This Creamy Turkey Wild Rice Soup is full of comforting spices, cream cheese, leftover turkey, mushrooms, and more. Every bite is flavorful, rich, and bowl-licking good.
Recipe: $12.25 | Per Serving: $3.06 | Servings: 4
You'll adore this comforting turkey rice soup, perfect for using up leftover turkey and clearing fridge space. While we also repurpose turkey in Creamy Turkey Dumpling Soup and Thanksgiving Tamales, this soup is my favorite.
Making this soup can feel a bit time consuming, but that's mostly because it smells so fantastic you have to find small snacks to enjoy while patiently waiting for that first bowl to be ready.
The wait for this soup is worth it though, because in the end, you get the best fall soup of your life, and that's saying something. Especially when it's coming from me- a girl who loves soups!
For more fall favorites, try our 5 Ingredient Instant Pot Chili, Cheesy Potato Soup, and Poor Man's Beef Stew.
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🍯 Why This Recipe Works
- Great for using up leftovers. Using leftover turkey or even leftover shredded chicken is a great way to repurpose your leftovers. This means tha you can save money by stretching the meat, and you can also stretch your grocery budget.
- It's a fall favorite. Packed with rich and creamy textures and great seasonal flavors, this recipe is perfect for fall and winter.
- You can stretch the recipe even more. By adding in some more chicken broth or water, you can increase the serving sizes to make more portions.
🥘 Ingredients
Ingredient Notes:
Seasonings- Garlic, lemon juice, Italian seasonings, salt, pepper, rosemary, and nutmeg all help to season this soup so that every bite is well-flavored. The nutmeg is a special secret ingredient I add to a lot of my creamy soups.
Chicken Broth and Water- This is the liquid base of the soup, but you can use 6 cups of chicken broth instead of broth and water.
Wild Rice- We need 2 of those 4.3oz boxes of Rice a Roni (not the seasoning packet, just the rice).
Cream Cheese- 4 ounces of SOFTENED cream cheese will add the thick and creamy thing we want. You'll notice the color of the soup change as soon as the cream cheese begins dissolving.
Turkey- Grab some leftover cooked turkey from your Thanksgiving bird, chop or shred it, and set it to the side. You won't need it until you're close to the end of this recipe.
The cooking method of the turkey doesn't matter, so whether you made Dry Brined Turkey, Cajun Turkey Breast Recipe, or an Air Fryer Turkey Breast, this recipe works!
For specific ingredients and measurements, please see the recipe card below.
🔪 Instructions for Creamy Leftover Turkey Wild Rice Soup
Step 1: Combine 2 tablespoons butter, mushrooms, and onions in a large pot over medium heat for 5 minutes until browned, stirring often.
Step 2: Add in the carrot and celery and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Step 3: Add in the garlic. Stir for 30 seconds until fragrant.
Step 4: Stir in the Italian seasonings, salt, pepper, fresh rosemary, nutmeg, and lemon juice.
Step 5: Make a well in the center of the pot by pushing everything to the sides. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and allow to melt. Add the flour to the center and then stir to combine.
Step 6: Add in the chicken broth and water and whisk until the flour is dissolved.
Step 7: Bring the mixture to a boil. Add in the rice from the Rice a Roni boxes. NOT THE SEASONING PACKETS!
Step 8: Reduce the heat and let the soup simmer for 20 minutes, stirring every so often.
Step 9: Add in the turkey and cream cheese and stir until the cream cheese has been fully incorporated.
Step 10: Turn the heat off and slowly stir in the milk.
Serve and enjoy.
🍴Recipe Tips
- Leftover Turkey Versatility. While not essential, using leftover turkey enhances this recipe. Whether it's from a dry brined roasted turkey or thick-cut deli turkey, the meaty chunks add depth to this soup.
- Cream Cheese Tip. Ensure the cream cheese is softened before adding it to the soup. Room temperature cream cheese blends seamlessly, while colder cream cheese may leave undissolved bits, affecting the soup's appearance. Though taste remains unaffected, a softer texture is more visually appealing.
💭 Recipe FAQs
Absolutely! You can use heavy cream, half and half, dairy free milk (like almond or soy), or even evaporated milk depending on what you have on hand. It's really just being added to help thin the soup a little more. Most of the creaminess comes from the cream cheese.
If you plan on freezing this turkey rice soup and reheating it later then I recommend not adding the dairy (cream cheese or milk) until after it's thawed and is ready to be eaten for real. This will help to keep it at its best and prevent the dairy from separating during the reheating process.
I'd recommend keeping any leftover soup in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 or 5 days. This soup tastes great when freshly made and again the next day, but the longer the rice sits in the broth, the thicker or starchier the soup may become. Reheat again before eating.
❤️ More Delicious Fall Recipes
If you tried this Creamy Leftover Turkey Wild Rice Soup, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your feedback in the 📝 comments section below. I would truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Creamy Leftover Turkey Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons butter, divided ($0.50)
- 8 ounces mushrooms, chopped ($1.98)
- 1 medium onion, diced ($0.91)
- 2 large carrots, diced ($0.36)
- 2 stalks celery, chopped ($0.42)
- 3 cloves minced garlic ($0.08)
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice ($0.04)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning ($0.08)
- 1 teaspoon salt ($0.01)
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper ($0.04)
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped ($0.08)
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg ($0.02)
- ¼ cup all purpose flour ($0.03)
- 32 ounces chicken broth ($1.00)
- 3 cups water ($0.00)
- 2 boxes (4.3oz) Wild Rice Rice-a-Roni boxes, (discard seasoning packets!) ($2.56)
- 2 cups leftover cooked turkey, shredded or chopped ($3.01)
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened ($0.93)
- 1 cup milk ($0.20)
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium heat, combine 2 tablespoon butter, mushrooms, and onions. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring often, until soft and browned.
- Add in the carrot and celery. Cook another 3-5 minutes.
- Add in the garlic, stir 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add in lemon juice, Italian seasonings, salt, pepper, fresh rosemary, and nutmeg. Stir to combine.
- Make a well in the center of the pot, add 2 tablespoon butter and melt. Add flour and stir until everything is well coated.
- Add in the chicken broth and water. Whisk until combined and flour looks dissolved.
- Bring to a boil. Add rice from boxes. We don't need the seasonings packets! Reduce heat and simmer 15-20 minutes. Stir every so often to mix it around.
- Add in turkey and cream cheese and stir until the cream cheese has been fully incorporated.
- Turn off heat. Slowly add in the milk, stir to combine.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
- Substitutions:
- For Rice-a-Roni, use 2 cups of dry wild rice (1 cup per box).
- Double the recipe, replacing leftover turkey with cooked, shredded chicken.
- Recipe Tips:
- Soften cream cheese before adding; room temperature works best to avoid undissolved bits.
- Use heavy cream, half and half, or dairy-free milk (e.g., almond or soy) to thin the soup slightly.
- Storage:
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days; reheat before serving.
- For freezing, omit dairy and add after thawing to prevent separation during reheating.
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