Slow Cooker Wild Rice Soup
A healthy wild rice soup recipe made with butternut squash, kale and white beans. This Slow Cooker Wild Rice Soup is a vegetarian and vegan crockpot soup recipe.
I love every single recipe that I share here on Kristine’s Kitchen, but there are a few that I just know I’m going to make again and again. Which is not an easy thing to say as a food blogger who is constantly testing out new recipes. Sometimes I don’t get to make old favorites as often as I’d like.
Not surprisingly, many of my favorite recipes are easy slow cooker recipes. I originally shared this soup recipe in 2017 and it has become such a favorite with my family and with readers that I’m updating this post with new tips and resharing it today.
I shared a sneak peek of this recipe on Instagram as it was going into my crock pot the first time that I made it. A few people asked for the recipe right away which let me know that I’m not the only one who gets excited when butternut squash and wild rice get together in the slow cooker! Then, when I was happily eating this for lunch at work a few friends asked about the recipe as well. I made a mental note to get the recipe up on the blog as soon as possible!
Like my Instant Pot Vegetable Soup, this wild rice soup is a great option for make ahead lunches or dinners. You can portion it out into individual serving containers for work lunches.
You can also freeze portions of this soup for later. My Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup is another favorite that freezes well.
This wild rice soup recipe reheats well so you can make it ahead and then enjoy it throughout the week. Making a big pot of soup on Sunday is one of my favorite meal prep tricks.
How to Make Wild Rice Soup in your Slow Cooker
This soup is simple to make. It’s a dump and go recipe, so you just add everything (except the kale) to your slow cooker and cook. Once the rice is tender, you stir in the kale and serve.
This soup takes 6 hours on low or 3 1/2 hours on high in my slow cooker. Since all slow cookers vary slightly in their cooking temperatures, the first time you make this you’ll want to check on it at near the end of the cook time, in case it cooks faster or slower than mine did. The rice is what you’ll want to check on – once the rice is done the soup is done!
Can I make this wild rice soup on the stovetop?
Yes. To make this soup on the stove, start by sautéeing the onion and celery in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the kale. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Simmer the soup, stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes, or until the rice is tender. Remove the bay leaf, stir in the kale and serve.
Tips for Making this Wild Rice Soup Recipe
- Be sure to use a wild rice or wild rice blend with a cook time of about 45 minutes listed on the package. Add the rice to the slow cooker uncooked. Different slow cookers cook differently, so the cook times in this recipe are estimates. The rice will be soft after cooking in the slow cooker.
- You can use sweet potatoes instead of butternut squash in this recipe. Peel the sweet potatoes and chop them into 3/4-inch pieces.
- If you do not enjoy kale you may leave it out or substitute fresh spinach.
- To add chicken to this soup, add 1 or 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts along with the other ingredients. After slow cooking, check that the chicken has cooked through and then chop or shred.
- This soup is great for make ahead lunches, and it also freezes well. The rice will absorb some of the broth over time, but I still enjoy the texture and flavor. You can add a little more broth to your leftover soup before reheating and serving.
More Vegetarian Crockpot Soup Recipes
- Slow Cooker Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup
- Slow Cooker Broccoli, Cheddar and White Bean Soup
- Slow Cooker Potato Leek Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
Slow Cooker Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 cup wild rice or wild rice blend (uncooked), the cook time listed on the package should be about 45 minutes, rinsed and drained
- 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into ¾-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
- 15 ounce can white beans, I used cannellini, rinsed and drained
- 4 ribs celery, chopped
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 6 cups chopped kale, or fresh spinach, optional
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to the slow cooker except for the broth and kale.
- Pour the broth into the slow cooker, and gently stir to combine.
- Cook on low setting for about 6 hours, or on high setting for about 3 ½ hours, until the rice is cooked and tender. As all slow cookers vary, cooking time may be different in your slow cooker compared to mine. Near the end of the cook time, check to see if the rice is done. Once the rice is tender, the soup has cooked long enough.
- Remove the bay leaf.
- Stir kale into soup. Serve.
Notes
- To make on the stovetop, start by sautéeing the onion and celery in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the remaining soup ingredients, except for the kale. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Simmer the soup, stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes, or until the rice is tender. Remove the bay leaf, stir in the kale and serve.
- Be sure to use a wild rice or wild rice blend with a stovetop cook time of about 45 minutes listed on the package. Add the rice to the slow cooker uncooked. Different slow cookers cook differently, so the cook times in this recipe are estimates. The rice will be soft after cooking in the slow cooker.
- You can use sweet potatoes instead of butternut squash in this recipe. Peel the sweet potatoes and chop them into 3/4-inch pieces.
I completely agree with you…it’s not an easy task finding recipes to make again and again as a food blogger! I would probably have to add this soup to the list too, as soup is my favorite! I’m loving that you made this in the slow cooker, Kristine! I bet your house smelled amazing when this was simmering away. Such perfect comfort food for the winter!
Yes! The house smelled so good as this cooked! Thanks, Gayle!
I know what you mean about finding those recipes that you want to make all the time, and this soup would fall into that category for me! I love wild rice in soups, and all the veggies in here are so wholesome and delicious. I think I’m going to whip up a batch once my chicken soup is gone — this looks too good!
I hope you like it, Marcie! 🙂
Think you could use sweet potatoes and add chicken? My boyfriend would want meat
Definitely yes to both!
It sound wonderful! I plan on making it this weekend with the added chicken.
What is the nutritional info? It’s probably user-error and it’s right in front of my face and I can’t see it. Thanks!!
Hi Casey, I haven’t yet calculated the nutrition info for this recipe. You can use an online calculator, such as myfitnesspal, to find it.
