Creamy Turkey Wild Rice Soup
User Reviews
4.9
42 reviews
Excellent
Creamy Turkey Wild Rice Soup
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Take advantage of leftover holiday turkey, and make this rich, creamy, and very hearty soup! Made with an array of vegetables, seasonings and herbs, and of course plenty of wild rice and turkey! EASY, ready in an hour, and made in one pot! No turkey? Use leftover or rotisserie chicken. Comfort food the whole family will love especially when the weather is chilly!
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Ingredients
- 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large sweet Vidalia onion diced small
- 1 ½ cups carrots from about 2 to 3 large carrots, peeled and diced into small half moons
- 1 ½ cups celery from about 2 to 3 large stalks, diced into small half moons
- 10 ounces sliced cremini mushrooms
- 4 garlic cloves peeled and finely minced or pressed
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 to 4 teaspoons kosher salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon fresh Rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon finely minced fresh sage or 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
- 1 cup uncooked wild rice rinsed (I use Trader Joe’s or from Amazon; I don't recommend a wild rice ‘blend’ nor a quick-cook version)
- 64 ounces 8 cups reduced sodium chicken broth (reduced sodium vegetable or turkey broth may be substituted)
- 2 or 3 Bay Leaves
- 2 cups heavy cream or as desired ( half-and-half may be substituted; do not use milk it's too thin)
- 1 ½ cups leftover cooked turkey shredded or cubed (rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken may be substituted)
- 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh Italian flat-leaf or regular parsley finely minced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice optional (brightens up the flavor)
- pinch sugar optional and to taste (balances acidity and rounds out the flavor)
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Instructions
- To a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add the oil, onion, carrots, celery, and sauté over medium-high heat for about 7 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften. Stir intermittently.
- Add the mushrooms, garlic, and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes, or until fragrant. Stir nearly continuously.
- Evenly sprinkle the flour, stir to combine, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir nearly continuously.
- Add 1 teaspoon salt, poultry seasoning, thyme, rosemary, sage, pepper, wild rice, reduced sodium chicken broth, bay leaves, and bring to a boil. Allow soup to boil fairly rapidly for about 30 minutes, or until liquid volume has reduced by nearly half. Stir intermittently, making sure to scrape up rice that will have a tendency to stick to the bottom.
- Turn the heat to medium-low, cover, and allow soup to simmer covered for about 25 minutes, or until rice is as done as desired. Tips– Wild rice has much more chewiness than other rice and even when it’s done it’s very al dente. Some of the rice grains will have appeared to burst or split open which is a good visual cue that it's done, but be sure to taste a few spoonfuls before determining if it's done or not. All wild rice will vary in the time it takes to fully cook through, the rate of your boil, the size of the pot, kitchen temperature, and so forth, so boil it as long as needed so it's done.
- Remove the lid, add the cream (start with 1 cup), the leftover turkey (white and dark meat) or leftover turkey breast, stir to combine, and allow soup to simmer gently uncovered for about 5 to 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Tips - If desired, you may be able to get away with only 1 cup of heavy cream rather than 2 cups. I have made it with anywhere between 1 to 2 cups and it really depends on your preferences but to achieve the look of the photos, use 2 cups. After adding the cream, don’t allow soup to boil too aggressively because the cream can ‘break’. The soup will thicken as it cools and I find that as the leftover soup sits in the fridge, the rice continues to absorb the liquid over a few days so don’t worry if it looks a little brothy or seems to have almost too much liquid at this at this point.
- Remove the bay leaves, and sprigs of fresh herbs if you used them, add the parsley, and stir to combine.
- Taste soup and optionally add the lemon juice which really brightens up the flavor, and the optional sugar to balance the overall flavor profile.
- Then add additional salt, pepper, or more herbs, as desired. Tips - If your soup tastes at all flat or boring, it likely needs more salt. The total amount of salt will vary based on how salty the brand of broth you used was, how much salt your leftover turkey had, and personal preference for salt. Personally I add about 2 teaspoons initially (in step 3) and another 2 or 3 teaspoons now. You are flavoring over a gallon of liquid + many pounds of vegetables and bland rice. Don't be afraid to add as much salt as it needs; which is why restaurant soup tastes so good as they aren't shy about adding salt.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Storage - Extra soup will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in 30-second bursts in the microwave, taking care not to heat it too hot, too fast, because cream-based soups can 'break' if you're not careful. For this reason, I don't recommend freezing this soup because milk proteins do not survive the freezing/thawing process well without breaking and turning extremely unsightly.
- Adapted from my own Creamy Wild Rice Soup recipe. If you need a meatless version, it's great. For that soup I used 1 cup rather than 2 cups heavy cream which is why it's darker in color.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Serving
1
Calories
507kcal
(25%)
Carbohydrates
27g
(9%)
Protein
25g
(50%)
Fat
35g
(54%)
Saturated Fat
15g
(75%)
Polyunsaturated Fat
14g
Trans Fat
1g
Cholesterol
135mg
(45%)
Sodium
8101mg
(338%)
Fiber
2g
(8%)
Sugar
15g
(30%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 8Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 507 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 1 | |
| Calories | 507kcal | 25% |
| Carbohydrates | 27g | 9% |
| Protein | 25g | 50% |
| Fat | 35g | 54% |
| Saturated Fat | 15g | 75% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 14g | 82% |
| Trans Fat | 1g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 135mg | 45% |
| Sodium | 8101mg | 338% |
| Fiber | 2g | 8% |
| Sugar | 15g | 30% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
42 reviews
Excellent
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