Yes you heard this right. Thanksgiving fried rice. I’m not going to lie, this is a very strange recipe. But it also tastes really good! I got the idea from a seasonal frozen food at Trader Joe’s. Since it has breadcrumbs in it (I’m gluten free) and ingredients like canola oil, and other not so good for you things I decided to make my own!
This is pretty easy to make since it uses ingredients that you already have as leftovers for Thanksgiving or ingredients that can be easily cooked from canned ingredients or frozen.
It tastes a lot like stuffing/dressing (which is my absolute favorite holiday food EVER), but in rice form. The Trader Joe’s version uses turkey sausage for the protein, however I was unable to find it in the store so I improvised with chicken sausage, which turned out to be excellent!
I really hope you guys enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
What’s Inside?
- Rice– The rice NEEDS to be precooked rice that has been left in the refrigerator to chill. If you want to make the rice especially for this recipe, cook it first and let chill for at least 2 hours.
- Chicken Broth– Use chicken broth instead of water to cook the rice in. It gives it a depth of flavor that water can’t.
- Turmeric– I add a few shakes of turmeric to the rice as it’s cooking just to add flavor.
- Turkey (or chicken) Sausage– The original Trader Joe’s item has turkey sausage in it. I was unable to find it so I used chicken instead and it turned out to be really good!
- Onions
- Carrots
- Celery
- Corn
- Green Beans
- Breadcrumbs (Gluten free or otherwise)
- Onion Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Thyme, dried
- Rosemary
- Celery Seeds
- Black Pepper
- Sugar
- Cayenne
- Salt
- Avocado Oil
How to make Thanksgiving Fried Rice
- Cook the rice with the chicken broth and turmeric. Let chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- Cook the turkey/chicken sausage. I bought the precooked kind so I diced it up and sautéed it in a skillet for about 5 minutes.
- Set aside the sausage and put the onions, celery, and carrots in the skillet and sauté until throughly cooked, roughly 5-10 minutes (the carrots should be tender).
- After the onion, carrots, and celery are done cooking, add in the green beans, corn, and all the seasonings.
- Stir, make space for the breadcrumbs and let the breadcrumbs toast then mix them in with the other ingredients.
- Add in the sausage and the rice and cook everything until it is hot, which shouldn’t take longer than 5 minutes.
Equipment Used (affiliate links)
Thanksgiving Fried Rice
This is a recipe I made based off of a product I found at Trader Joe’s.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: main course, side dish
- Method: sautee
- Cuisine: american
Ingredients
- 2 cups Rice Precooked, chilled
- 2 cups Chicken broth To cook the rice in
- 1–2 shakes Turmeric This gives the rice color
- 1 cup Turkey or Chicken Sausage diced
- 1/2 can Green Beans Half of a 14.5 oz can (so 7.25 oz)
- 1/2 can Corn Same amount as green beans
- 1/2 Yellow Onion diced
- 1–2 sticks Celery diced
- 1 Large Carrot diced
- 1/2 cup Breadcrumbs I use gluten free, but it doesn’t matter
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/4 tsp Thyme dried
- 1/4 tsp Rosemary dried
- 1/4 tsp Celery Seeds
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne
Instructions
Rice
- Cook according to package instructions, but using chicken broth instead of water.
- Add in 1/4 tsp salt and a couple of shakes of turmeric to give the rice color.
Turkey/Chicken Sausage
- I used precooked chicken sausage. Dice and saute for 5 minutes, or until cooked.
Everything Else
- In a 12 inch skillet, pour in avocado oil and let heat on medium to high heat.
- Once heated, put in onions, carrots, and celery and let cook until onions are translucent and carrots are tender, somewhere between 5-10 minutes depending.
- Add in green beans and corn, stir.
- Make enough room in the skillet and add in the breadcrumbs. Let them toast on their own, until they are brown.
- Mix breadcrumbs and all of the spices/seasonings in with the other ingredients.
- Once everything is heated, add in the rice and the sausage.
- Let everything cook until it is hot.
- Enjoy!
Keywords: fried rice, friendsgiving, rice, thanksgiving
