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This easy Leftover Turkey Soup with Wild Rice is a simple, delicious dinner that takes advantage of your holiday extras! With carrots, celery, onion and herbs, each bite is full of healthy, flavorful ingredients. Don’t have turkey on hand? Use chicken instead! Serve a cozy bowl of turkey soup with a basket of sweet potato biscuits, a loaf of crusty Dutch oven bread, or a skillet full of cornbread.
How to Make Turkey Soup | 1-Minute Video
Easy Turkey Soup
I originally created this leftover turkey soup recipe as a simple way to use up extra chicken or turkey from previous meals. While extra chicken (or store-bought rotisserie chicken) works great as a substitute in this soup, I wanted to share the recipe with you today because it’s perfectly well suited for a post-Thanksgiving meal. After a busy holiday full of rich food and hours spent in the kitchen, this turkey soup is a lighter option to take advantage of leftover meat while only requiring 15 minutes of prep!
The hearty and satisfying wild rice, broth, and vegetables make the easy turkey soup a filling option for cold nights. Serve a bowl with a simple green salad or some flaky buttermilk biscuits for a light lunch or comforting family dinner. You can even mix up the vegetables or rice to use the ingredients that your family prefers — white rice or brown rice will also work!
Ingredients
This is a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for a homemade leftover turkey soup recipe. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Olive oil: to sauté the vegetables.
- Onion, carrots, celery and garlic: savory vegetables the flavor the soup and add great nutrients.
- Fresh thyme and fresh parsley: herbs that add a bright, fresh touch to the soup.
- Bay leaf: makes the soup taste like it’s been simmering all day long!
- Broth: use homemade turkey stock from your leftover turkey carcass, homemade chicken broth, or store-bought chicken broth — whatever you have available.
- Wild rice blend: a classic companion to the turkey, wild rice gives the soup great flavor and texture. If you prefer, you can use white rice or brown rice — you will just need to adjust the simmering time to account for the different types of rice.
- Water: extra liquid for cooking the rice.
- Leftover turkey: use up your leftover Thanksgiving turkey, or substitute with leftover roasted chicken or even a store-bought rotisserie chicken. The more flavorful your meat, the more flavorful your soup!
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper: the total amount of salt necessary will depend on your broth, as well as personal preference. Taste and season as you go!
How to Make Turkey Soup with Rice
Here’s the secret: it’s really easy! I find that I enjoy a meal if I don’t stress over it, so I love a quick supper that only requires a few minutes of hands on time — but still tastes like it simmered all day!
- Sauté the vegetables and garlic in olive oil.
- Add thyme, bay leaf, broth, wild rice and water. Bring to a boil.
- Simmer, covered, for about 35 minutes, or until the rice is tender.
- Stir in the leftover turkey and simmer just until heated through.
- Remove the bay leaf.
- Add fresh parsley and season with salt and pepper.
- Ladle into bowls and serve!
What to Serve with Leftover Turkey Soup
This old fashioned turkey soup is perfect alongside a loaf of crusty baguette or no-knead bread, soft dinner rolls or crescent rolls, cornbread, corn muffins, pumpkin bread or pumpkin muffins. Biscuits are also a great option! Try these classic Southern buttermilk biscuits, these easy drop biscuits, or these quick 3-ingredient biscuits. If you like some spicy “kick,” pair the soup with a loaf of Jalapeño Cheddar Bread or a skillet of Mexican cornbread.
How to Store Turkey Wild Rice Soup
Allow leftover soup to cool to room temperature. Pack in airtight containers and refrigerate for 3-4 days. Reheat the soup over a low flame on the stovetop just until warmed through. Alternatively, you can warm individual bowls of soup in the microwave for about 1 minute.
Freeze the soup in airtight containers for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating and serving.
Recipe Variations
- Instead of leftover turkey, use leftover chicken or a store-bought rotisserie chicken.
- Replace the wild rice with another type of rice — such as long grain white rice or brown rice. You will need to adjust the cooking time accordingly; white rice tends to cook faster than wild rice, while brown rice will require more time.
- Use homemade turkey stock from a leftover turkey carcass, homemade chicken broth, or a high-quality store-bought chicken broth.
