Creamy Vegan Wild Rice Soup

This soup is the very definition of comfort food: creamy, hearty, and flavorful! Here in the Midwest, it's the perfect dinner to warm you up during these long, cold winter months. You won't even miss the dairy, I promise!

Creamy Vegan Wild Rice Soup
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw (unsalted) cashews, soaked in water overnight
• 4 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 whole medium onion, chopped
• 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 64 oz vegetable broth
• 1 cup wild rice (see "Tips" below)
• 1 Tbsp dried thyme, to taste
• 2 tsp salt, more to taste
• 8 oz mushrooms, chopped
• 15 oz can cannellini (white kidney) beans

Directions

1. Soak cashews overnight, if possible. If not, soak in boiling water immediately (the longer, the better).
2. Chop celery, carrots, onion, and garlic.
3. Chop mushrooms, set aside.
4. Reserve 1 cup (8 oz) of broth. Heat remaining vegetable broth in large pot over medium heat.
5. Rinse and drain wild rice.
6. Add wild rice, thyme, and salt to hot vegetable broth. Add veggies (celery, carrots, onion, and garlic), too.
7. Place lid on pot and set a timer for 30 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, drain soaked cashews and liquid from cannellini beans.
9. Place cashews and beans in Nutri Ninja (or Vitamix). Add reserved cup of vegetable broth. Blend on high for 1 minute until smooth.
10. When timer goes off, stir creamy mixture into the pot. Add chopped mushrooms.
11. Replace lid, lower heat, and set timer for additional 15 minutes.
12. When timer goes off, check if wild rice is done (should be a bit chewy).
13. Serve piping hot out of the pot. Enjoy!

Tips

• Save time by not sautéing the veggies first and just put them directly into the pot. It can be done either way and honestly comes down to personal preference! (My husband likes the vegetables to be a bit more tender, so the added step of cooking them first works best for us.)
• To ensure the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot, I stir occasionally to keep the ingredients evenly distributed.
• This soup is filling and rich. Before you ladle up a giant bowl, make yourself a mugs-worth. It catches up to you quick!
• Since so many wild rice products are cross-contaminated with wheat, I used this truRoots Sprouted Rice & Quinoa Medley which is certified gluten free.

Recipe adapted from Life Is No Yoke.