Soup is such a great food. So easy, so filling (if you do it right!), a great way to use up leftover ingredients, and the flavor possibilities are endless. I recently discovered how delicious vegetable broth and coconut milk are together (see Vegan Creamy Mushroom Ramen) and I knew I had to experiment with that combo some more. So when I saw a bag of wild rice blend on sale this week, I snatched it up to make this super delish Creamy Vegetable Wild Rice Soup!
Choose Your Broth Wisely
The type of vegetable broth used in this soup will greatly determine the end flavor, so make sure you use a quality broth. A weak broth will give you a weak and unexciting soup. If you’ve been hanging around here a while, you probably already know that my favorite is Better Than Bouillon. I can keep it on hand indefinitely (refrigerated), make any amount of broth I need, and it comes in tons of varieties (organic, low sodium, etc.). Mushroom broth would also be really good in this soup, but that’s not one I usually keep on hand, so I used vegetable flavor.
What Kind of Coconut Milk is Best for This Wild Rice Soup?
Full fat coconut milk (in the can, not the kind in a carton intended as a dairy milk substitute) is the best choice here. While you can use light coconut milk, it will be a lot less creamy, so just keep that in mind. I used a brand called Field Day Organic this time and it was great. I’ve also tested this recipe with Thai Kitchen and Goya. The Goya is the only one I wasn’t a fan of because the coconut milk was not smooth and left a grainy appearance in the soup. It tasted fine, but it wasn’t pretty.
This is NOT a “Thick” Soup
A lot of wild rice soups are a really thick, almost gelled consistency. This soup is not that texture. This is a brothy soup. I did make one of the test batches a thick version by cooking some oil and flour in a skillet until the flour was lightly browned, then whisking it into the soup, but I didn’t feel like it added a lot to the overall enjoyment of the soup, while adding a lot of extra work. So that step got nixed. :)
Can I Skip the Mushrooms?
IMHO, the mushrooms are critical to the overall flavor of the soup. Something about the way the mushrooms and coconut play together really make this soup hit home. So, while I wouldn’t suggest skipping or substituting the mushrooms, that might have to be a personal call.
What Kind of Wild Rice Blend Did you Use?
I used a brand called Lundberg. It’s a mix of wild rice, brown rice, and other rice varieties, so there is a lot of color and texture to the blend. Wild rice isn’t the cheapest thing around, but luckily I got it on sale. Scout those sales and stock up when they hit!
Creamy Vegetable Wild Rice Soup
Servings 4 about 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 8 oz. baby bella mushrooms ($1.69)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 3 ribs celery ($0.37)
- 1/2 lb. carrots ($0.45)
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme ($0.03)
- 1/4 tsp dried sage ($0.03)
- 1 cup wild rice blend (uncooked) ($1.55)
- 4 cups vegetable broth ($0.52)
- 1 13oz. can full-fat coconut milk ($2.49)
Instructions
- Wash and slice the mushrooms. Add the olive oil and mushrooms to a large soup pot and sauté over medium heat until the mushrooms are fully wilted and browned on the edges (cook until all the moisture is released, evaporated, and the mushrooms begin to actually brown for the best flavor).
- While the mushrooms are sautéing, mince the garlic, dice the onion, slice the celery, and peel and slice the carrots.
- Add the garlic, onion, celery, carrots, thyme, and sage to the pot with the mushrooms. Continue to sauté for about five minutes more, or until the onions are soft.
- Finally, add the wild rice blend and vegetable broth, and stir to combine. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down and let the soup simmer for about 45 minutes with the lid in place (or however long the instructions on your brand of rice suggests for cooking).
- Once the soup has simmered and the rice is tender, add the coconut milk. Stir to combine and allow it to simmer for about 5 minutes more. Finally, taste the soup and add salt if needed (I did not add any, but this will depend on the salt content of your broth). Serve hot with crusty bread for dipping!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Creamy Vegetable Wild Rice Soup – Step by Step Photos
Start by washing and slicing 8 oz. baby bella mushrooms. Add them to a large soup pot with 2 Tbsp olive oil and sauté over medium heat until they are browned. The key here is to not just cook until they’re limp, but keep cooking until all of their moisture has evaporated and they actually begin to brown on the edges.
While the mushrooms are sautéing, mince two cloves of garlic, dice one onion, slice 3 ribs celery, and peel and slice about ½ lb. carrots. Add the garlic, onion, celery, carrots, ¼ tsp dried thyme, and ¼ tsp dried sage to the pot with the mushrooms. Continue to sauté a few minutes more, or until the onions are soft.
This is the wild rice blend I used. Depending on what brand you have, it may suggest different cooking times. This brand suggests 45 minutes, so I simmered my soup for 45 minutes. Adjust the soups’s cooking time according to the rice blend you are using.
