

Place a small pot on the stove top and add 3 cups of water. Bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, add 1 cup of wild rice (rinse the wild rice in a fine mesh strainer under cold water first if desired). Stir the wild rice into the water.
Reduce the heat to a low boil, cover, and cook for 30-35 minutes or until the rice starts to soften and the kernels start to open. Drain the wild rice and set aside (yields 3-4 cups cooked wild rice).
Alternately, the wild rice may be prepared in the Instant Pot.

For The Bread Cubes:

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cut a loaf of sandwich bread into 1 inch pieces (this recipe calls for 8 cups of bread cubes). Try to make sure they're roughly the same size so that they toast evenly.
Place the bread cubes onto a large baking sheet and place it into the oven for 12 minutes. The bread will dry out and become a little bit crusty (but not hard like croutons).
Remove when finished and set aside.

For The Fennel Mixture:

To cut the fennel, remove the stems and fronds from the fennel bulb with a knife. Reserve some of the fennel fronds for garnish.
Cut the woody, bottom portion of the fennel bulb with a knife and discard. Remove any dirty or damaged outer layers from the bulb and discard.
Chop the fennel bulb in half and dice the entire thing, just as you would an onion (this recipe calls for 1 cup of diced fennel).
Mince 6 cloves of garlic and 1 onion (white or yellow).
Place a large skillet on the stove top and heat to medium-high. Once heated, add 2 Tbsp. of olive oil.
Once the oil is heated, add the diced garlic, onion, and fennel to the skillet along with ¼ tsp. kosher salt. Sauté the mixture for 10-12 minutes, stirring often.
Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside to cool.
Crack 5 large eggs into a bowl. Add ¾ tsp. kosher salt, ½ tsp. pepper, and 2 ½ cups of low sodium vegetable broth to the bowl. Stir until completely combined.
Add the cooled fennel mixture to the eggs and stir until combined.

Assemble The Stuffing:

Generously grease a 9x13 inch casserole dish with butter. This will help to prevent the stuffing from sticking to the bottom as it bakes.
Arrange the 8 cups of toasted bread cubes evenly across the bottom of the casserole dish. Add 3 cups of the cooked, drained, and cooled wild rice to the bread cubes and carefully toss until combined.
Pour the egg mixture evenly over the top of the bread cubes and wild rice and carefully toss until all of the bread is coated in the mixture. Cut 4 Tbsp. of butter into cubes and dot the top of the stuffing with it.
Cover the casserole dish tightly with foil and place it into the oven. Bake the stuffing for 20 minutes covered with foil.
After 20 minutes, remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove the casserole dish from the oven.
Bake for another 5 minutes if necessary.
To Serve: Garnish the stuffing with some of the minced fennel fronds for extra flavor and color.

Notes

You can also dry the bread out by cutting a loaf into cubes, placing them onto a baking sheet, and leaving the bread cubes at room temperature for a day or two.

The wild rice may be prepared the day ahead, cooled, and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator until needed.

Make sure to use wild rice and not a wild rice blend. Also, make sure that the brand of wild rice used is gluten free if gluten is an issue for you.

Low sodium chicken broth may be used in place of vegetable broth if not vegetarian.

Nutrition