Roasted Chicken Stuffed with Wild Rice is a succulent and flavorful roast chicken dish. It features juicy chicken with crispy skin, tasty herbs, and vegetable wild rice. This roast chicken recipe is great for entertaining or weeknight meal planning.
While this roasted chicken looks and feels like comfort food, it's surprisingly healthy and even gluten-free. The combination of herbs and wild rice make for a deliciously herby and fragrant dish. You will want to add this Roasted Chicken Stuffed with Wild Rice to your weekly dinner rotation.
My mom is an incredibly talented chef and can make even the simplest dishes taste like the best thing you've eaten. This Roasted Chicken Stuffed with Wild Rice is an example. We made it in my Staub Cast Iron Coq au Vin Cocotte, 5.75-Quart with some baker's twine, making for an easy cleanup with minimal dishes to wash. It's such a simple meal to prep and it makes for a hearty, delicious dinner.
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Why You'll Love This Roasted Chicken
- Taste - The combination of herby chicken and flavorful wild rice are perfectly savory and hearty.
- Texture - The chicken is crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside while the rice and vegetables are soft and moist.
- Effort - It takes a little elbow grease to prepare both the chicken and wild rice, but it is well worth it given how delicious this dish is and how many nights you can enjoy it.
- Time - It only takes 15 minutes to mix the ingredients together and about 30 minutes of baking.
Key Ingredients
- Whole roasting chicken - the skin and bones of a whole chicken result in rich flavors. Choose organic and free-range for even better flavor and to support cleaner, better farming practices.
- Butter - locks in the moisture and makes the skin golden and extra crispy.
- Onion - an aromatic that enhances the other flavors. When stuffed
- Carrots - a sweet root vegetable that come in different colors, including orange, purple, red, white, and yellow.Â
- Celery ribs - add a mild crunch to the dish.
- Mushrooms - We use crimini mushrooms because they have the flavor and texture of a portobello mushroom, but are much smaller and easier to make.
- Wild rice blend - Use a blend of wild rice and basmati to make the rice perfectly light and fluffy.
- Vegetable or chicken broth -  Offers a light and savory flavor that won't overwhelm your palate.
- Herbs - Sage, rosemary and thyme are fragrant, perennial evergreen herbs that add an herbaceous flavor to the vegetable rice.
How to Make Perfect Wild Rice
- Cook the vegetables - Over medium heat, add olive oil to a medium skillet. Then add onions, carrots, and celery, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Stir wild rice - Stir in wild rice and cook wild rice until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.
- Cook remaining ingredients - Once the wild rice is lightly browned, stir in kosher salt, pepper, sage, thyme, rosemary, and mushrooms and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Simmer broth - Slowly add the broth to the cooked wild rice one cup at a time and stir the mixture so the broth is well-incorporated. Turn down to low heat, cover, and allow the rice to simmer until the broth is completely absorbed, about 15 minutes.
- Fluff rice - Drain excess liquid then fluff the rice.
Instructions for the Roast Chicken
- Preheat the oven - Preheat oven to 425ºF. Take the chicken and remove the giblets. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel.
- Stuff chicken with wild rice - Stuff the chicken with a couple cups of Vegetable Wild Rice, the sprigs of thyme, and the sprigs of rosemary. Spoon the remaining rice stuffing around the inside perimeter of the dutch oven and place the chicken inside of the dutch oven.
- Season - Brush the chicken with the butter, covering the entire top and sides of the chicken. Sprinkle with finely chopped sage, rosemary, thyme, kosher salt, and cracked pepper. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the onion and truss the chicken legs by simply tying them together with baker's twine.
- Cook chicken - Place the lid on the dutch oven and cook in the oven for 1 hour. Remove dutch oven lid and cook for an additional 20-30 minutes, or until the chicken is golden and crispy. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest while covered for 15 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy - Place on a serving platter with the wild rice.
What to Serve with Roast Chicken
This stuffed chicken recipe is a complete meal on its own, but if you are looking to add an additional side that will pair well with this dish, check these out:
- French Green Beans with Furikake
- Whole Roasted Pumpkin
- Herb and Mushroom Stuffing mix
- Turkey Au Jus Gravy
- Kale Harvest Salad
Substitutions
- Lemons - Stuff the chicken with herbs, thyme, and lemon to add a yummy citrus and herby flavor.
- Orange - Stuff the chicken with orange instead of a lemon for a fragrant and different citrus taste.
Variations
- Paprika, Red Pepper Flakes or Freshly Ground Black Pepper - Season the chicken with either of these to add a spicy kick.
- Onion powder - Onion powder packs extra onion flavor into the dish.
- Garlic powder - Sprinkle the chicken with garlic powder to make the dish extra garlicky.
- Poultry - Add poultry seasoning for extra herbaceous flavor.
Equipment
To make this roast chicken and rice recipe, you will need basic kitchen equipment, including a dutch oven, knife, cutting board, mixing bowl, a non-stick pan or standard skillet, knife, cutting board, and wooden spoon. To explore more kitchen items to make your kitchen complete, head to our Kitchen Essentials Shop.
