Description
Hearty Wild Rice & Sweet Potato Soup delivers comfort with its rich, smoky bacon and earthy wild rice. Creamy sweet potatoes and aromatic herbs create a soul-warming dish you’ll crave on chilly evenings.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients:
- 0.5 pounds (226 grams) applewood smoked bacon
- 3–4 cups (450–600 grams) cubed sweet potatoes
- 0.5 cups (85 grams) wild rice or wild rice blend
- 4 cups (960 milliliters) vegetable broth
Vegetables and Aromatics:
- 0.5 cups (75 grams) diced yellow onion
- 1 diced celery stalk
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 1 bay leaf
Herbs, Spices, and Seasonings:
- 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) olive oil
- 0.5 teaspoon dried thyme
- 0.5 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
- Ground cayenne or red pepper flakes (to taste)
- Sea or kosher salt
- Fresh black pepper
Instructions
- Render bacon in a spacious saucepan or Dutch oven until achieving a crisp, golden texture. Transfer the strips to a paper towel-lined plate, reserving for later garnishing.
- Eliminate excess grease, maintaining in the pan. Introduce olive oil and warm over gentle heat.
- Incorporate diced onion, minced garlic, chopped celery, bay leaf, and a light seasoning of salt and black pepper. Sauté the vegetables until they become translucent and fragrant, approximately 5-6 minutes.
- Introduce wild rice to the pan, gently toasting for 2-3 minutes while stirring continuously to develop a rich, nutty essence.
- Pour in vegetable broth, add cubed sweet potatoes, fresh thyme, smoked paprika, chopped parsley, a hint of cayenne, salt, and black pepper.
- Crumble half of the prepared bacon directly into the soup, reserving the remaining portion for a crispy topping.
- Elevate the heat to initiate a gentle simmer. Allow the soup to cook for approximately 25 minutes, occasionally stirring to prevent sticking and ensure even cooking of wild rice and sweet potatoes.
- Evaluate the soup’s flavor profile, adjusting seasonings as necessary. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
- Ladle the steaming soup into serving bowls, crowning each portion with the remaining crisp bacon fragments. Serve immediately while piping hot.
Notes
- Bacon transforms this soup from ordinary to extraordinary, adding a smoky crunch that elevates every spoonful.
- Wild rice brings hearty texture and nutty complexity, creating depth beyond typical soup ingredients.
- Sweet potatoes offer natural sweetness and creamy consistency, balancing the robust bacon and earthy rice.
- Smoked paprika and cayenne provide subtle heat, awakening taste buds with gentle warmth and complexity.
- Fresh herbs like thyme and parsley brighten the soup, introducing fresh green notes that complement the rich base.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Dinner
- Method: Boiling, Sautéing, Simmering
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 720mg
- Fat: 16g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 38g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 9g
- Cholesterol: 15mg