Sausage Mushroom Wild Rice Soup

A brothy sausage wild rice soup with golden mushrooms, white wine and fresh sage. The rice cooks on its own so it stays nice and tender!

Why this recipe works

This sausage wild rice soup is loaded with browned mushrooms, chicken sausage, and chewy wild rice. White wine and fresh sage brighten the golden broth, so it’s lighter than the creamy versions but just as cozy on a cold night.

I absolutely love soups and always have my freezer stocked with different varieties. In there right now is my easy corn chowder, ’s lobster bisque, and my cheddar cheese potato soup. I made this wild rice and sausage soup back in 2015 and forgot about it until recently. I was digging through my freezer and found some chicken sausage. A quick search on this site and this soup popped up! I’m so glad I gave it another go, it’s absolutely divine!

Way back when I first made this soup, I initially was planning to make a cream of mushroom soup, then went the other way and built it around a golden mushroom broth instead. There’s only a splash of cream at the end, so you still get that silky finish, but the sausage, sage, and mushrooms stay front and center.

Ingredients you will need

Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.

Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions

WILD RICE – I use a wild rice blend, which mixes dark, chewy wild rice with long grain rice, so you get that nutty chew along with softer grains that help give the soup body. Skip the boxed seasoned mixes, since they add their own salt and flavorings to a broth that’s already seasoned. If you’d rather use 100% wild rice, it takes longer to get tender, so give it a longer head start and taste it before it goes into the soup.

CHICKEN SAUSAGE – I use fully cooked chicken sausage links, browned whole in the pan and then sliced into coins. Because they’re already cooked, all they need is some color, and that browning is what flavors the oil for the mushrooms. Any flavor you like works! If you’d rather use pork Italian sausage like I do in my sausage orzo soup, remove it from the casings, brown it until it’s cooked through, and spoon off some of the extra fat before the shallots go in.

BABY BELLA MUSHROOMS – Baby bellas, also called cremini, have more flavor than white button mushrooms and hold their shape in the broth. Buying them presliced saves a lot of prep. Give them room in the pan and let them sit long enough to turn golden, that browning is where the broth gets its color and depth.

SHALLOTS – Shallots are milder and a little sweeter than onions, and they practically melt into the broth. If you can’t find them, a finely chopped small yellow onion will also work.

FRESH SAGE – If you only have dried sage, use about a third of the amount, since dried herbs are much more concentrated.

CHARDONNAY – Use any dry white wine you’d happily drink. It deglazes the pan and adds a brightness that gives the broth depth. I would recommend avoiding anything sweet or anything labeled cooking wine, which is heavily salted.

CHICKEN AND VEGETABLE BROTH – The chicken broth goes into the rice pot and the vegetable broth goes into the soup. Together they give a lighter, more golden broth than chicken broth alone. Low sodium broth is a good choice here since the sausage adds plenty of salt of its own.

HEAVY CREAM – Just a splash is stirred in at the end to round out the broth and give it a silky finish. Half and half works too. This isn’t meant to be a thick, creamy soup.

How to Make Sausage Mushroom Wild Rice Soup

These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.

1. Combine wild rice and chicken broth in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. There will still be liquid left in the pan.
2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil and butter in a medium stockpot and cook the sausage, browning it on all sides. Transfer sausage to a plate, slice, and set aside.
3. Add shallots to the oil/butter in the pan and saute for a minute or so, then add sliced mushrooms. Toss to combine and cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Stir in sliced sausage, celery, sage, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle with flour and stir to combine. Add Chardonnay and cook until reduced by half, about 4 minutes or so.
5. Add vegetable broth as well as the rice and its remaining broth, stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 12-15 minutes. Stir in heavy cream and cook for another minute or two until heated through.

Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips

Wild rice takes much longer to cook than the rest of the soup, and it keeps absorbing liquid the longer it sits in broth. Giving it a head start in its own pot means it’s tender right when the soup is ready, the mushrooms and sausage don’t overcook while you wait, and the broth stays brothy instead of being soaked up by the rice.

You can, but the timing will change. True wild rice takes longer to get tender than a blend, so check the package directions for the pre-cook and taste the rice before it goes into the soup. Stop when it’s just shy of tender, since it’ll keep cooking in the broth.

Yes. Replace the wine with the same amount of broth and add a small squeeze of lemon juice at the end. The lemon gives you some of the brightness the wine would have added.

Not really. It’s a brothy soup with a light, silky body from a little flour and a splash of cream at the end. If you want it creamier, add more heavy cream or half and half a little at a time until it’s where you like it, and warm it through without letting it boil.

They were probably crowded or stirred too often. Mushrooms release a lot of water at first, and if the pan is packed, they’ll steam instead of browning. Give them the full 8 to 10 minutes over medium heat, stir only occasionally, and let the liquid cook off. They’ll start to turn golden once it does.

Storage and Freezing Information

Let the soup cool, then store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The wild rice will keep absorbing broth as it sits, so the soup will be thicker the next day. When you reheat it, add a splash of broth or water to loosen it back up.

Reheat it gently on the stovetop over medium-low heat, stirring now and then, until it’s hot all the way through. You can also reheat single portions in the microwave. Avoid boiling it once the cream is in.

To freeze, cool the soup completely and portion it into freezer-safe containers or heavy-duty freezer bags, leaving about an inch of room at the top for expansion. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat on the stovetop, adding broth as needed. The mushrooms will be a little softer after freezing, but the rice and sausage hold up well.

Serving Suggestions

Serve it piping hot in wide bowls, finished with chopped fresh parsley, a little grated Parmesan, and plenty of black pepper. A batch of homemade biscuits or cheesy garlic bread would pair really well with this soup!

Since it reheats well, it’d be a good one to prep ahead for lunches and dinner throughout the week. Hope you love it!

More Soup Recipes

• Sausage Orzo Soup
• Zuppa Toscana
• Italian Wedding Soup
• Vegetable Rice Soup
• Garlic Potato Soup

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