Creamy Vegetable Wild Rice Soup (Vegan)

November 12, 2019
FFOL Editor 1
Cooking & Baking

$7.93 recipe / $1.98 serving

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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

Overhead view of a bowl full of creamy vegetable wild rice soup on a wooden plate with a piece of bread on the side

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.

Front view of a bowl of creamy vegetable wild rice soup with a spoon lifting some out of the bowl

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!

Creamy Vegetable Wild Rice Soup

This ultra-creamy Vegetable Wild Rice Soup is chock-full of delicious vegetables and a wild rice blend, with no dairy or other animal ingredients.

Keyword: dairy free soup, Vegan Soup

Total Cost: $7.93 recipe / $1.98 serving

Author: Beth – Budget Bytes

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 1 hr

Servings: 4 about 1.5 cups each

8 oz. baby bella mushrooms ($1.69)
2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
1 yellow onion ($0.32)
3 ribs celery ($0.37)
1/2 lb. carrots ($0.45)
1/4 tsp dried thyme ($0.03)
1/4 tsp dried sage ($0.03)
1 cup wild rice blend (uncooked) ($1.55)
4 cups vegetable broth ($0.52)
1 13 oz. can full-fat coconut milk ($2.49)

Wash and slice the mushrooms. Add the olive oil and mushrooms to a large soup pot and sauté over medium heat until the mushrooms are fully wilted and browned on the edges (cook until all the moisture is released, evaporated, and the mushrooms begin to actually brown for the best flavor).
While the mushrooms are sautéing, mince the garlic, dice the onion, slice the celery, and peel and slice the carrots.
Add the garlic, onion, celery, carrots, thyme, and sage to the pot with the mushrooms. Continue to sauté for about five minutes more, or until the onions are soft.
Finally, add the wild rice blend and vegetable broth, and stir to combine. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down and let the soup simmer for about 45 minutes with the lid in place (or however long the instructions on your brand of rice suggests for cooking).
Once the soup has simmered and the rice is tender, add the coconut milk. Stir to combine and allow it to simmer for about 5 minutes more. Finally, taste the soup and add salt if needed (I did not add any, but this will depend on the salt content of your broth). Serve hot with crusty bread for dipping!

Scroll down for the step by step photos!

Two bowls of creamy vegetable wild rice soup on wooden plates, each with a piece of bread on the side

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

Sautéed mushrooms in soup pot

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.

Onion, celery, carrots, garlic, and herbs added to the pot.

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.

Wild rice blend package

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.

Vegetable broth being poured into the pot with vegetables and wild rice

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).

Cooked rice in soup

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

Coconut milk being poured into 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.

Finished Creamy Vegetable Wild Rice Soup in a ladle above the soup pot