One of our favorite soups! Midwestern comfort food made WFPB!
Update: There’s now an adapted version of this recipe on the Vitamix website. And! It’s featured in the Vitamix 100-year Anniversary Cookbook!
This might actually be the best thing we’ve ever made.
It’s creamy and hearty and full of flavor. It somehow warms your soul.
One pot, one blender, one very happy family. Make this creamy wild rice soup tonight, it’s an instant classic.
Experimenting with vegan "creaminess"
Creamy is kind of a difficult texture to create without using cream. But it’s not impossible.
The more you do it, the better you get at making vegan dishes that don’t leave you missing dairy. Since veganizing our household and website, we’ve had to get pretty creative.
To get “creamy” we’ve used tofu as a thickener for our vegan tzatziki and balsamic butternut squash soup. Cashews for our cashew queso and cauliflower soup. And most recently, we’ve been dabbling with Cannellini beans which were featured in our Thanksgiving vegan loaf.
Using some of the things we’ve learned from previous kitchen experiments, we feel like we’ve hit the jackpot recreating this comfort food classic.
Our favorite childhood soup
Lenny and I grew up in neighboring Minneapolis suburbs but didn’t officially meet until adulthood in Chicago. Occasionally we’ll have one of those strange conversations where it’s clear we likely crossed paths. In this case, it would have been at Byerly’s… the local high-end grocery store.
Why would we both be there? Well, both of us were too poor growing up to actually shop for groceries there.
But as a treat, we’d make a special trip for their most delicious, pre-made soup: Chicken Wild Rice.
This soup tastes like childhood. Minnesota is freezing and this soup is the definition of comfort food.
Now that we’re married, and eat mostly plant-based, we took on the challenge of making this soup dairy (and chicken) free.
And I must say, we killed it! So, so, so, so, so, so, so good.
We used our Vitamix to create the perfect texture. We used our memories to create the perfect flavor.
This soup was consumed for both lunch and dinner and we just added wild rice back onto our grocery list. It’s one of those recipes you cannot wait to make again.
Start boiling some broth right now. You’ll have the perfect dinner in under one hour.
Recipe
Creamy Wild Rice Soup
One of the best, vegan soups ever
Cannellini Beans, Cashews, Celery, Mushrooms, Vegetable Broth,Ingredients:
- cashews (raw/unsalted) - 1 cup soaked (125 g)
- celery - 4 ribs chopped
- carrots - 1 cup chopped (128 g)
- onion - 1/2 whole chopped
- garlic - 4-6 cloves chopped
- vegetable broth - 64 oz (2 L)
- wild rice - 1 cup (160 g)
- dried thyme* - to your taste (we use 1 Tbsp. (4.3 g))
- bay leaves - 2 whole
- salt - 2 tsp. (5.69 g) + more to taste
- mushrooms - 8 oz chopped (225 g)
- cannellini (white kidney) beans - 15 oz can (425 g)
Instructions:
PREP
- Soak cashews overnight if possible
- If not, soak in boiling water as soon as you see this, the longer the better
VEGGIES
- Chop celery, carrots, onion, and garlic
- Chop mushrooms, reserve on the side
BROTH
- Reserve 1 cup (8 oz) of broth on the side
- Heat the rest of the vegetable broth in a large pot on medium heat
- Rinse and drain your wild rice
- Add wild rice, thyme, bay leaves, and salt to your hot vegetable broth
- Add your veggies too (celery, carrots, onion & garlic)
- Place lid on pot and set a 30 min timer
CREAM
- Drain soaked cashews and the liquid from the cannellini beans
- Place cashews & beans in Vitamix container
- Add the reserved cup of vegetable broth
- Blend on high for 1 minute until smooth
MIX
- When your timer goes off, add the creamy Vitamix mixture to your pot
- Add the chopped mushrooms
- Replace lid, lower heat, and set timer for 15 more min
- When the timer goes off, check if wild rice is done (should be a bit chewy)
- Remove bay leaves
SERVE
- Serve piping hot out of the pot
- Snap a pic and tag #lifeisNOYOKE
- Enjoy!
