This creamy mushroom and wild rice soup is exactly the type of meal that I crave on a cold winter day. This vegan soup recipe is packed full of vegetables, meaty mushrooms, nutty wild rice, and flavorful herbs. Make it in one hour on the stovetop!
I’m a big fan of soup recipes, especially during the fall and winter months. To me, there’s nothing cozier than a warm bowl of cream of broccoli or butternut squash soup paired with homemade popovers for dunking. This creamy mushroom and wild rice soup is another recipe that always hits the spot!
This mushroom and wild rice soup is hearty and comforting, with nutty rice, savory mushrooms, carrots, and celery. And it’s bursting with flavor thanks to garlic, lemon, and herbs. It’s a staple in my kitchen during the colder months!
Why You Should Make This Creamy Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup
- It's vegan and gluten-free. My creamy mushroom soup is vegan, made with coconut milk instead of heavy cream. I thicken the soup with gluten-free flour, and if your rice is certified, this soup is also 100% gluten-free, too.
- A little bit of everything. This vegan mushroom and wild rice soup is packed with a delicious blend of savory flavors and wholesome veggies.
- Easy to make. This creamy wild rice soup with mushrooms comes together in about an hour on the stovetop. It's perfect for quick weeknight meals and cozy weekend lunches.
You’ll Need These Ingredients
Here are all the ingredients that you need to make this cozy and hearty vegan mushroom and wild rice soup. Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the page to see the exact amounts for each ingredient.
- Olive oil – Use your favorite good-quality olive oil or cooking oil.
- White onion – If you don’t have a white onion, you can use a yellow onion, red onion, or 3 shallots.
- Carrots and celery – Along with the onions, these veggies create the aromatic flavor base for the soup.
- Button mushrooms – Or any kind of mushrooms you'd like. Good options are brown mushrooms, chopped portobellos, cremini, or even exotic varieties, like shiitakes and oyster mushrooms.
- Garlic – Use freshly minced garlic, or replace each fresh clove with one tablespoon of jarred garlic if needed.
- Italian seasoning – You can make your own from a blend of Italian herbs, like basil, thyme, oregano, marjoram, and rosemary. Use equal parts of each.
- Wild rice – If needed, make sure the wild rice you're using is certified gluten-free. You can make this soup with regular long-grain rice, too, like basmati or jasmine rice.
- Vegetable broth – Use your favorite store-bought veggie broth, or you can make this soup with homemade broth or stock for even more flavor. If you're not making this soup vegan, feel free to use homemade chicken broth instead.
- Flour – I like to use a gluten-free flour, but you can use all-purpose flour if you're not making a gluten-free soup.
- Coconut milk – Full-fat coconut milk is best, as it makes the soup extra creamy and rich. You could also use cashew cream.
- Lemon juice – Use freshly-squeezed lemon juice if possible.
Wild Rice vs. Regular Rice
Fun fact: Wild rice isn't actually rice at all. Traditional white rice is a cereal grain. Wild rice is the seed of an aquatic grass that grows in North American rivers and lakes. It has a chewy texture and nutty flavor, and it's often cooked and prepared like rice. I love it in wild rice soup recipes, and it's delicious cooked and added to salads and casseroles.
How to Make Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup
Here’s how to make this easy soup recipe in a few quick steps on the stove. Alternatively, you can make Instant Pot wild rice soup.
- Sauté the veggies. Heat some oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and cook until the onions are translucent and just starting to turn brown. This should take 3-4 minutes.
- Add the seasonings. Put the mushrooms, garlic, Italian seasoning, and some salt and pepper in the pot, and stir to combine. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, which should take about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the rice. Place the wild rice in the pot, and pour the vegetable broth in.
- Cook. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Cover the soup and let it cook for 30 minutes.
- Make the roux. When there are 5 minutes left for the soup, heat the rest of the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the flour and whisk to combine. Keep whisking constantly until the flour and oil clump up.
- Add the coconut milk. While continuously whisking, pour the coconut milk into the roux slowly. It should turn into the consistency of a thick sauce.
- Add the mixture. Pour the mixture into the soup, stir to combine, and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Finish seasoning. Add the lemon juice and stir to combine. Taste the soup, and add more salt and pepper as necessary, then serve.
Recipe Tips for the Best Soup
- Use homemade broth. My favorite way to get the most out of a soup recipe is to use homemade stock. You get so much more flavor out of homemade broth than you do out of the store-bought kind. For the best-tasting mushroom and wild rice soup, I recommend using my recipe for mushroom vegan bone broth.
- Upgrade your mushrooms. I usually use button mushrooms for this recipe because they’re cheap, easy to find, and delicious in this soup. However, if you want to take your soup to the next level, you can use a mix of mushrooms, like cremini, baby bellas, etc., for even more flavor.
- Have fun with the toppings. Every soup is better when garnished with something tasty. I love to top this wild rice soup with a sprinkling of fresh herbs. You can add any toppings you want, such as lemon zest, gluten-free croutons, vegan parmesan cheese, olive oil, and chili flakes.
Serving Suggestions
My favorite way to serve this creamy mushroom and wild rice soup is with thick slices of quinoa almond flour bread or pumpkin cornbread and a green salad on the side. This warm farro salad is another cold-weather favorite, as is my roasted Brussels sprouts salad with quinoa.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Store this vegan mushroom wild rice soup in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
- Reheat. Reheat the soup on the stove over medium heat until warm all the way through, or in the microwave on 80% power in 20-second increments.
