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This Slow Cooker Creamy Wild Rice Soup with Butter Roasted Mushrooms is just what everyone’s Thursday needs.
You know that feeling when the weather turns bitter cold and snow is in the forecast? All you want to do is curl up with the biggest blanket you own, eat a bowl of soup, and watch a movie (preferably a Christmas movie because it’s about that time of year…)?
Yeah, this feeling is my current state of mind, and as soon as I get a day with slightly less on my to-do list, I will remake this soup and enjoy it while curled up in my blankets. I will, I will!
As I write this, I just returned home from a book signing I had here in Colorado. It’s always so much fun meeting you guys in real life, hearing your stories about how you discovered the blog, and what your favorite recipes are. It’s truly the best part about creating the cookbook so far.
All of the travel and book events have left me a little behind on other work, so I’ll be playing catch up for the next few days before heading to Cleveland for a quick Thanksgiving trip.
PS. If any of you guys have left a comment and have yet to receive a response, I promise I’ll be responding to them all by the end of tonight. And if you don’t get a response, keep bugging me!
Speaking of Thanksgiving, it’s a week from today, and I get the feeling that I’m not the only one frantically trying to get things done before cooking up the big Thanksgiving Day feast, or preparing to head out of town to celebrate with family. Things are just a little bit hectic and the last thing anyone is thinking about is dinner…that is until you realize you’re starving and have nothing to eat.
The worst realization, right?
Well, this recipe is here to make everything better.
Things have been so crazy this last month with work and cookbook events that I have been heavily relying on my slow cooker and or instant pot. I’ve made this ramen, this penne alla vodka, and these short ribs multiple times. While I obviously love these recipes, I recently had a craving for just a simple, creamy, wild rice soup.
Wild rice soup is something I grew up eating. My mom has always loved rice in her soup. She used to top her bowls of chicken noodle soup with a pile of rice and then a handful of air-popped popcorn. I’d love devouring bowls of this soup with her, especially after school on chilly days.
This soup isn’t quite like the bowls mom would make, but it’s just as comforting and delicious as the bowls we use to share…with just a little more flavor than that boxed stuff.
You might not be happy about an extra step here, but hear me out, because it’s 120% worth it.
If there’s one thing I think slow cooker recipes lack, it’s texture. Veggies can become mushy, grains can be a little soggy, and meats don’t have a caramelization to them. With this soup, I really wanted to add an extra layer of both flavor and texture.
Enter the butter roasted mushrooms. YES. Butter roasted mushrooms.
AKA how all slow cooker recipes need to be finished.
It’s really not a hard “extra” step. it’s just a matter of adding mushrooms to a pan and putting them in the oven. There’s no real work involved. And again, it is so worth the extra efforts. The crisp, roasted mushrooms are what complete the soup and give it that extra layer of flavor and texture.
Trust me, you need this soup in your life sometime soon. Preferably during your Thanksgiving break, when being lazy and eating soup on the couch while watching Christmas movies (I am obsessed) is totally acceptable.
Ohhhhhh. And if you wanted to make this on Black Friday, stirring in some leftover shredded turkey would be a pretty great idea.
Slow Cooker Creamy Wild Rice Soup with Butter Roasted Mushrooms
Servings: 6 servings
Calories Per Serving: 1215 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry wild rice or wild rice blend (wild rice and brown rice)
- 1/2 sweet onion, diced
- 6 carrots, chopped
- 5 cups low-sodium veggie or chicken broth
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme + 3 thyme sprigs
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 parmesan rind + 1/2 cup grated parmesan, plus more for serving
- 1 cup whole milk or heavy cream
- kosher salt and pepper
- 2 pounds mixed mushrooms, roughly torn
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter
- zest from 1 lemon
Instructions
- 1. In the bowl of your slow cooker, combine the rice, onion, carrots, broth, wine, thyme, bay leaves, paprika, crushed red pepper, parmesan rind, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. 2. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, stir in the 1/2 cup grated parmesan and the milk. Cook until warmed through. Remove the bay leaves and discard.3. About an hour before serving, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a 9x13 inch baking dish, combine the mushrooms, garlic, butter, thyme sprigs, lemon zest, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Transfer to the oven and roast for 40-45 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking, until the mushrooms are golden and caramelized. 4. Mash the garlic with a fork, and then stir the mushrooms, mashed garlic, and any butter left into the soup. 5. Divide the soup among bowls and top with fresh thyme and parmesan. Eat!
Notes
*If eating this leftover, the rice does soak up a good amount of liquid. It's taste great, but you might need to add broth to make soup again or just eat good flavored rice!
