This hearty Creamy Butternut Squash Wild Rice Soup is full of seasonal veggies, savory herbs, nutty rice, chickpeas, and a flavorful, creamy broth. A simple, nourishing autumn meal! (Vegan, gluten-free, refined oil-free.)
This ultra-cozy Creamy Butternut Squash & Wild Rice Soup is nourishing, comforting, and absolutely delicious.
It features tender cubed squash, nutty wild rice, fresh veggies, savory herbs, and hearty chickpeas. Then we bring it all together with a rich cashew cream sauce. (Yum!)
The result is so flavorful and creamy with no butter, dairy, or heavy cream needed. It's a perfect autumn lunch or dinner, plus it saves and reheats great for meal prep and packed lunches.
Ingredients for Butternut Squash Wild Rice Soup
For this recipe, you'll simmer in a large pot on the stove:
- Wild rice: I use all wild rice for this recipe, but you can use a wild rice blend. Either works great. Just check the package for your specific cooking time and adjust as needed.
- Yellow onion: Or sweet onion or white onion.
- Carrot
- Celery
- Garlic cloves: I recommend fresh garlic for best flavor, but you can substitute with about 1 teaspoon dried garlic powder if needed.
- Vegetable broth: Be sure to use low sodium if desired.
- Butternut squash: We'll use 3 cups (about 3/4-pound cubed) fresh butternut squash for this recipe. In general, I usually need about a 2 lb. squash to yield 3 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.
- Chickpeas: Also called garbanzo beans. You'll need one 15-ounce can which is about 1.5 cups cooked. These add great texture and plant-based protein and fiber. Or you could substitute white beans like navy, cannellini, or great northern.
- Fresh baby spinach
- Italian seasoning
- Cashews: We'll use raw cashews as the base of the creamy sauce. This creates a thick, rich, luxurious texture. We'll soak them first to soften the nuts before blending.
- Nutritional yeast: Just a tablespoon adds a savory, cheesy richness to the cashew sauce.
- Tamari: Or you can substitute soy sauce, but use tamari for gluten-free if needed.
- Fresh lemon juice
- Cornstarch: This 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: Include other veggies like leeks, shallot, potato, sweet potato, cauliflower, kale, mushrooms, or whatever else sounds good.
Herbs and seasoning: Substitute the Italian seasoning with dried oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage, or bay leaf (remove before serving).
Nut-free version: Substitute the cashews in the cream sauce with one cup (or a full 15-ounce can) of cooked white beans. Navy beans, cannellini beans, or great northern work great. The broth won't be as rich and creamy, but this is a nut-free, lower-fat, and higher fiber substitute if needed.
Blending Tip
I use a small NutriBullet blender for the cashew cream which works great.
Serving
Enjoy this soup warm with salt & black pepper to taste, garnished with fresh herbs, or toasted pecans for crunchy texture. You could even serve it out of a bread bowl! It works great as a main dish (serving about 5) or side dish which serves about 8-10 depending on the portion sizes.
Storing
After it cools, store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I find it keeps for 4 days. 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
For the rice:
- 2/3 cup wild rice
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 tsp. salt
For the soup:
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 medium carrot
- 2 stalks celery
- 4-5 cloves garlic
- 5 cups vegetable broth
- 3 cups butternut squash*
- 15 oz. can chickpeas
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
For the cashew cream:
- 3/4 cup raw cashews
- 1 cup water
- 1-2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 1 Tbsp. tamari
- 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- Optional: 2-3 tsp. cornstarch (for extra thickness)
Instructions
- Soak cashews: Place cashews in a heat-safe bowl. Top them with hot/boiling water until fully submerged. Set aside to soak while you prepare the soup.
- Cook rice: Rinse and drain the rice, then add it to a medium saucepan with 2 cups water and 1/2 tsp. salt. Bring to a light boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 40-45 minutes. (Check your package for precise cooking time.) Then rinse and drain when finished.
- Prepare veggies: Meanwhile, dice the onion, carrot, and celery. Mince the garlic. (Peel and cube the butternut squash if you haven't yet. You'll want about 2/3-inch to 3/4-inch cubes.)
- Begin cooking: In a large stockpot, sauté the onion, carrot, and celery for 7-8 minutes. (I use 3 Tbsp. water/broth for no-oil sauté method, adding a splash more as needed.) Then add the garlic and Italian seasoning. Stir and sauté 1 minute.
- Simmer: Add the broth, butternut squash cubes, and chickpeas (rinsed and drained). Simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the squash is fork-tender.
- Make cashew cream: During the last 5 minutes of simmering time, make your cashew cream sauce. Drain the soaked cashews (discarding the soak water) and give them a good rinse. Then add all cashew cream ingredients to a small, high-speed blender. Blend for about 30-40 seconds until silky smooth.
- Finish: Turn off the heat. Add the cashew cream, cooked rice, and baby spinach (roughly chopped if desired). Stir and let it warm through for 1-2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. When serving, be sure to dig down to the bottom as the wild rice tends to sink.
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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Elaine says
Going to make this soon. Could I substitute quinoa instead of the rice?
Kaitlin says
Hello, Elaine - I think that'd be a great swap! The flavor will be more mild without the chewy, nutty wild rice. And just like the rice directions, I'd suggest cooking the quinoa separately and stirring it in at the end. Would love to hear if you give it a go!
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. 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!