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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…
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.
(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.)
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.
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… ♡
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.
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.
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.
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.
Serve. Serve warm and enjoy!
Stovetop Method:
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.
Add base ingredients. Add in the vegetable stock, wild rice, mushrooms, carrots, celery, sweet potato, bay leaf and Old Bay seasoning. Stir to combine.
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.
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.
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.
Do you think the cream sauce recipe could be used universally as a replacement to Coconut Cream? I absolutely love CC but have been wanting to find a substitute to the Thai farmed canned options. Also, I’ve made this soup multiple times and it is straight up delicious!
I have had this pinned for years and finally decided to make it because I wanted something so delicious and hearty. BUT, It was just fine it felt like it was missing something, a little bland.
This is a delicious soup. I used wild mushrooms and instead of Old Bay seasoning I used Penzey’s Outrage spice blend. This one will be added to my soup rotation. Thank you for sharing.
Followed the instructions with the only difference that I only used 1/2 tbsp of old bay seasoning because a few other comments mentioned the taste was too strong. By the end I pretty much added another 1/2 tbsp because the flavour wasn’t quite right. Once finished, the vegetables tasted amazing but the soup had too heavy coconut flavour, something my partner and myself were not a fan of. After sitting in the fridge for a day the coconut flavour mellowed out almost completely and it was so delicious! I think the rice and vegetables really soaked up the coconut milk. I’m going to try this again with half and half or the cream sauce next time and see how that goes. Coming from a background of Asian cuisines, I’m really confused why some comments mentioned this soup tasted bland. That’s really confusing because there was so much flavour I had to reduce the old bay seasoning. The only thing I can think of is that the stock used was different. Perhaps it was not a very flavourful stock? I used salted chicken stock that had a bunch of herbs and spices in it, including turmeric. Maybe you can try that out next time?
Lavender —
If you use refined coconut milk, you would get less coconut flavouring.
This has been a go to favourite for a few years now, and not just in the colder months! I use the recommendation of coconut milk instead of cream and basically double the Old Bay seasoning (that’s just a preference). I have shared it with many, who have all also said how delicious it is. Highly
I love this soup! I’ve made it vegetarian and I’ve also made it with chicken stock and chicken sausage, bits delicious both ways. I’ve also made it creamier by adding unsweetened coconut cream (1/2 can).
It’s a soup I make repeatedly!
I did the stovetop method with coconut milk. This one gets a cue-card and goes in my recipe book! I really liked the brothy soup before coconut milk and kale, but also loved it after! I had never used old bay seasoning before but am glad to have been introduced to it :) Thanks for a great dinner recipe.
I absolutely love this soup! Like, LOVE it. I make it once a week – while my family enjoys it as well, I don’t think they follow my passion about it ;) Every time I make it, I say “I just LOVE this soup!” and they roll their eyes. But seriously – it’s one of my favorites – it’s hearty without being “hearty”. I will also occasionally sauté up some Italian sausage in the instapot first, then add the ingredients and cook. You won’t regret it!
It has really great flavor. I wish I had read the reviews first because, like others mentioned, the cook time for the veggies was much too long if they are added with the rice. I ended up using an immersion blender on the first batch and just made a creamy soup with some grilled cheese. I will make it again and add the veggies 15 or so minutes after the rice.
I’ve been making this soup for several years. It never gets old. I’ve added pheasant, chicken and sausage to it when we want something a bit more substantial. The sausage version is by far my favorite. I always use the coconut milk, I feel it adds great flavor. Old Bay seasoning is the secret with this one. Fantastic recipe that allows for a lot of variations.
I LOVE this recipe! I don’t care much for sweet potato, but I add zucchini instead! (only in about the last 5-10 minutes of cooking since it turns to mush otherwise.) I also usually add chopped up baked chicken for protein and goodness. I also prefer the coconut milk version because it means I can FREEZE it! This soup is perfect for those days I’m feeling under the weather but need something more hearty than chicken noodle. Thank you!!
Amazing soup recipe! I added chicken breast and chicken soup base paste for additional flavor. Finished it up with unsweetened almond milk and it turned out delicious. Made a loaf of fresh rustic bread for dipping. Thank you for giving me a new soup to make this season
This soup is so rich and comforting ❤️ it’s so savory I can hardly believe all the flavor is from veggies! I struggle to eat enough vegetables but this recipe has been so helpful because it makes me actually excited to eat them ☺️
I LOVE this recipe! It’s one of my all time favorites. I love the fact you can throw everything in the pot and you don’t have to Sautee anything. I will add chicken breast and shred it at the end before adding the kale and coconut milk. I keep the cooking time the same.
