wild rice Archives · Jess in the Kitchen

Savory Venison and Wild Rice Bake

Ready for some savory venison and wild rice bake? I am so excited to share! Being a northern Wisconsin family, it may come as no surprise that a primary protein source at our house is venison. We harvest 2-4 deer a year between the gun and bow season and butcher them ourselves. Using our Kitchen Aid mixer, we grind upwards of 60 pounds of venison a year, which we use instead of ground beef or turkey 90% of the time.

I’m always looking for new ways to use it, and this was a fun recipe to develop from scratch a few years ago. This venison and wild rice bake has a feel of tater tot hotdish (I’m close to the Minnesota border, don’t ya know?) with a true from scratch taste. You won’t find any “cream of whatever” soups in the ingredients; only true delicious wholesome foods here. I hope it becomes a go to comfort food for you like it has for us.

Oh! And no ground venison? No problem! Substitute your favorite ground protein: beef, turkey, you name it.

The ingredients For Venison and Wild Rice bake

1 pound ground venison, seasoned with salt and pepper
6 cups low sodium chicken stock, divided
1 cup long grain rice
1 cup wild rice
2 cups carrots, diced
1 ¼ cup onion (1 large), diced
1 ¼ cup celery (6 stalks), diced
2 cups broccoli, diced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
Olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sage
2 teaspoons thyme
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour

Your Steps

In a medium saucepan, bring 5 cups chicken stock to a boil. Add sage, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic and wild rice. Cover, lower to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Add long grain rice and cook for an additional 25-30 minutes, stirring periodically to check that you still have water. You want your rice to just be tender. Test it at 40 minutes. If it gets over cooked, it will be mush once you bake it.

Meanwhile, dice and chop the onion, celery, carrots, broccoli, and mushrooms. Heat a large kettle (I love my cast iron Dutch oven) with ½ to 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the vegetables (except the mushrooms) remaining garlic, salt, pepper, sage, and thyme, cooking on a medium heat for ten minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for an additional five minutes. Remove the vegetables from the kettle and place them in a large bowl. In the same pan (The less dishes, the better, right?), cook the ground venison (or hamburger or turkey) until no longer pink. Stir into the bowl of vegetables along with cooked rice.

Now for the Creamy part

In the same kettle, melt the butter under medium heat. Stir in flour and continue to stir until you have a beautiful golden brown color. To this, add milk, 1/4 of a cup at a time, whisking until well combined and thickened. Repeat with the remaining chicken stock. Pepper to taste. Stir in to the vegetables, rice, and browned venison. Taste once more, adding salt and pepper as needed.

Spread the mixture into a greased casserole dish and bake uncovered for 20 minutes at 425 degrees, until just crispy on the top and hot all the way through. Often, I will prep mine in the morning or the day before and refrigerate until we are ready to eat. If baked after being refrigerated, bake covered for 15 minutes and then gave it an additional 15-20 minutes without a cover. It will be perfectly crispy on the top and creamy in the middle. A wonderful comfort food.

Tools of the Trade

What are some tools I can’t live without? First, my Pyrex baking dishes are a go to for all things baked. And I love a lot of baked dishes. I also really dig my flexible cutting boards and my goodness, as silly as this sounds, this is my favorite whisk. I have had it for years and it’s truly the only one I use.

Savory Venison Wild Rice Bake

Savory herbs, two types of rice, and ground venison come together for a delicious venison and wild rice bake.

5 from 10 votes

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Prep Time 45

Cook Time 20

Course dinner

Cuisine American

Servings people

Equipment

Ingredients

1 pound ground venison seasoned with salt and pepper
6 cups low sodium chicken stock divided
1 cup long grain rice
1 cup wild rice
2 cups carrots diced
1 ¼ cup onion 1 large, diced
1 ¼ cup celery 6 stalks, diced
2 cups broccoli diced
1 cup mushrooms sliced
Olive oil
4 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sage
2 teaspoons thyme
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour

Instructions

In a medium saucepan, bring 5 cups chicken stock to a boil. Add sage, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic and wild rice. Cover, lower to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes.
Add long grain rice and cook for an additional 30-35 minutes, stirring periodically to check that you still have water. You want your rice to just be tender. Test it at 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, dice and chop the onion, celery, carrots, broccoli, and mushrooms. Heat a large kettle with ½ to 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the vegetables (except the mushrooms) remaining garlic, salt, pepper, sage, and thyme, cooking on a medium heat for ten minutes.
Add mushrooms and cook for an additional five minutes. Remove the vegetables from the kettle and place them in a large bowl.
In the same pan, add an additional 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and cook the ground venison (or hamburger or turkey) until no longer pink. Stir into the bowl of vegetables along with cooked rice.
In the same kettle, melt the butter under medium-low heat. Stir in flour and continue to stir until you have a beautiful golden brown color. To this, add milk, 1/4 of a cup at a time, whisking until well combined and thickened. Repeat with the remaining chicken stock. Pepper to taste.
Stir in to the vegetables, rice, and browned venison. Taste once more, adding salt and pepper as needed.
Spread the mixture into a greased casserole dish and bake uncovered for 20 minutes at 425 degrees, until just crispy on the top and hot all the way through.

