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Creamed Spinach and Wild Rice Casserole. A mix between your classic green bean casserole, a spinach soufflé, and a bowl of French onion soup. It’s not your traditional side, but it’s so delicious. Caramelized yellow onions with baby spinach (or use kale) in a cream sauce with fresh thyme and sage. Wild rice is then mixed in and the casserole is topped with Gruyère cheese. When baked together the creamed spinach and nutty wild rice create the perfect balance. The cheese just makes the casserole even yummier. Make this casserole ahead of time for an easy holiday side that everyone will love.
Thanksgiving is less than a week away. Not sure how we got to this point of the year already, but the holidays are here. The stores are filled with Christmas decorations, gifts, and toys. Turkeys, yams, and hams are everywhere. There’s a lot of rush-rush, stress, and excitement.
I love every minute of this season. Even with some of the stress, it’s fun having so much happening. So many things to share, cook, bake, eat, and hopefully enjoy. The holidays are magical in my eyes!
I’ve been enjoying sharing Thanksgiving dishes all week long. This is the last side dish I’m sharing before the Thanksgiving holiday and it’s such a yummy one! Next week I’ll focus on easy dinners and quick appetizers to share with our guests and family. Everyone will be arriving soon!
When it comes to Thanksgiving dishes, I grew up with the basics. Roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes and rolls. My brothers and I never bothered with the green beans or any of that other “adult” food.
When we moved to Colorado I started cooking a lot of the Thanksgiving meal. I became a little more adventurous. I was baking popovers and roasting spaghetti squash. But truthfully, the green bean casserole has never been of interest to me.
So instead, one year I made a version of this wild rice casserole. Ever since that year, I’ve made it every Thanksgiving! It was inspired by the classic green bean casserole, but in reality, it’s pretty different
It’s loaded up with creamed spinach (or kale), wild rice, and plenty of melty cheese on top. It’s kind of a mix between a spinach soufflé and yummy French onion soup!
Step 1: caramelize the onions and cook the greens
Use sweet yellow onions and begin cooking them down until they are soft. Then add all of the spinach, or try using kale. Allow the greens to slowly cook along with the onions until they are wilted.
At this point, the onions should be pretty caramelized. Add a couple of tablespoons of butter, garlic, fresh thyme, sage, and poultry seasoning.
Step 2: add the cream
Next mix in the cream cheese, cream, and milk. Simmer the cream sauce until it thickens just a bit.
Then remove the creamed spinach from the heat.
Step 3: mix in the wild rice
Spread the cooked wild rice out and into a casserole dish. Pour the creamed spinach over the rice, gently mixing to combine. You can cook the wild rice at home or use precooked wild rice. Many stores like Trader Joe’s sell cooked, frozen wild rice. That works perfectly too!
Next, add the cheese. I love to use melty, sweet, and sharp Gruyère cheese. It’s a great cheese to pair with the onions and rice.
Step 4: bake
Bake the casserole until the cheese is melty and the edges begin to crisp.
It might seem simple, but that browned, golden top really adds another layer of deliciousness to the rice that makes everyone want more.
Serve this up warm with some fresh thyme for added color.
I’m excited to share this recipe with not only you but family and friends as well. This is one of my mom’s favorite sides.
The next question is, what will you be pairing this casserole with? The obvious answer for Thanksgiving is turkey. But come December, over here it will be the pot roast I can’t stop making it.
Looking for other easy Thanksgiving sides?? Here are my favorites:
Make Ahead Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Crispy Parmesan Thyme Sweet Potato Stacks
Sweet Potato Casserole with Sweet ‘n’ Savory Bacon Pecans
Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Caramelized Onions
Lastly, if you make this Creamed Spinach and Wild Rice Casserole, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
How far in advance could this dish be prepared? For example, could it be assembled in the morning, kept in the frig and then baked later in the day for dinner?
Hi Mary,
Sure, that would totally work well for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Do you cook the rice first
Hi Lani,
Yes, you are going to cook the wild rice first. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
I made this for dinner tonight I used a cast iron Dutch Oven ! I was afraid my casserole dish was too small It turned out great! My dad loved it! I did add some bacon crumbles to the top for him and a side of cornbread
It wasn’t necessary because the mushrooms and onions added so much flavor OMGOODNESS Yes I will make this again for my Vegetarian when she comes home and the old ? gave it 5 ⭐️ s We all did!