The wild rice made the soup, a brown that doesnt look as appetizing as your pic, just wanted to share that, and also ask if there is a way to not have that occur. Maybe cooking it separately and adding along side the coconut milk and kale…?
Delicious! I was able to use up the frozen pumpkin cubes that were sitting in my freezer for months. Coconut milk is hard to find so I used powdered coconut milk. I look forward to making this again.
I can’t thank you enough for posting this recipe and for all the different substitutes and methods to suite others tastes or needs. I made it on the stovetop and the only change I made was to use butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes. Just a preference. I don’t favor sweet potatoes. This soup is hearty and is truly delicious!! Thank you!!
Excellent recipe, really gets you in the mood for autumn 🍂
I did make alterations to the recipe due to some things I did not have on hand at home while making and/or add more protein to the dish to feel fuller longer.
I made the following changes:
More kale, 2 medium parsnips, 6 medium radishes, shredded carrots (8 oz bag), litelife 8 oz crumble (for more protein), red wine vinegar (while sauteing onions), rosemary, basil, bay leaf, and a pinch of smoked paprika.
This was incredible! I subbed spinach for the kale and added a little bit of curry powder. Wonderful, fall recipe. Served it with some fresh sourdough. Looking forward to enjoying the leftovers. Thank you for this recipe. It is going in the “Make Again” binder!
delicious!! I ended up cooking the onions and mushrooms together as I prefer my mushrooms sautéed until brown and I also added a little bit of soy sauce to punch up the flavor. All in all, a great recipe that I will definitely make again
Yummy! I make a big pot of soup every week for my breakfast (putting a fried egg on top) and wanted to try something different. This was really good. I haven’t used much Old Bay since my days at the Jersey Shore with seafood dishes and was surprised just how good it was in this soup. I added more veggies that I had on hand and made brothier since I prefer soups that way. Great recipe, I’ll look for others on your site.
Do you think the cream sauce recipe could be used universally as a replacement to Coconut Cream? I absolutely love CC but have been wanting to find a substitute to the Thai farmed canned options. Also, I’ve made this soup multiple times and it is straight up delicious!
This hit the spot on a cold winter night. Thank you so much for sharing!
I have had this pinned for years and finally decided to make it because I wanted something so delicious and hearty. BUT, It was just fine it felt like it was missing something, a little bland.
This is a delicious soup. I used wild mushrooms and instead of Old Bay seasoning I used Penzey’s Outrage spice blend. This one will be added to my soup rotation. Thank you for sharing.
Followed the instructions with the only difference that I only used 1/2 tbsp of old bay seasoning because a few other comments mentioned the taste was too strong. By the end I pretty much added another 1/2 tbsp because the flavour wasn’t quite right. Once finished, the vegetables tasted amazing but the soup had too heavy coconut flavour, something my partner and myself were not a fan of. After sitting in the fridge for a day the coconut flavour mellowed out almost completely and it was so delicious! I think the rice and vegetables really soaked up the coconut milk. I’m going to try this again with half and half or the cream sauce next time and see how that goes. Coming from a background of Asian cuisines, I’m really confused why some comments mentioned this soup tasted bland. That’s really confusing because there was so much flavour I had to reduce the old bay seasoning. The only thing I can think of is that the stock used was different. Perhaps it was not a very flavourful stock? I used salted chicken stock that had a bunch of herbs and spices in it, including turmeric. Maybe you can try that out next time?
If you use refined coconut milk, you would get less coconut flavouring.
do you think you could freeze this recipe>
How long would you say this keeps in the fridge? Do you find it freezes well? Thanks!
I absolutely love this soup my coworkers also love this soup. Thank you so much for sharing.
This has been a go to favourite for a few years now, and not just in the colder months! I use the recommendation of coconut milk instead of cream and basically double the Old Bay seasoning (that’s just a preference). I have shared it with many, who have all also said how delicious it is. Highly
I love this soup! I’ve made it vegetarian and I’ve also made it with chicken stock and chicken sausage, bits delicious both ways. I’ve also made it creamier by adding unsweetened coconut cream (1/2 can).
It’s a soup I make repeatedly!
I did the stovetop method with coconut milk. This one gets a cue-card and goes in my recipe book! I really liked the brothy soup before coconut milk and kale, but also loved it after! I had never used old bay seasoning before but am glad to have been introduced to it :) Thanks for a great dinner recipe.
