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Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup

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This Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup is made with fresh seasonal vegetables and greens, hearty wild rice, and a deliciously zesty, creamy broth (made with either coconut milk or cream). Instant Pot and stovetop options included!

Who’s ready to warm up with a bowl of wild rice soup? ♡

This cozy autumn wild rice soup has become one of our readers’ favorite recipes here on Gimme Some Oven these past few winters and is also hands-down one of my personal all-time faves on the blog as well. It’s loaded up with lots of my favorite fresh seasonal produce, from sweet potatoes to kale, mushrooms, carrots, celery and onions. It’s made nice and hearty with the addition of wild rice, which just so happens to be lower in calories and higher in protein than many other rices. But best of all, it is made with the most irresistible broth, seasoned with garlic and “the bays,” as I call them, and made creamy with either the addition of coconut milk, cream or a roux-based cream sauce.

After having originally written this recipe with the cream sauce, I have to say that I — as well as so many of you readers — have become much more partial to the coconut version over the past few years, which I think adds the perfect hint of sweetness to the broth to balance out all of those savory flavors, and just so happens to make this recipe vegan too. So for any of you who haven’t tried that version yet, or this soup in general, I thought I would bump it back to the top of the blog today while we’re right in the heart of cozy comfort food season. I’ve included instructions below for how to make either the dairy or vegan versions, as well as instructions for how to make this soup in either the Instant Pot (my fave), Crock-Pot, or on the stovetop. And of course, if you’re craving some nostalgic chicken and wild rice soup, you’re always welcome to toss some shredded chicken in here as well.

More than anything, though, I just wanted to pop in and say how happy I am that so many of you have tried and loved this soup! It always means so much to me to read your comments and see photos of your dinner online. So cheers to the cozy recipes that keep us all warm this time of year…and now let’s make some soup!

Autumn Wild Rice Soup Recipe (Vegan Version) | 1-Minute Video

Wild Rice Soup Ingredients

Before we get to the full recipe below, here are a few quick notes about the ingredients you will need to make this wild rice soup recipe:

  • Wild rice: I love using 100% wild rice in this recipe, which is different than a wild rice blend or black rice (which, look out, will turn your soup purple!). That said, though, you are welcome to use whatever type of rice you prefer in this soup. Just note that different varieties of rice will require different cooking times.
  • Vegetable stock: You could use either vegetable stock or chicken stock as the base for this soup.
  • Autumn veggies: A seasonal blend of sweet potato, carrots, celery, onion, mushrooms and garlic.
  • The “bays”: I’m a big fan of using Old Bay seasoning and a bay leaf to season this soup. But if you don’t have Old Bay on hand, I have included some alternate seasoning options below.
  • Coconut milk or cream sauce: I prefer the vegan version of this soup made with coconut milk, which I believe adds the perfect touch of creamy sweetness to balance out all of those savory flavors. But alternately, you could choose to make a cream sauce (made from milk and thickened with a flour/butter roux), or you could just add in some half and half or heavy cream to taste.
  • Greens: I love adding lots of fresh kale to this soup, but baby spinach, collard greens, or any other soup-friendly greens that you have in the crisper drawer would do.
  • Salt & pepper: As always, for seasoning!

How To Make Wild Rice Soup

As mentioned, I have included detailed instructions below for how to make this wild rice soup recipe either in the Instant Pot (pressure cooker) or on the stovetop. But in general, the method is to…

  1. Cook the base of the soup. Whichever cooking method you choose, we will simmer the veggies and rice in the broth (sans cream) until the rice is completely tender.
  2. (Optional) Make your cream sauce. If you choose to use the cream sauce method, you can prepare the cream sauce in a separate saucepan while the soup cooks by melting the butter, whisking in the flour, stirring in the milk and cooking the mixture until thickened. (Or you can skip this step and add in a can of coconut milk or some half and half instead.)
  3. Add in the coconut milk (or cream sauce) and kale. Once the rice is ready to go, stir in the coconut milk (or cream sauce) and kale until combined. Then taste and season with salt and pepper.
  4. Serve. And serve it up nice and warm! I love serving this soup with some crusty bread and a simple green salad. Also, note that the soup will continue to thicken as it cools. So if it gets too thick, feel free to add in extra broth and Old Bay, to taste.