Useful tips for Creamy Wild Rice Soup
We like to save time by not sautéing the veggies first. We have done it both ways and to be honest, there is not much of a difference. Save yourself a step and throw 'em in the pot.
We blended white kidney beans, soaked cashews, and vegetable broth to create the creamy base of the soup. It works great for bases to other creamy soups too!
This soup is filling and rich. Before you ladle up a giant bowl, make yourself a mugs-worth. It catches up to you quick!
And if you're feeling up to it, serve it with this easy vegan cornbread.
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Made this exact recipe in the instant Pot and it was amazing!!
Great idea! Too bad the instant pot can’t also make the corn bread that goes so well with it! 🙂
This didn’t work out for me. It came out very thick and flavorless. I had to add 6 cups of water just to come close to a soup consistency. (I tasted it before and after adding the water, to make sure I wasn’t just watering down the taste) I was careful to follow the recipe exactly, but alas, it’s safe to say I won’t be making again.
I’m so sorry to hear that, Mark! This is one of our most popular recipes by far. We’ve tweaked the instructions several times using suggestions from people who have cooked it at home. We hope you’ll give it another try.
Thank you so much for this soup recipe! our family recently bought a vitamix AND recently switched to a vegan diet at the same time so your website is my saviour! Thabks fir all the work you do!
Quick question about the soup….first time I made it exactly as you described and it was perfect. Next time is like to try leaving out the cashews to make it lighter and to share with someone with nut allergies. Have you tried this and do you think it will be okay? Thank you!!
So glad you’re enjoying our Vegan Vitamix Recipes. If you need to sub out the cashews, try a block of Firm Tofu, that’s usually a good replacement and turns creamy in the Vitamix.
The taste is fabulous! Mine didn’t look like your picture though. Mine came out purplish brown, I think from the rice. I used sweet wild rice. The color of the soup was off putting even though it was very yummy!
Could be the rice but also could be the cashews. Sometimes when you soak them they turn purple! Google tells me that’s the “juice” of the fruit that leaks from the nut. Just don’t soak em as long and it shouldn’t be a problem.
Nailed it! This is by far THE BEST wild rice soup I have ever had. Better than the omnivore version. I made some very minor changes to your recipe. 1. I didn’t use mushrooms because I didn’t have any and I don’t really like them unless they are blended into something. 2. I used 1/2 tsp of ground thyme instead of fresh as I didn’t have any of that either. 3. Since I didn’t use the mushrooms, I added an entire bag of frozen carrots to bulk it up a bit. The base of this soup could be used for potato soup, corn chowder, dumplings, even as a pot pie filling. Very very good. This Minnesotan is beyond happy!! Thank you so much for this recipe!!
You’re so right! We could use this base for so many other creamy things. Look for some pot pies in the future, they sound delicious 🙂
Thanks for this recipe! It’s probably the best one I’ve tried since I started going WFPB. Since I only had 1/2 cup of the wild rice at home, I halved everything else, and it was wonderful! I’ll be back often for more great finds! (My Ninja did not quite emulsify the sauce like I’d hoped, but even the refurbished Vitamixes are out of my price range at the moment. Still tasted great, though!)
So glad you liked it, Mary. Next time you’ll have to make a double batch! Totally understand
Vitamix being an investment, have you looked into Interest-Free Payment Plans?
Made this for lunch today and it was amazing! Not sure I want to share it with my husband. I forwarded the recipe (as well as your web site) to my sister who will love this. Keep up the great work!
Thanks so much for sharing the love, Nancy <3
Made this over weekend and it was amazing!! My husband’s first comment was, I wish you woulda made more! Love it!
Amazing! We almost always make a double batch, it’s worth the extra effort!