Add 1 cup uncooked wild rice blend and 4 cups vegetable broth to the pot. Place a lid on top, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring it up to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to low and let the pot simmer for 45 minutes (or for the suggested cooking time for your rice blend).
After simmering for 45 minutes, the rice blend is tender and it’s time to finish up the soup!
Add one 13 oz. can of full-fat coconut milk (not the dairy milk substitute kind—that stuff is super watery). Make sure to get all the solid fat out of the can. Stir the coconut milk into the soup and then let it simmer for about 5 minutes more. That last bit of simmer time will take the sweet edge off the coconut milk and help the flavors blend together.
And now the Creamy Vegetable Wild Rice Soup is finished! Give it a taste and add salt if needed (I did not add any).
Enjoy hot with some crusty bread or crackers for dipping!
This soup is fantastic!! I discovered it in quarantine during the winter of 2020 and just bought ingredients to make it again this week! One question, though… has anyone tried freezing it and if so, is it freezer friendly??
I’ve frozen it in small portions many times- freezes well!
Thank you for sharing! :)
This soup is already insanely delicious. But listen: if you substitute the bella mushrooms with same amount in oyster and shiitake mushrooms, brown them a little bit by themselves, then right after add a tablespoon or two of Mirin (Japanese cooking wine) to deglaze the pan, it becomes the most powerful soup in the universe. This website rocks btw.
After a description like that, I HAVE to try it!!
I planned on making this vegan because we’re trying our hardest to be whole grain plant based this year but we had chicken thighs that we didn’t want to waste so we added 4 of them and doubled the recipe. Other than adding the chicken everything else was kept the same. Also, I did this in the Instant Pot and added everything but the coconut milk before cooking. I cooked it for 35 minutes and then quick released. Also added 2 cups of kale and a cup of peas after finished in the Instant Pot then added the coconut milk. This was really great on a cold Saturday night. Thank you.
So easy and ridiculously good! The coconut really adds some great flavors. I didn’t have wild rice so used orzo instead and added in a dash of coconut aminos for an extra umami taste. Very delish!
This soup is ridiculously good, thank you for this website, it makes vegan cooking feasible.
I’m looking forward to making this, do you think I can omit the sage or sub for it? I don’t have it on hand.
Do you think potatoes would add well to this soup?
Yes you could give them a try. But with the rice together it may be a little starchy. It’s up to you!
My family and I adored this! I’m not a huge fan of coconut normally, but the flavor was just so subtle and paired so well with the herbs, and the rice was just the right texture, I couldn’t put the bowl down! I plan on making this again for my roommates and I (all of whom are vegetarian or vegan! Couldn’t recommend highly enough, especially for a broke college student!
Hi, I love homemade soup and am going to try this recipe soon. One question always comes up for me when reading new recipes – how well does it freeze and is it just as good after freezing? I am single and most recipes are for at least 4 servings. It would be really appreciated if the food writers made a point of noting how the dish maintains its quality after freezing and for how long. Thank you!
Hi Pat! It should freeze wonderfully. We’ll work on adding some additional freezing instructions on the recipes.
Thanks for bringing this up, Pat! I’m also always wondering if a recipe freezes well, or how long it will hold up in the fridge (since I’m also cooking for one and often cooking on Sunday a dish that will be my lunch everyday through Friday!!). Looking forward to this info being consistently available on these recipes!
I just tried this but i had to replace the wild rice with noodles and it still worked. It was very tasty and also the flavour of the coconut milk wasn’t too powerful which is great.
I made this in a single serve last night (I have very little fridge space, so I can’t easily store leftovers). Wow! One of the most delicious meals I have ever cooked. I used long grain white rice, so the cooking time was actually quite short and it turned out incredible. I’ll be making this a lot!!
I absolutely LOVE this recipe. I’ve made it four times at this point. The coconut flavor does not come through heavily and compliments the sage really well. It gets better in the freezer over time. It’s a great one to meal prep! I’ve prepped a huge batch for the arrival of my baby as I will not feel like cooking for a while after he is born. I’ve paired this soup with Beth’s Black Pepper and Rosemary Drop Biscuits! SO GOOD.
My boyfriend and I LOVED this soup! Thank you for sharing ❤️ We paired with garlic bread and a salad :)
Five stars from someone who has shunned mushrooms for 34 years.
I was feeling adventurous (and in need of a warm soup), and who doesn’t love wild rice? I chopped the mushrooms into teeny-tiny pieces so future me would not be able to tell there were mushrooms at all, used only about half the mushrooms called for, and holy cow: this hit the spot big time.
So flavorful, but not full of mushroom flavor. Tasty as hell, and I made a huge batch, so it lasted and lasted!
I made a small portion of this for my toddler. We both loved it! I chopped the mushroom small and used jasmine rice, it came out like rissoto and she ate it all! I could definitly hide more vegetables in it next time, Thank you, thank you for the recipe!
Love hearing that Anna!