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If you have leftover turkey from Thanksgiving (or any feast), this Turkey Wild Rice Soup is one of my absolute favorite ways to turn scraps into something cozy, nourishing, and totally soul-warming. It’s hearty, veggie-packed, and full of texture!
It comes together in one pot and uses mostly leftovers. This soup is also gluten-free, dairy-free, and so comforting for those colder late fall or winter days.
Easy Wild Rice Soup with Turkey
Do you have leftover turkey after the holidays? Well, thanks to this Turkey Wild Rice Soup recipe, you’ll know just how to use them up! I make this every single year without fail!
After I cut my turkey, I put the carcass right into the Instant Pot. This soup is next level with fresh bone broth.
This soup is packed full of tender wild rice, the perfect leftover turkey, and whatever veggies you have on hand, leftover or fresh. We love the heartiness, flavors, and textures of this soup.
Plus, it aligns perfectly with making the most of your turkey by turning the carcass into turkey bone broth/stock. It takes the soup to another level, both in flavor and healthiness. As they say, the better the broth, the better the soup!
No turkey? No problem! You can totally use leftover shredded chicken, too!
Why We Love This Soup So Much:
- Zero waste & resourceful: Use up every bit of turkey. Making your own turkey stock with the bones gives this soup a deep, rich flavor that elevates everything.
- Comforting + healthy: With tender wild rice, savory broth, turkey, and a fragrant mix of vegetables, it hits all the comfort-food notes without feeling heavy.
- Flexible & adaptable: Don’t have mushrooms or carrots? Swap in other vegetables. No turkey on hand? Use shredded chicken. You can really customize to your desire here, it’s one of the beautiful parts of this recipe.
Ingredients Needed:
*Scroll down to the recipe card for quantities and the complete recipe.
- Butter – To sauté the veggies (can sub oil for dairy-free).
- Veggies – A mix of onion, carrot, celery, and baby bella mushrooms (add the umami depth), but feel free to use whatever veggies you have on hand (think holiday leftovers!)
- Garlic – Use fresh garlic for the best flavor.
- Seasonings: A simple blend of salt, pepper, and dried herbs like thyme and parsley.
- Turkey Stock – Or chicken broth. Make homemade turkey broth from the leftover turkey carcass, or buy a high-quality store-bought version.
- Fish Sauce – Just a splash gives the soup extra umami, without making it taste “fishy.” It just rounds out the savory flavors.
- Wild Rice – You’ll need 1 cup of dry wild rice. It cooks right in the soup. Wild rice holds up well in a soup without turning mushy, though it takes longer than regular rice.
- Turkey – Any leftover turkey will work, shredded or chopped. You could also use leftover or rotisserie chicken!
How to Make My Turkey and Wild Rice Soup
You’ll want to pick off as much of the turkey meat as possible after it’s been carved. If you can, pick all the meat from the turkey while it’s still warm, because it is much easier to do!
Our recipe calls for about 2-3 cups of leftover turkey meat. Once you’ve picked the meat off the turkey, make bone broth from it to use in your soup, or freeze it for future soups!
- Prep your pot: In a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter (or warm your oil). Add the onion, carrot, celery, salt, and pepper, and sauté until the vegetables soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms + garlic: Stir in the mushrooms and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes, until they’re fragrant and the mushrooms are starting to release their moisture.
- Build the soup: Add the dried thyme and parsley, then pour in your turkey stock (or chicken broth) and the wild rice mixture. Bring everything to a gentle simmer.
- Simmer: Cover the pot and cook for about 30 minutes — this gives the wild rice time to cook through and absorb flavor.
- Add the turkey: Stir in your leftover turkey, then simmer uncovered for another 30 minutes or so, until the rice is fully cooked and the turkey is warmed through. Taste and adjust seasoning — you can add more broth if it feels too thick or concentrated.
- Finish & serve: Once the rice is tender and the flavors have melded, ladle the soup into bowls. It’s perfect on its own, or paired with a side of crusty bread or crackers.
How to Make Homemade Turkey Broth
Making turkey stock from the leftover carcass is so simple and a great way to use up all the turkey. No waste win! I usually use the instant pot, but you can also do it on the stovetop!
- Place the whole carcass, a few aromatics, spices, and water into the instant pot.
- Cook on high pressure for 50 minutes.
If you’d rather not make your own, you can use a good-quality bone broth or stock from the store instead.
Tips + Notes from My Kitchen
- Bone Broth Boost: If possible, make your own turkey stock with the carcass. It’s surprisingly easy (in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop), and the more decadent broth makes a big difference.
- Veggie Flexibility: Use what you’ve got. Mushrooms, carrots, and celery are my go-tos, but feel free to toss in green beans, peas, or any other leftover veggies toward the end of cooking.
