Soup is such a great food. So easy, so filling (if you do it right!), a great way to use up leftover ingredients, and the flavor possibilities are endless. I recently discovered how delicious vegetable broth and coconut milk are together (see Vegan Creamy Mushroom Ramen) and I knew I had to experiment with that combo some more. So when I saw a bag of wild rice blend on sale this week, I snatched it up to make this super delish Creamy Vegetable Wild Rice Soup!

Creamy Vegetable Wild Rice Soup

Choose Your Broth Wisely

The type of vegetable broth used in this soup will greatly determine the end flavor, so make sure you use a quality broth. A weak broth will give you a weak and unexciting soup. If you’ve been hanging around here a while, you probably already know that my favorite is Better Than Bouillon. I can keep it on hand indefinitely (refrigerated), make any amount of broth I need, and it comes in tons of varieties (organic, low sodium, etc.). Mushroom broth would also be really good in this soup, but that’s not one I usually keep on hand, so I used vegetable flavor.

What Kind of Coconut Milk is Best for This Wild Rice Soup?

Full fat coconut milk (in the can, not the kind in a carton intended as a dairy milk substitute) is the best choice here. While you can use light coconut milk, it will be a lot less creamy, so just keep that in mind. I used a brand called Field Day Organic this time and it was great. I’ve also tested this recipe with Thai Kitchen and Goya. The Goya is the only one I wasn’t a fan of because the coconut milk was not smooth and left a grainy appearance in the soup. It tasted fine, but it wasn’t pretty.

This is NOT a “Thick” Soup

A lot of wild rice soups are a really thick, almost gelled consistency. This soup is not that texture. This is a brothy soup. I did make one of the test batches a thick version by cooking some oil and flour in a skillet until the flour was lightly browned, then whisking it into the soup, but I didn’t feel like it added a lot to the overall enjoyment of the soup, while adding a lot of extra work. So that step got nixed. :)

Can I Skip the Mushrooms?

IMHO, the mushrooms are critical to the overall flavor of the soup. Something about the way the mushrooms and coconut play together really make this soup hit home. So, while I wouldn’t suggest skipping or substituting the mushrooms, that might have to be a personal call.

What Kind of Wild Rice Blend Did you Use?

I used a brand called Lundberg. It’s a mix of wild rice, brown rice, and other rice varieties, so there is a lot of color and texture to the blend. Wild rice isn’t the cheapest thing around, but luckily I got it on sale. Scout those sales and stock up when they hit! 

Scroll down for the step by step photos!

 

How to Make Creamy Vegetable Wild Rice Soup – Step by Step Photos

Start by washing and slicing 8 oz. baby bella mushrooms. Add them to a large soup pot with 2 Tbsp olive oil and sauté over medium heat until they are browned. The key here is to not just cook until they’re limp, but keep cooking until all of their moisture has evaporated and they actually begin to brown on the edges.

While the mushrooms are sautéing, mince two cloves of garlic, dice one onion, slice 3 ribs celery, and peel and slice about ½ lb. carrots. Add the garlic, onion, celery, carrots, ¼ tsp dried thyme, and ¼ tsp dried sage to the pot with the mushrooms. Continue to sauté a few minutes more, or until the onions are soft.

This is the wild rice blend I used. Depending on what brand you have, it may suggest different cooking times. This brand suggests 45 minutes, so I simmered my soup for 45 minutes. Adjust the soups’s cooking time according to the rice blend you are using.

Add 1 cup uncooked wild rice blend and 4 cups vegetable broth to the pot. Place a lid on top, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring it up to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to low and let the pot simmer for 45 minutes (or for the suggested cooking time for your rice blend).

After simmering for 45 minutes, the rice blend is tender and it’s time to finish up the soup!

Add one 13 oz. can of full-fat coconut milk (not the dairy milk substitute kind—that stuff is super watery). Make sure to get all the solid fat out of the can. Stir the coconut milk into the soup and then let it simmer for about 5 minutes more. That last bit of simmer time will take the sweet edge off the coconut milk and help the flavors blend together.

And now the Creamy Vegetable Wild Rice Soup is finished! Give it a taste and add salt if needed (I did not add any). 

Enjoy hot with some crusty bread or crackers for dipping!

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