Butternut Squash Wild Rice Pilaf is a tasty and unique ONE-PAN meal! We roast together seasoned wild rice, smoked chicken & apple sausage, maple butternut squash, and perfectly caramelized brussels sprouts and then drizzled in an irresistible maple-orange vinaigrette. (That’s right — even the wild rice cooks on the sheet pan along with everything else!)
Butternut Squash Wild Rice Pilaf
One of my family’s all-time favorites is this Wild Rice Pilaf recipe. And although it’s ridiculously good, it is more of a side dish than a main course and can be a bit time intensive to prepare since the wild rice takes so long to cook.
And so, in an attempt to get more of that pilaf in our lives, but in a simpler (and quicker) way, we developed this Butternut Squash Wild Rice Pilaf. It’s packed with butternut squash, roasted brussels sprouts, and perfectly caramelized red onions. And instead of being a salad or side dish, we’ve bulked it up with more wild rice and added in chicken sausage–so now it’s a full-on main course.
This Butternut Squash Wild Rice Pilaf is truly the ultimate all-in-one meal and it’s filling, hearty, nutritious, and loaded with textures and flavors. And after enjoying a delicious meal, everyone’s going to be even more excited to find out there is only one sheet pan to clean up!
You Can Cook Wild Rice On A Sheet Pan?!
Yes! With a store-bought shortcut, we can have delicious cooked rice in a matter of minutes!
In order for Butternut Squash Wild Rice Pilaf to work, we need Ready Rice/Microwaveable Packaged Rice. Ready rice is a type of rice that is already cooked and just needs to be heated to warm through. Instead of cooking it in the microwave, we add it to the sheet pan with the veggies and sausage and roast it — easy, quick, and convenient!
You’ll find this type of packaged rice among other packets of rice and grains in the grocery store. There are lots of different flavors of microwaveable packaged rice, so be sure to pick “Long Grain & Wild with Herbs & Seasonings.”
This Butternut Squash Wild Rice Pilaf recipe is created with the assumption that you’ll be using already-seasoned wild rice. While you can use a different flavor or even throw on some leftover cooked wild rice, you will then need to adjust seasonings a bit to compensate for using unseasoned rice.
The only prep required for this type of rice is kneading the rice in the packet before opening it. This helps break apart any clumps of rice so it comes out in individual grains.
Butternut Squash Wild Rice Pilaf Ingredients
- Sausage. Any smoked sausage works here, and we like smoked chicken apple sausage best (Aidells Smoked Chicken & Apple is our fave; not sponsored); it keeps things nice and healthy, plus tastes great — the flavors pair well with all the other ingredients in this recipe. Turkey sausage is another favorite in this recipe and works nicely. Just remember to use smoked sausage, which is already cooked.
- Butternut squash. You can tell a squash is ripe by the color and texture of the outer rind. If there are any green spots, the squash isn’t ready to cook. The skin should be hard (not glossy) and an even color throughout. Here are step-by-step photos for how to cut squash or see “quick tip” below for a squash shortcut!
- Red onion. The red onion caramelizes beautifully and adds such a nice flavor and texture to the pilaf. You can also use a yellow onion in a pinch.
- Brussels sprouts. Look for bright green heads that are firm and feel heavy for their size. Avoid sprouts with yellowing leaves or black spots–that means they’re old!
Quick Tip
Veggie Recipe Shortcuts: Pick up peeled and chopped butternut squash and halved Brussels sprouts from the produce section of your store — both are huge time savers if you’re looking for a shortcut when making this Butternut Squash Wild Rice Pilaf!
Butternut Squash Wild Rice Pilaf Ingredients, Continued
- Seasonings. We use salt and pepper (of course), and then a touch of dried parsley and thyme. You don’t need a whole ton of seasonings since the sausage and rice are both seasoned and we’re adding a dressing on top!
- Olive oil and pure maple syrup. Roast the veggies in olive oil and pure maple syrup–this gives loads of flavor and beautiful caramelization.
- Chopped pecans. We love the crunch and savoriness pecans add, but if you’re feeling adventurous, try pepitas, almonds, or walnuts instead!
- Sweetened dried cranberries. The cranberries (or dried tart cherries) add a pop of color and sweetness to this recipe.
Quick Tip
What is a pilaf? Pilaf is a grain dish cooked in stock or broth, adding spices, and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat. One feature of a pilaf is that the grains are separate, rather than in a thick sauce.
Butternut Squash Wild Rice Pilaf Dressing
This sweet-tart dressing is the perfect finishing touch! We use clementine orange juice to infuse the dressing with a lovely citrus flavor. The dressing is very subtle but ties everything together so nicely. A few notes on the dressing:
- This citrus juicer makes juicing the clementines a breeze!
- Make sure to use Dijon mustard, not yellow. There’s a big flavor difference. We love Grey Poupon® Dijon best (not sponsored).
- Use pure maple syrup (not artificially flavored pancake syrup) when you roast the squash and also for the dressing. Pancake syrup will be too sweet and is not the flavor we’re going for.
Butternut Squash Wild Rice Pilaf Tips
- When cutting veggies (especially butternut squash) use a very sharp knife. Dull knives don’t cut well and you can end up with a disaster! Additionally, the more even the pieces are, the more evenly everything will roast. It may seem like a lot of veggies, but you’ll be amazed how much they cook down!