My rice soaked up all the broth and it all turned into mush. Thoughts? Followed directions exactly. Major soup fail for me!
Hi Natalie, I’m sorry this recipe didn’t turn out for you. It sounds like it cooked for too long. Different slow cookers can vary in their cooking temperatures, maybe that’s why?
The same thing happened to me, thought I was the only one! It was on low for only 3 hours ?
Hi JL, I’m sorry this didn’t turn out for you. Did you use a wild rice with a package cook time of abut 45 minutes?
Is the rice supposed to be cooked or uncooked before adding to the crockpot?
The rice should be uncooked.
I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of adding chicken and sweet potatoes. I intended to cook on low for 6 hours, but even at 5 hours the rice has gotten mushy. I would make it again because it is healthy and easy, but next time I will cook the rice separately and throw in at the end with the kale.
Can this be frozen for another day?
Hi Nicola, I think this would freeze fine.
My rice never cooked even after leaving it on high for a whole day. The onions stayed crunchy and I feel like it was lacking a little flavor. I would recommend partially cooking the rice and sautéing the onions first to anyone who wants to make this
Hi Natasha, are you sure that your slow cooker is working properly? Rice and onions should definitely cook on the high setting in less than a whole day. I’m sorry that the soup didn’t turn out for you.
This was super easy. I loved it, my mother in law loved it. Kids and husband didn’t. This will be my go to work recipe.
Hi Erika, I appreciate your honesty! 😉 I love taking this for my lunch to work, too.
How many cups of squash? I usually buy pre cut.
I’d say you want between 4-5 cups.
Can I use sweet potato instead of butternut. It is hard to find butternut in Germany at this time of year.
Yes, I think sweet potato would be delicious in this soup!
when do you add the Kale? is seems to be missing in the instructions
You at it at the very end (step 5). It just needs to wilt down, not actually cook.
I already have some chopped frozen butternut squash in the freezer, could I use that up instead of buying a fresh one? Thanks!
That should work well! Enjoy!
How would I convert this recipe to stovetop?
What could you do to make this creamy
I have not tested this, but here’s what I would try. After the soup finishes cooking in the slow cooker, make a cream sauce on the stove: melt 4 tablespoons butter in a small pot on the stove over low heat. Whisk in 1/4 cup flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups whole milk and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until thickened. Add this to the soup in the slow cooker and stir until combined, serve.
could I get all the ingredients in the slow cooker the night before turning it on and leave it in the fridge over night?
Yes, but wait and add the broth in the morning right before turning on your slow cooker. 🙂
How could I substitute the kale? Nobody in my home eats it 🙁
You can use spinach or just leave it out. 🙂
Would it be possible to substitute the broth with just plain water? We have other dietary restrictions and it’s hard for us to find broth locally that we can use…
Yes, you can substitute water. It will be a little less flavorful than using broth.
Will adding chicken change the cook time at all? Do I add it raw or pre cooked? Thanks!
You can add raw chicken breasts and use the same cook time listed in the recipe. Just be sure to always check that your chicken is cooked through – which it should be after 6 hours on low. 🙂
Going to try this recipe this week. I have some frozen kale I’d like to use up. When would be a good time to add it in?
Even frozen, I think it should only take a few minutes to soften. I would add it and then continue to cook for about 20 minutes on high. You just don’t want it to cool the soup down too much.
Would any squash work with this recipe? The butternut was too expensive and I bought a yellow squash. Thanks.
Hi Cristy, sweet potato is a good substitute for the butternut squash in this recipe. I’m not sure if you mean the yellow squash that is similar to zucchini – that would not work well here.
so tasty rice recipe i loved it, so keep posting.
Have you tried this recipe in the Instant Pot? If so, how long should it be cooked and should a manual release or natural release be used? The recipe sounds great and I’m looking forward to trying it.
I haven’t tried this one in my Instant Pot. It would take about 40 to 45 minutes for the wild rice to cook, followed by a quick release (manual). The butternut squash would be really soft by then, probably to the point where it would fall apart. You could try carrots instead since they are a little more firm. If you try it, let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Any thoughts as to why my white beans would have turned brown?? I did a mix of the butternut squash, carrots, and sweet potato. Still tastes good, but pretty thick, more like a stew than a soup. Perhaps I let it cook too long and the rice ended up absorbing too much of the broth. Still not sure about why the beans changed to a dark color though ???
I’m not sure. Maybe they absorbed the color from something else in the soup? If the color bothers you, you could try adding the beans when the soup is almost done next time, since the beans are already fully cooked.
As other people have said in their reviews my rice absorbed all of the broth and it turned to mush. I tried it and it was a little bland so I decided to add around 2 table spoons of soysauce and a little bit of dijon mustard. I mixed it in a separate bowl and then poured it into my slow cooker. This addition took this recipe from a 3 to a 5!
Can I substitute acorn squash instead of butternut?
I have not tried this recipe with acorn squash.
My soup turned to stew as well.. Even though not all slow cookers are the same, it seems strange that this recipe turned to mush according to several reviews. It was tasty and I will add more broth to leftovers, but that should not be necessary.
This Slow Cooker Wild Rice Soup seems super delicious and amazing , will love to try this one . Thanks for sharing this one with us .
Love this Slow Cooker Wild Rice Soup, this one seems super delicious and amazing . Will love to try this unique recipe
Love this Slow Cooker Wild Rice Soup, this one seems super delicious and amazing . Super excited to try this unique soup recipe. Thanks for sharing this one with us.
Love this Slow Cooker Wild Rice Soup, this soup seems amazing and unique . Super excited to try this one , thanks for sharing with us .
Made this today— absolutely delicious and so easy! Thank you!!