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.
Stephanie
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
Blair
That's great, Stephanie! I'm glad that you and your husband enjoyed it! Thanks for your note. 🙂