Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup

Mushroom wild rice soup in a gray bowl with a gold and black spoon.

5 from 3 votes

Cremini mushrooms create a rich and savory mushroom broth alongside quick-caramelized onions, a wild rice blend, and chickpeas in this vegetarian soup.

Prep Time10

Cook Time1 10

Total Time1 20

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 334kcal

Author: Cassidy Reeser, MS, RD

Equipment

Dutch Oven or a 6 to 8 quart pot

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound shallots thinly sliced; 4-5 shallots
½ teaspoon salt divided
⅛ teaspoon baking soda see note #1
16 ounces cremini mushrooms see note #2
3 stalks celery sliced
2 whole carrots chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
¼ teaspoon black pepper
5 ½ cups vegetable broth see note #3
1 (15.5) ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed
1 cup wild rice blend rinsed well; see note #4
½ cup half and half
2 tablespoons sherry cooking wine
Suggested serving: crusty bread, grated Parmesan or asiago cheese, additional freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Caramelize the shallots: Heat a 6 quart Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add butter. Once melted, add the thinly sliced shallots. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon of baking soda, then stir to combine. The shallots will turn yellow and start to cook very quickly. They should be caramelized, and deep golden within just 10 minutes. Stir only every few minutes.
Prep the mushrooms: While the shallots caramelize, slice half of the mushrooms and cut the other half into quarters. Include the stems.
Saute the mushrooms: Stir in the sliced and quartered mushrooms, celery, carrots, and garlic. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the mushrooms are reduced in size and golden.
Season and simmer: Stir in the soy sauce, poultry seasoning, the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, and pepper. Pour in the vegetable broth and drained chickpeas. Bring to a gentle boil over high heat, then pour in the well-rinsed wild rice. Cover the soup and cook until the rice is tender, about 45 minutes.
Stir in the half-and-half: When the rice is completely cooked, remove the lid. Reduce heat to low. Add the half-and-half. Stir to combine. Stir in the sherry cooking wine. I recommend stirring between steps on the off chance that the acidic sherry curdles the half-and-half. Taste for seasonings and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Baking soda: Just ⅛ teaspoon of baking soda is added to the shallots to quickly caramelize them. Baking soda speeds up the cooking process by breaking down the shallots, resulting in jammy golden shallots in just 10 minutes.
Mushrooms: I like to slice half of the mushrooms and quarter the other half in order to have a variety of textures in the soup. It may seem finicky, but I promise it's worth it!
Vegetable broth: I prefer Better than Bouillon vegetable base to boxes of vegetable broth. I usually do a little less base:water than suggested on the label, as it can get quite salty.
Wild rice blend:Choose a blend, not just wild rice. I use Lundberg's blend of wild rice, which contains brown rice and a few other types of rice.
Make it vegan: Replace the unsalted butter with an equal amount of plant butter. Use ½ cup cashew cream in place of half and half.
Leftovers: This soup is best within 4 to 5 days. I like to store it in pint-sized mason jars for easy individual servings. Note that the rice will continue to absorb liquid as it refrigerates, resulting in a thicker soup. Add a splash of vegetable broth as needed.

Nutrition