Mushroom Wild Rice Soup (Vegan!)

This creamy vegan Mushroom Wild Rice Soup is loaded with all the classic, comforting flavors you’d expect, minus the dairy! There’s just enough creaminess that it feels indulgent but it’s also loaded with veggies, so you can feel good about feeding it to your family! And it comes together all in one pot, in about an hour!

You Will Love This

• It’s an easy one-pot dinner! While this creamy wild rice soup does utilize a variety of ingredients, most of them are pantry ingredients or veggies that you may have in your fridge right now. Everything cooks in one pot as well which makes this one of the easiest meals ever!
• It’s the perfect Sunday night dinner! My ideal Sunday afternoon is spent in the kitchen working on something yummy for dinner! This soup takes about an hour from start to finish and requires minimal prep work which makes it one of my favorite Sunday night dinners. Leftovers reheat beautifully also, so we can enjoy it all week! If you’re looking for other night worthy dinners, check out my Vegan Mushroom Lentil Stew, Creamy Vegan Gnocchi Soup, or Vegan White Bean Kale Soup!
• It’s loaded with comforting flavors! Sage is one of my faaaaaaavorite dried herbs and for me, it just screams WILD RICE SOUP. Dried sage gives this vegan soup its signature, homemade, nostalgic flavor – along with the classic trio of sauteed onion, celery, and carrots.
• It’s totally vegan! This soup is a great option for vegans, vegetarians, or anyone with dietary restrictions that prevent them from eating dairy. But this vegetarian wild rice soup tastes so delicious that carnivores will eat it right up too!

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Olive Oil – This is our family’s favorite brand of olive oil. Try to find an organic cold-pressed olive oil for the best flavor.
• Yellow Onion – I like the slightly sweet flavor of the yellow onion in this recipe, but a white onion would work in it’s place.
• Celery – If you don’t have celery on hand, try adding more onion or carrot in it’s place.
• Carrot – You could also use matchstick carrots in this recipe to save prep time if you don’t have time to chop your own.
• Baby Bella Mushrooms – You really could use any type of mushroom for this soup but I love the size, flavor, and texture of baby Bellas in this recipe!
• Sage and Thyme – You could also use dried oregano or dried rosemary in place of the dried sage or dried thyme.
• Garlic Powder and Sliced Garlic – I love to include both garlic powder and sliced garlic in this recipe because of the flavor that each brings. If you don’t have both on hand, just add a little extra of whichever one you do have and the flavor will still be great!
• Balsamic Vinegar – While balsamic vinegar may seem like an unusual ingredient for a wild rice soup, trust me – it gives it the best depth of flavor!
• Vegetable Broth – You could also use chicken broth in place of the veggie broth if you aren’t worried about this soup being vegan.
• Full-Fat Canned Coconut Milk – You could use heavy cream or half and half in place of the coconut milk but I’d recommend starting with just a 1/2 cup of either and adding more as desired.
• Wild Rice Blend – This is the wild rice blend that our family likes the most. I love the combination of grains, especially the shorter grain rice.
• Corn Starch – You could use your choice of thickener here. I prefer corn starch because it’s something I’ve always got on hand.
• Parsley – The parsley really adds fresh flavor to this soup and blends well with the dried herbs for great depth of flavor.

Instructions

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots, along with a couple pinches of salt and pepper. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring frequently. 

Then add mushrooms, sage, thyme, garlic powder, sliced garlic, and a large pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add balsamic vinegar and a splash of veggie broth to deglaze the pot, scraping all the yummy bits off the bottom. 

Then add veggie broth, coconut milk, and wild rice blend.  Dissolve cornstarch in 3 tablespoons of COLD water and add the slurry to the pot as well. Add a couple pinches of salt and pepper. 

Simmer until rice is cooked through. Stir in fresh parsley, season to taste with salt and pepper and enjoy!

Tips

• Halve or quarter your mushrooms based on how large they are. You want to end up with pieces of mushroom that are all the same size so that they cook at the same rate. Cutting them into larger pieces (as opposed to thinly slicing them) ensures that they won’t break down and get mushy during the cooking process.
• Always dissolve corn starch in cold water before adding it to any dish. Dissolving it in hot water (or any hot liquid) will make it lumpy. It’s important to first dissolve it in cold water and then add it to your hot soup.
• Be sure to keep stirring the soup while it’s simmering. The rice is reallllly going to want to stick to the bottom of the dutch oven. So keep it moving with a quick stir every 10 minutes or so!
• Use full-fat coconut milk for this easy wild rice soup recipe! Not the low fat or light stuff. You’re only using half a cup so don’t fret about the calorie count. The coconut milk is what’s going to give it that silky smooth, creamy texture. Also, you won’t even taste the coconut in this soup. The herbs completely take over and all you’ll taste is delicious!

FAQ

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This post was originally published in December of 2017. It was updated in December of 2020 to include process shots, step-by-step instructions, and tips for making the best wild rice soup every single time!