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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 978 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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1,471 comments on “Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup”

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  1. This recipe used to be amazing! The Old Bay seasoning was there as a SUGGESTION and I loved making the roux and how creamy it made the soup. I’d make it several times a year in fall and winter. Now it has been altered to call for a an excessive 1 1/2 tablespoons of the very strong and potent old bay and the vegetable ratios seem way off… wish i had the copy of the old version as when I made it this time all you could taste was old bay. i guess when you have sponsors you add more of their product to your recipe that had it right the first time? Make the soup, try half or even less of the suggested seasoning so you can actually taste the lovely flavors of the other ingredients!






    • You can still find the original recipe on Pinterest by other posters if you search for it. I prefer it as well.






  2. Love this soup! Skipped the Old Bay and added a cup of Madeira wine. Now it’s a family favorite!

  3. Loved this soup! Skipped the Old Bay and added a cup of Madeira wine. Now it’s a family favorite!






  4. This was delicious!!! I modified it to my families taste preferences and I am definitely making it again. I doubled the veggies and rice but not the broth to make it more filling for my picky fiancé. I also baked some chicken breasts with the same seasonings and rough cut them and added those. I used Cajun seasoning and herbs de Provence. Left out the old bay. I couldn’t find any and already had Cajun. It was good. A little spicy. I also left out the celery because we never eat it and I didn’t want to waste any. I used some original coconut milk in a carton bc we already have it on hand for coffee lol. It was so good and we have enough leftovers for a work week of lunches :)






  5. Love this soup! Made as written, except used spinach instead of kale. Also added some red beans which I was worried would be kind of weird but they are a good addition.






  6. This soup was delicious and so easy to make! I made it for my friends and they loved it! Even my husband loved it, and that’s crazy because he’s the cook in the house and very critical of other people’s cooking! Definitely a recipe I’ll be saving! Thank you for sharing it!

  7. How much is 1 serving cup wise?

  8. It looks good I will try it without the old Bay seasoning. However I find it very frustrating when recipes do not give the nutritional values. A lot of times it makes a difference between trying a new recipe or not.

  9. Made this today, it is so yummy! Thank you 😊

  10. This was delicious and I was a bit skeptical. I did not use kale as we don’t like kale, used spinach instead. Also added rotisserie chicken as my husband is a carnivore. Served it with fresh sliced tomatoes and a warm French roll.






  11. Can you freeze this soup?

  12. This is my absolute favorite soup!! I switched a couple items only because I’m a picky veggie eater. cooked carrots and mushrooms a strong NOPE … but sweet potato, kale big YES. also I ran out of wild rice once so I used trader joes rice medley (1 bag). Used chicken, little seasoning and Viola. Thank you so much for sharing this super Yummy soup






  13. So tasty! Made the recipe exactly as written for the slow cooker. I did use a wild rice blend so after 2 hrs the rice wasn’t ready and my potatoes were still firm so I poured it all into my Dutch oven and simmered it for 40 minutes and it was perfect. Used the 1.5 Tblspn of Old Bay and even tossed in more at the end. My husband loved it and he initially didn’t want to eat it because of the kale despite saying it smelled so good but after trying it he said you can’t even taste it and everything else is so good. Thanks!!






  14. This is one of the better soup recipes I’ve found! I didn’t use old bay, but instead jerk seasoning, and only 2 teaspoons. The broth was so delicious and the soup very hearty! Will definitely make this again!!

  15. This soup is delicious!
    I went with the coconut milk option. As the notes described, it made for a delicious savory soup with just a touch of sweetness.
    I didn’t have old bay seasoning so I used somewhat of a hodge lodge of paprika and a creole seasoning blend, and I used 2 bay leaves instead of 1 because I love me some bay leaves.

    This one is an absolute winner!






  16. Very good, I used a small amount of Cajun seasonings & sausage with roasted chicken. Will make again.






  17. Like everything on your website, this is amazing. I make it frequently and it’s so delicious and easy. Today (since it’s the New Year and I am trying to shed some of my sins from the holidays) I am trying fat free evaporated milk instead of coconut milk. I’ll let you know. Otherwise, this soup is almost point free for you weight watchers subscribers. Your fish tacos are a staple in our household too. Thank you for constantly inspiring me.

  18. This soup was okay but I definitely won’t make it again. Also, it did not last well in the fridge the next day as everything got super soft. I’m tossing the rest of it instead of eating it which I almost never do :(






    • This was really tasty I followed the recipe except didn’t have any kale on hand so left that out. My husband said this was damn delicious lol 😂






  19. I make this a couple times a year- I keep the rice separate as. I always make enough for reheats and then it won’t suck up all the broth. I’ve used both kale and spinach. This is a keeper






  20. This was disaapointing. Made in electric pressure cooker. The rice and mushrooms were perfect but everything else was over-cooked. Think stovetop with better timing would work better. Think this needs a roux (i used cocnut milk). It’s missing something.

  21. This soup was delicious. Lots of chopping but well worth it. I will definitely be making again.






  22. This soup is delicious. I have made it several times. Thanks!






  23. I made the ‘stovetop’ version exactly as the recipe states. It is so delicious, I literally have been eating it all afternoon. I used 1 t. salt and 1/4 t. black pepper; otherwise followed all ingredients and quantities as listed (even the Old Bay seasoning). YUM!!






  24. I made this Autumn Wild Rice Soup in the crockpot (it needed the full 6 hours on high) for dinner last night and it was a HUGE hit! I’m a vegetarian and my family is not. I’ve been looking for more soup recipes that aren’t tomato based (simply because I’m bored of them), and this was so much better than I thought it was going to be. It was my first time using Old Bay Seasoning and I’m glad I read the reviews first because 1 tsp was plenty for me. I accidentally put the can of coconut milk in with the rest of the ingredients, but it was fine. I forgot the greens and omitted the salt/pepper. I highly recommend this soup!






