Creamy Mushroom Vegetarian Wild Rice Soup

Welcome, welcome to plant-based March here on Plays Well With Butter!

March, for me, is always one of the most difficult months of the year. It’s easy to fall into a cozy & comfortable rut during the winter months, & by the time march rolls around things start feeling a little too comfortable. What started as a little case of the winter blues turns into full-out desperation for spring & sunshine, you feel me?

To give us all something to look forward to this March – something that’ll make us feel great inside & out, something that’ll pull us out of a dinnertime rut, something that’ll add a little brightness to the month – I say we get out of our comfort zones & try something new: incorporating more plant-based eating into our lives.

This month, PWWB will be all about giving you some incredible options for plant-based cooking & eating this spring. We’ll makeover a few classics, & get to know a few totally new dinnertime faves. & it’ll be so easy & delicious that even the meat-lovers in your life will get on board! I really couldn’t be more excited!

Today we’re kicking off plant-based march on a majorly cozy note, with the creamiest vegetarian wild rice soup…

A Creamy Vegetarian Wild Rice Soup Recipe…& It’s Totally Dairy Free!

Seriously, can you even be a food blogger from Minnesota without a wild rice soup on your site?!

After planning out PWWB soup month last month, I felt like I had one big hole in my line up of recipes: wild rice soup. but similar to my feelings about chicken tortilla soup & not wanting to fix what isn’t broken, I vowed that I wouldn’t share a recipe unless it was really good & really different from the other billion wild rice soup recipes on the internet.

& here we are: a super cozy, super delicious, super easy & super plant-based wild rice soup recipe that I’m absolutely losing my mind over. Say hello to creamy vegetarian wild rice soup.

I’m so excited about this vegetarian wild rice soup recipe because it delivers on all the hearty & cozy flavors you love about wild rice soup without being a total dairy bomb.

This vegetarian wild rice soup gets wild rice soup’s signature creaminess from a super secret ingredient…cauliflower!

Mega-Flavorful Plant-Based Eating Is Easier Than You Think!

Learn how to make 25+ hearty, satisfying, plant-based recipes (loved by vegans and meat lovers alike!)

The cauliflower helps do double duty in this wild rice soup to a) omit dairy from the recipe, & b) eliminate any need for a flour-based roux & the extra pots & pans that come along with thickening a recipe with a roux.

This vegetarian wild rice soup is so creamy, so satisfying, so comforting, & it’s even husband approved (read on for Chris’ honest review!) – you’re seriously going to love it.

What Goes in Wild Rice Soup? Vegetarian Wild Rice Soup Ingredients:

There’s nothing crazy to see here (well, mostly nothing crazy), this vegetarian wild rice soup calls for lots of the usual wild rice soup suspects. I’ve added a few of my favorite hearty ingredients to ensure it’s totally satisfying & comforting, despite also being totally vegan.

You’ll need…

• mirepoix (diced onion, carrots & celery)
• aromatics (garlic, bay leaves, & fresh herbs)
• vegetable stock or broth
• wild rice
• mushrooms…lots of ‘em!
• kale
• …& a super secret ingredient…cauliflower! (? there’s the crazy! more on that in a sec!)

Pretty straightforward, right?

I tested this recipe with less mushrooms, but ended up doubling the amount to make sure that every bite of this vegetarian wild rice soup is hearty & satisfying. When it comes to mushrooms, the millennial in me loves using baby bella mushrooms – they’re so pretty! – but humble button mushrooms will work just fine here too. Use what you love!

& though it’s not super traditional, I just love the addition of kale in this vegetarian wild rice soup, or in any soup really! I like that kale keeps its hearty texture in soup, as opposed to how a more delicate green like spinach obnoxiously wilts down & borderline disappears in a dish like this. Of course, if you’re not a kale lover, you can totally leave it out.

& that leads us to the best part of this vegetarian wild rice soup recipe…

Creamy Vegan Soup: Thickening A Creamy Soup Without Flour or Dairy

The super secret ingredient for making this wild rice soup creamy & dreamy? CAULIFLOWER. Oh heck yes!

The fact that this soup is thickened without using any canned soup, dairy, flour-based roux, or the extra pots & pans that you use use to thicken traditional wild rice soup is by far my favorite part of this recipe. This vegetarian wild rice soup is dairy-free, gluten-free, & made all in one pot. It’s so easy & takes all the fuss out of making wild rice soup. I kind of freak out over it every single time I think about it!

Using cauliflower as a dairy-free option for thickening soups is my latest obsession. Unlike using canned coconut milk or another dairy-free milk substitute, cauliflower has a pretty mellow flavor that’s easily masked in this vegetarian wild rice soup recipe by all the fresh herbs used in the broth.

