There is a bowl of wild rice soup sitting on top of a copy of Wisconsin Outdoor News. Spring trout season is on the cover. Nobody staged this. This is just what Saturday looks like up north.
Classic creamy wild rice soup. The one that fills the kitchen with a smell that makes everyone stop what they are doing and ask when it is ready. The one that gets requested every fall, every cold weekend, and every time someone comes up north and wants to eat something real. This is that recipe.
Wild rice is what makes it. Real Minnesota wild rice — whole grain, earthy, nutty, grown in clean northern water. It absorbs the broth, thickens the base, and gives the soup a heartiness that no other rice can match. Once you make this with real wild rice you will never go back to the boxed version.
What You Need
- 1 cup All Trails Lead North Soup Grade Wild Rice
- 3 cups chicken broth — plus more as needed
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups cooked chicken — shredded or chopped
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 1 cup carrots — diced
- 1 cup celery — diced
- 1 small onion — diced
- 3 cloves garlic — minced
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups heavy cream or half and half
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh thyme — optional but worth it
How To Make It
Start the rice first. Combine 1 cup Soup Grade wild rice with 3 cups chicken broth in a pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a low simmer, cover and cook 40 to 45 minutes until the grains open and soften. Soup Grade absorbs the broth beautifully as it cooks. Set aside when done.
While the rice cooks melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Cook 5 to 7 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook another minute. Add mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid and start to brown — about 5 minutes.
Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and stir well to coat. Cook 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly pour in remaining chicken broth while stirring constantly. Bring to a simmer.
Add the cooked wild rice and shredded chicken. Stir well. Pour in cream and stir again. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 to 15 minutes until the soup thickens. Season with salt, pepper, and thyme.
Ladle into bowls. Serve hot. This is better the next day — add a splash of broth when reheating as it thickens overnight.
Why Soup Grade Wild Rice
Soup Grade is slightly smaller and more broken than Grade A — and that is exactly what you want in a soup. It absorbs broth deeply, softens into the base, and creates that thick creamy texture that makes this soup what it is. Every bag is hand packed right here. Not in a warehouse across the country. Right here.
Pick up a bag of Soup Grade Minnesota Wild Rice and make this tonight.
All Trails Lead North.