This turkey wild rice soup recipe uses leftover turkey (or chicken) meat and makes the coziest soup!
Check out my recipe for Easy Roast Turkey.
There's two types of people - the ones who look forward to the Thanksgiving feast itself, and then the type that looks even more forward to the leftovers. Which camp do you fall into?
In case you were wondering... what is wild rice? A bit of trivia for you - wild rice isn't technically rice at all. It's the seed of a tall aquatic grass. Now you know.
Wild rice takes a fair bit of time to cook, but as I like to keep things simple around here, there's no pre-cooking of the rice required like in some other wild rice soup recipes. I give the rice a head start and then add the turkey and mushrooms into the soup a bit later so they don't overcook. One pot meal. Ok, so I have this pet peeve where I get irritated when people describe soup as a "one pot meal". It's pretty rare when soup isn't just made in one pot, isn't it? I can think of like one soup that I make where you need to dirty up more than one pot, and it involves sieving a roux into the soup. But anyway...
Recipe notes:
- I've tested this with a wild rice blend, and it tastes just as good, but it discolored the soup a bit (made it a little brown). It really depends on the blend you buy, but just letting you know that this can happen depending on what rices are in the blend.
- You could try swapping the wild rice for white rice or brown rice, but keep in mind that you may need to adjust cooking time a bit (white rice especially cooks much faster).
- This soup will work just as well with leftover cooked chicken meat (or even buy a rotisserie chicken).
- Feel free to add different vegetables or leave out the mushrooms if they're not your thing.
- If you're planning on freezing this soup, I suggest freezing it without the rice and then adding cooked rice to it prior to serving. I'd also add the cream in just prior to serving it.
- This soup will keep for a few days in the fridge, but you may need to add some more broth when reheating if the wild rice soaks up too much liquid for your tastes.
More leftover turkey recipes you may like:
- Easy Leftover Turkey Soup Recipe
- Easy Creamy Leftover Turkey Pasta Recipe
- Thai Turkey Soup
- Quick and Easy Turkey Noodle Soup
- Leftover Turkey Chili
Will you make this turkey and wild rice soup?
Questions? Leave me a comment below! What's your favorite way to use up turkey?
Leftover Turkey Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 medium carrots peeled & chopped
- 3 sticks celery chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 dashes Italian seasoning
- 3 heaping tablespoons flour
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup uncooked wild rice
- 2 cups (or more) cooked turkey meat shredded/cut up
- 7 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup heavy/whipping cream optional
Instructions
- Prep your onion, carrots, and celery. I just roughly chopped the carrots and celery.
- Add the oil and butter to a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the garlic, Italian seasoning, and flour. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Whisk in the chicken broth until the flour is dissolved.
- Stir in the rice.
- Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Once it's just boiling, cover the pot with the lid slightly ajar. Reduce the heat so it's gently boiling for 15 minutes.
- If you haven't already prepped the turkey and mushrooms, you can do it now.
- Add the turkey and mushrooms to the soup. Increase the heat again so it just comes to a boil, then reduce the heat so it's simmering again and continue cooking the soup for another 15-20 minutes (cover with lid slightly ajar) or until the rice is tender (wild rice does have a bit of "chew" to it, though).
- Stir in the cream (if using). Season soup with salt & pepper as needed.
Notes
- Recipe adapted from here.
- You can use a wild rice blend if you prefer.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Heather says
Added mini gnocchi and 1 extra can broth. Also a good shake of slap your mama and it is great!
Natasha says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it!! Your additions sound delish!
Devin Clark says
I don’t have any wild rice… Do you think jasmine rice would work?
Natasha says
Hi! I do, but I'd keep an eye on cook time and liquid measurements (like add more broth if it appears to be soaking it up). Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Patricia ORielly says
Wonderful recipe for leftover turkey or chicken. I use a blend of black and red wild rice. So good on cold day.
Natasha says
I'm so glad you like it! 🙂
Kathy says
Hi! Can I just buy a box of wild rice with the seasoning And use 1 cup from there? Sorry of the question seems silly but othwrwise it’s a big container of wild rice and I hate to have that sitting in my pantry. Thank you’
Natasha says
I think you probably could do that, Kathy! I'd then be careful to taste it and not add too much extra salt etc. if it's not needed. Cooking time could also vary depending on what the package directions say, so I'd keep that in mind. Let me know how it goes.
