Well, it’s getting to be late October and the cold weather will be coming soon! Now is the time of year to get out the sweaters and to fill your tummies with soup…’Vegan WIld Rice Soup’ that is. 🙂
Alex had a craving and gave me 2 challenges!
- Veganize the midwestern recipes we grew up with.
- Make vegan wild rice soup as good as Grandma Sheila’s Wild Rice Soup.
Challenge accepted.
My Vegan Wild Rice Soup met the challenge and was so so so good!! We each filled our bellies for dinner and then finished it off for breakfast the next morning…
This soup was fun and extra special because I made it at a campsite in Washington. It was SOOO cold and rainy in Washington. I was constantly dressed in layers and had to wear a hat and gloves most of the time. Vegan Wild Rice Soup was the best way to warm up and we were so lucky to find a great campsite that was quiet and it had a table (huge bonus)!
Also, check out these photos! I thought they turned out so cool. The rain and colors of the Washington forest had a beautiful contrast.
Blogging and making recipes while we traveled was super fun and a little bit of a challenge! The level of creativity that it required was different because I didn’t have the luxuries of a kitchen in a house. I personally loved it and could make just about anything work!
My van kitchen was able to fit in a 3x2x1 foot drawer space in the back of our van. It included one wooden spoon, one spatula, two dull knives and a few camping pans. My spice cupboard was in a basket. There is a small countertop in the kitchen, but I rarely used it for prep work. Whenever we came across a quiet campsite with a picnic table it was a luxury! Many times there was not a table and we were just setting up camp wherever.
Here was my set up for Vegan Wild Rice Soup. I couldn’t have asked for better!
Typically, wild rice soup has chicken, butter, and heavy cream in it; I substituted that for a mix of veggies, cashews, cannellini beans, and a bunch of spices! We stopped at a farmer’s market stand and I bought zucchini and carrots from them, but I picked up the rest from a grocery store. In the recipe, you might notice that I listed the kale as optional. Personally, I enjoyed the kale and the extra kick of nutrition, but Alex said he would rather have it without. From what I gathered kale took away the Midwestern attitude and made it a little too ‘Boulder’ for Alex’s liking. 🙂 On that note, you can decide whether or not you want the kale!
The soup base is made with soaked cashews and cannellini beans, so it’s full of protein. I soaked the cashews the night before, so they had about a 24 hr soak. If you forget to do them the night before just put them in some water in the morning and they will be ready for dinner. I cook with a lot of spices and thought this was a soup that I could really give some kick and make it better than the traditional version. It was a success. This soup was amazing! Alex was blown away that I was able to make it so good! It’s hearty, nutritious, flavorful, and it’s vegan!
Enjoy!!
I would love to hear what you think, leave your comments below! XOXO
Vegan Wild Rice Soup
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Ingredients
- 3 carrots
- 4 celery stalks
- 16 oz. mushrooms
- 1 onion
- 1 small zucchini
- 1 can cannellini beans
- 1 1/2 c. raw cashews, soaked overnight
- 5 stalks of kale, optional
- 1 c. wild rice or wild rice blend
- 4 1/2 c. water
- 3 t. vegetable bouillon
- 2 T. + 1 t. parsley
- 2 1/2 t. thyme
- 1 t. salt
- 1/2 t. black pepper
- 1/4 t. ground sage
- 1/8 t. cayenne pepper
- 1/4 t. garlic powder
- 1 T. nutritional yeast
Instructions
- Soak the cashews in water for 8 hrs or overnight.
- Add 2 cups of water and the wild rice to the soup pot. Cook according to rice directions.
- While the rice is cooking, chop the vegetables and cook them in a separate pan (leave out the kale). Start with the carrots and mushrooms. Add the zucchini and celery last. Cover and cook these for about 20 minutes with a little oil. They will mostly be able to cook in their own water. Don’t let them get too soft- cook them until tender enough to eat.
- Turn off the vegetables and let the rice keep simmering. As the rice is cooking drain the beans and put half of them in the blender or Nutri Bullet and the other half in the soup pot. Drain the cashews (save the water) and add them to the blender. Add about 1 cup of the water to the blender. Blend until smooth. Add more water if needed.
- Measure out all of the spices into a small bowl.
- Mix the cashew and bean mixture into the soup pot. Add the vegetables and any water that cooked with them.
- Add another 1/2 cup of water and vegetable bouillon. See how the consistency is and add more water if the soup is too thick.
- Add the spices.
- Stir it all together and let simmer on low for about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the kale and cook it for another minute or 2.
- If it is too thick you can add some water. The flavor should still keep the same.
- Ta Da! Enjoy your Vegan Wild Rice Soup.