Recipe Variations

This recipe is quite flexible, so feel free to experiment with whatever ingredient variations sound good! For example, you could…

  • Add chicken: To make chicken and wild rice soup, you can either add pre-cooked diced or shredded chicken to the soup. Or you can poach a raw chicken breast in the soup while the rice cooks, then remove, shred, and add it back into the soup before serving.
  • Use a different seasoning: This soup would taste delicious with a variety of different seasoning blends (in place of Old Bay), such as Cajun seasoning, Italian seasoning or herbs de Provence.
  • Make it milder. Old Bay seasoning is mildly spicy, so if you prefer your soup with less heat, I would begin with just 2 teaspoons of Old Bay. Then you can always add more to taste later, if you would like.
  • Make it gluten-free: The vegan version of this soup is naturally gluten-free. But if you are making the dairy version and would like to thicken the broth a bit, I would recommend adding a cornstarch slurry (equal parts cold water and cornstarch mixed together) to the soup until it reaches your desired consistency.

More Vegetarian Soup Recipes

Looking for some more simple, cozy, vegetarian soup recipes this season? Here are a few more of our faves… ♡

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Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 1015 reviews
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 8 servings 1x

Description

This Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup features fresh seasonal produce, hearty wild rice, and a zesty creamy broth. The vegan version of the soup is listed here in this recipe, or see options below for the cream sauce version.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 6 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
  • 1 cup uncooked wild rice*
  • 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 medium carrots, diced
  • 2 ribs celery, diced
  • 1 large (about 1 pound) sweet potato, peeled and diced
  • 1 small white onion, peeled and diced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
  • 1 (14-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk (or see cream sauce option below*)
  • 2 large handfuls of kale, roughly chopped with thick stems removed
  • fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper

Instructions

Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) Method:

  1. Combine base ingredients. Combine vegetable stock, wild rice, mushrooms, garlic, carrots, celery, sweet potato, onion, bay leaf and Old Bay seasoning in the bowl of an Instant Pot pressure cooker.  Stir briefly to combine.
  2. Pressure cook. Cover and cook on manual (high pressure) for 25 minutes.  Let the Instant Pot rest and naturally release the pressure for 10 minutes.  Then carefully open the vent and quick release the remaining pressure.  Remove lid and discard the bay leaf.
  3. Add final ingredients. Add the coconut milk and kale to the soup, and stir gently until combined.  Taste and season with salt and pepper (plus any extra Old Bay seasoning, if you would like) as needed.
  4. Serve. Serve warm and enjoy!

Stovetop Method:

  1. Sauté the veggies. Heat (an extra) 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat.  Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent.  Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant.
  2. Add base ingredients. Add in the vegetable stock, wild rice, mushrooms, carrots, celery, sweet potato, bay leaf and Old Bay seasoning.  Stir to combine.
  3. Simmer. Continue cooking until the soup reaches a simmer.  Then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until the rice is tender, stirring occasionally.
  4. Add final ingredients. Add the coconut milk and kale to the soup, and stir gently until combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper (plus any extra Old Bay seasoning, if you would like) as needed.
  5. Serve. Serve warm and enjoy!


Notes

Wild rice: I used 100% wild rice which I love and recommend for this soup.  Cooking time may vary if you use a wild rice blend or a different type of rice.

Alternate cream sauce recipe: In place of the coconut milk, you can either add 1 1/2 cups half and half.  Or you can make a cream sauce by melting 3 tablespoons of butter in a (separate) saucepan over medium-high heat, whisking in 1/4 cup flour for one minute, and then whisking in 1 1/2 cups milk until the mixture is smooth.  Let the sauce cook until it nearly reaches a simmer, at which point it will thicken, then remove from heat and add the sauce to the soup once the rice has completely cooked.

Crock-Pot (Slow Cooker) Option: I decided to remove the Crock-Pot option from the recipe instructions because we have unfortunately found slow cookers to be too inconsistent in making this recipe. Different brands/models have proven to vary dramatically in terms of the cooking time required to fully soften the rice and vegetables, and too much of the broth can evaporate if the lid is not fully secure. I recommend the Instant Pot or stovetop options instead. But if you want to cook this soup in a slow cooker, just follow the Instant Pot method and slow cooker (instead of pressure cook) the soup as directed in Step 2 until the rice and veggies are tender.

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1,531 comments on “Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup”

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  1. Delicious soup. I made it in the Instant Pot without the sweet potatoes or Old bay and with the coconut milk and shredded rotisserie chicken. It was great. I will try it with the Old Bay next time.






  2. This sounded delicious but I was disappointed. Used crockpot method and substituted spinach for the kale. Consistency was fine but flavor was lacking. Will not be making again.






