Need an easy side dish for a party? This wild rice with bacon & vegetables is a great recipe for any meal. Start with quick cooking long grain and wild rice and dress it up with a combination of vegetables and crispy bacon. This is a delicious all-purpose side dish for beef, chicken, pork, or fish.

A Great Dinner Party Side Dish Recipe

This wild rice with bacon & vegetables is a simple side dish to add to your dinner party entertaining or weeknight suppers. It’s easy to make, it’s delicious, and it has bacon…duh!

Long grain & wild rice is a classic menu item. It’s one of those dishes that everyone loves so you can always count on it to be your go-to side item.

This wild rice side dish was part of my ladies get together ideas & dinner party. I placed it on a platter surrounding a whole roasted chicken. Nothing goes together better than chicken & rice! However this rice dish will complement just about any protein.

Wild Rice Side Dish

I love that this recipe starts with a box of quick cooking rice and season packet. I mean, why not? Dressing it up with these fresh & tasty ingredients takes it to the next level.

If you love rice like we do, I recommend you also try this fruit-nut wild rice recipe for dinners and our easy wild rice dressing for holiday entertaining. It’s equally delicious but has a sweet and savory flavor combination with a bit crunch from nuts.

Serve this wild rice side dish with salmon or white fish.
Make this easy side dish along with a slow cooker turkey breast for the holiday or any time of year.
This can also be served with filet mignon, or pork chops and tenderloin.
These marinated lamb chops are a great combo for wild rice with bacon & vegetables.
Or serve it with a whole roasted chicken from the deli, like we did here.

Wild Rice with Bacon & Vegetables Recipe

Yield: 6 servings

This easy wild rice is a delicious side dish for dinner parties and holiday entertaining. It starts with quick cooking long grain and wild rice and gets a flavor boost from vegetables and crunchy bacon. It's perfect to serve with chicken, beef, pork, or fish.

Ingredients

1 box (6.2 oz) Fast Cook Long Grain & Wild Rice (like Uncle Ben’s)
1 3/4 cups water
1 cup corn; fresh, frozen, or canned (drained)
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
4 strips of bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
3 Tablespoons chopped green onion

Instructions

In a saucepan, combine water, rice, and contents of seasoning packet, and bring to a boil over high heat.
REDUCE HEAT to low and add corn and dice pepper. Cover and let simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for another 5 minutes.
Stir and transfer to a serving dish. Top with bacon and onion, and serve.