Notes

This can be prepped early, say the night before or in the morning. If baked after being refrigerated, bake covered for 15 minutes and then gave it an additional 15-20 minutes without a cover. It will be perfectly crispy on the top and creamy in the middle.

Keyword from scratch, rice pilaf, vegetables, venison, venison recipe, whole foods, wild rice

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Can I share some other favorites of mine?

Check out the recipes below for other meal inspiration!

October 25, 2021February 23, 2024

Jess25 Comments

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

My darling son is ten years old. For about as long as I can remember, chicken noodle soup has been his favorite. So much so that he has requested it for his birthday meal for the last four years, regardless of where we are celebrating. Then I put together this creamy chicken and wild rice soup. I think his favorite meal changed. He makes this glorious face when he eats food he loves: closing his eyes, taking in the flavor, all while a small grin spreads across his face. His first bite brought on this expression, telling me we had a winner of a recipe.

What I love about this creamy chicken and wild rice soup is that it has all the creamy goodness all while leaving out the heavy or processed ingredients found in many creamy soups. It eats like a soup the first day and more like a stew the second, as the rice absorbs more liquid.

Usually from scratch soups are reserved for cozy weekends, but I recently made this soup on a weeknight. The weather had changed from warm fall days to chilly winter, complete with some snow. I don’t know about you, but those first snow falls just call for a kettle of soup. It took me exactly one hour start to finish, including cooking the chicken. Is it a great weekend recipe? Absolutely. But is it doable on a weeknight? Sure!

Enough talking! Let’s get cooking!

Your Ingredients

½ cup long grain brown rice, uncooked
½ cup wild rice, uncooked
2 ½ cups water
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cups sliced carrots
1 ½ cups sliced celery
1 ½ cup diced onion
½ tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk (I used skim)
2 cups chicken stock
¾ teaspoons dried thyme
½ – 1 teaspoon pepper, to taste
½ teaspoon salt

Before we begin cooking…

If you don’t have cooked chicken on hand, you can 100% start cooking it when you start the rice and your timing will be just fine. I seasoned two chicken breasts with salt and pepper and cooked them over medium heat in a cast iron skillet (I just love cast iron. I have the Lodge Skillet). If you would like to do like me, cook them for about 8 minutes on each side. Then put in a preheated 400 degree oven. Finish them in the oven, cooking to 165 degrees.

YOUR STEPS FOR CREAMY CHICKEN AND WILD RICE SOUP

Start by bringing water to a boil in a saucepan with a cover. Add rice (and maybe a little salt and pepper if you are so inclined), cover, and lower temperature to a simmer. Cook for 40 minutes, stirring periodically. Once complete, leave the rice, even if there is remaining liquid. We will add it all to the soup.

While the rice is cooking, prepare the vegetables. Add olive oil to a soup kettle (again, I adore my cast iron Dutch oven for soups), and heat over medium heat. Once oil is hot, add onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Cook for 8-10 minutes, until they are beginning to soften. Add mushrooms and cook an additional 4-5 minutes.

Remove vegetables from the kettle. Lower the temperature slightly. Add butter and allow to melt. Once melted, add flour, creating a roux. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. SLOWLY add milk, about ⅓ cup at a time, stirring the whole time, allowing the mixture to just begin to boil before you add more. (Be patient here. I have gone too fast too many times to count, and then you miss the creaminess!). Add the chicken stock in a similar nature. Add thyme, salt, and pepper.

From here, stir in the rice from the saucepan, including any remaining liquid. It will help keep the soup thick. Reincorporate the vegetables and stir in the chicken. Allow to cook an additional 10-20 minutes if you have the time. The flavors will mingle and simply get better if you can wait 🙂

Looking for other dinner ideas? Check out my cooking page!

Cooking

Tools of the Trade

I truly believe every home kitchen needs a selection of good cast iron pans. We cook everything in them, from corn bread to chicken, from sourdough bread to soups and stews. They can go from stove top to oven and create beautiful food. These are some of my favorites!

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

A hearty belly warming recipe full of fresh roasted chicken, vegetables and perfectly cooked rice.

