Mushroom Rice Pilaf – an easy homemade rice pilaf with lots of fresh mushrooms! Ditch the box mix, because this easy side dish is ready in minutes! Great side dish recipe for chicken, fish, pork, or beef.
Homemade vs Store Bought. That is the question with a lot of things. Do you have the time, is it worth the cost, how much work is it? All questions that go into whether or not you make something homemade or just buy it at the store. Homemade Brownies are hands down worth making to me. So much better than the store. A lot of things you can make at home with almost no extra work.
Cheeseburger Macaroni Skillet is a homemade hamburger helper. It probably takes 3 extra minutes to measure out the spices compared to the box mix. So worth making homemade for me. Now how about a box rice mix? I am all about easy side dishes and the boxes make it pretty easy. But I am here with this rice pilaf to show you, it will take you no more time and you can have an even tastier version if you go the homemade route.
I don’t know about you, but I struggle with side dish recipes. I can come up with main dishes for dinner, but coming up with what to serve with it is a different story. We almost always have fruit on the table, but often times you need something else. My guys aren’t huge on just veggies, so roasted green beans don’t always fly.
I grew up with having the rice side dishes from a box. You know the flavored ones. So I took a queue from that, and came up with my own homemade rice pilaf. I am all about easy side dishes, so I loved the box mix. But wanted to make a homemade version. I love mushrooms and had a lot to use up, so some kind of mushroom rice was what I had in mind. Easy Sauteed Mushrooms is another favorite when I have mushrooms on hand.
So the question is. What is Rice Pilaf? Well, simple. It is a rice dish that is usually simmered or cooked in a seasoned broth. So the different between white rice and white pilaf is really just how it is cooked. This rice pilaf recipe cooks in a chicken stock, so that is what makes it rice pilaf. Fancy name or something super easy! Told you I liked easy side dishes!
I took this from a basic rice pilaf to something special by just adding mushrooms. You could take out the mushrooms, you could add peas at the end of cooking instead. You could add green beans or asparagus. Really anything goes. I just like mushrooms, and thing they go really well with the wild rice blend I used. But this is really more of a method and you can make your rice pilaf your own!
If you like mushrooms, you will love this mushroom rice pilaf. I used a brown and wild rice blend, so the cooking time was a little longer. But you can use any rice blend you like, and adjust the cooking time accordingly.
The hands-on time for this rice is very easy and minimal. Slicing and sauteing the onions and mushrooms is about it. After that is just letting the rice cook in the liquid. This mushroom rice is full of flavor because I cooked it in chicken stock instead of just water. Such an easy switch that can give any rice dish you are making to much more flavor!
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- 1 Tbls olive oil
- 1 onion , finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic , finely chopped
- 2 (16 oz) packages mushrooms (1 used 1 white, 1 baby bella)
- 2 cups brown and wild rice blend
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onions, mushrooms and garlic. Saute until tender and mushrooms are browned. Stir in rice. Add chicken stock. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 30-45 minutes (depending on rice blend) or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in thyme. Adjust seasoning as necessary and serve.
Recipe Video
For a quick version you can check out this Brown Rice Pilaf with Pecans from Cooking Light
Erin S
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Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
Mushroom side dishes are my go-to too! Loving this pilaf!
Chandra@The Plaid & Paisley Kitchen says
I have the same problem! I always make casseroles so I don’t feel the need to pressure myself to come up with something. I love the boxed rice you are talking about and I am going to ditch that and make this instead! Thanks so much for sharing.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I love pilaf and this sounds wonderful! Love the addition of the wild rice, it adds such great texture!
Ginny McMeans says
I love this so much I would eat it as a main dish! Love those rice blends too!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
I don’t cook rice nearly often enough, but always really enjoy it when I do! This looks so yummy, and nice and simple too. Definitely one to try!
Medeja says
Mushroom and rice.. Yummy! This pilaf looks very delicious!
Katerina @ Diethood says
This pilaf is totally my jam! It’s what I eat thrice a week! 😀
Michelle | A Dish of Daily Life says
Yum! My youngest son is the only one in the house that likes mushrooms besides me. Sometimes I make dishes with them as a treat for us and everyone picks out the mushrooms and gives them to us. When my middle child goes to college (one is already there), it’s going to be mushroom-palooza around here! Definitely trying this!
Erren @Erren's Kitchen says
I LOVE Mushroom rice dishes! This looks fantastic!
Erin @ Texanerin Baking says
I had to come over and check out what this is all about. Interesting! My husband would LOVE this. Maybe if he’s really nice I’ll make it for him. 😉 And at least you put fruit on the table. I provide the main dish and my husband has to make his own veggies. 😀
Cynthia/What A Girl Eats says
Hard to go wrong with mushrooms and rice! That’s a meal on its own for me!
Aleena says
Will adding some Orzo to this recipe work? If so, how much would you suggest?
Erin S says
You can definitely add a little orzo, you would just need to increase the liquid as well. I might try 1/2 cup orzo and increase liquid by 1/2 cup (keeping everything else the same). Let me know how it turns out!
Meghan says
This is such a great side dish for any meal!
Dorothy at Shockinglydelish says
Sounds like my kind of side dish! I love the mushrooms, but love that you gave other suggestions too!
Jamielyn says
So easy and delicious!
Michael Wurm Jr says
Wow! This looks so delicious! I can’t wait to try!
xo Michael
Brandy O'Neill says
Love mushrooms and definitely saving to make soon!
Krista says
We are mushrooms lovers so I know we will love this so much!
Cathy says
I’m seriously in love with mushrooms…I’d make a whole meal out of this!
Beth says
I could eat this every week!!!
Kristen says
I love how simple this recipe is! I have a chicken recipe that this is a perfect side dish for. Thanks for sharing it!