Creamy Turkey Wild Rice Soup

A white bowl filled with a creamy turkey wild rice soup. Garnished with fresh herbs, the bowl is placed on a wooden board with a white and brown embroidered cloth.

This creamy Turkey Wild Rice Soup is perfect for days when you have leftover turkey or chicken and are craving a hearty, warm, and creamy bowl of good-for-you soup!

It’s delicious, ready in about 30 minutes, full of flavor, and made with better-for-you ingredients. It’s one of two soups I make following Thanksgiving or Christmas when leftover turkey is plentiful and the days are chilly! The other soup I make is Leftover Turkey Vegetable Noodle Soup.

Turkey Wild Rice Soup Ingredients

Here’s a quick list of the soup ingredients you’ll need:

Turkey or Chicken: Shredded cooked turkey or chicken leftovers is perfect in this soup recipe. You can also buy a rotisserie chicken for a quick and easy fix.
Vegetables: Sliced mushrooms, chopped celery, carrots, green beans, cubed butternut squash, and onion.
Quick cooking wild rice (or cooked wild rice)
Cooking liquid: Turkey broth, chicken or vegetable broth.
Seasonings: Salt, pepper, and fresh herbs like parsley, rosemary, or thyme. If preferred, you can also substitute dried herbs.
All-purpose flour to thicken the soup
Sour Cream: For the “creamy” part of the soup!

Tip: The essential vegetables to this soup are the trio of onions, carrots, and celery. The mushrooms add delicious earthy flavor, and I love adding green beans (frozen when I don’t have fresh). However, I only add butternut squash when I have some available from the holidays or a bag of frozen in the freezer.

How to Make Turkey Wild Rice Soup

A pot on a wooden board containing diced vegetables, including green celery, orange carrots, and white onions, arranged in separate sections. The pot is placed on a white wooden surface.

A top-down view of a black pot on a wooden board. Inside are chopped celery, sliced mushrooms, and diced onions. The pot's handles are white, and the scene is set against a white wooden background.

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add mushrooms, celery, carrots, and onions; cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until softened.

Add flour, salt and pepper; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes more.

A black pot with chopped vegetables including carrots, celery, and mushrooms, topped with a dusting of flour, sits on a white wooden surface. A wooden-handled, lid-less pot is positioned diagonally.

A black pan on a wooden handle contains sautéed mushrooms with chopped celery, carrots, and onions. The mixture is on a white background, and there's a small bowl of flour beside the pan. Steam is visible rising from the pan.

Pour in the broth and bring to a boil, scraping any browned bits from the pan. Add the wild rice, green beans, and butternut squash if using, and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Cover and cook until the wild rice and vegetables are tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in turkey (or chicken), sour cream, and herbs; cook until heated through.

Can you substitute cooked chicken instead?

Absolutely. This soup works great with both cooked turkey and cooked chicken, making it a perfect recipe for using leftover chicken or poultry.

Tip: If you don’t have cooked turkey or chicken, you can easily poach the poultry by adding boneless skinless breasts to a skillet or large saucepan, covering it with water, and seasoning with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to maintain a simmer, and gently cook the breasts for 10 to 12 minutes or until cooked through.

Quick Cooking Wild Rice Substitute

If you don’t have quick-cooking wild rice, substitute it with cooked conventional wild rice. Add 1 cup of wild rice to 4 cups of salted boiling water in a large saucepan to cook. Cook until tender, about 45 to 55 minutes. Drain and add to the soup with the turkey.

For variation, you also use quick-cooking pasta, like orzo or even couscous, like we do in Italian Wedding Soup.

A bowl of creamy soup with shredded turkey, green beans and wild rice. The dish is garnished with fresh parsley and chili flakes, set on a white tablecloth. Autumn leaves in the background suggest a fall theme.

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