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Servings

Ingredients

½ cup long grain brown rice uncooked
½ cup wild rice uncooked
2 ½ cups water
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cups sliced carrots
1 ½ cups sliced celery
1 ½ cup diced onion
½ tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
2 cups chicken stock
¾ teaspoons dried thyme
½ – 1 teaspoon pepper to taste
½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Bring water to a boil in a saucepan with a cover. Add rice (and additional salt and pepper, to taste), cover, and lower temperature to a simmer. Cook for 40 minutes, stirring periodically.
While the rice is cooking, prepare the vegetables. Add olive oil to a soup kettle and heat over medium heat.
Once oil is hot, add onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Cook for 8-10 minutes, until they are beginning to soften. Add mushrooms and cook an additional 4-5 minutes.
Remove vegetables from the kettle. Lower the temperature slightly. Add butter and allow to melt.
Once melted, add flour, creating a roux. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Slowly add milk, about ⅓ cup at a time, stirring the whole time, allowing the mixture to just begin to boil before you add more. Add the chicken stock in a similar nature. Add thyme, salt, and pepper.
Stir in the rice from the saucepan, including any remaining liquid. Reincorporate the vegetables and stir in the chicken. Allow to cook an additional 10-20 minutes.

Keyword chicken, chicken and wild rice soup, chicken soup, from scratch

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

November 14, 2020July 13, 2021

Jess2 Comments

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. Doesn’t the name just give you warm and fuzzy feelings? It sure does for me!

The dead of winter in Wisconsin means big kettles of soup slow cooked on the stove over the weekend to be enjoyed all week long. I could eat soup, salad, and fresh sourdough bread every day of the week. I don’t tire of it. Luckily, my family shares my love. Seriously. My nine year old has requested soup for his birthday dinner the last few years. Who does that?! With wild rice on the mind and chicken in my fridge, I decided to put together a chicken and wild rice soup for us this week. When I asked my son if he wanted to give it a try, he jumped at the chance. Know that the kid LOVES chicken noodle and if I suggest rice, he gives pause. After his first try, he declared, “THE BEST SOUP YOU’VE EVER MADE.” I hope you’ll agree!

Your ingredients:

1 cup brown rice, uncooked
1/2 cup wild rice, uncooked
7 1/2 cups low sodium chicken stock, divided
2 cups diced celery (4-5 stalks)
2 cups diced carrots (2 large)
1 1/4 cup diced onion (2 medium)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sage
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk (I used skim and I loved the thickness. If you prefer a heartier soup, use 1 or 2%)
4 cups cooked, cubed chicken (I baked 2 boneless breasts seasoned with a little black pepper at 400 degrees for 40 minutes while the rice was cooking)

Directions for Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Bring 3 1/2 cups of the chicken stock to a boil. Add long grain brown rice and wild rice. Cover, lower to a simmer, and cook for 40 minutes, stirring periodically to check that you still have water. You want your rice to just be tender.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large soup kettle (I LOVE my Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven…its red and just beautiful) over medium heat. Once hot (toss one piece of onion in. If it sizzles, you have the right temp. If it doesn’t, wait a little longer), add celery, carrots, onions, garlic, salt, pepper, and sage. Cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, until tender.

Lower the heat to medium and stir in flour and butter. Continue to stir vegetables, butter, and flour for 1-2 minutes. SLOWLY stir in the milk. I say that with all caps because I am so impatient and add it too fast all the time. But if you want it to be glorious and just a hint creamy, you need to add the milk slowly.

Stir in cooked rice and chicken. Then slowly stir in the remaining chicken stock. All to simmer for 20-30 minutes for the flavors to mingle, if you can wait that long. My son couldn’t 🙂 Hope you can warm your loved ones hearts and bellies with this soup! –Jess

Chopped and cooked chicken, seasoned simply with pepper

Looking for other delicious soup recipes? Check out my cooking page!

Cooking

Tools of the Trade

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my dutch oven. It’s so beautiful!

Flexible cutting boards are the best, especially for chopping for soup!

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup: The name simply invokes all the warm and fuzzy feelings of comfort food. Give this recipe a try!

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Servings people

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice uncooked
1/2 cup wild rice uncooked
7 1/2 cups low sodium chicken stock divided
2 cups diced celery 4-5 stalks
2 cups diced carrots 2 large
1 1/4 cup diced onion 2 medium
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sage
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
4 cups cooked cubed chicken

Instructions

Bring 3 1/2 cups of the chicken stock to a boil. Add long grain brown rice and wild rice. Cover, lower to a simmer, and cook for 40 minutes, stirring periodically to check that you still have water. You want your rice to just be tender.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large soup kettle over medium heat. Once ho, add celery, carrots, onions, garlic, salt, pepper, and sage. Cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, until tender.
Lower the heat to medium and stir in flour and butter. Continue to stir vegetables, butter, and flour for 1-2 minutes. SLOWLY stir in the milk, 1/2 cup at a time.
Stir in cooked rice and chicken. Then slowly stir in the remaining chicken stock.
Allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes. Serve.

