Slow cooker week continues! Did you catch my first recipe? Trust me, you don’t want to miss the slow cooker white bean tortilla soup that I posted on Monday. This slow cooker wild rice mushroom soup is also vegetarian, but it has a totally different flavor profile. It’s creamy and cozy and so flavorful. It’s also packed with vegetables and very filling despite being meatless. As a family who eats meatless at least 3 times a week, it’s important to me to have good vegetarian recipes to fall back on that are filling and delicious.
One really important ingredient in this recipe is the wild rice. I know that wild rice can be difficult to find, and it’s usally more expensive, but it is the rice you need to use in this soup. I buy mine from Trader Joe’s, but if you don’t have access to that it’s also available at specialty grocery stores and online. Wild rice is different from other traditional rices because it’s actually a grass. It has a different flavor and it cooks differently than other rices, which is why it’s important in this recipe. Make sure you use pure wild rice, not a wild rice blend, and not just rice that’s black in color (frequently called forbidden rice).
Wild rice and mushrooms are an excellent pairing, but this soup is also filled with other vegetables: carrots, celery, kale, and sweet potato all come together to make a filling and delicious soup. I use heavy cream in this soup, but if you’re vegan or dairy-free, you can also use full-fat coconut milk in this recipe with excellent results. Plus the coconut flavor adds a different dimension to this soup that’s truly delicious.
Next time you need a cozy slow cooker soup, look no further than this slow cooker wild rice and mushroom soup!
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup wild rice
- 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- ½ yellow onion, chopped
- 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- ½ tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 large bunch kale, stems removed, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cups heavy cream (or full-fat coconut milk)
- ¼ cup flour
- In a slow cooker, place the following ingredients: vegetable broth, wild rice, garlic, carrots, celery, onion, sweet potato, bay leaf, thyme, pepper, and salt. Cook on low for 4 hours.
- Add kale and mushrooms to slow cooker.
- Whisk together heavy cream and flour and add to slow cooker as well.
- Cook on high for an additional 30 minutes.
- Serve with crusty bread.
- Enjoy!
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I made this today and loved it! Only problem is that I wanted it for lunch and somehow missed that it was a crock pot recipe! No worries, though, I just put it in a pot and boiled the vegetables for about 45 minutes until they were nice and soft. I eliminated the kale because I knew my picky hubby wouldn’t eat it. I also eliminated the rice and flour because I’m diabetic, and instead used a very small amount of water and corn starch to thicken it a tiny bit. It was really excellent! A wonderful lunch on a cold fall day. 🙂
I’m so glad that it worked on the stovetop and great idea using cornstarch to thicken! Thank you for sharing!