Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup

Written by Published on in Recipes, Soups & Stews, Southern Fried Skinnyfied

A comforting, nourishing, delicious soup made with wild rice, mushrooms, chicken and veggies. This easy soup will be a family favorite. Serve with a side of crusty bread and soak up every last drop!

I love this soup recipe! It is so tasty. There is something about the bacon flavor that just takes it over the top.

Don’t skimp on the bacon! I used Pederson’s Farms No Sugar Added Hickory Smoked Uncured Bacon. It’s our friend’s company with humanely raised, healthy products! Clicking on that will get you 10% off.

Wild Rice

Despite its name, wild rice is not rice at all. It’s an aquatic grass with an edible grain. Wild rice is relatively high in protein, the amino acid lysine and dietary fiber, and low in fat. Nutritional analysis shows wild rice to be the grain second only to oats in protein content per 100 calories. Like true rice, it does not contain gluten. It is also a good source of certain minerals and B vitamins. One cup of cooked wild rice provides 5% or more of the daily value of thiamin, riboflavin, iron, and potassium; 10% or more of the daily value of niacin, vitamin B6, folate, magnesium, phosphorus; 15% of zinc; and over 20% of manganese.

The broth is so so tasty. I used a wild rice blend in this batch of soup because that was all I had in my pantry. However, next time I will make it with just wild rice! It cooks perfectly in the 45 minutes. My rice blend was soft but still delicious after cooking for 45 minutes. See my tips for the type of rice you choose!

To Cream or Not to Cream

I love the nourishing ingredients in the soup that will fill you up and keep you satisfied. This soup is just as tasty without the cream but if you want a creamy soup that’ll really stick to the bones go ahead and stir in that cream, milk or coconut milk!

Extra Protein Your Thing?

I love adding chicken to this recipe because I try to eat a high protein diet to aid in my muscle recovery after my workouts! You can omit it but it’s super easy to add if you want to up your protein intake!

Tips:

  • Check the instructions for cooking the rice you choose on your bag. If it only cooks for 10 minutes, you only need to cook the soup for 10 minutes or until the rice is done before you stir in the cream and kale to make sure it keeps a chewy texture. Otherwise the rice will be softer if you cook it for the whole cooking time. Make sure you ONLY use PRE-COOKED chicken (like rotisserie or frozen pre-cooked chicken) if you won’t be cooking it the entire 45 minutes.
  • If you are going to eat leftovers, the rice will absorb most of the liquid while sitting. You can eat it as is as a creamy rice or add water or broth to your pot to make it more soup like.
  • Use can use frozen precooked chicken or rotisserie chicken in this recipe. Only use cubed raw chicken if you will be cooking the soup for the entire 45 minutes as the rice requires.
  • The soup taste delicious without any milk or cream added! Try it both ways and let me know which you prefer.
  • You can use 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and omit the bacon if you would like.
  • You can use a mixture of mushrooms.

Step By Step

  • Saute Bacon
  • Saute Mushrooms
  • Saute Veggies
  • Toast Rice & Spices
  • The Rice I used.
  • Pour in broth & chicken
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Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup
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Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup

Recipe by Paige MurrayCourse: SoupsCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy
Servings

6-8

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

1

hour 

An easy, delicious, nourishing soup loaded with flavor and healthy ingredients!

Ingredients

  • 4 slices of Bacon (or 2 tablespoons of cooking oil)

  • 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce

  • 8 oz (or more) of sliced mushrooms (I used Baby Bella)

  • 3 stalks of Celery, diced

  • 3 large Carrots, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds

  • 1 large White Onion, diced

  • 1 tablespoon Minced Garlic

  • 1 tablespoon fresh Thyme or 2 teaspoons dried Thyme

  • 1 teaspoon dried Sage

  • 1 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (optional)

  • 1.5 cups of Wild Rice or Wild Rice Blend

  • 8 cups of Chicken Stock or Broth

  • 2 cups of diced Chicken* optional (use pre-cooked or rotisserie if you won’t be cooking the entire 45 minutes).

  • 2 cups of chopped Kale or Spinach

  • 1 cup of Heavy Cream, Milk or Coconut Milk* optional for a creamy soup

  • 1-2 teaspoons of Salt

  • 1 teaspoon of Pepper

Directions

  • Fry bacon in a large soup pot or dutch oven.
  • When bacon is crisp, remove bacon from pot and set aside on a paper towel. When bacon is cool, break apart into small pieces.
  • SautĆ© sliced mushrooms in the bacon fat and soy sauce about 5 minutes.
  • Stir in the onion, celery, carrot and garlic. SautĆ© 5 more minutes until onion is soft.
  • Stir in the thyme, sage, red pepper flakes and the rice. Let rice toast about 1-2 minutes.
  • Stir in the chicken stock, salt and pepper.
  • If using chicken, stir the chicken in now.
  • Bring to a boil.
  • Cover and reduce heat to simmer.
  • Let simmer for 45 minutes.
  • Stir in chopped kale or spinach and cream or milk if using.
  • Cover and cook 10 more minutes.
  • Top with bacon pieces and shredded parmesan cheese if you’d like!
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