Keyword chicken, chicken and wild rice soup, chicken soup, soup, soups and stews, wild rice

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

January 12, 2020October 2, 2021

Jess2 Comments

Wild Rice and Vegetable Pilaf

When my husband cooks, our plates look like this: protein, carb/starch, veggie. Separate piles. I am totally okay with that. He cooks some mean wild game and I dig a roasted potato. But when I cook, I’m a girl who loves all things that can go in a casserole dish. Case in point: Wild Rice and Vegetable Pilaf.

I cook for leftovers so that we can enjoy my favorite meals a few times a week or at least I can meal prep my lunches so they are thought out and healthy. (Who am I joking…as these kiddos of mine get older, I hardly get a second meal sometimes!) Enter rice pilaf. It’s flexible. It goes GREAT with chicken or a pork chop. I love that I can have it as a side and then toss my left over protein with it and it becomes a sort of rice bowl. I don’t know why, but it feels like a different meal to me when the protein is mixed in. And that’s okay 🙂

Here’s what we put together tonight to go with some chicken breasts that I did up super simple (searing hot cast iron with some rosemary olive oil, salt and pepper. Seared them on both sides and into the oven at 450 for 20 minutes.) I love a cast iron, but that’s a different blog post. Back to my simple rice pilaf…

Your ingredients:

1 cup brown rice, uncooked
1/2 cup wild rice, uncooked
3 1/2 cup chicken stock (regular or low sodium to suit your taste)–I actually use 3 1/2 cups water and use 1 tablespoon Orrington Farms Broth Base. It’s my go to!
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon pepper, divided
1 tablespoon minced garlic, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt (I like coarse kosher salt)
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped broccoli, smaller, bite size pieces
1 cup diced carrots (about 1 large)
3/4-1 cup diced onion (about 1/2 large onion)
1 cup diced celery (about 2 stalks)

Your Steps to Wild Rice and Vegetable Pilaf

In a medium saucepan, bring chicken stock to a boil. Add sage, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 tablespoon garlic and both rices. Cover, lower to a simmer, and cook for 40-50 minutes, stirring periodically to check that you still have water. You want your rice to just be tender. Test it at 40 minutes. If it gets over cooked, it will be mush once you bake it.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Add onion, carrots, celery, salt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1/2 tablespoon garlic. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add broccoli and cook an additional 5 minutes, until vegetables have just become tender. Stir in cooked rice. I would test it here and see if you are happy with your salt and pepper levels (and heck, check the garlic while you’re at it). Pour rice/vegetable mixture into a greased casserole dish and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the rice just begins to crisp up on the top (That’s my favorite…I also like the corner brownie, it seems to be a trend).

Serve it up!

At our house, we serve rice pilaf most often with grilled or pan “fried” chicken breasts or boneless pork chops with a salad. I like to “sneak” extra veggies in wherever we can, so this pilaf does the trick! It reheats well and has all the colors, which is also a theme I go for. Let me know what you think! (PS…Sage not your thing? I also love to mix this up with rosemary and/or thyme. Like mushrooms, throw a 1/2 cup of those in too! That’s the beauty of this recipe, you can pick a seasoning mixture that you love.) I hope this recipe finds you cooking for those you love–Jess

Wild Rice and Vegetable Pilaf

Wild rice, brown rice, and your choice of vegetables combine in this wild rice and vegetable pilaf that fit for a side for any protein: chicken, pork, or wild game!

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1

Servings

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice uncooked
1/2 cup wild rice uncooked
3 1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon pepper divided
1 tablespoon minced garlic divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped broccoli smaller, bite size pieces
1 cup diced carrots about 1 large
3/4-1 cup diced onion about 1/2 large onion
1 cup diced celery about 2 stalks

Instructions

In a medium saucepan, bring chicken stock to a boil. Add sage, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 tablespoon garlic and both rices. Cover, lower to a simmer, and cook for 40-50 minutes, stirring periodically to check that you still have water.
You want your rice to just be tender. Test it at 40 minutes. If it gets over cooked, it will be mush once you bake it.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Add onion, carrots, celery, salt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1/2 tablespoon garlic. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Add broccoli and cook an additional 5 minutes, until vegetables have just become tender.
Stir in cooked rice. Taste and add salt and pepper, if needed.
Pour rice/vegetable mixture into a greased casserole dish and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the rice just begins to crisp up on the top. Serve.