- Adjust the Texture: If your soup gets too thick, thin it with more broth or even water. If it’s too thin, let it simmer a little longer, uncovered, until it concentrates.
- Fish Sauce Hack: That splash of fish sauce is totally optional, but I think it’s a game-changer for depth. Try it — your soup will taste richer.
- Make-Ahead: This soup reheats beautifully. Store leftovers in the fridge for 3–4 days or freeze in meal-sized portions for later.
Kitchen Tools I Use
Serving Suggestions
Wild rice soup with turkey is a complete meal all on its own, thanks to the veggies, grain, and chicken. However, it’s delicious served with a couple of side dishes too, especially if you have other holiday leftovers. It’s also great with Crackers and crusty bread!
FAQ’s
Yes! In fact, you should put uncooked rice in this soup. It cooks perfectly right in the broth. If you put already-cooked rice in it, you’ll end up with over-cooked rice.
We choose to include a classic blend of onions, carrots, celery, and mushrooms! But if you have other leftover veggies like green beans, you can add those in at the very end of the cooking time to reheat!
Refrigerator: Store leftover wild rice soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Freezing Instructions:
– Let your soup cool completely before transferring it into a freezer-safe gallon-size bag or container.
– Seal and then place in the freezer.
– It will last for up to 3 months.
– When you’re ready to serve again, thaw in the fridge if frozen, then warm on low on the stove, or even the crockpot, until heated all the way through.
Other Ways To Use Leftover Turkey
- Thanksgiving Leftover Breakfast Hash
- Turkey Kale Soup
- How to Make Turkey Stock
- Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad (use turkey)
- Thanksgiving Stuffed Acorn Squash (Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipe)
Watch The Video:
Turkey Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter or avocado oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 3 large carrots sliced to 1/4″
- 3 celery stalks diced
- 1 cup baby bella mushrooms diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 5 cups turkey stock or chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 cup wild rice
- 2-3 cups shredded cooked turkey breast leftover thanksgiving turkey works great for this, or shredded chicken works as well
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven or stock pot, over medium heat and add butter/oil.
- When hot add onions, carrots, celery and salt and pepper to the pot and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook another 5 minutes.
- Add thyme, parsley and 4 cups of the turkey stock, fish sauce, and rice.
- Bring to a simmer and then cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add the turkey and simmer, uncovered, another 30-50 minutes, until the rice is cooked.
- Taste and adjust seasoning and add more broth if needed.
Notes
- This recipe was developed for thanksgiving leftovers, but it will work great with leftover chicken as well.
- If the rice isn’t done, simmer for longer as desired.
- Add more broth if needed. If needed, then adust/increase spices as well.
10 minute prep time? Maybe if I had 3 sous chefs, or maybe I’m just slow at chopping. Good flavors, for “fish sauce” I used Worcestershire. I had some stock from a smoked turkey breast, yum!
Has anyone made this recipe in a slow cooker? If so, what adjustments did you make?
Thanks!
This was delicious! My two year old grandson loved it
The soup was amazing and so simple. The critical ingredient was the turkey stock and that recipe was delicious (and simple) to make.
Thank you for the recipe.
absolutely delicious. I made my own broth from my turkey carcass. I subbed zucchini for the mushrooms but followed the rest exactly as written. This will be made again.
I make this soup often! I even make my own bone broth. So delicious and my family loves it! I use rotisserie chickens mostly.
This was good, but the wild rice came out a little chewy. I would make the rice separately next time and add at the end. The soup would also benefit from some black peppercorns, fresh parsley, and a few squirts of lemon at the end.
Lexi. Make sure your readers know the difference between real….Native American Harvested rice, vs the commercial crap. Google the difference. I used native, followed your recipe and now I have a casserole. Flavor yes. Soup no.
Craig – the recipe calls for wild rice.
Really enjoyed this recipe. I did use the 90 second Uncle Ben’s wild rice but only added it in the last 10 minutes after I cooked it in the microwave. I also use better than bouillon for my broth. Excellent recipe.
Fantastic recipe! Very tasty and nourishing. One thing I do a little differently is that after sautéing all the vegetables, I throw the rest of the ingredients in and pressure cook for 25-30 minutes. Mostly just to save time. But still get great results. Agree with other reviewers about a little squeeze of lemon at the end.Thank you again for the wonderful recipe!
I used dried mushrooms and added a couple handfuls of fresh spinach, squeeze of lemon, extra broth, some white wine. Per my husband, perfect! And I agree. This is a great recipe that you can modify to your liking. I made it last year and I found it in my thanksgiving recipes. This is going to get moved up to the front of my soup list.