Minnesota Wild Rice Soup

This Minnesota Wild Rice Soup is creamy and delicious with a rich broth and hearty wild rice. Perfect for a chilly winter evening!

Since we’ve spent the past week in Minnesota, it seems like the perfect time to share this recipe! It’s the best way to warm up on a chilly evening. But even if you’re not in a totally freezing climate, this soup will hit the spot! It’s an easy one to make and leftovers reheat well so it’s great for lunch the next day!

The trick to this soup is the wild rice. Don’t try to substitute it for regular rice. Wild rice has a heartier, chewier texture and it doesn’t get soggy or soft when it’s cooked in soup. Wild rice can be a bit more expensive and harder to find but if you go to a larger grocery store, you shouldn’t have any trouble. I’ve found it at Wegmans, Publix, Whole Foods, and Kroger. It can be a bit pricey so if it just won’t work in your budget, you can use a wild rice blend which tends to be cheaper. But if you can swing the wild rice, you’ll be happy you did.

The other ingredient you might not have in your pantry is evaporated milk. I have to be honest, I don’t remember the last time I bought evaporated milk until I started making this recipe. But it’s a great way to create a creamy broth without using actual cream to get the right texture without a lot of additional fat and calories. If you want to make a vegan version of this soup, I highly recommend using Ripple’s half and half. It’s a great plant-based creamer! You can substitute Earth Balance or olive oil for the butter.

Minnesota Wild Rice Soup

★★★★★

5 from 4 reviews

This Minnesota Wild Rice Soup is creamy and delicious with a rich broth and hearty wild rice. Perfect for a chilly winter evening!

• Author: Liz Thomson
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes
• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Yield: 4 main dish servings
• Category: Soup
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Soup

Ingredients

• 1 cup wild rice
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 stalks of celery, diced (about ⅓ cup)
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about ½ cup)
• 2 large carrots, diced (about ⅓ cup)
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 small bundle of thyme (about 8 sprigs)
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Instructions

1. Cook the rice according to the package directions.
2. In a large pot, heat the butter over medium heat for 30 seconds or until melted.
3. Add the celery, onion, and carrots and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently.
4. Add the broth and thyme and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
6. Remove the thyme stems from the pot.
7. Add the cooked wild rice, evaporated milk and salt. (Note: if your rice isn’t ready yet, simply turn off the heat of your soup pot and then resume cooking once the rice is ready to be added.)
8. Cook over low-medium heat until heated through. If you let this sit before serving, the rice will continue to absorb the broth. Simply add ½ cup of water and stir until you reach the desired consistency.
9. Add additional salt to taste, if needed.

Keywords: Minnesota Wild Rice Soup

I like to make my rice in a rice cooker but you can also make it on a stovetop. If you want to save a little time, you can make the rice in advance. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days until you’re ready to make the rest of the soup.

As I mentioned, this soup is also great reheated. I wouldn’t recommend freezing this soup though since creamy soups tend to separate when frozen. When reheating leftovers, you may need to add a splash of water to the soup as it tends to thicken when cooled.

For more easy soup recipes, try some of my other favorite recipes!

Tomato and Rice Soup

Moroccan Chickpea Soup

Hearty Vegan Chili

What’s your favorite type of soup?