  25. Is there nutritional/serving size information for this recipe?

  26. This was not a win for our family. We are vegan and are not picky eaters. It didn’t even smell good while it was cooking. So sad because it has such good veggies in it. Major thumbs down for the old bay seasoning. It was just gross. I kept trying to think of something to add to it that would fix it. After several grimacing faces I said let’s dump this in the trash and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. If only I’d read the reviews ahead of time!






  27. Favorite soup of all time right here 😍😍






  28. Loved this soup!! Made a few modifications. Not a fan of sweet potato, so I diced canned new potatoes. Also doubled the amount of Old Bay seasoning.






  29. It would be super if you could list calories, carbo, protein etc info.

    • Agreed, but also know that you can easily use MyFitnessPal’s (free) recipe import feature – you just copy and paste the recipe link and make sure the ingredients list ultimately matches what you use, and voila! ;) Hope that helps.

  30. Does anybody know how many calories this would have?

  31. I made this soup today. It is a WINNER!!! I used herbs de Provence and added 2 parsnips, otherwise it was as written. Such a nice combination of flavors and textures. Delish. thank you






  32. This was so delicious! I cooked it on the stovetop in a dutch oven with coconut milk and subbed spinach for kale. I skipped the celery and used a wild rice blend. I had to cook it for over an hour to get the rice soft, and the potatoes were a little overly soft by then. Next time I might try cooking the rice for a bit first and then adding the mushrooms/sweet potatoes. Regardless, this was so good and I loved it! Thank you!






  33. This is great for people that don’t have bland, Midwestern palates. I added more Old Bay and some dried parsley, would add fresh if I had some.

    Solid 5/5 recipe as written. Next time, I’ll make it Thai style with galangal and ginger in the aromatics, maybe add some Thai chilis for heat. Thanks!






  34. I’m not sure where I went wrong. I made this recipe using the instant pot. I used 100% wild rice, pressure cooked it for 25 minutes with a natural release of 10 minutes. It was all mush…the rice, the vegis…mush. The flavor isn’t bad. Maybe making it on the stove would be better.






  35. This soup is freaking amazing! I subbed spinach for the kale (we don’t care for kale) and it was spectacular. Hearty and warm, filling and flavorful.

    I love that if I see a recipe from Gimme Some Oven, I KNOW it will be a keeper. Without fail.






  36. I’ve made a lot of your recipes. Some have even become favorites but this soup was completely inedible. Had to throw the whole pot out and order pizza. Wow! Epic FAIL.






  37. This is a beautiful and healthy soup. It was good, but it tasted a little too sweet in my opinion. I added some lime juice and that had helped a ton. It’s something to try. Great recipe!






  38. This has become one of our favourite soups this winter. I have made it several times, always turns out. So comforting and yummy. I do not add the old bay seasoning, turns out great everytime. Thank you for the amazing recipe :)






  39. This is just the most delicious soup! We like it with herbs de Provence, chicken, spinach, and cream sauce options. I make this frequently.






  40. I liked this soup, definitely a nice alternative to traditional chicken wild rice. Not sure why other reviewers did not like the flavor? I used coconut milk, the suggested amount of old bay, and added some smoked rotisserie chicken. Only complaint was that the potatoes and veggies did get too soft, I would adjust their cooking time. Thank you for the great recipe!






  41. I’m in Denver (high elevation), and in the crockpot the rice took 3.5 hours to cook in my crockpot. So dinner was a little late :)
    I followed the recipe except for omitted the extra 1/2 tb of old bay seasoning out of fear it might be too strong. The final result was delicious! My parents (60s) and boyfriend (30s) loved it and a few of them claim to hate kale and not love mushrooms, sooo I’d say it was a hit.

  42. Made this for the millionth time this weekend. We tried the instant pot version this time. I usually make it in the stove top. It came out perfectly in the instant pot. I always add rotisserie chicken to this soup when the kale and coconut milk go in. I did the same with the instant pot. It’s was delicious as always. I love the old bay in this. I’m genuinely surprised when I see people say it’s too strong. I couldn’t disagree more. It’s all personal preferences though not everyone likes the same things. That’s what’s great about cooking for yourself. You can tweak a recipe until it’s exactly how you like it. Tweak away and enjoy!






  43. The first time I made this I measured the Old Bay seasoning wrong and it over powered the soup. I made it again tonight but I didn’t make the vegetarian version. Instead, I added chicken broth and added roasted chicken. I went easy on the Old Bay. I really enjoyed this and so did the family. I used coconut milk and loved the flavour. Definitely putting this into our soup rotation.






  44. This was fabulous, I backed off a bit on the Old Bay using only one tbsp, won’t do that the next time.






  45. As a newly diagnosed type 1 diabetic, nutritional facts would be nice with recipes!

  46. Soup was pretty good!! I’m not used to cooking with coconut milk so the flavor was a little different for me. Is there a way to substitute with milk/cream?






  47. This was so delicious. We used uncle bens wild rice in a box and it’s seasoning packet plus the old bay. Turned out perfectly. Will add to our soup rotation for sure!






  48. We make this often, love it!!






  49. Thank you for this yummy recipe! Loved it!






  50. i’ve made this soup four times and i love it every time. it’s funny because i really don’t like kale or mushrooms but i’m this soup they taste amazing! my grandparents had to ask for the recipe it was so good lol.