A comforting and healthy wild rice soup enhanced with fresh vegetables, flavored with spices and herbs.
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What is wild rice?
Wild rice is actually not a rice variety.
It's a grain that grows on tall grasses native to north America.
Wild rice is sometimes also sold as Canadian rice or native American rice.
The elongated grains turn dark brown when dried and they are then most commonly used to make a soup.
They taste nutty and the texture can be described as a bit fibrous. As I said, it's absolutely not like rice.
The grain is healthy, rich in protein and fibers.
Soup Ingredients
- wild rice
- broth and water
- a mixture of fresh vegetables and mushrooms - I used carrot, leek, mushrooms, kale, and turnip.
- ginger
- garlic
- onion
- salt and black pepper
- oil
- spices - nutmeg, bay leaf, turmeric, and lemon zest
- herbs - thyme and rosemary
- cream or coconut milk if you want to make this soup vegan
You can choose to use and add other vegetables too. Such as potatoes, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, corn and celery to just name a few.
You can also add chicken or turkey pieces to your soup. Leftover rotisserie chicken can be used as well and even pork ham pieces.
How to make this soup?
To make this soup is super simple, it's a one pot wonder prepared with fresh ingredients from scratch!
The wild rice doesn't require soaking but the soup needs at least 1 hour to turn out amazing!
Here is an overview on how it all comes together, the complete recipe is in the recipe card below. The video is the pop up.
Step 1
Prep veggies and mushrooms. Clean, rinse and chop up.
Step 2
Heat up our pot and sautee one by one onion, garlic, ginger, veggies and wild rice.
Pour in liquids and season your soup.
Step 3
Cook soup down and ingredients through.
Taste with salt and black pepper.
Finish with cream and some lemon zest before serving up your homemade wild rice soup.
Serving
I simply love this soup on a cold day with slices of bread. Spelt bread is a great addition to this soup and even baguette.
A basic salad with a vinaigrette dressing makes a great serving addition for dinner because the vinegar flavors compliment the flavors in the soup.
I like a green salad, beet salad, green bean, daikon salad or carrot salad with this soup.
Storing
You can store leftovers of your wild rice soup in an airtight container for up to 5 days in your fridge.
You can prepare batches to add to your meal prepping menu.
Those can be frozen to be enjoyed at another time in the future.
To thaw your frozen soup place it into your fridge overnight or reheat it in a pot over the stovetop or warm it up in your microwave in a microwave-friendly container.
More Vegetable Soup and Stew Ideas
📖 Recipe
Vegetable Wild Rice Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Prep fresh Ingredients:
- 1 medium Onion
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1 inch Ginger
- 3 cups Vegetables and Mushrooms chopped, *see Notes
To cook the Soup:
- 1-2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- ½ cup + 1 Tbsp Wild Rice
- 2½ cups Broth
- 1 quart Water
- 2 Teaspoon Thyme dried
- 1 Teaspoon Rosemary dried
- ½ Teaspoon Turmeric Ground ground
- 1 Bay Leaf
- Nutmeg pinch
- ¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper
- Salt to taste
- Lemon Zest pinch, optional
- ¼ cup Table Cream or heavy cream *see Notes
Instructions
Prep fresh Ingredients:
- Prepare your veggies and mushrooms first. Rinse and brush if there is mud on them. Peel if necessary and discard wilted parts.
- Slice onion, chop garlic, grate or chop ginger, cut other veggies and mushrooms small. Collect in a bowl.
To cook the Soup:
- Heat up a pot with the olive oil over the stovetop and stir cook onion soft.
- Stir in garlic and ginger and stir cook for a minute over a medium heat setting.
- Continue to stir in chopped vegetables over a medium to high flame.
- Add the wild rice and stir cook for a minute over high heat.
- Reduce the flame a bit and pour in broth and water.
- Season with thyme, rosemary, turmeric, bay leaf, and nutmeg. Mix it all well in and cover your pot.
- Bring the soup to a boil and keep partially covered. Uncover halfway through. Cook over a medium heat setting until wild rice and other ingredients are cooked through.
- Season with black pepper and salt.
- Pour in the cream and throw in the lemon zest (optional). Combine well and simmer your soup.
- Pick out the bay leaf and discard it.
- Serve soup hot with bread and a salad. *see serving ideas in post.
Notes
- Choose your veggies and mushrooms. I used carrots, leek, turnip, kale, and regular mushrooms. You can also use broccoli, spinach, potatoes, celery to just name a few.
- Use table or heavy cream. You can turn this dish vegan/plant-based too by switching it with coconut milk.
Can you use vegetable broth instead of water or in addition to? And if so, how much?
Hi Lindsay, The basic recipe calls for 2½ cups Broth and 1-quart water. You can choose to switch the water with broth, so instead of 1-quart water, use 1-quart broth. So, in total, you'd use 6½ cups broth (1 quart = 4 cups). I decided to use a blend of broth and water because I don't want the broth to overpower the dish. Also, the more store-bought broth you add, the higher the sodium content. So, I would prefer using homemade broth in that case.
What a fabulous soup for a cold winter' day like today! A very hearty vegetable soup and I love using wild rice in soups.