- Instead of cutting up fresh vegetables, add frozen mixed vegetables (such as corn, peas, and carrots) towards the end of cooking. You can pick your family’s favorites!
- Mix up the herbs and use your favorites. In addition to the parsley and thyme, good options include rosemary, sage, oregano and chives.
Tips for the Best Turkey Soup Recipe
- The more flavorful your meat, the more flavorful your soup! We love to use leftover smoked turkey breast in this recipe, but a maple-glazed roasted turkey breast or an apple cider brined whole roasted turkey are also great. As an alternative, try the meat from this rosemary oven roasted chicken.
- Make the soup within 5-6 days of cooking a turkey. After that point, the leftover turkey meat should be frozen or discarded.
- Taste and season as you go. The total amount of salt necessary will vary depending on the saltiness of your broth, and on personal preference. Add extra salt for more flavor, and feel free to increase the other herbs and seasonings as well. Extra sage, thyme, rosemary or parsley all add great flavor to the pot.
- A fresh parsley garnish gives each bowl a pop of color and a bright touch.
More Leftover Turkey Recipes to Try
- Aunt Bee’s Leftover Turkey Casserole
- Turkey Pot Pie Pockets
- Dump-and-Bake Turkey Tetrazzini
- One Pot Turkey Jambalaya with Shrimp
- Quick and Easy Homemade Turkey Noodle Soup
Leftover Turkey Soup with Wild Rice
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 carrots, peeled and diced
- 4 celery stalks, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 cups homemade turkey stock, homemade chicken broth, or store-bought chicken broth
- ⅔ cup wild rice blend
- 2 ½ cups water
- 2-3 cups (about 8-11 ounces) cooked, shredded leftover turkey (or substitute with cooked, shredded chicken)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the thyme, bay leaf, broth, rice and water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer (covered) for about 35 minutes, or until rice is tender.
- Stir in cooked turkey and simmer just until heated through. Remove bay leaf.
- Add fresh parsley; taste and season with salt and pepper, if necessary.
- Serve immediately, or allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Video
Notes
- The more flavorful your meat, the more flavorful your soup! We love to use leftover smoked turkey breast in this recipe, but a maple-glazed roasted turkey breast or an apple cider brined whole roasted turkey are also great. As an alternative, try the meat from this rosemary oven roasted chicken.
- Make the soup within 5-6 days of cooking a turkey. After that point, the leftover turkey meat should be frozen or discarded.
- Taste and season as you go. The total amount of salt necessary will vary depending on the saltiness of your broth, and on personal preference. Add extra salt for more flavor, and feel free to increase the other herbs and seasonings as well. Extra sage, thyme, rosemary or parsley all add great flavor to the pot.
- Instead of leftover turkey, use leftover chicken or a store-bought rotisserie chicken.
- Replace the wild rice with another type of rice — such as long grain white rice or brown rice. You will need to adjust the cooking time accordingly; white rice tends to cook faster than wild rice, while brown rice will require more time.
- Use homemade turkey stock from a leftover turkey carcass, homemade chicken broth, or a high-quality store-bought chicken broth.
- Instead of cutting up fresh vegetables, add frozen mixed vegetables (such as corn, peas, and carrots) towards the end of cooking. You can pick your family’s favorites!
- Mix up the herbs and use your favorites. In addition to the parsley and thyme, good options include rosemary, sage, oregano and chives.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in November, 2016. It was updated in November, 2021.
Oh my , that looks so comforting Blair ! I love soups with an addition of rice or noodles … kids love them too. Great way to use up leftover turkey 🙂
Thanks, Ruwani!
The store bought stock, basically a salt lick. Just make your own.
Hey, Lizzie! Yep, I think the sodium must be the broth. I would opt for low sodium and then just season to taste from there. 🙂
This is delicious soup. I opted for low-sodium chicken broth, seasoned to taste … and then, voila! Feeling a bit “under-proteined” I put a soft-poached egg in each bowl just before serving. Wowzers was it ever good!
Awesome! So glad that you enjoyed it, Lizzie!