& it’s so simple – there’s no extra fussiness from making a roux & having a separate pot or pan to wash up at the end of the night! all you have to do is…

• Cut a small head of cauliflower in half, trimming any outer leaves from the stalk.
• Simmer the cauliflower with the rest of the soup, until the wild rice is tender & the cauliflower is softened enough to blend easily.
• & Blend! Transfer the cauliflower to a blender with some of the broth, and blend it into creamy, dreamy perfection, & stir it back into the wild rice soup.

my meat-eating husband’s honest review of this vegetarian wild rice soup recipe…

because plant-based eating might be a new venture for some of your families, i thought it would be super fun to ask chris to write down his honest thoughts about plant-based march’s recipes.

chris is a total guys-guy, especially when it comes to food. & if he can get on board with vegetarian wild rice soup, i’m pretty sure any meat lover in your life can too. here’s what he had to say!

when jess told me she was going to make vegetarian wild rice soup for the blog, i honestly was not into the idea. i’m not a big soup guy to start, &, to me, wild rice soup just sort of exists…it really doesn’t do much for me. & THEN she told me it would have cauliflower instead of cream or flour.

my gut reaction was…nope.

but after eating this soup i can honestly say it is my favorite wild rice soup i’ve ever had (sorry mom!).

it is so creamy, hearty, & flavorful, that you would never notice that it is vegetarian, let alone vegan. & as a guy who believes more meat is the way to improve any dish, that’s really saying something – i ate this soup for lunch every day for a week straight…by choice.

#boom, major wife win.

I can’t wait for you to try this Creamy Mushroom Vegetarian Wild Rice Soup! If you do give it a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo & tag @playswellwithbutter on Instagram. I LOVE hearing about & seeing your PWWB creations! ♡ Happy cooking!

Save This Recipe

Drop your email below to have this recipe sent right to your inbox, along with weekly recipe inspiration. Unsubscribe anytime!

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

URL Post Email

Email *

Save Recipe

creamy mushroom vegetarian wild rice soup

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 8 reviews

• Author: jess larson | plays well with butter
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 50 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: serves 4
• Category: Soup, Stew & Chili recipes
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

a satisfying vegetarian wild rice soup filled with mushrooms, wild rice, & kale. this creamy wild rice soup is thickened without using any dairy or a flour roux thanks to a  secret ingredient…cauliflower! {plant-based, vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free}

---

Email me this recipe

Enter your email and we'll send it right to you, plus get new recipes from us regularly!

Send

Send me new recipe updates.

Recipe saved! Please check your email for your saved recipe.

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 16 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 8–10 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 cup wild rice
• 1 small cauliflower, quartered (see Recipe Notes)
• 6 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
• 1 bunch kale, destemed & finely shredded
• optional: 1 cup milk of choice (see Recipe Notes)
• Kosher salt & ground black pepper

---

Instructions

1. Cook the aromatics: Add the olive oil to a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat. Add in the yellow onion, carrots, and celery, stirring to coat. Season with 1 teaspoon Kosher salt and ½ teaspoon ground black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies soften, about 5-7 minutes. Once softened, add in the mushrooms, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, and thyme – I like to leave the herbs whole, using kitchen twine to tie all the herbs together into a little bundle for easy removal. Season with another 1 teaspoon Kosher salt and stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms get nice & juicy, about 3-5 minutes.
2. Toast the rice: Once all the veggies have softened & the herbs are fragrant, add the rice to the pot. Stir to combine, then cook for 2-3 minutes to toast.
3. Assemble and cook the vegetarian wild rice soup: Nestle the quartered cauliflower into the pot, then pour the vegetable stock over top. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes, or until the rice is tender. (Note: wild rice naturally has a chewier texture than, say, brown rice does. It will still be a little chewy even once it’s cooked through).
4. Thicken the soup: Carefully transfer the quartered cauliflower to a high-speed blender, along with 2-3 cups of the broth. The cauliflower will be very tender so if a few florets fall off into the soup in the process, that’s totally fine. Blend until the cauliflower is pureed, then pour it back into the soup pot. Add the kale to the soup and stir to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until the kale softens.
5. Serve the vegetarian wild rice soup immediately, topped with fresh herbs and alongside some crusty bread, as desired. Enjoy!

Notes

• Dutch oven: I like making this vegetarian wild rice soup, and all the soups & chilis I make, in a nice Dutch oven. The heaviness of the pot retains heat well & evenly. This is the Dutch oven pictured in this post. I love it.
• Cauliflower: The size of your head of cauliflower obviously plays an important role in the thickness of your vegetarian wild rice soup since the cauliflower thickens the soup. The larger the cauliflower, the thicker the soup. I try to grab the smallest one I can find at the store (see photos, above). If your soup ends up being thicker than desired, stir in some extra vegetable stock or water to reach your desired consistency.
• Want an even creamier vegetarian wild rice soup? You can stir in 1 cup of your milk of choice once you add the cauliflower puree into the soup in Step 4. Be sure to taste and season additionally as needed – the creaminess of extra milk will beg for another pinch or two of salt!

Follow along with Plays Well With Butter on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Pinterest for more unfussy recipes that pack a big punch of flavor!