Basically a giant bowl of comfort…LOVE.
Made this today and loved it! I added 2 chicken breasts and cooked it on high for 5 hours. It was so tasty!
Thanks Elle!
I’ve made so many recipes from HBH and this one was just as amazing as the others!! Cooked everything (but the mushrooms) in the crockpot on high for 4 hours and everything was cooked perfectly! DO NOT skip the roasted mushrooms!! They’re such a good addition!
Thank you Ale! I am so glad you loved this and other recipes of mine!
Hi, I live in the UK and have no idea where I’don’t get wild rice. Would the recipe need changing if I just used brown rice? Thanks!
NO need to change the recipe. Brown rice will be amazing! Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
This looks great! I have a smaller crock pot. How would you recommend cooking in smaller portions?
You could just cut the recipe in half. How small is your crockpot? Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
Thank you for this recipe. My family loved it!! It was warm, hearty, and made the house smell divine – just what we needed on a cold winter’s day. I will definitely be making it again!
Perfect! Thank you so much Meg!
Just made this last night and it was SO GOOD. Definitely will become a crockpot staple at my house. Thanks for an easy and delicious recipe!
I am really glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you Alycia!
I just made this and finished a bowl! Very delicious! The only thing I wish I had done was let the mushrooms roast past the 45 min. because my oven did not crisp them up in that time. The roasted mushrooms definitely added a wonderful depth of flavor, I just wanted that texture! I shall be more patient next time! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Thank you so much Jami! I am so glad you enjoyed this!
I absolutely love this soup!! The slight spiciness and the flavor of the wine make it so different from others. Also the caramelized mushrooms taste amazing. Thank you for the wonderful recipe! I’m glad it doesn’t have flour in it like most, which makes it gritty. This freezes well for me and makes an amazing lunch or dinner. I added celery to the soup as well 🙂
Thank you so much!
Great recipe. Do you have the nutritional values for it by chance?
Thank you! I am sorry, at this time I do not have the nutritional value. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Happy Holiday’s ? 🙂
My boyfriend loves mushroom soup but HATES bits of mushroom. Is this the kind of soup you can blend together using a hand powered blender and still enjoy flavors? Maybe keeping the rice unblended?
HI! Yes, remove the rice from the soup, then blend and add the rice back to the soup. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Happy Holiday ? 🙂
Hi – I can’t wait to try this recipe – sounds amazing! My husband HATES cooked carrots (and can tell if I sneak them into recipes). Do you recommend substituting them another vegetable? Or just leave them out? Thanks so much!
HI! You could sub them with a hearty veggie like beets or potatoes or just leave them out completely. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Happy Holiday ? 🙂
This soup was AMAZING. The roasted mushrooms in the oven was the perfect addition. I did find that I had to continue adding liquid, and even when it was finished it was more stew than soup! I did not mind though, the flavor was amazing. Like an elevated mushroom soup. Will be making again if I can figure out the liquid issue!
I am so glad you enjoyed this Kelsey! Thank you so much!
Delicious!! I’m usually not a big fan of creamy mushroom soups – they always taste bland and heavy to me. But Half Baked Harvest has never let me down before, so I decided to make this last night for some friends and I’m so glad I did!! I substituted full-fat coconut milk for the heavy cream to accommodate a vegan friend. The soup turned out rich, flavorful, and multi-layered. The red pepper flakes added a perfect level of deeper heat and the lemon zest added an uplifting freshness at the end! Thanks so much for another awesome recipe! I’ve been trying to find good vegetarian slow cooker recipes for years – this is definitely getting saved in my recipe book.
I am so glad you liked this recipe Amanda! Thank you!
Made this and really enjoyed it although i might have added too hot chillies as it was rather hot. Personally i would not cook with the chilli in the soup but add it raw (kashmiri chilli – which is not hot), finely chopped over the mushrooms, bringing much needed colour and a little background heat.
I did not use a slow cooker but made it in a Le Creuset pan which did not affect the dish and cooked in less time (i made this when i got in from work).
Dotn be frightened to salt this dish heavily – it needs it.
Overall very nice and different
Hi Bradley! I am really glad you enjoyed this dish! Thank you!
Love, love, love this recipe! The roasted mushrooms are incredible, and the slow cooker made prep a breeze. My husband loves lemon zest in soup, so the only change I made the second time I made it (like I said, we love it) was to reserve half the zest and add it immediately before serving so he could get a bit more of the flavor. Really delicious on a cold fall day!
Thank you Erika! I am so glad you and your husband loved this!