This Looks Delicious! How Could I make This In The Slow Cooker?
Hi, Susana! Yes, I think that you could make it the slow cooker, although I have never tried it myself. I would put all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours (or until the rice is cooked through). Let me know if you give it a shot! 🙂
I just tried this in my slow cooker 3 hours rice was overdone what a bummer
This is such a delicious way to use up leftovers! I loveee wild rice in soups and this looks so simple and delicious!
Thanks, Kristy! Simple and delicious is exactly right!
Do I use already cooked rice?
Hi, Stephanie! Nope, in this recipe there’s no need to cook the rice first. You can just put the uncooked rice in the pot and it will absorb some of the liquid and cook with the rest of the soup! 🙂
Love this recipe on using cooked turkey! I was freaking out on a really great recipe to use all of this cooked turkey and so glad I landed on your page. Keep going girl!!
Excellent! I hope that you enjoy it, Ileana!
Wow, Blair! It was just perfect! Thank you so much. I also added baby portobello mushrooms, no celery, and then fried some garlic and poured it into the soup towards the end…delicious! Hope you have a blessed Christmas! Thank you for sharing!
Hi, Seda! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it! Your changes sound delicious as well. Thanks for letting me know!
This is an excellent recipe and a nice alternative to the typical “turkey and barley soup” that we always make from leftover turkey. I actually cooked the turkey for the first time this Christmas and used a “dry-brine turkey” recipe I found on Pinterest, lol. The turkey came out SUPER moist and delicious and my brother’s g/f commented that it was better than her dad’s, which he cooks in a fryer. Anyways, I added a giant green jalapeno peeper to the turkey stock I made with the leftover bones (after pulling the turkey off) as well as the skins of the onion, as I heard this contains most of the flavor. To the soup itself I added a couple ripe tomatoes (I peeled the skin from), a few red potatoes and a cup of fresh and some sweet corn from the cob. I doubled the recipe and added about SIX cups cubed turkey. It should be good for the family pot-luck I’m attending the 27th!
Heather, I’m coming to YOUR house for Thanksgiving next year! That turkey sounds perfect! Your homemade stock and your additions to the soup recipe must be delicious as well. Thanks so much for sharing your ideas, and enjoy! 🙂
I notice the recipe calls for garlic, but the instructions don’t indicate when to add it. I assume after the onions have softened?
Sorry, just like to make sure I follow it correctly because I’m known for screwing things up when I go it alone!
Thanks 🙂
Hi, Michelle! Sorry about that! Thanks for letting me know about the mistake. 🙂 I updated the recipe to add the garlic into the instructions. You want to put it in the pot with the onion at the beginning. 🙂
Enjoy!
Excellent, thank you!! Very excited to try this recipe for supper tonight!
You’re welcome! Enjoy!
This recipe is great- my soup is fabulous! I used mostly the stock from boiling the turkey carcass and added just a bit of chicken broth. I did have to use 2 chicken bouillon at the end. It tastes better than any soup I’ve made thus far. Thanks!
Yay! So glad that you enjoyed it, Kim! I’m sure your homemade broth is amazing!
Could you please tell me where the copper pan is from?
Hi, Annie! I’m so glad that you like the copper pot. It’s actually an old pot that I found at a local antique store here in Central Virginia. Sorry I don’t have a link to a similar one. 🙂
How much does this recipe make?? Would I be able to double it for a large family??
Hey, Stephanie! It makes about 8 cups total (4 servings, 2 cups per serving). You can definitely double the ingredients to serve a larger family, and leftovers freeze well. Enjoy!
Can you use any type of rice?
Hi, Maureen! Yes, you can use any rice. If you go with brown rice, you’ll need to cook it longer. If you use white rice, it might need slightly less time than the wild rice. Enjoy!
Got the turkey carcass in a pot of water salt, pepper and a couple branches of fresh sage from my garden. Make the stock then assemble this soup, can’t wait to try this.
Awesome! Enjoy the soup! 🙂
This was very plain to me, did I do something wrong, can I add something else?