- Freeze. This is a great soup to freeze, and it will last in the freezer for up to 3 months in an airtight container. Defrost in the microwave or thaw in the fridge before reheating.
More Vegan Soup Recipes
Creamy Mushroom & Wild Rice Soup
This creamy mushroom and wild rice soup is hearty and comforting, filled with savory veggies, herbs, and nutty rice. It only takes an hour to make, plus it's vegan and gluten-free!
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons olive oil , divided
- 1 small white onion , chopped (about ½ cup)
- 3 medium carrots , chopped (about 1 cup)
- 4 stalks celery , chopped (about 1 ½ cups)
- 16 oz button mushrooms , chopped
- 2 – 3 garlic cloves , minced/crushed
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- Generous pinch of salt & pepper
- 3/4 cup wild rice
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- ⅓ cup flour (I recommend a grain-based flour)
- 1 (14.5oz) can full-fat coconut milk
- Juice of ½ a lemon
Instructions
- Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté for 3-4 minutes until the onions are starting to brown and turn translucent.
- Add the mushrooms, garlic, and Italian seasoning, and season with salt and pepper. Sauté another 2-3 minutes until the garlic is fragrant.
- Stir in the wild rice and vegetable broth.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes.
- With 5 minutes left in the cooking process, add the remaining olive oil into a small saucepan. Heat to medium and once hot, whisk in the flour.
- Once the flour is clumped, add the coconut milk slowly, continually whisking until you have a thick sauce-like consistency.
- When your timer for the soup goes off, stir in the coconut milk roux. Allow the mixture to cook for another 5 minutes.
- Stir in the lemon juice, and additional salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Serve immediately with a slice of toasty bread and some fresh herbs.
Notes
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 days or in the freezer for 3 months. Reheat on the stove over medium heat, or in a microwave on 80% power in 20-second increments.
Nutrition
Serving: 1.5cups | Calories: 367kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Sodium: 39mg | Potassium: 636mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 5126IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 4mg
Are you suppose to cook the wild rice before adding it to the soup? My bag of rice says to boil it for 55-65 minutes, so 30 minutes will not be long enough. I think your recipe ingredient list should specify this detail.
Truly hit the spot! All the flavors were on point! Will be on my rotation!
Made this yesterday and it’s so delicious – a definite keeper! The only thing I did different was add a little white truffle oil to the bowl of soup before serving. Yummy!
I made the roux twice and both times it got lumpy at a different point. Very disappointing!!
This was delicious! I added leeks in with the mirepoix and finished it with chopped kale and spinach for extra veggies. Will definitely be making this again!
That sounds fantastic!
Quick question – is the rice added uncooked?
Yes!
Even though I had to substitute chicken broth for the vegetable broth and half and half for the coconut milk, it was still delicious! Will make again.
Just made this this morning and it is delicious. I am to the point of adding the lemon and am afraid to add it. What does the lemon add to the soup?
It adds acidity which is important for the flavors to balance out. I suggest tasting the recipe, adding a little bit of lemon juice and then adding to taste from there 🙂
Is im ever nervous about adding something to a recipe I pull back a few tablespoons in a bowl and ad a tiny bit of the ingredient in question and mix it up and taste it to decide if it’s something I want to add or not
This was fabulous! I make a ton of new recipes, and this is by far one of my favorites. Go make this soup, you will love it ❤️
Thank you so much for the review, Lisa!
HEAVENLY!!! It’s creamy and just so delicious! I had two full bowls of it 🤣
Is there else you can use to make the roux, besides the oil?
You could omit the oil or swap it for a fat you prefer
My wife and I aren’t the biggest fans of coconut milk. Think we could use creamy almond milk or vegan heavy cream instead?
Yes, vegan heavy cream would be a great substitute!
I made this soup and it tasted amazing. However, it’s much darker brown than the photo. It doesn’t look inviting at all. I followed the recipe to a tea, w 3 exceptions. I used 1/2 shiitake 1/2 baby Bella mushrooms instead of button mushrooms. The wild rice I found was Sweet Wild Rice. I also added 2 c more broth as it didn’t seem enough to cook the rice. Can you help me figure it out? It’s truly ugly despite the amazing flavor
It was probably a blend of the mushrooms and the added broth!
Made this soup today. Used gluten-free flour as my husband is celiac. It is delicious!! The flavour is so rich and earthy. Can’t wait to try some of your other recipes. Thank you!
The taste was delicious. If I make it again I will use less wild rice. I also only used half the amount of coconut milk
Can I use any type of rice or does it have to be wild rice? Thank you in anticipation for your help.
You could use white or brown rice instead of wild rice, but your cooking time might be slightly less
In the instructions, it says to let the soup simmer for 30 mins, then add the roux and cook for another 5 mins. But in the description above it says to bring the soup to a boil after adding the roux. So should I simmer the soup after adding the roux or bring it to boil again?
Thank you, recipe looks good!
Sorry the portion above in the blog post was unclear – just updated! Follow the instructions listed in the recipe card for the correct way to make it 🙂
5 stars all the way!!! a bowl of goodness, flavour, and creaminess! followed the recipe exactly as instructed and wouldn’t change anything! Will do it again. thank you so much 🙂
Woot woot!! So so so happy to hear that! xx
This was delicious! I added chicken and some bacon to add in some more protein. My entire family loved it!!! I will be making this one again.