Turkey Wild Rice Soup – Culinary Hill

This easy Turkey Wild Rice Soup recipe is a favorite at parties, holiday gatherings, or anytime you need to use up leftover turkey. It’s creamy, delicious, and ready in just 40 minutes.

Once the holiday is over, it’s a race to put those Thanksgiving leftovers to use as quickly as possible. But since you JUST wrapped up the biggest food holiday of the year, you need recipes that are easy.

This tasty Turkey Wild Rice Soup is one of the best ways to use up that leftover Thanksgiving turkey (Leftover Turkey Soup is awesome, too).

Recipe ingredients

At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.

Ingredient notes

• White button mushrooms: Or baby portobello mushrooms. I prefer the texture and flavor of fresh mushrooms, but canned mushrooms work in a pinch.
• Morton Nature’s Season Seasoning Blend: I buy this Morton’s online to sprinkle into soups, roasted vegetables, dips, and beyond.
• Poultry seasoning: To make Homemade Poultry Seasoning, combine 2 teaspoons ground sage, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground thyme, 1 teaspoon dried marjoram, 3/4 teaspoon ground rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper. You’ll just need ¼ teaspoon, so store the rest in a jar with a tight-fitting lid.
• Homemade turkey stock: If you’re working with a leftover bird from the holidays, follow my recipe for Homemade turkey broth. Homemade Chicken Broth or store-bought low-sodium chicken broth is good, too.
• Chicken base: Similar to bullion cubes, chicken base is a concentrated form of chicken stock solid as a powder or paste. I love Better than Bouillon‘s paste.
• Kitchen Bouquet seasoning: A little bit goes a long way. Again, you can find this Kitchen Bouquet online if it’s not available in your supermarket. Solid alternatives include Worcestershire sauce, Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, dark soy sauce, or Maggi Liquid Seasoning.
• Cooked turkey: Pick that turkey carcass clean! Leftover cooked chicken works too.
• Cooked wild rice: Look for black rice or a wild rice blend. Either way, cook the rice according to package instructions before adding it to the soup.

Step-by-step instructions

1. In a Dutch oven or large soup pot, melt butter over medium heat until foaming. Add mushrooms, onion, carrots, celery, Morton’s Nature Seasoning, and poultry seasoning. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and have released most of their liquid, about 5 to 7 minutes.

2. Stir in flour and cook until heated through, about 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in one cup of broth until no lumps of flour remain.

3. Stir in remaining broth, chicken base, Kitchen Bouquet seasoning, turkey, and cooked wild rice. Heat to a low simmer, about 180 degrees.

4. Stir in half and half and return to 180 degrees (do not boil).

5. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper). Or, transfer to a slow cooker and keep warm. Serve in bowls with fresh parsley.

Recipe tips and variations

• Yield: My Turkey Wild Rice Soup recipe makes about 14 cups of soup.
• Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
• Make ahead: Get a head start on this recipe by prepping the vegetables early (store separately in the refrigerator).
• Customize your soup: This soup is ready for your personal touches. Try a few cloves garlic, or herbs and spices like bay leaves, rosemary, or thyme. Use cooked long grain brown rice or even white rice instead of the wild rice if you prefer, or serve the soup with fresh lemon juice to cut through the richness.
• Chicken Wild Rice Soup: If you have a leftover rotisserie chicken on hand, this soup is just as good with chicken.