Hi, Sarah! I have no idea if you did something wrong since I don’t know what you did. 🙂 A lot of folks love this recipe, but taste is obviously very individual, so what appeals to some might not appeal to you? Or maybe you left out some seasonings? It’s supposed to be a simple soup (similar to Chicken Noodle Soup), but you want it seasoned well so that it doesn’t taste bland. You can always add more of the salt, pepper and seasoning to taste.
This is now my go to!
My family loves this soup!
You do need to add more broth after the half an hour and I also add Italian seasoning and maybe some cilantro!
This time I added yellow red and orange peppers instead of celery!
Awesome! Your changes sound delicious, Crystal! 🙂
Found this recipe tonight and it was easy and most importantly a big hit with my hubamd and picky 6 year old. This recipe is definitely a keeper – thank you!
Also I did add some thyme and basil and I suppose I could have added some additional broth.
Hooray!! I love when a picky child even approves of the recipes! Thanks, Amy!
The soup was very good and hearty. I used 5 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of water. I also added some cubed potatoes with the carrots and celery. The whole house smelled so yummy. I boiled the turkey carcass to get all the meat off and used some of the turkey juice. I liked how the soup came out almost like porridge from the wild rice mix I used fromTrader Joe’s. It made enough for at least 6 meals. I’m going to keep this recipe for sure.
Wonderful! Thanks, Lisa!
I used brown rice and turkey broth that I just made from our Thanksgiving turkey. It had a slight smoky flavor because we smoked the turkey. I added extra carrots because we love carrots and extra garlic because I always do and it turned out great. Thanks for the recipe. I’ll be making it again with the broth and turkey that are now in the freezer.
That sounds amazing, Lisa! You can’t go wrong with smoked turkey and with extra garlic! 🙂
Very pleased with this recipe – it was delicious. I didn’t have wild rice on hand and used Oronzo instead.
Wonderful! Thanks, Brea!
I found this recipe to be very bland.
I found this recipe last Thanksgiving. I have made it at least a half a dozen times since then. I make my own turkey/chicken broth and it turns out perfect every time.
That’s so good to hear, Carol. I’m glad that you enjoy it!
I made this recipe for dinner tonight. It was amazing !!!!
Thanks, Jody!
Making a big pot seems to be best but the next day, the rice has swelled up almost to a mush. How can I prevent the rice from continuing to absorb liquid in the refrigerator?
Hey, Nick! Yep, that’s a common problem with any soup that has rice in it. If you really want to keep leftovers in the same quality as fresh, the only real solution is to hold out the rice and add it to the bowl when you’re ready to eat. So don’t put any rice in the actual soup broth. Keep it separate, and then when you’re ready to serve an individual bowl, but the cooked rice in the bottom of the bowl and pour the rest of the soup over top. 🙂
Excellent and easy soup. I made my own broth with the leftover turkey carcass. I believe a homemade stock (when available) amps up flavor and nutrition. I used red rice which took a little longer to cook. I also added a small amount of poultry seasoning since I enjoy the blend of herbs, I finished up the soup with a half cup or so of frozen peas added near the end of the cooking time.
Thank you, Kerrin! Your version sounds delicious! I agree — when you can make your own broth, that’s definitely the best. So glad that you enjoyed it. 🙂
I made this soup for dinner tonight using store bought broth as I do not take the time to make my own. I used your suggestion of incorporating frozen vegetables at the end of cooking and jazzed up the soup with a variety of spices, it was delicious. As you explained to another reviewer, it is similar to a chicken noodle type soup. It is left to the interpretation of the cook to add the spices they wish to achieve the desired taste they seek. My husband & I enjoyed it tremendously. Thank you for sharing
That’s great, Stephanie! I’m glad that you and your husband enjoyed it! Thanks for your note. 🙂
Thank You
I’m Happy to find this Site @ Christmas I will be 79 and as I get older I REALLY MISS my Mom’s older recipes which were all stored in her Head.. Even harder is some of the foods are getting hard to find.
Thank You For Chance at for some great old Recipes
Quick note… Oxtail Stew to my Grandson is CowTail Stew Nana. So We now have a new Name
Nana Joan
That’s so sweet, Nana Joan! I’m so glad that you’re enjoying the recipes!