Sausage Cranberry Rice Pilaf with Sweet Potato is a hearty, flavorful dish combining savory sausage, sweet cranberries, and tender sweet potatoes. Perfect as a cozy side or main dish!
This sausage cranberry rice pilaf with sweet potato is the perfect blend between sweet and savory. The wild rice is cooked with ground turkey, sweet potato, dried cranberries, and seasoned with herbs. It’s hearty, healthy, and has all the flavors you’re looking for as the weather starts to cool down. This makes for a perfect dinner and reheats well for lunch the next day.
Oh my goodness guys, this one is a hit in our home. This recipe started with a sweet potato. There are so many things you can do with a sweet potato like sweet potato casserole or sweet potato fries but this is different. The sweet potato in this rice pilaf is just enough while not being too much at all. Everyone loved this and I’m hoping you will too. This recipe is a little timely but so worth it.
Does The Rice Type Matter?
The type of rice you use in this recipe does and does not matter. What I mean by that is you don’t have to use wild rice you can use any rice you have on hand but keep in mind that the rice-to-liquid ratio may change. The cooking time will definitely change. The wild rice I used contains 4-5 types of rice and is required to cook for upwards of 45 minutes. If you’re using basmati or a short grain rice you’ll want to adjust the cook time. I suggest using the suggested instructions on the bag as a guide but keep in mind that it may take a little longer.
How Long Does It Store?
We love making this for dinner. It reheats so well for leftovers and it’s also perfect for meal prepping. After it’s cooked you can keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a meal you can make now and store later this one works for that. You can also store this in the freezer for up to a month. To reheat you can thaw in your refrigerator for a day or two and reheat.
Want to make it healthier?
With wild rice, sweet potatoes, and dried cranberries, it’s a healthy delicious meal but to make it even healthier I recommend substituting the sausage for ground turkey. Ground turkey is less fatty and is better for you. I have made this recipe with both ground turkey and sausage and both variations are delicious but I actually prefer making this with ground turkey. When you season ground turkey with herbs, Worcestershire, caraway, and anise I find that the flavor starts to resemble that of a sausage. I recommend you try it, I don’t think you’ll regret it at all.
Sausage Cranberry Rice Pilaf with Sweet Potato
Ingredients
- 1 sweet potato peeled and chopped
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 lb sausage or ground turkey
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 1 teaspoon anise
- ½ teaspoon italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ½ cup sliced carrots
- 1 celery stalk
- 1 onion chopped
- ¼ cup white wine
- 2 tablespoons worcestershire
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1 ½ cup wild rice
- ½ cup cranberries
Instructions
- Add your sweet potato and cinnamon stick to a pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil until your sweet potato can be pierced with a fork. About 7-10 minutes. Once done, strain the sweet potatoes and reserve your cinnamon stick. Set aside.
- In a skillet, add your sausage or ground turkey over medium heat and begin to sauté. Season with caraway seeds, anise, italian seasoning, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Once cooked, strain the sausage/turkey and set aside.
- In the same skillet add 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat along with the carrots, celery, cinnamon stick, and onion. Sautee until the onion is translucent and the carrot and celery begin to soften. Once softened, deglaze the pan with white wine.
- Add worcestershire, soy sauce, beef broth, wild rice, and the ground turkey to the skillet. Stir well combining everything. Bring to a simmer and place the lid over top of the skillet and let cook for around 45 minutes or until your rice is cooked.
- Once your rice is cooked add the cranberries and sweet potatoes. Remove the cinnamon stick and serve warm
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