Mushroom Rice Pilaf

Name: One Pot Mushroom Rice
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 Cup Long Grain Rice; 2 Cups Cremini Mushrooms; 3 Cloves Garlic; 2 Teaspoon Fresh Sage ((1 Teaspoon Dry)); 2 Tablespoons Butter; 1 Teaspoon Salt; 1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper; 1 Cup Dry White Wine; 1 Cup Water; 1 Bouillon Cube

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This Mushroom Rice Pilaf recipe is made with hearty crimini mushrooms sauteed with sage, garlic, and white wine. These earthy ingredients perfectly flavor long grain rice and create a tasty side dish in 40 minutes that might upstage your main course.

Mushrooms and rice are a nice pair and when you add a bit of sage and wine, you get a richly flavored side dish that is perfect for fall. I use a pilaf technique to make this side dish, cooking the mushrooms and herbs as well as toasting the rice before adding water.

For more tasty rice dishes; try Easy Rice Pilaf or Bacon Fried Rice.

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Make this recipe!

Ingredients

Ingredient Substitutions

Instructions

FAQs

Expert Tips

📖 Recipe

One Pot Mushroom Rice

Make this recipe!

This recipe comes together in 40 minutes.

Tender mushrooms and butter make this mushroom rice pilaf dish very satisfying and compliments a variety of meat courses. It's a great side dish to have in your back pocket for nights when you don't know what to cook.

Fresh or dry herbs work nicely, so you will likely have most of the ingredients handy.

Dry white wine replaces half of the broth for this pilaf and add great depth of flavor to an overall earthy dish.

This Mushroom Rice recipe will quickly become a favorite dish.

You will never be accused of serving a boring side dish.

Ingredients

Long Grain Rice- American Long Grain White Rice or Jasmine Rice are good choices for this dish. The grains are lower in starch, do not require rinsing, and will stay nice and light and separate once they are cooked.

Cremini Mushrooms- This mushroom pilaf calls for cremini mushrooms. They are sometimes called Baby Bellos. I like them for their meatier texture.

Ingredient Substitutions

Button mushrooms can be substituted and will surely taste nice, but they tend to disappear when cooked for a long time.

Dry Sage can be substituted for fresh. Use half the amount of dry herbs.

Fresh or Dry Thyme is a nice substitute for sage if you don't have it on hand or if you feel like trying something different. Both sage and thyme pair well with poultry dishes.

Dry White Wine can be omitted. Simple use all broth or water and bouillon. do Make sure you keep the same proportion of liquid.

Instructions

Step 1

Clean mushrooms by removing stems, and wiping clean with a damp cloth or paper towel. Do not rinse or soak mushrooms. Slice into thick pieces.
Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Add mushrooms to the dry pan and add salt. Let them cook on medium or medium low, stir occasionally until they soften. You will know that the mushrooms are cooked because they will be tender and will have shrunk from releasing their water.

Step 2

I try to be as efficient as possible. While the mushrooms are cooking, wash sage and chop into fine pieces. Peel garlic and mince or press.
Once the mushrooms are cooked, add butter, sage, garlic, and pepper. Then, stir the mushrooms until they get a nice coating of butter.

Cooked mushrooms with butter and herbs added

Step 3

Add 1 cup of rice to the pan. Stir and let it get a nice coating of butter and flavors from the pan. Then, toast for about 2-3 minutes before adding water. Toasting is the key to any good pilaf.

Rice added to cooked herbs and mushrooms

Step 4

Add white wine, bouillon cube (broken up), and water to the pan. Then, give everything a little stir to be sure to prevent ingredients from clumping.
Finally, bring the liquid to a low simmer. Cover and let cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, all of the water should be absorbed into the rice and the grains should be tender and separate. Fluff with a fork, and serve.

FAQs

How do you clean mushrooms?

Mushrooms should never be rinsed. They act like little sponges and soak up any liquid they touch. The more water they absorb, the less taste they have.

They do, however, need to be cleaned as they grow in soft mulch and peat and remnants of the soil often make their way to the market with the mushrooms.

To clean mushrooms, take a slightly damp towel or paper towel and thoroughly brush away any dirt that clings to the mushroom flesh.

How do you keep mushrooms from turning spongy?

The first step to properly cooking mushrooms is to prevent them from absorbing excess water when cleaning. Use a damp towel to wipe the mushrooms clean.
Next, is to add them to a hot dry pan with just a dash of salt to draw out the excess water. Once they are soft, then add butter and seasonings. The mushrooms will take on the fats and flavor while retaining a meaty texture.

Why toast rice before boiling?

Warming the rice through before adding water brings out the natural nuttiness and adds great depth of flavor.

Should I rinse rice before cooking?

Long grain varieties like jasmine rice do not need to be rinsed. Save rinsing for starchy short grain varieties.

Expert Tips

Be patient with the mushrooms as they cook in the dry pan. It takes a little while for them to fully cook. If you add the water before the mushrooms are fully cooked they will have the texture of a sponge. You will know they are cooked and have given up all their water when they have shrunk in size and are really shiny and soft.

Add the butter, garlic, and sage just before adding rice to get them warmed through so that they release their full flavor without burning.

Let rice toast in butter for about 2-3 minutes. It needs to get a nice coating of fat and get a touch brown.