This mushroom wild rice soup is one of my new favorites and is great for my Noom weight loss plan. If you’re new here, my husband and I have lost about 145 pounds together (and 80 of those were mine) using the Noom weight loss app. One of the best strategies that has helped us lose weight is finding low calorie dense foods. You know, foods that fill us up but aren’t full of calories.
This broth-based soup is quite low in calories at just 75 calories per cup. It’s also very versatile and can be made with chicken, beef, or even vegetable broth if you are vegetarian. My sister, Laura, taught me how to make it and I can’t seem to stop myself from making pot, after pot, after pot. Here’s how I do it:
Gather all of your ingredients. If you don’t have fresh thyme, dried will also do. You can really use any kind of broth for this soup. I prefer a mix of chicken and vegetable. Because I need to watch my sodium intake, I use the reduced sodium broths when possible.
PIN FOR LATER
How to make mushroom wild rice soup
OK, let’s go. Heat a large pot (6-8 quart) and then add the olive oil. If you’re not watching your calories and want to add little more flavor/fat, add an additional tablespoon of butter to the pot. Dice an onion and saute in the oil on medium heat until soft, stirring frequently.
Next, slice the mushrooms and add those to the pot. Don’t worry, they’ll shrink down as they cook. Also add the fresh thyme, bay leaves, salt (optional) and pepper. I like this soup really peppery so I add about a tablespoon of black pepper. Saute for 10-15 minutes or until mushrooms have reduced and there’s lots of dark mushroom juice at the bottom of the pan.
Simmer and smell your mushroom wild rice soup
Smell those herbs! Then, add all of the broth and water to the pot and increase the heat. Bring that to a boil and reduce heat and simmer for at least 20 minutes. This is about the time in my process that Steve comes into the kitchen and complains that it smells “earthy” in the house. He hates mushrooms.
You can let your soup simmer for awhile at this point. The flavors just keep melding together and if you like mushrooms, the aroma in your kitchen will be amazing. If you can find them, remove the thyme stems and bay leaves now.
Lastly, bring you soup back to a boil and add a cup of wild rice, or a wild rice mix. I use Lundberg wild blend rice that comes in a black and gold package that I can buy at my local Wal-Mart. Reduce the heat and simmer according to the directions on the wild rice package (about 45 minutes).
Your mushroom wild rice soup is ready to serve
Now, it’s ready to serve. We I like to have this mushroom wild rice soup for lunch with a honey crisp apple, salad, or a toasted English muffin with Greek seasoning and parmesan cheese. Mushroom wild rice soup also freezes really well. I fill 4 1/2 (4 cup) containers, label with the calories notes, and freeze for up to three months.
Hope you enjoy! If you make this soup, be sure to post a pic on social media and tag us @postcardjar.
Low-Calorie Mushroom Soup
Equipment
- Kitchen knife
- 6-8 quart pot
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 tbsp butter (optional)
- 1 onion large (or 2 medium)
- 24 oz white mushrooms
- 24 oz any other type of mushrooms
- 8 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- 2-4 stems thyme fresh
- 1-4 bay leaves
- 1 cup wild rice (or wild rice blend) dry
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large pot and add the olive oil and butter (omit butter to keep recipe to 75 caloires/cup)
- Dice onion and sauté in the oil on medium heat until soft, stirring frequently
- Add sliced mushrooms, thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper to the pot. Sauté and stir on medium heat until soft (10-15 minutes).
- Add broth and water to pot and increase heat.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for at least 20 minutes
- Remove thyme stems and bay leaves.
- Bring back to boiling and add dry rice. Reduce heat and simmer according to the package instructions on the rice (about 45 minutes).
Notes
If you like this recipe, you might also enjoy our low-calorie chicken tortilla soup recipe. You can see that one HERE.
We’re Steve and Ann Teget. We spent more than two decades in corporate America and public education before Ann’s health and Steve’s aversion to middle school girl drama convinced us to try something new. Now we are making the most of midlife and telling authentic stories about extraordinary travel. And yes, we send ourselves postcards.
