Thanksgiving Baked Rice
The No Fuss Way To Pure Thanksgiving Comfort
This Thanksgiving Baked Rice is an easy holiday side dish made with canned turkey, wild rice soup, sautéed celery and onion, and a hint of classic Thanksgiving spices for an alternative to potatoes. Everything bakes together into a warm, buttery, hearty, and perfectly tender rice casserole that provides lots of flavor with almost zero effort.
My Baked Rice recipe on The Tipsy Housewife has been quite popular for quite some time. I was recently asked if I had any good recipes for rice for Thanksgiving and I had a lightbulb moment where I came up with this idea for a twist on my Baked Rice.
This is so simple, it is sort of a set it and forget it recipe. Just be sure to keep an eye on the cook time the first time you make this.
Every oven temps differently, so you want to make sure the rice is not getting too dry.
Canned Soup For Life
I love a good canned soup recipe. At this point, Campbells should really sponsor me LOL!
I will still use and love their soups even if they don’t want to keep me supplied. This Campbell’s Chunky Smoked Turkey and Wild Rice Soup is one of the soups in the bigger red can.
Pay attention in the market so you buy the right one. You need to have the right amount of liquid for this recipe.
When you pour out the can, there is cooked rice already in the soup. Do not worry about this.
It will blend in just fine with the rice that is baking up. The smoked turkey bits in this soup add so much flavor!
Extra Veggies
I love the addition of the celery and onion in this rice. You can use a lot more celery and onion in this recipe if you like.
What I put in the recipe card seemed like enough for me but I would like to try it with more celery. This adds great flavor, texture, and that Thanksgiving flair.
Add Nuts
I was thinking that next time I would like to add some toasted, slivered almonds to this recipe to make it more of like a rice almondine flavor. I think this would be really great and add some interesting texture.
Lots Of Liquid
When you add all this to the baking dish it is going to seem like a lot of liquid. Do not worry about this.
This has a longer cook time and all of the liquid will get absorbed. The rice comes out perfectly cooked with this amount of liquid slow roasting the rice.
Butter Is Better
There is a lot of butter in the overall recipe because this is what makes the rice perfect. You will be just fine with this amount of butter.
This amount of butter is what the rice needs to cook properly. Do not sell yourself short on the butter.
If this is too much butter for you, I do not need to hear about it. Just do not make the recipe.
Out Of The Oven
When your rice comes out of the oven you will see all the bits on the top. You have to let the rice rest for a few minutes and then you will fluff the whole thing with a fork.
It will not look like this after you fluff. Instead it will have the delicious bits throughout.
Thanksgiving Baked Rice Recipe
This Thanksgiving Baked Rice is a cozy, creamy side dish made with canned turkey and wild rice soup. Sautéed celery and onion add classic holiday flavors and smells, while a touch of dried sage and poultry seasoning brings that warm Thanksgiving taste. It bakes up perfectly tender, comforting, and always a crowd-pleaser on the holiday table.
Ingredients
- 2 cans Campbell’s Chunky Turkey & Wild Rice Soup (18.6 oz each)
- 1/2 cup water
- 10 tablespoons butter, divided
- 2 cups white rice
- 1 to 2 celery stalks, finely diced
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
- Pinch dried sage
- Pinch poultry seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Rinse the rice very well in a strainer, then add it to a 9×13 baking dish.
- In a skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of butter. Add the diced onion and celery and sauté until softened.
- Stir in the celery salt, dried sage, poultry seasoning, and black pepper; sauté for another couple of minutes.
- Add the two cans of soup to the skillet. Pour the ½ cup water into the empty cans, shake to loosen any remaining soup, and add this liquid to the skillet. Bring everything to a quick boil, then turn off the heat.
- Pour the hot soup mixture over the rice in the baking dish and stir to combine.
- Cut the remaining 7 tablespoons of butter into small pieces and scatter them evenly over the top.
- Cover tightly with a single sheet of foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes, keeping an eye on it as ovens vary. The liquid should be absorbed and the edges lightly crisp.
- Remove from the oven, let rest 5 minutes, then fluff the rice with a fork before serving.