Storage
The way you store leftover chicken will depend on how much leftover chicken you have. If you need to store most of the chicken, store it in the fridge in the covered dutch oven to lock in the moisture. Alternatively, carve the chicken and store it in air-tight containers with the chicken rice and juices. Store the chicken and rice in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, heat the oven to 350°F place in a baking dish or on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until hot.
Top Tip
Make sure the chicken is completely defrosted before you begin preparing it. If the chicken is too cold, the meat will get tough when you cook it due to the temperature change.
Why Buy a Whole Chicken?
One reason to buy a whole roast chicken is that it’s cheaper per pound than buying chicken pieces. Additionally, the bones and skin create a superior flavor to boneless, skinless chicken. After all of the meat is eaten, boil the leftover chicken carcass in a pot of water with carrots, onion, and herbs to make chicken stock for other recipes.
Equipment
This roast chicken recipe requires kitchen essentials. For the roast chicken, you will need a knife, cutting board, mixing bowl, baker's twine, and baking dish, dutch oven, roasting pan, or a braiser. For the vegetable wild rice, you will also need a non-stick pan or standard skillet, and wooden spoon.
Related Recipes
Did You Like this Recipe?
Love this roasted chicken recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment below. If you are looking for a similar recipe for chicken wings, try our Italian Rosemary Wings.
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📖 Recipe
Roasted Chicken Stuffed with Wild Rice
Equipment
- 1 knife
Ingredients
Vegetable Wild Rice
- 3 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Onion chopped
- 2 Carrots chopped
- 2 Celery ribs chopped
- 1 cup Mushrooms chopped
- 2 cups Wild rice blend
- 4 cups 4 cups Chicken or vegetable broth
- 4-5 Sage leaves chopped
- 2 tablespoon Rosemary (2-3 sprigs) chopped
- 1 teaspoon Thyme (2-3 sprigs)
Roast Chicken
- 1 5lb Whole roasting chicken
- 3 tablespoon Butter melted
- 1 teaspoon thyme (2-3 sprigs)
- 2 tablespoon rosemary (2-3 sprigs)
- 4-5 Sage leaves chopped
- 1 Small onion
- Kosher Salt
- Pepper, freshly cracked
Instructions
Vegetable Wild Rice
- Cook the vegetables - Over low-medium heat, add olive oil to a medium skillet. Add onions, carrots, and celery, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.3 tablespoon Olive Oil, 1 Onion, 2 Carrots, 2 Celery ribs
- Stir wild rice - Stir in wild rice and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.2 cups Wild rice blend
- Cook remaining ingredients - Once the rice is lightly browned, stir in salt, pepper, sage, thyme, rosemary, and mushrooms and cook for an additional 2 minutes.4-5 Sage leaves, 2 tablespoon Rosemary (2-3 sprigs), 1 teaspoon Thyme (2-3 sprigs), Kosher Salt, Pepper, freshly cracked, 1 cup Mushrooms
- Simmer broth - Slowly add in the broth one cup at a time and stir the mixture so the broth is well-incorporated. Turn down to low heat, cover, and allow the rice to simmer until the broth is completely absorbed, about 15 minutes.4 cups 4 cups Chicken or vegetable broth
- Fluff rice then serve - Drain excess liquid then fluff the rice.
Roast Chicken
- Preheat the oven - Preheat oven to 425ºF. Take the chicken and remove the giblets. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel.1 5lb Whole roasting chicken
- Stuff chicken with wild rice - Stuff the chicken with a couple cups of Vegetable Wild Rice Blend, the sprigs of thyme, and the sprigs of rosemary. Spoon the remaining wild rice around the inside perimeter of the dutch oven and place the chicken inside of the dutch oven.1 teaspoon thyme (2-3 sprigs), 2 tablespoon rosemary (2-3 sprigs)
- Season - Brush the chicken with the butter, covering the entire top and sides of the chicken. Sprinkle with chopped sage, rosemary, thyme, kosher salt, and cracked pepper. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the onion and truss the chicken legs by simply tying them together with baker's twine.3 tablespoon Butter, 4-5 Sage leaves, 1 Small onion
- Cook chicken - Place the lid on the dutch oven and cook in the oven for 1 hour. Remove dutch oven lid and cook for an additional 20-30 minutes, or until the chicken is golden and crispy. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest while covered for 15 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy - Place on a serving platter with the wild rice.
Notes
- The way you store leftover chicken will depend on the amount of leftover chicken you have. If you need to store most of the chicken, store it in the refrigerator in the covered dutch oven to lock in the moisture. Alternatively, carve the chicken and refrigerate it in air-tight containers with the chicken rice and juices for up to 3 days. To reheat, heat the oven to 350°F place chicken in a baking dish or on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until hot.
- Make sure the chicken is completely defrosted before you begin preparing it. If the chicken is too cold, the meat will get tough when you cook it because of the temperature change.
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