Does this soup freeze well?
Absolutely love this recipe!!!! It is so unique and delicious!!! It has become a staple in my kitchen!!
I absolutely love this soup! Like, LOVE it. I make it once a week – while my family enjoys it as well, I don’t think they follow my passion about it ;) Every time I make it, I say “I just LOVE this soup!” and they roll their eyes. But seriously – it’s one of my favorites – it’s hearty without being “hearty”. I will also occasionally sauté up some Italian sausage in the instapot first, then add the ingredients and cook. You won’t regret it!
I could make this the only thing I eat for the rest of my life. It’s also fast friendly, which is another win.
It has really great flavor. I wish I had read the reviews first because, like others mentioned, the cook time for the veggies was much too long if they are added with the rice. I ended up using an immersion blender on the first batch and just made a creamy soup with some grilled cheese. I will make it again and add the veggies 15 or so minutes after the rice.
Amazing, will not disappoint. Hearty, and perfect.
Delish soup recipe everyone loves it!!!! Made it too many times to count!
I’ve been making this soup for several years. It never gets old. I’ve added pheasant, chicken and sausage to it when we want something a bit more substantial. The sausage version is by far my favorite. I always use the coconut milk, I feel it adds great flavor. Old Bay seasoning is the secret with this one. Fantastic recipe that allows for a lot of variations.
I LOVE this recipe! I don’t care much for sweet potato, but I add zucchini instead! (only in about the last 5-10 minutes of cooking since it turns to mush otherwise.) I also usually add chopped up baked chicken for protein and goodness. I also prefer the coconut milk version because it means I can FREEZE it! This soup is perfect for those days I’m feeling under the weather but need something more hearty than chicken noodle. Thank you!!
Amazing soup recipe! I added chicken breast and chicken soup base paste for additional flavor. Finished it up with unsweetened almond milk and it turned out delicious. Made a loaf of fresh rustic bread for dipping. Thank you for giving me a new soup to make this season
This soup is so rich and comforting ❤️ it’s so savory I can hardly believe all the flavor is from veggies! I struggle to eat enough vegetables but this recipe has been so helpful because it makes me actually excited to eat them ☺️
I LOVE this recipe! It’s one of my all time favorites. I love the fact you can throw everything in the pot and you don’t have to Sautee anything. I will add chicken breast and shred it at the end before adding the kale and coconut milk. I keep the cooking time the same.
The wild rice made the soup, a brown that doesnt look as appetizing as your pic, just wanted to share that, and also ask if there is a way to not have that occur. Maybe cooking it separately and adding along side the coconut milk and kale…?
Delicious! I was able to use up the frozen pumpkin cubes that were sitting in my freezer for months. Coconut milk is hard to find so I used powdered coconut milk. I look forward to making this again.
I can’t thank you enough for posting this recipe and for all the different substitutes and methods to suite others tastes or needs. I made it on the stovetop and the only change I made was to use butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes. Just a preference. I don’t favor sweet potatoes. This soup is hearty and is truly delicious!! Thank you!!
Excellent recipe, really gets you in the mood for autumn 🍂
I did make alterations to the recipe due to some things I did not have on hand at home while making and/or add more protein to the dish to feel fuller longer.
I made the following changes:
More kale, 2 medium parsnips, 6 medium radishes, shredded carrots (8 oz bag), litelife 8 oz crumble (for more protein), red wine vinegar (while sauteing onions), rosemary, basil, bay leaf, and a pinch of smoked paprika.
This was incredible! I subbed spinach for the kale and added a little bit of curry powder. Wonderful, fall recipe. Served it with some fresh sourdough. Looking forward to enjoying the leftovers. Thank you for this recipe. It is going in the “Make Again” binder!
delicious!! I ended up cooking the onions and mushrooms together as I prefer my mushrooms sautéed until brown and I also added a little bit of soy sauce to punch up the flavor. All in all, a great recipe that I will definitely make again
Yummy! I make a big pot of soup every week for my breakfast (putting a fried egg on top) and wanted to try something different. This was really good. I haven’t used much Old Bay since my days at the Jersey Shore with seafood dishes and was surprised just how good it was in this soup. I added more veggies that I had on hand and made brothier since I prefer soups that way. Great recipe, I’ll look for others on your site.
This was soooo good! I added shredded chicken and only a quarter cup of vegan half and half. I got rave reviews! Thanks for another awesome recipe.