Wrap your hands around a cozy bowl of this vegan Creamy Butternut Squash Wild Rice Soup! It's full of delicious seasonal goodness, and made with healthy, wholesome ingredients. (Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, nut-free option.)
This warm, cozy soup is brimming with autumn goodness! It's creamy, comforting, and utterly delicious.
Plus it's made with healthy, wholesome ingredients and is so easy to prepare.
We combine butternut squash, hearty kale, tender mushrooms, wild rice, and fresh rosemary. Then blend up a dairy-free cashew "cream" sauce to stir in towards the end of cooking time. (So good!)
It's a beautiful meal to enjoy during the cooler months, and I hope you enjoy it too!
Ingredients for Butternut Squash Wild Rice Soup
For this recipe, you'll simmer in a large pot on the stove:
- Onion & garlic: You'll need one yellow onion (or white or sweet), and several cloves garlic.
- Mushrooms: I use either cremini or white button, but Portobello or shiitake would be great too. If you don't care for mushrooms, then simply leave them out. Or replace them with other veggies like carrot or celery.
- Butternut squash: We'll use 4 cups (about one pound cubed) fresh butternut squash for this recipe. In general, I usually need about a 3 lb. squash to yield 4 cups cubed. Or for convenience, look for pre-cut squash in the produce section of your grocery store. Frozen cubed butternut squash could work as well.
- Vegetable broth: Be sure to use low sodium if desired.
- Wild rice: I use straight wild rice for this recipe, but you can use a wild rice blend if you prefer.
- Lacinato kale: You can also stir in fresh baby spinach for extra greens.
- Dried oregano: Or change it up with thyme, Italian seasoning, etc.
- Fresh rosemary: This adds really beautiful flavor and vibrant, woodsy aromatics to the soup. We'll stir it in towards the end of cooking time.
- Cashews: We'll use raw cashews as the base of the creamy sauce to achieve a thick, rich, luxurious texture. I use a "quick soak" method to soften the nuts before blending. (See notes below recipe for guidance.)
- Tamari: Or you can substitute soy sauce, but use tamari for gluten-free if needed.
- Apple cider vinegar
- White miso: I highly suggest including this in the cashew cream for umami, salty flavor, but if you don't have any then simply salt to taste.
- Cornstarch: A couple teaspoons of cornstarch is optional to add even more thickness to the cream sauce. I like to include it, but feel free to leave it out if desired.
Customizing
Vegetables: Feel free to include other veggies like carrot, celery, leeks, potato, sweet potato, cauliflower, or whatever else sounds good.
Beans: Add a can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans) for added protein if desired.
Cashew cream substitute: Omit the cashew cream, and stir in a 14-ounce can of full-fat coconut milk towards the end of cooking time instead. The result won't be quite as thick, but I've tested this version as well and it's great!
Nut-free version: Substitute the cashews in the cream sauce with one cup cooked white beans (such as navy beans, cannellini beans, or great northern).
Blending Tip!
I use a small NutriBullet Blender for the cashew cream which works great.
Serving
Serve this soup warm with salt & black pepper to taste, garnished with additional fresh herbs, or toasted pecans for crunchy texture. You could even serve it out of a bread bowl! Be aware the soup continues to thicken as it sits.
Storing
After it cools, store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I find it keeps for 4-5 days. Simply reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop when ready to enjoy.
For more inspiration, also browse all vegan soup recipes or fall recipes.
Creamy Butternut Squash and Wild Rice Soup (Vegan!)
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion
- 4-5 cloves garlic
- 8 oz. mushrooms
- 4 cups butternut squash (about 1 lb. cubed)
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2/3 cup wild rice
- 3 cups lacinato kale
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
For the cashew cream:
- 3/4 cup raw cashews, soaked*
- 1 cup water
- 1 Tbsp. tamari
- 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp. white miso
- 2 tsp. cornstarch (optional, for extra-thick)
Instructions
- Prepare veggies: Dice onion, mince garlic, and slice mushrooms. Peel and cube butternut squash.
- Prepare soup: In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, sauté onion for 7-8 minutes. (I use 3 Tbsp. veggie broth/water for no-oil sauté method, adding more as needed.) When onion is translucent, add garlic and dried oregano. Stir and sauté 1 minute. Add mushrooms, butternut squash, vegetable broth, and wild rice (rinsed and drained). Bring to a light boil. Then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Chop greens: Roughly chop kale, large stems removed. Finely chop rosemary. Set aside. (I also use this time to quick-soak the cashews* for the sauce.)
- Make cashew cream: Towards the end of simmering time, add all cashew cream ingredients to a high-speed blender. (I use a NutriBullet.) Blend for 20-30 seconds until smooth.
- Combine: When wild rice is tender, add cashew cream, kale, and fresh rosemary. Simmer 5 minutes to combine. Serve warm. Salt & pepper to taste before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)
Sodium content: This is omitted as I cannot provide an accurate number. I encourage you to calculate your own to provide a much more precise reading based on the exact ingredients, brands, and amounts you're using.
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Lauren says
Worst soup recipe I’ve ever made.
Kaitlin says
Bummer to hear that, Lauren. Did you make any substitutions, or was there anything in particular you didn't enjoy?
Mark Goins says
I just love how simple your recipes are! I enjoy finding recipes on blogs and cooking them, but sometimes the ingredients on some sites are merely impossible to find at a local grocery store. You keep simple but still flavorful which is a value for me. Keep up the good work.
Kaitlin says
What an awesome comment to receive. Thanks, Mark - it's very appreciated. I'm thrilled you're finding value in the recipes and enjoying their simplicity. (Simple but flavorful is my main goal when creating & testing the recipes, so I'm happy to hear that's translating for you.) Thanks again for sharing your thoughtful feedback and hope you continue to enjoy the recipes!
Jennifer says
This soup definitely suits a drizzly fall day! Loved how flavourful and cozy this soup is. The cashew sauce with cornstarch made it deliciously creamy! Followed your recipe exactly (but used frozen diced butternut squash for simplicity) and I added some extra protein... I was in the midst of batch cooking red kidney beans, so I added 1.5 cups (equal to a can). Although kidney beans weren't your suggestion, they went quite well with the soup and added a lovely deep red pop of colour throughout. Made fresh cornbread muffins to go with it. Two thumbs up from both my hubby and I!! Thank you!!
Kaitlin says
Oh that's so lovely, Jennifer! Smart thinking with the kidney beans and serving with cornbread muffins - yum! Delighted to hear you enjoyed this one, too. Thank you greatly for sharing your wonderful & helpful feedback!