Turkey and Wild Rice Soup is the perfect way to use up leftover turkey. Pair it with fresh vegetables and herbs and wild rice and you will have a comforting soup in about an hours time.
What better way to use up leftover turkey them to make turkey and wild rice soup. I typically make this soup the day after Thanksgiving for my family. It made for a perfect lunch. Of course what would have made it better would have been cooler weather, but that’s the joys of living in Florida. What can I say?
If you have a leftover turkey this is the perfect way to use it up.
Directions
First, Heat the butter on medium-high heat in a large stock pot. Then add the carrots, celery, and onions. Place the lid on and let the vegetables cook for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
PRO TIP – Add a half cup of stock if needed to keep the vegetables from burning and drying out–the purpose of this is to steam the vegetables.
Then add in 4 cups of stock, half of the minced sage leaves and fresh parsley, and the wild rice. Mix well, place the lid on the pot and cook for 15 minutes. Mixing occasionally and make sure that the pot does not get dry (add more stock if needed).
Add the rest of the stock, lower the burner to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes, mixing occasionally with lid on.
Add the cooked chopped turkey, salt, and pepper. Mix well and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until the rice is soft to bite. Before serving stir in the remaining fresh herbs, ladle soup into bowls and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can put raw rice in soup. The rice will cook in the broth absorbing more of the broth as it cooks giving you a more flavorful rice in the soup.
This turkey wild rice soup has leftover turkey, carrots, celery, onions, spices, fresh homemade turkey stock, and of course wild rice.
Yes, it is suggested to rinse the rice for soup. This will remove some of the starch from the rice helping to ensure it is not gluey or gummy and over cooked.
Tips and Tricks
Here are a few of my favorite tips and tricks when making turkey with wild rice soup.
- Pre-Chop Veggies – If you know you will make turkey soup after the holiday feel free to pre-chop the vegetables as you are prepping the big meal. This will save you even more time on the day you go to make the soup.
- Turkey renderings – If you happen to have any of the turkey renderings from the pan that you roasted it in –you can substitute that for butter for even more flavor!
- Vegetables – If you like a lot of vegetables you can also add in chopped mushrooms, green beans, or even green peas if you want to pack in more veggies.
- Rice – Although this recipe is for turkey and wild rice soup you can always use regular white rice. If that’s all you have on hand.
- More broth – If you prefer a soup that has more broth feel free to cook the rice separately then add it in to each bowl as you serve. This will give you more servings of soup therefore stretching your food further.
- Freezing – If you have leftovers you can freeze the soup; however, the rice will absorb all the broth. This is actually one soup I don’t recommend to freeze because it could come out as mush once it’s thawed out.
Leftover Turkey Recipes
If you still have leftover turkey to use up you can think about making a few other of my turkey recipes.
This turkey wild rice soup is perfect for a cold winter day and even more perfect when you have leftover turkey to use up! If your entertaining and have leftovers this turkey & wild rice soup will make a perfect lunch for family and friends!
If you make this turkey and wild rice soup recipe, I would be honored and love for you to take the time to leave a ⭐ star rating and comment! I spend hours developing and testing these recipes, and always love to hear feedback and user experience!
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Turkey and Wild Rice Soup
Equipment
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Peeler
- 1 Knife
- 1 Stock Pot
- 1 Silicone Spatula
- 1 Ladle
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 carrots peeled and sliced
- 3 celery
- 1 onion
- 8 cups turkey stock
- 6 sage leaves minced
- ¼ cup parsley minced
- 1 cup wild rice
- 2 cups turkey diced
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the butter on medium-high heat in a large stock pot. Then add the carrots, celery, and onions. Place the lid on and let the vegetables cook for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally and add a half cup of stock if needed to keep the vegetables from burning and drying out–the purpose of this is to steam the vegetables.
- Then add in 4 cups of stock, half of the minced sage leaves and fresh parsley, and the wild rice. Mix well, place the lid on the pot and cook for 15 minutes. Mixing occasionally and make sure that the pot does not get dry (add more stock if needed).
- Add the rest of the stock, lower the burner to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes, mixing occasionally with lid on.
- Add the cooked chopped turkey, salt, and pepper. Mix well and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until the rice is soft to bite. Before serving stir in the remaining fresh herbs, ladle soup into bowls and enjoy!
Notes
- Pre-Chop Veggies – If you know you will make turkey soup after the holiday feel free to prechop the vegetables as you are prepping the big meal. This will save you even more time on the day you go to make the soup.
- Vegetables – If you like a lot of vegetables you can also add in chopped mushrooms, green beans, or even green peas if you want to pack in more veggies.
- Rice – Although this recipe is for turkey and wild rice soup you can always use regular white rice. If that’s all you have on hand.
- More broth – If you prefer a soup that has more broth feel free to cook the rice separately then add it in to each bowl as you serve. This will give you more servings of soup therefore stretching your food further.
- Turkey renderings – If you happen to have any of the turkey renderings from the pan that you roasted it in –you can substitute that for butter for even more flavor!
- Freezing – If you have leftovers you can freeze the soup; however, the rice will absorb all the broth. This is actually one soup I don’t recommend to freeze because it could come out as mush once it’s thawed out.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!