  3. I loved this! Followed recipe except substituted butternut squash for the sweet potato. I used the full fat coconut milk even though it’s not specified. Eaten twice already and will definitely make again.






  4. Wow! This is so good! I did a few adjustments. I used 4 cups of chicken broth, 4 cups of water (I just wanted more soup) 2 bouillon cubes, extra mushrooms and a can of 98%fat free cream of mushroom soup to thicken it a bit. I used Dan O’s salt free seasoning instead of Old Bay (1 Tbsp of the regular and 1 Tbsp of the spicy. Also used a lower fat coconut milk. Delicous! I love that it has a little kale in it.






  5. I saw this on pinterest and could not wait to make it. Used the coconut milk and put it in the insta pot. The rice bloomed, sweet potato was soft but not broken down and I did not need to add any salt or pepper. The family loved it! Let the leftovers sit for 2-3 days and had it with some homemade fresh garlic bread and viola! It paired magically! I wouldn’t change a thing about the recipie!






  6. I make this for my mom and myself every few weeks and we never tire of it! I made it with a homemade version of Old Bay and the roux. My favorite soup recipe for sure. Even better with your crusty no-knead bread on the side.






  7. I had high hopes. Friends raved about this. I like spicy food but I would cut way back on the Old Bay. The broth smelled great but except for the heat, the broth was kind of bland. I doctored it up and ate it but I won’t be making this one again.

  8. Made this last night …Mm Mm!!! Delicious !!!

  9. So delicious. Doubled the recipe and made it by stove top. Only added 1 can of coconut milk. It turned out perfect. This is a keeper.






  10. My kids request this soup more than any other recipe I make! Thanks for such a delicious veggie recipe.






  11. The soup did not turn out creamy at all. I used half and half instead of coconut milk. I’ve added flour, and I’m hopeful it thickens up and is enjoyable next day.






  12. This soup is now an all time favorite comfort food of mine. Excellent recipe and so versatile based on what is available. I garden and this soup helps to make a very tasty, filling meal from the odds and ends that are squirreled away in my freezer, a few pantry staples and seasonal veggies. I have shared it with all of my friends and those that have made it all agree that the flavor of this soup is the best. Nice job.






  13. Love this recipe! Made it for a large group where there were 4 other soups/chili’s and this was gone first. I always do coconut milk. Homemade stock is best with this recipe! Love it!






  14. I haven’t used coconut milk in a soup before, but I wasn’t a fan of this recipe. It wasn’t creamy at all and it tasted really sweet in my opinion. Needed lots of salt and pepper to eat it.






    • Did you use the right coconut milk? It’s not the kind you get in the cold section it’s the kind you get on the Asian food isle. I like the Thai Kitchen brand in the small red resealable carton. It’s also sold in cans. Taste of Asia is another brand I think. It’s thick and is perfect in soups. Mine was very flavorful and thick and I didn’t change much about the recipe.

  15. I have made this recipe at least 5 times and it continues to be one of my favorite soup recipes ever! Amazing (I make with the coconut milk :)






  16. This was really good! I used the instant pot directions, and seasoned with Tony’s instead of Old Bay. Yum!






  17. Loved it! I added a little more Old Bay and used regular coconut milk. Definitely recommending this to my family and friends ;)






  18. Can I freeze this??

  19. This soup is amazing! I made the stove top version in a Dutch oven. The only change/addition I made was adding 2 cups of shredded chicken and 16 oz of coconut milk instead of the recommended 14 oz. I used chicken broth in place of vegetable broth. I did everything else as listed. We LOVE this soup! It’s the ultimate comfort food. Thank you thank you!






  20. How long will this last in the refrigerator?? I wanted to freeze it but from earlier posts it cannot be frozen. Ugh. I should have waited to add the coconut milk. I have a food saver so I could put it in the fridge tightly packaged but still do not know how long it will last. I want it for a ski trip this upcoming weekend so would it last about 5-6 days in the fridge?? I haven’t put the kale in yet. Any suggestions?
    Thanks!

  21. My family loved this recipe! I made it on the stove and used extra veggies and broth to make it even heartier.






  22. I made this soup on the stove top and followed the recipe exactly. It is delicious!






  23. It was delightful. Ended up doubling the Old Bay seasoning and adding more garlic. I would also add more rice as mine was more broth. But will be making again with fresh French bread!

  24. My husband and I came across this recipe when we were experimenting with a vegan diet. So, so good! We aren’t following a vegan diet anymore, but this soup remains in our rotation of yummy dinners.