I’ve made this twice…taking some to my grown daughter today. I’m pretty sure she’ll be thrilled. Thank you!
We hope she was just as thrilled as you!
2nd time making this soup! It’s fast and easy to make and DELICIOUS!!
Yay! You know it’s a winner when you make it again 🙂
This soup is absolutely delicious. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Our pleasure! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Delicious! I used a chicken-less broth powder and water for the broth but only used 7 cups total and will likely only use 6 next time because we like our soup a little thicker. I only used 1/2 tsp of thyme because the one I have is strong and had to leave out the mushrooms because I was out. Great flavor and the Minnesotan husband was impressed that it was vegan. Thank you!
Sounds like you did some great edits to fit your family’s needs. Glad you enjoyed and we got the MN stamp of approval!
when do you add the veg? is it with the rice for 30 mins or after? it doesn’t say. many thanks
We put the rice in first and then start chopping. It’s not an exact science, we just throw them in when they are chopped. That is during the 30 min the rice is cooking. Start with carrots, they take the longest to cook 🙂
This recipe looks fantastic. My daughter is allergic to all nuts. Is there a way to replace the cashews? I have seen a ton of recipes that use soaked cashews for creaminess and have always assumed we just couldn’t make/eat those recipes. But I’d love to figure out how to make this!
You might try substituting white beans for cashews.
Yup, more beans for cashews or even some tofu! Let us know how it works out.
I made this in the instant pot I put everything in together except the cashew cream and set on high for 12 minutes. I let the steam out instantly and added the cashew cream and put the lid back on and set to warm and stuck it in the corner to stay warm until lunch time when we had bring soup and salad to work day. It is so delicious! One of my all time favorite …EVER!
So glad you liked it, Jamie! Sounds like the Instant Pot seriously cuts down on the cook time, awesome 🙂
Has anyone tried freezing this? I have a ton!
We have a bunch in our freezer right now. It’s a little less creamy, but still absolutely delicious. Just let thaw on the counter and then reheat on stovetop. We add a little vegetable broth because it tends to get a little thick.
Has anyone made this in the Instant Pot successfully?
We haven’t experimented with the Instant Pot yet, but there was a really helpful comment in the Clean Food Dirty Girl Group regarding this topic.
The comment is: “I used the saute to saute the veggies (started with onion/garlic, then after a few minutes added the carrots/celery) then I added the veggie broth and let it heat up. Then I added the rice, put the lid on, cancelled the saute and set it on manual for 25 mins (so yes I waited for it to come up to pressure). When the time was up, I did quick release, added the rest of the ingredients, and set for another 5 mins (it didn’t take long at all for it to come up to pressure the second time). I would say all said and done, it took about an hour to cook it. I don’t know if it saved time, but I’m notoriously terrible at cooking rice so I prefer to leave to an appliance”. – Carissa Okie-Trolli
Hope that helps!
I am just making the soup. I didn’t see when to add the celery, carrots, onion and garlic so that they would have time to cook? It looks like you add them after the rice has cooked for 30 minutes?? Is that correct?
We like to get the rice cooking asap and then start chopping the veggies. Once you have the rice on, start chopping the celery, carrots, onion, garlic and pop them in as soon as you’re done. That should within the first 10 minutes the rice is cooking (depending on how fast you chop). You can also sautee the veggies first (as suggested by many followers) if you have time.
Thanks, Shalva.
Holy moley— you TOTALLY nailed this! I’m having company over today and wanted to give them a taste of MN but one is vegan and I was perplexed. JUST made this and tasted it and it is 100% like how my mom used to make it—minus the cream, cheese and chicken (of course!). Thank you!!
Yay! Really happy the MN came through even without the dairy 😉
Thanks for the great recipe. As usual I usually change things up.
I used walnuts, added rosemary and saute vegetables with some added spinach and mushrooms. Came out great. Thanks for the inspiration!
Sounds like some great changes to make it your own!