Bonny Brown says
Really yummy. I used leftover fried chicken. Added some broccoli, cabbage, zucchini and cabbage. Great recipe thanx!
Natasha says
Excellent! You're very welcome!
JESSICA RIEGER says
Has anyone tried to freeze?
Susan says
I am going to try but use diced potatoes instead of rice. Do you think that would work?
Natasha says
Sure! I think that would be yummy.
Sue says
I was thinking about making this over the weekend but I don’t have any leftover Turkey. What would you suggest I get from the store? Thanks 😊
Natasha says
Maybe a rotisserie chicken? Or roast a turkey breast then shred it. Or maybe your grocery store's deli has cooked shredded (or cubed/diced) turkey?
Laura Parks says
This was a perfect soup for a cold night with turkey leftovers! I added a bit of turmeric...because I sneak it in whenever I can. Thank you for sharing!
Natasha says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it!! That's a good thing to add to soup! 🙂
Kimbra says
I made this tonight using leftover turkey from Thanksgiving that I had frozen. I followed the recipe exactly, but made one adjustment: I added two cups of fresh chopped spinach the last few minutes. It was amazing! My son and my husband both loved it, and so did I. I will definitely make this again. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe! 🙂
Natasha says
I'm so happy you enjoyed it, Kimbra!! 🙂 Thanks for commenting!
Holly says
This soup is absolutely delicious! I have made it twice now and I think it is in my top 5 all time favorite soups! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Natasha says
Wow that's great to hear! Thank you!!
Marie says
Delicious! Will be doing this one again soon! Had a bowl for lunch and one for dinner!!
Natasha says
Awesome!!
Kelly says
My son won’t eat the leftover turkey n wild rice soup w mushrooms I love em but may we leave em out?
Natasha says
I think that should be fine!
Mandi Clark says
Made this last night with leftover thanksgiving turkey and it was a hit! Everyone went back for seconds! There is not one recipe I have made of yours that my family hasn't loved. Well done!
Natasha says
Woo hoo!! So happy to hear that, Mandi! 🙂 XO
Jennifer says
This is an amazing recipe. We used fresh leftover herbs (rosemary, thyme & sage) instead of the Italian seasoning and I tossed in the seasoning packet from the wild rice mix. Otherwise we stuck to the recipe and made about 1.5 times as much as it called for since we had so many mushrooms and rice etc. It turned out sooo delicious. This is a must make!
Natasha says
I'm so glad that it worked out!! Thanks for commenting, Jennifer!
Lorraine Nadeau says
I really like this recipe. A nice change from my usual leftover turkey soup. I cooked brown rice separately and added that and a splash of half and half when serving. Delicious
Natasha says
Wonderful! 🙂
Deb says
The best Turkey Wild Rice Soup I have made! I’m always adjusting recipes, but I didn’t change anything with this recipe. I did add an extra cup of turkey; but that was suggested. Thanks for a great recipe!! (Oh, I did use 2 cups of beef broth because I used all of the chicken broth. But it was great anyhow!)
Natasha says
Wonderful!! I'm so happy you liked it!! 🙂
Brooke says
How might I make this in the Instant Pot?
Natasha says
Hi Brooke! I haven't tested wild rice in the IP and it could be a bit tricky, so I am going to refrain from giving any suggestions. Sorry!
Shelly says
Made this today with left over Thanksgiving Turkey. Easy and delicious! This is the second time I’ve used wild rice in a soup. The first time it disintegrated 🙁 It held up really nice in this recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Natasha says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it and that the wild rice held up! It can be a little tricky to cook with... it takes a long time for it to cook, but then, as you say, it can disintegrate. Thanks for taking the time to leave me a comment, Shelly! 🙂
AC says
Made this for dinner last night and it was delicious! Usually make at least one soup a week and this will join my soup rotation.
Natasha says
I'm so happy to hear it!! Thanks for leaving me a comment! 🙂