- Wait for the oven to fully preheat. It might be tempting to start roasting everything a little early, but the cooking time will be off and roasting will be inconsistent. Position the tray in the center of the oven for even roasting.
- Season as you go. You might be surprised how much salt and pepper we use in this recipe, but veggies require a lot for the flavors to “come alive.” Instead of adding salt and pepper all at the end, we season each individual component of the dish to end up with the best possible flavor. If you’ve ever thought vegetables taste dull, it could be because of how they’re seasoned.
- Add garnishes. The finishing touch of adding fresh herbs and/or some cheese ties everything together. We love a combination of flat-leaf Italian parsley and green onions, but even just one herb will make an amazing difference! We also love some goat cheese sprinkled on top of everything — so good! If you aren’t a fan of goat cheese, feta is also a nice flavor and this pilaf is great without any cheese at all!
Quick Tip
When you season throughout the cooking process, flavor infuses each bite– which helps the dish to become as delicious as possible. It’s not enough to simply sprinkle salt and pepper on at the end!
My top tip for this recipe
Use a LARGE sheet pan. I know, it sounds so basic, but the more space the vegetables and sausage have to cook (and the less crowded they are), the better they roast.
When vegetables overlap or crowd onto a sheet pan, they end up steaming instead of roasting, which greatly affects the end taste and texture; it also takes longer for everything to cook when there is less space.
I recommend this 15×21-inch sheet pan or using two pans to cook this Butternut Squash Wild Rice Pilaf.
More Easy One-Pan Meals
- One-Skillet Sweet Potato Burrito Bowl with black beans and veggies
- Harvest Vegetables and Sausage with Parmesan cheese
- White Bean Gnocchi with turkey sausage
- Tuna Pasta with sweet peas
- Chicken Pot Pie Pasta with rotisserie chicken!
Butternut Squash Wild Rice Pilaf
Equipment
- Sheet pan 15 x 21-inch
Ingredients
Sheet Pan
- 3 cups cubed butternut squash
- 1-1/2 cups chopped red onion
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- Salt and pepper see note 1
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 (12-ounce) package smoked chicken sausage
- 2 (8.8-ounce) packages Wild Rice Pilaf pre-cooked
- 2 cups halved Brussels sprouts
- 1/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans
- 1/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries
- Toppings as desired see note 2
Dressing
- 1-1/2 tablespoon clementine juice or orange juice
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
- 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425℉. Set out a 15 x 21-inch sheet pan or 2 smaller sheet pans. Peel the squash and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Cut the red onion into 1-inch chunks. Trim and cut Brussels sprouts in half. Thinly slice chicken sausage into coins. The recipe timing depends on vegetables cut to these sizes.
- Prepare all dressing ingredients in a jar. Put on the lid and shake vigorously to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use, being sure to shake before adding.
- On the large sheet pan, add the squash, red onions, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, and salt and pepper to taste. I add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. With your hands, toss to generously coat everything and then spread in an even layer, leaving plenty of space for the veggies to roast. Add the tray to the preheated oven and roast for 10 minutes.
- Remove sheet pan from oven and add the Brussels sprouts, 1 more tablespoon olive oil, and another pinch of salt and pepper. I add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Toss everything together, spread in an even layer, and return to the oven for 10 more minutes.
- Remove from the oven, add sliced chicken sausage, and toss everything together. Again, spread in one even layer and return to the oven.
- Without opening the rice packets, knead and break up the rice with your hands to separate it into individual grains. No need to microwave or prepare the rice in any other way! Remove the pan from the oven and add rice, cranberries, pecans, parsley, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss everything together with a spatula, spread in an even layer, and return to the oven for 2 minutes.
- Remove the tray from the oven and toss once more. Drizzle on the dressing to preference and toss everything once more. Garnish with fresh herbs and cheese and enjoy immediately!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is rediculously good! I made a it for last Thanksgiving’s dinner, and saved a third, (there were only 5 adults) to make Thanksgiving soup! With shredded Turkey breast meat and stock and broth, juice of another orange as well as half a lemon, green beans, Pearl onions, shredded carrots and celery, the soup was amazing in January— right when you really wish you had another holiday to celebrate. It’s great alone or over mashed potatoes and garnished with steamed peas and toasted pecans and cranberries. Serve with a potato garlic bread.
Delish! I am so thrilled to hear this! Thank you so much Mary! 🙂
Is 1 squash enough or will 2 be needed?
Unless its teeny, 1 squash should be plenty! 🙂
I have some regular (not pouches) of wild rice that I would like to use for this recipe. Can this be substituted and does it need to be precooked before adding it to the pan?
Yes, it would need to be fully cooked before adding to the pan 🙂 The pan will just warm it though again!
Hi there! I’m a bit confused about the amount of rice/number of packets. The mise en place image shows 2 packets, the pile of rice on the sheet pan looks like more than one packet, and the actual instructions say to break up rice chunks ‘without opening the rice packets’ but the ingredient list says to only buy 1 packet of rice, 8.8oz. Which do you recommend, 1 or 2 packets?
I’m so sorry Chelsey! Thanks for pointing that out, 2 packages is best for this recipe 🙂
Hey, your sister here! We just had this for dinner and it was seriously mind blowing! Soo easy and everyone loved it! It’s the perfect fall meal!
Yay! So happy to hear that 🙂
As your sister, I have to say we just had this for dinner and it was seriously mind blowing! Soo easy and everyone loved it! It’s the perfect fall meal!
Yay! So happy to hear that 🙂