Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

Have you eaten all of your Thanksgiving leftovers yet?? If not, here’s an amazing soup that you can make with that leftover turkey, and any leftover vegetables you may have laying around from all that Thanksgiving prep a few days ago. This Turkey and Wild Rice Soup is rich, flavorful, and just packed with goodies. Plus, it’s one of those soups that tastes even better the next day, so make a pot of this and you’ll be eating GOOD for the next few days!

What’s in Turkey and WIld RIce Soup

This recipe is actually based on the filling for my chicken pot pie recipe, but I used leftover Thanksgiving turkey instead and made it a little thinner to be more soup-like.

It starts with a basic medley of vegetables (onion, garlic, carrot, celery, and mushrooms) sautéed until tender, then we add a combination of butter and flour that will help thicken the soup and give it body. Next, we add vegetable broth, herbs, and the wild rice blend, and simmer until the rice is tender. Finally, we add in the cooked chopped turkey, heat through, then add a dose of cream for a rich finish. 👌 Perfect!

Do I Have to Use Turkey?

This recipe is quite flexible, so if you want to make it any other time of the year other than after Thanksgiving, simply swap out the cooked turkey with some chopped rotisserie chicken! Still super delish and hearty!

What Kind of Rice to Use

For this soup, you’ll want to use a wild rice blend. While you can use wild rice by itself, I find that using a blend of different rices adds more texture and color to the bowl and the rice blends tend to be more affordable than wild rice by itself. I used Lundberg’s Wild Blend, but you can sometimes find generic store versions of this, depending on where you shop (last year ALDI had some). And, since rice is shelf stable, you can save the leftovers to use in other recipes, rather than worrying about it going to waste.

How to Store Leftovers

Refrigerate this soup just after cooking so that it cools quickly. Even better yet, divide it into single servings for faster cooling and easier serving and reheating later. Chill completely in the refrigerator overnight, then, if desired, transfer it to the freezer for longer storage. The soup can be reheated in the microwave or in a pot on the stove over medium-low, stirring often, until hot.

Looking for more ways to use up those Thanksgiving leftovers? Check out our full list of Recipes for Thanksgiving Leftovers!

How to Make Turkey and wild rice soup – Step by Step Photos

Dice one yellow onion, slice 2 carrots, slice 3 ribs of celery, and mince two cloves of garlic. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic to a large soup pot with 1 Tbsp butter. Sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft.

While the vegetables are sautéing, slice 8 oz. mushrooms. Add them to the pot and continue to sauté until the mushrooms have softened.

Add 4 Tbsp butter and ¼ cup flour to the pot. Continue to stir and cook for about one minute more. The flour and butter will form a paste that will coat the vegetables, that is okay.

Add ½ tsp dried thyme, ½ tsp rubbed sage, ¼ tsp pepper, and ½ cup wild rice blend to the pot.

Add 4 cups of vegetable broth. Stir to combine and dissolve all of the flour and butter off of the vegetables and the bottom of the pot.

Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow the soup to come to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and let it simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the wild rice is tender.

Once the rice is tender, add 2 cups of chopped cooked turkey (or chicken) and stir to combine. Allow the turkey to heat through in the soup.

Finally, to make the soup extra lush, stir in a ⅓ cup heavy cream.

Taste the soup and add salt to your liking (I added ½ tsp). Keep in mind that adding a little salt really helps the different flavors pop!

Serve the Turkey and Wild Rice Soup hot with some hearty bread for dipping!