This healthy and easy Wild Rice and Leftover Turkey Soup is a simple, wholesome and delicious dinner that takes advantage of your holiday leftovers! Don't have turkey on hand? Use chicken instead!
I originally created this recipe as a simple way to use up leftover chicken or turkey from previous meals. I really don't like to throw away food, so I'm constantly dreaming up new ways to repurpose the same old stuff -- and soups are about as easy as it gets!
The hearty and satisfying wild rice, broth, and veggies make this turkey soup a filling option for cold nights. It reminds me so much of the chicken noodle soup that Mom always gave us when we were sick, and my own boys have come to love it as well.
While extra 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!
It's the antidote to all of life's problems -- whether you're nursing a sick child, in need of some comfort, or just trying to feed your family on a busy weeknight. Mom always knows best!
How do you make the best 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!
You simply sauté garlic and onion in oil until tender. Add broth, rice and water to the pot; bring to a boil, and simmer for about 35 minutes (or until the rice is tender). Cook vegetables in the soup a bit longer, stir in the leftover turkey at the end, and your easy turkey soup is ready!
Recipe Variations - Healthy Turkey Soup with Rice:
- Instead of turkey, try using leftover chicken -- or purchase a rotisserie chicken at the store and use the meat in this soup!
- Replace the wild rice with another type of rice -- such as long grain white rice or brown rice. You may have to adjust the cooking time accordingly -- white rice tends to cook faster than wild rice, while brown rice will require more time.
- Instead of cutting up fresh vegetables, try stirring in frozen mixed vegetables (such as corn, peas, and carrots) towards the end of cooking. You can pick your family's favorites!
More leftover turkey recipes that you might enjoy:
- Aunt Bee's Leftover Turkey Casserole
- Dump-and-Bake Turkey Tetrazzini
- Quick and Easy Homemade Turkey Noodle Soup
Wild Rice and Leftover Turkey Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cups chicken broth*
- ⅔ cup wild rice blend
- 2 ½ cups water
- 4 carrots, chopped
- 4 celery stalks, chopped
- 8 ounces cooked, diced leftover turkey (or chicken)
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to soften (about 3 minutes).
- Add chicken broth, rice, and water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer (covered) for about 35 minutes.
- Add carrots and celery. Return to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered until vegetables are tender (about 10-15 more minutes). Stir in cooked turkey and simmer just until heated through.
- Season soup with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately, or allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Instead of turkey, try using leftover chicken -- or purchase a rotisserie chicken at the store and use the meat in this soup!
- Replace the wild rice with another type of rice -- such as long grain white rice or brown rice. You may have to adjust the cooking time accordingly -- white rice tends to cook faster than wild rice, while brown rice will require more time.
- Instead of cutting up fresh vegetables, try stirring in frozen mixed vegetables (such as corn, peas, and carrots) towards the end of cooking. You can pick your family's favorites!
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.
Looks great, but the sodium amount really leaped out at me. Where does all that salt come from? The chicken stock? Surely not the turkey or any other ingredients.Low-sodium broth might be the answer ....???
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.
This is great in theory but unfortunately there is little to no flavor. The celery wasn't cooked down enough either being that its added towards the end. I would suggest cooking all the vegetables together in the beginning and having already made rice on hand. The addition of fresh herbs at the end would give it much more flavor. But a decent start to a comfortable soup.
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. 🙂