Slow Cooker Mushroom And Wild Rice Soup

📝Shopping list

To make this creamy mushroom wild rice soup you will need:

• White Mushrooms - sliced
• Carrots
• Onions
• Celery 
• Wild rice
• Garlic
• Thyme - dried
• Oregano - dried
• Rosemary - dried
• Tapioca pearls - for thickness
•  Mushroom or vegetable broth
• Bay leaf
• Full-fat coconut milk
• salt and black pepper to taste
• instant potato flakes - optional
• non-stick cooking spray - optional but recommended

🔪Instructions

• 🍄Slice your mushrooms and dice all other veggies.
• 🍄Spray your slow cooker with a non-stick cooking spray of your choosing. Although this step is less necessary for soups thanfor other recipes, it can still help with clean up.
• 🍄Add all ingredients into the bottom of the pot except for coconut milk, bay leaves, and potato flakes.
• 🍄Place bay leaved gently on top of other ingredients. This will make them easier to remove after cooking.
• 🍄Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours or 3-4 hours on high.
• 🍄Half an hour before serving, remove bay leaves and stir in coconut milk.
• 🍄Optional: to thicken soup, add one tablespoon of instant potato flakes and stir. Continue to add one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.

🍽Serving suggestions

This hearty wild rice soup is great served with thick crusty bread and crisp garden salad or homemade turkey salad. It also makes a great sidekick for meat dishes such as brisket and Italian roast or rotisserie chicken. And don't forget a glass of white wine!

I don't add extra salt to keep this recipe lower in sodium. However, I do recommend allowing diners the option to add both salt and pepper to their individual servings.

🔁Substitutions

1. I generally use white button mushrooms for this recipe. However, baby bella mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and cremini mushrooms would be great. Using a variety of fresh mushrooms is a delicious option and will add the most depth of mushroom flavor. Perfect for any mushroom lover.
2. If you are not concerned with keeping this dish dairy-free, heavy cream can be substituted for full fat coconut milk. Cashew cream can also be used as a vegan option.
3. Vegetable broth can be substituted for mushroom broth. Chicken broth is also a great option if you are not looking to keep this dish vegetarian.
4. To add some animal-based protein, stir in cooked shredded chicken breast toward the end of cooking time.
5. I am a fan of sweet onion, but white onion or red onion would work in this recipe as well.

Storing

Store leftovers of this creamy vegan wild rice soup mushroom in an airtight container or zipper top bag. They will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.

The best part about freezing this recipe is that the wild rice holds up well during freezing and reheating. Both white rice and brown rice can get mushy when frozen in soup.

For an easy future freezer meal, freeze individual portions in meal-sized containers. These can be reheated the next day in the microwave. OR - you can reheat a frozen soup block right in an individual slow cooker.

😉Hints & hacks

1. Be sure to buy wild Rice for this recipe. Not wild rice blend or black rice. They are not the same thing. Wild rice takes longer to cook and won't turn to mush the way some rice varieties can. I definitely do not recommend using white rice or brown rice.
2. The rice in the soup has a heavier flavor than white or brown rice. If you find it over powering, you can reduce amount of rice by half.
3. Looking to save extra time? You can purchase all of the mushrooms needed for this mushroom soup recipe pre-sliced.
4. Want to save even more time? Purchase your carrots, celery, and onion already cut. These can be found in the fresh produce section of your grocery store. A more economical way is to purchase them from the frozen veggie section. You can purchase each individually or buy them all together as Mirepoix.
5. This is a perfect meal for days when your people will be eating at different times. After the cooking time, turn your slow cooker to warm. Everyone can have a filling hot soup meal, no matter what time they are ready to eat. 
6. I always recommend the use of a slow cooker liner. Of course, this is an optional step. I like to purchase my liners in bulk for a less expensive per-piece price. 
7. In the market for a new slow cooker? I love mine!