I've been trying to get my family to eat more soup lately. This wild rice soup is filling and is nice and hearty. The entire recipe takes less than a half an hour to make and is a one pot dish. Mushroom soup is the ultimate comfort food in my book and this is one of my favorite recipes.
Soup is so comforting. When the weather is nice and cool, I love to have a nice warm bowl of soup. Especially if it has wholesome ingredients like this has.
Why You'll Love This Wild Rice Soup
- One Pot This recipe takes about 20 minutes to make and is essentially made in one pot. That means a lot less dishes to wash. A definite winner in my book.
- Veggie Packed - I love soup because it has so many vegetables. Even if your child picks them out, the flavors and some nutrients transfer to the soup. It essentially seeps into the cooking water or liquid base.
- The Ultimate Comfort Food - This is perfect for a cold winter day or night. Best of all you can freeze it!
How to make Creamy Mushroom Soup
- Sautee celery, carrots, bacon and onions in butter over medium-high heat, in a large soup pot. About 4-5 minutes.
- When vegetables have begun to soften and develop a little color, stir in mushrooms, rosemary and garlic paste. Cook for 2-3 more minutes, making sure to not burn the garlic.
- Next stir in the flour. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Pour in cooking sherry, milk and stock. While pouring, stir vigorously to ensure the flour is dissolved completely. Bring to a boil and then after lowering the heat, simmer for 10 minutes or until soup is reduced to desired consistency.
- Add precooked wild rice and simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Step by Step Instructions
First, prep all your ingredients, slicing and cutting your vegetables.
Next, in a large soup pot, sauté celery, carrots, bacon and onions in butter over medium-high heat. About 4-5 minutes.
When vegetables have begun to soften and develop a little color, stir in white button mushrooms, rosemary and garlic paste. Cook for 2-3 more minutes, making sure to not burn the garlic.
Next you'll want to stir in the flour and then cook it for another 2-3 minutes.
Then pour in cooking sherry, milk or heavy cream, and stock. While pouring, stir vigorously to ensure the flour is dissolved completely. Bring to a boil and then after lowering the heat, simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until soup is reduced to desired consistency.
Lastly, add the precooked wild rice blend and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve warm. Add fresh thyme sprig on top if hosting for a beautiful presentation.
Here's a pro tip for you: Chop your vegetables the night before. It will save you so much time if you have a busy day the next day.
Ingredients For Wild Rice Soup
- Carrots - Carrots have several vitamins including A, K, and C. It also has a good amount of potassium, fiber, calcium and iron. I would say its one of the more accepted vegetables as far as kids are concerned because of its sweeter flavor
- Onions - a must in this recipe for flavor. You'll need onions for flavor in this recipe.
- Celery - adds a rich flavor in this soup. I've only added ⅓ cup but it's enough to give it a hint of flavor without being overpowering.
- Bacon - need I say more? Bacon adds some saltiness to this recipe. It is optional if you want to make it vegetarian however.
- Butter - I like the additional flavor this gives to the vegetables. Just make sure to use medium heat not high heat to prevent burning.
- Mushrooms - this is the star of this dish. Mushroom has protein, lots of vitamins and also antioxidants.
- Garlic Paste - I buy this from the store, but if you're wondering what it is, it's basically pureed garlic blended with some oil. If you don't have it, you may substitute for minced garlic with a 1:1 ratio.
- Flour - soup needs body and thickness. Flour creates this thickness and creates that hearty soup.
- Vegetable Stock - definitely a must for this recipe because its the foundation of a flavorful soup.
- Milk or cream -cream or milk gives this soup a silky and rich flavor. It also provides a little protein. Be sure not to boil the soup after adding the dairy so it doesn't curdle.
- Sherry Cooking wine -It is one of the white wines, and is an optional ingredient, but does add more flavor to this soup. You can also reduce it to ½ cup.
- Wild rice - this type of rice is actually lower in calories than brown rice. It makes this soup earthy and have more of a nutty flavor.
- Salt and Pepper - just your basic seasonings here.
Cook's Tips For This Easy Soup
- If you have some left over chicken you can always shred it up and add it to this dish. I suggest chicken breast though instead of dark meat. Even a little truffle oil would even taste good if you like that flavor.
- Double or triple this recipe. Soups are great to freeze and keep well.
- Don't skip the vegetables sauté, These are the aromatics and you're essentially building up the flavor by cooking it in butter. The flavors are released at this time.
- Be mindful of the size of your vegetables. Some cook faster than others and you don't want to overcook it and have it turn too soft. Also, you want to cut the vegetables perfect for the spoon size.
- Salt sparingly. Most vegetable stock has enough sodium.
- Simmer your soup, don't cook it on high to prevent soft vegetables.
- You may use chicken broth, but be mindful of your salt addition.
- For your most pickiest eaters, you can blend the celery and onion with an immersion blender.
- Use brown or white rice if you like. Texture wise, brown is preferred.
- Olive oil is acceptable for sautéing, but butter truly lends for an additional flavor.
- If you're watching your salt intake, just dilute your stock with a couple cups of water.
FAQ
- Can you freeze these?
- You can freeze this soup for up to 3 months. First chill the soup, then place in a large ziplock bag and freeze it flat. If you want to do individual portions just freeze in smaller bags.
- How do I reheat the frozen soup?
- When ready to reheat, microwave on defrost or warm over medium heat in a pot on the stove.
- How long will it keep in the fridge?
- You can happily keep this in the fridge for 1-2 days. The rice tends to get more mushy if you keep it in the refrigerator too long.
Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 2 large carrots washed, peeled & sliced
- ⅓ cup onions diced
- ⅓ cup celery sliced
- 3 slices bacon chopped
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 ½ cups mushrooms
- 2 teaspoons rosemary
- 2 teaspoons garlic paste
- ¼ cup flour
- 4 cups vegetable stock can sub chicken or beef
- 1 cup milk or cream see notes if using milk
- ⅓ cup sherry cooking wine optional
- 2 cups wild rice precooked
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Sautee celery, carrots, bacon and onions in butter over medium-high heat, in a large soup pot. About 4-5 minutes.
- When vegetables have begun to soften and develop a little color, stir in mushrooms, rosemary and garlic paste. Cook for 2-3 more minutes, making sure to not burn the garlic.
- Next stir in the flour. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Pour in cooking sherry, milk and stock. While pouring, stir vigorously to ensure the flour is dissolved completely. Bring to a boil and then after lowering the heat, simmer for 10 minutes or until soup is reduced to desired consistency.
- Add precooked wild rice and simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Looking for more easy hearty dinner ideas? Try these:
Tried this wild rice soup and loved it? Please leave me a comment and rating below. Feel free to also tag me, I love to see your creations and share them. For more inspiration follow us on Instagram Or like us on Facebook
Reminds me of the soup I order at Panera! So yummy and easy to make! Loaded with veggies and the family loved it too!
thank you so much for trying and reviewing!