This wild rice mushroom soup starts with a pound of sliced mushrooms cooked down with onion, garlic, thyme, and rosemary. Carrots and celery go in next, then a little butter, flour, and milk to thicken the broth. The wild rice cooks in its own pot of broth and water at the same time, so the soup takes about an hour and makes 6 servings.
Wild Rice Mushroom Soup is a creamy soup for cold nights. The wild rice gives every spoonful a hearty chew, the mushrooms bring deep, earthy richness, and the broth is smooth and lightly thickened.
When the rice is tender, it goes into the soup with all of its cooking liquid, so none of that broth goes to waste. A squeeze of lemon and some grated Parmesan finish each bowl.
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Reader Love
This was a very delicious meal! I used plant based milk and cheese and it was still very tasty! This is a keeper.
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💛 Why you’ll love this recipe
- Earthy, savory depth: mushrooms cook until their liquid evaporates, concentrating their flavor into every bite.
- A real chew: wild rice holds its texture in the broth and makes this soup filling.
- Two pots at once: the rice cooks in one pot while the vegetables cook in another, so the soup is ready when the rice is.
- Flexible broth: the recipe works with chicken broth or vegetable broth, so it’s easy to work with what you have on hand.
- Customizable finish: lemon juice, fresh parsley, and grated Parmesan are all optional garnishes you can mix and match.
- Feeds a crowd: the recipe makes 6 servings, enough for a full family dinner with room for seconds.
➡️ Ingredients
⏲ How to make this recipe
Here is the short version of the method, so you can see what you are in for before you start. The full measurements, temperatures, and timings are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Bring 4 cups of broth and 2 cups of water to a boil, add the wild rice, cover, and cook on low for 40 to 45 minutes until tender. Do not drain it. That cooking broth goes into the soup and carries most of the flavor.
- While the rice cooks, heat the olive oil in a large pot and cook the onion and garlic until translucent, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Stir in the carrots and celery and let them cook until the rice has about 7 to 10 minutes left.
- Melt the butter into the pot, sprinkle the flour over the vegetables, stir it through, and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the milk slowly, stirring the whole time so it does not go lumpy, and keep stirring as it thickens.
- Pour in the cooked rice along with all of its broth, bring it to a gentle simmer, and cook 5 minutes more. Taste it, season it, and stir in lemon juice if you want it brighter.
- Ladle into bowls and finish with parsley and grated Parmesan.
👉 Easy ingredient swaps
- The recipe lists both chicken broth and vegetable broth as options. Use vegetable broth for a fully vegetarian version.
- Whole milk and 2% milk both work; either gives the broth that lightly creamy, thickened texture.
- The lemon juice, fresh parsley, and Parmesan are all optional garnishes. Use whichever you have and skip the rest.
- The recipe doesn’t call for a specific onion variety, so yellow, white, or sweet onion all work fine here.
✨ Variations
- Add all three optional garnishes at the end: lemon juice for brightness, fresh parsley for color, and Parmesan for a salty finish.
- Stir in lemon juice gradually: the recipe suggests 1 to 3 teaspoons, so start with 1 teaspoon, taste, and adjust from there.
- Use vegetable broth in place of chicken broth to make this a fully meatless dinner.
- Serve in smaller portions as a first course before a heartier main dish like roasted chicken or a casserole.
〰️ How to serve
- Serve it with a thick slice of crusty bread or a warm roll on the side.
- Try it alongside Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread for a full cold-night dinner.
- Pair it with Rye Dinner Rolls for a warm, substantial side that holds up to a full bowl of soup.
- A simple green salad on the side keeps the meal balanced if you’re serving this as a complete weeknight dinner.
🧊 Storing, freezing, and making it ahead
- In the refrigerator: up to 4 days in an airtight container. The wild rice keeps absorbing the broth, so by day two it is closer to a stew than a soup.
- Reheating: go gently, over medium-low on the stovetop, stirring as it comes up. A hard boil will split the milk-and-flour base. Loosen it with a splash of broth or milk to bring it back to the texture it had on day one.
- In the freezer: this is not a soup that freezes well. The milk base separates and the wild rice goes soft. If you want some in the freezer, stop after the vegetables are cooked and freeze that base, then add the butter, flour, milk, and rice fresh on the day.
- Making it ahead: the rice is the slow part, so cook it up to 3 days early and refrigerate it in its broth. The rest of the soup comes together in about 30 minutes.
💬 FAQs
Can I make this soup vegetarian?
Yes. The recipe lists both chicken broth and vegetable broth as options, so choose the vegetable broth and leave off the grated Parmesan at the end. The flavor is built on the mushrooms, herbs, and vegetables regardless of which broth you use.
Why do the instructions say not to drain the rice?
After the rice finishes cooking, it’s still sitting in the broth and water it simmered in. That liquid is part of the soup base. It carries the flavor of the broth the rice cooked in. You pour the rice and its liquid directly into the vegetable pot, so nothing gets left behind.
Can I use any type of mushrooms?
The recipe calls for 1 pound of sliced mushrooms and suggests cremini or baby bella, though any variety works, so use whatever is available to you. The key step is cooking them long enough, about 8 to 10 minutes, until they’re soft and their liquid has mostly cooked off.
Is the lemon juice necessary, and what does it add?
It’s completely optional, but stirring in 1 to 3 teaspoons at the end brightens the flavor and cuts through the richness of the broth. Start with 1 teaspoon, taste, and add more if you’d like.
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Wild Rice Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup wild rice, rinsed and drained, 180 grams
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, 15 milliliters
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound mushrooms, sliced (cremini, baby bella, etc.)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon pepper, plus more to taste
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole milk or 2% milk, 236 milliliters
Optional Additions/Garnishes:
- 1-3 teaspoons lemon juice
- Chopped fresh parsley
- Grated Parmesan cheese, omit for vegetarian
Instructions
- Cook Rice: In a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, bring 4 cups of broth and 2 cups of water to a boil. Add rice, reduce stovetop heat to low, cover saucepan with lid, and cook until rice is tender and some grains have split open, about 40 to 45 minutes. (After cooking this, do not drain broth.)
- Sauté Onions and Garlic: While rice cooks, heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until the onion is translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Stir in Mushrooms and Herbs: Stir in mushrooms, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper and cook until mushrooms are soft and their liquid has mostly evaporated, about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in Carrots and Celery: Stir in carrots and celery, and cook until the rice has about 7 to 10 minutes left. (Allow at least 5 minutes for carrots and celery to cook, but it can be longer.)
- Prepare Instant Roux: Add butter to pot and let it melt. Sprinkle flour over sautéed vegetables and stir well to combine. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add Milk: Slowly add milk to pot, stirring continuously to avoid lumps. Continue stirring as mixture thickens; simmer until rice has finished cooking.
- Add Rice Then Simmer: Once rice is done cooking, carefully pour or ladle scoops of cooked rice and broth into pot and stir to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer and let cook for an additional 5 minutes to allow flavors to meld together. Remove pot from stovetop heat, then carefully taste and add salt and pepper, based on taste preferences. Optionally, stir in some lemon juice to brighten up the flavors.
- Garnish and Serve: Ladle soup into bowls, garnish with parsley and grated Parmesan cheese, then serve.
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