Hearty Vegetable Wild Rice Soup

Classic vegetable soup gets a full-bodied upgrade with loads of veggies and a wonderfully textured wild rice blend. Hearty Vegetable Wild Rice Soup is a main-dish worthy soup that you’ll feel good about serving, because it tastes great, and it’s nutritous, too! Vegetarian, Vegan, gluten-free.

There’s a time and place for brothy soups, my friends. And then there’s a time for this.

As I type, there’s a thick coat of frozen slush covering everything outside, and temps will not top 15°F today or tomorrow.

This is the time for a big, hot bowl of stick-to-your-ribs vegetable wild rice soup, cooked up fresh and flavorful. Satisfying, but healthy, too.

Ingredients for Vegetable Wild Rice Soup

Of course, vegetable soup isn’t vegetable soup without loads of veggies. This recipe is a great excuse to clean out the fridge. Or for sneaking in extra helpings of vegetables that you normally couldn’t get away with with your family.

I don’t vary this combination often as it suits my veggie-lovin’ tastes perfectly, but you, of course, can use your favorite vegetables.

Two photos above, clockwise from the very top, I have: celery, kale, fennel, carrots, bell peppers, onions, parsnips, shallots. Mushrooms in the center, fresh parsley garnish, plus Yukon Gold potatoes and an apple.

Yes, an apple! A lovely sweet-tart Honeycrisp adds a bright pop of acid. Grate the apple right over the soup pot, to catch all the juices. (Curious about apples in soup? Try this Mulligatawny.)

I’m particularly fond of this wild rice blend from Lundberg Farms in California. I love all the nutty flavors and chewy texture — it should be fairly easy to find at your local grocery or Whole Foods (or at least Amazon (affiliate link)).

When simmered all together in a pot, you have a meal-worthy soup that’s rich in texture, delightfully savory, and beautiful in the bowl.

There’s just no resisting the allure of a heavenly scented vegetable wild rice soup.

Stay warm; eat soup (my life’s purpose right now, lol). More soups to come!

Karen xo

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Hearty Vegetable Wild Rice Soup

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: vegetable wild rice soup

Servings: 4

Calories: 240kcal

Author: Karen Gibson

Ingredients

for the rice

• 3/4 cup wild rice blend
• 3/4 cup vegetable or chicken broth
• 3/4 cup water

for the soup

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cups chopped vegetables (see notes for suggestions)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons Italian herb blend or Herbes de Provence
• 3 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup chopped kale
• 1 apple, grated
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• fresh parsley, minced, for garnish

Instructions

for the rice:

• bring all ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until all water is absorbed (30 to 40 minutes, depending on the brand - refer to package directions). Turn off heat, and let steam for 10 minutes

for the soup:

• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a 4 to 5 quart Dutch oven or stock pot over medium, until shimmering. Add all of the vegetables at once, and stir well. Cover, and let cook for 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
• When the vegetables have softened, scoot them to one side and tip in a splash of broth in the cleared area. Add the tomato paste, paprika, and a big pinch of salt to the broth, and stir well to create a fragrant paste.
• Mix the tomato paste into the vegetables, and sprinkle the herbs over them.
• Add the broth and bay leaf, and let the soup come up to a gentle boil (increase the heat temporarily, to help it along).
• Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and let the soup simmer for at least 15 minutes (longer, if possible).
• Remove the bay leaf, and add the kale, apple grates, lemon juice, black pepper, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir well, and let the kale wilt for several minutes.
• Taste, and adjust the flavor balance with additional lemon juice, salt and pepper.
• Stir in the rice. Serve immediately.

Notes

Use your favorite vegetables, or whatever you have languishing in the fridge. It's all good! For the photos in this post, I used diced: sweet onion, shallot, celery, carrot, fennel, parsnip, Yukon gold potatoes, red bell pepper, button mushrooms

Nutrition

Calories: 240kcal

Nutritional information, if shown, is provided as a courtesy only, and is not to be taken as medical information or advice. The nutritional values of your preparation of this recipe are impacted by several factors, including, but not limited to, the ingredient brands you use, any substitutions or measurement changes you make, and measuring accuracy.

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