  25. This soup is delicious exactly as written !

  26. I’ve substituted tarragon for the Old Bay and added Madeira. OMG delicious!






  27. This was sooooo good. I didn’t miss the protein at all. Would be good with chicken but I prefer it without. I was worried it would have a weird consistency just dumping in the can of coconut milk but it turned out perfect. Will make this again often.






  28. Love this soup! My crew asked me to swap out regular potatoes for sweet potatoes. I’m sure it is better with them. I will do that next time.






  29. Amazing! I made this in the Instant Pot and it was perfect. I didn’t have half and half so I used a mix of half heavy cream and half milk to make my own. Worked great! I definitely recommend pairing with some warm, crusty bread for dipping. This is a new favorite!!






  30. One of our favorite soups….ever! I use the coconut milk and usually use 1 cup less of the broth so it’s more like a chowder. If using shredded chicken, then I use all the liquid called for and stir in the cooked shredded chicken with the kale. It’s a perfect vegan recipe I’d using the modifications and all my vegan friends just love it. I have only made this on my stovetop and it’s super simple. Thank you!






  31. Thank you for this amazing recipe. Love that I can make it gluten free.






  32. What are the calories per serving?






  33. This soup was delicious! Followed the recipe exactly except for one small addition: I added a pinch of cayenne at the end for some extra spice! The broth is addicting. We absolutely will make this again!






  34. I absolutely loved this soup. I love soup. I made 9 soups in January and this is one of the top 2 soups I made. I don’t like sweet potatoes and my husband doesn’t like kale….he calls it lawn but we both LOVED this soup. I am looking forward to making it for our 11th Annual Soup Night. I followed the recipe exactly and made it in my Instant Pot. Will definitely be making again and again and again.






  35. Delicious soup!






  36. Made this and it’s loved by my husband too! If I want to double this…what do you recommend for instant pot timing? Thank you1






  37. This recipe is simply delicious! I made it just as it is listed (vegan version), but I agree with a few other commenters that it needs more stock. After my husband and I each ate a bowl, there was very little liquid left in the pot of the leftover, so I added several more splashes – probably 1 1/2 cups worth – otherwise the remainder would’ve been more like chili than soup. Will be making again and again!






  38. I loved this recipe! Used 8 cups of veggie broth and a can of coconut milk kept this plant based. I didn’t need to add much salt at all. I will be making this again very soon. Perfect winter soup!






  39. This was delicious. I added 64ounces of broth and used 1 can of coconut milk. I also added chicken and kale at the end. I followed the rest on the stovetop. I liked the flavor. Very filling. It’s more of a brothy soup, not really a really creamy one with the coconut milk. I will make it again!






  40. We used almond milk (Elmhurst) instead of coconut milk, and it was AMAZING. Seriously, the best, creamiest, heartiest soup ever. Cannot thank you enough for this recipe!






  41. This is one of our favorite soups! I use the stove top method, and the only change I make is to sauté all the vegetables prior to adding the rice and broth. We’ve made it with coconut milk and half and half – like both.

  42. Delicious, thanks for the recipe!






  43. Excellent! Followed the recipe except reduced the Old Bay to 1 Tablespoon due to concerns of being too spicy. No extra salt needed. Looking forward to leftovers.






  44. One of our favorite winter soups! I make my cream sauce using a can of nonfat evaporated milk with the butter and flour roux at the end. I also use low sodium vegetable broth. While not a fan of kale, it works well in this soup!

  45. Made a couple years ago with chicken. Family loved it. Currently making vegan version since sis is newly vegan. I used uncle Ben’s long grain & wild rice with the seasoning packet… it was great last time, I expect nothing less today…






  46. Anyone know how much a ‘serving’ is??
    8 servings listed. Trying to count calories.
    Thanks.






  47. Stovetop version with carrots, onion, yellow potato, baby bella mushrooms, wild rice blend (cooked after adding rice for about 45 mins), and coconut milk. I didn’t have old bay or bay leaves so seasoned to taste with salt/pepper and Sprouts all purpose seasoning. Makes my little vegan heart sing! Will definitely be in the rotation for whenever i get “cream of…” soup craving.






  48. This wild rice soup is incredibly tasty! I made it on the stove so I could saute the vegetables before adding the rest of the ingredients, also added a few serrano peppers for a touch of spicy heat.






  49. So fire I wasn’t ready ??






  50. Thank you for including a variety of cooking methods. So many recipes look wonderful but require specific kitchen equipment. I appreciate the info & ability to adapt this recipe to fit my kitchen!