Description
This comforting Minnesota Wild Rice Soup combines nutty wild rice with sautéed vegetables and creamy evaporated milk for a hearty, flavorful dish perfect for chilly days. With options for stovetop and Instant Pot cooking, this versatile soup is easy to prepare and delivers warm, satisfying flavors in under an hour.
Ingredients
Scale
Base Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked wild rice
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- Salt to taste
Vegetables and Aromatics
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 stalks of celery, chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, stem removed
Additional for Instant Pot Method
- 2 cups of water
Instructions
- Cook Wild Rice (Stovetop): Prepare the wild rice according to package directions until tender, then set aside.
- Sauté Vegetables (Stovetop): In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat for about 30 seconds. Add the chopped celery, onion, and carrots and cook, stirring frequently, for approximately 5 minutes until softened.
- Add Garlic and Thyme (Stovetop): Stir in the minced garlic and fresh thyme and cook for an additional 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add Broth and Simmer (Stovetop): Pour in the vegetable broth and bring the mixture to a boil. Then reduce heat to low and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the thyme stems afterward.
- Combine Rice and Milk (Stovetop): Add the cooked wild rice, evaporated milk, and salt to the pot. Heat over low-medium heat until thoroughly warmed. If the soup thickens too much as it rests, stir in ½ cup water to adjust consistency and add more salt if needed.
- Prepare Soup (Instant Pot): Add butter to the Instant Pot and select the sauté function. Once melted, add onion, celery, and carrots and sauté for 4 minutes, stirring frequently until coated with butter and softened.
- Add Aromatics (Instant Pot): Stir in garlic and thyme and sauté for 1 more minute.
- Add Rice and Liquids (Instant Pot): Add uncooked wild rice, vegetable broth, and 2 cups of water to the Instant Pot pot.
- Pressure Cook (Instant Pot): Seal the Instant Pot lid and cook on manual high pressure for 35 minutes. When done, carefully release the pressure fully and remove the lid.
- Finish Soup (Instant Pot): Let the soup cool for 5-10 minutes. Stir in evaporated milk and season with salt to taste before serving.
Notes
- If using a pressure cooker, ensure you fully depressurize after cooking to prevent the wild rice from becoming soggy due to residual heat keeping the soup warm.
- Adjust soup consistency by adding water if it thickens too much after resting.
- You can substitute vegetable broth with chicken broth if preferred, but keep the recipe vegetarian by using vegetable broth.
- Fresh thyme enhances flavor, but dried thyme can be substituted at 1/3 the quantity.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 210
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 450mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 30g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 5g
- Cholesterol: 15mg
