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!

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.

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.

More Soup Recipes to Try

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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.

Print

Creamy Turkey Wild Rice Soup

 

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!
Course Soup
Cuisine American
Keyword turkey wild rice soup
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Author Stephanie Wilson

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 8 ounces sliced mushrooms (about 4 ounces)
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 cup chopped carrots
  • 1/2 cup chopped onions
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup quick-cooking or instant wild rice
  • 1/2 cup cubed butternut squash optional
  • 1/2 cup green beans chopped (fresh or frozen)
  • 3 cups shredded cooked turkey or chicken
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs like parsley, rosemary, or thyme

Instructions

  • 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.
  • Pour in the broth and bring to a boil, scraping any browned bits from the pan. Add the wild rice, butternut squash (if using) and green beans. Reduce 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.

Notes

  1. Turkey or Chicken: If you’re not using leftover turkey or chicken, poach boneless skinless breasts in a skillet or large saucepan, cover with water, and season 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.
  2. Wild Rice: 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.

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