Hey Lisa,
Wonderful!! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for giving it a go:) xTieghan
Absolutely fantastic! My family’s new fave comfort food. We used a combo of brown rice and black rice and my picky kids were none the wiser. Will be making this as often as I can.
Hey Carolin,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a go! xxT
Hi, I have 10 guests coming to stay for two weeks! I found this in your make ahead freezer meals. Can you please tell me how/when to freeze and how to double please?This looks so delicious. And if you have any other freezer side dishes or stews maybe I would greatly appreciate them too!
Thank you, Cindy
Hi there,
To double, just double all of the ingredients:) To freeze, I would freeze after step 4. Lasagnas would be a great idea to make ahead and freeze for your guests. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Where does the rice go? When do you add it?
Hi Benjamin,
The rice is added in step 4 and poured into the casserole dish. I hope you love the recipe. xTieghan
Thank you!! I’ll let you know what the crowd thinks?
I have made this at least half a dozen times. Vegetarian friendly and easy vegan substitutes. It is always a great hit with others and I love making this with leftovers to freeze as a side dish or a meal on its own. It’s now 2021, and I still think of this recipe from time to time. Love it!
Hey Tatiana,
Thanks so much for trying out this recipe, I am thrilled that you liked it! I hope you have a great week:) xTieghan
Hi Tatiana! Which vegan substitutes did you use? Thanks!
Writing in from 2021 to say; wow! I loved this recipe and it made dinner for the week a breeze. I added shredded chicken (pre-cooked and seasoned in the slow cooker) so I could have an excuse to have a one-dish meal all week. I didn’t have enough wild rice so I used a wild rice/long grain blend from Uncle Ben (including seasoning) and left out some of the salt there at the end to accomodate the sodium increase. Awesome! In the future, I’ll probably try an aged swiss cheese next time–I felt the gruyere wasn’t quite powerful enough for me.
Hey Eliza,
I am thrilled that you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
This was amazing! Great directions (especially the mushrooms part) and sooo delicious. I halved the recipe and substituted black rice for wild because that’s what I had on hand. My spouse asked if I could make this every week, it’s so good!
Hey Elizabeth,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
This recipe would be delicious with real wild rice; the toothsome smokiness of the long, dark grains marry well with the rest of the ingredients. From the pictures above, it seems you are using a commercial brown rice blend. The blends available bare no resemblance to actual wild rice. In fact, wild rice is not rice at all but an aquatic grass. If you are unfamiliar with actual hand-harvested wild rice, you owe it to yourself to try it out. Sourcing actual wild rice may take a few Google moments and will cost more than you think: hand-harvested in northern Minnesota and Canada! Of course, there are a few commercial vendors who sell cultivated “wild” rice in supermarkets but trust me, it isn’t the same.
Thank you for this! xTieghan
I want to throw it out there that even if you complete ever step with perfect precision at maximum speed, the last two steps alone account for all of the supposed 40-minute cook time. It is literally physically impossible to make this in 50 minutes.
Hi Alex! Thank you for this. I will look into the cooking time again! xTieghan
This is delicious. Made it last night. My produce box had a lovely bouquet of kale in it, plus sweet onions and criminis. Self Isolation cooking is all about substitutions — No wild rice, no gruyere. I used Jarlsberg cheese and brown rice since that’s what I had on hand. Delicious, I say again!! We really enjoyed it. Looking forward to making it with wild rice once life settles down. Thank you!
Yes!! So glad this turned out so well for you Staci! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Why can we not print the recipe anymore?
Hi Lori! You are still able to print the recipe! Is the print button not showing up for you? Please let me know, I would love to help and fix! xTieghan
Do you think fresh sage could be subbed for the thyme by chance?? Trying to use what’s already in the fridge! 😛 Thanks!
Hi! I am sure that will be so great! Love that idea! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
I cannot wait until I can buy the ingredients and I am so hungry right now!! as soon as I can, this is my top recipe to make. I wish I had invented this one myself and I cannot wait to make it!! Thank you!
Thank you so much Lisa! I am so glad you loved this! xTieghan
2 leaves Kale? How many cups? Or did you mean bunches
Hi! Yes, I meant to say 2 bunches of kale. Recipe is fix. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much and happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
HI,
Just about to try this out. I’m wondering about how many cups of kale is 2 bunches? I’m picking it from the garden so no bunches 🙂
thanks
Hey Kate,
I would say 3-4 cups. I hope you love this dish, please let me know if you give it a try! xx