Creamy Turkey and Rice Soup Recipe
This Creamy Turkey and Rice Soup recipe is the best for using up leftover turkey right after Thanksgiving. Amazing flavor makes this a winner for the whole family and is perfect on a cold night!
(THIS POST PROBABLY CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS. OUR FULL DISCLOSURE POLICY IS LONG & BORING BUT, YOU CAN FIND IT HERE.)
Creamy Turkey and Rice Soup Recipe
I love everything about Thanksgiving dinner except the turkey. I’m just not a huge fan. I always put some on my plate but it’s definitely not the dish I’m looking forward to.
However, I sure love having leftover turkey so I can make this creamy turkey and rice soup. Leftover turkey can get a bit dried out when re-heating but not in this soup. Plus, I get to use up more of the fresh herbs I buy for the Thanksgiving turkey recipe.
You can make a big pot of this soup and feed a full house if you have people in town visiting for the holiday. And, this turkey and rice soup is super family friendly so kids and adults, alike, will chow down with no complaints.
Turkey and Rice Soup Ingredients
This is such a simple recipe and I usually have most of the ingredients on hand because of other things I make for Thanksgiving. Obviously, you can make this soup recipe anytime through out the year, but it’s so easy to make when you’ve got lots of turkey to use up. You can swap the turkey for chicken if that’s easier.
- Turkey
- Rice
- Yellow Onions
- Carrots
- Garlic
- Butter
- Flour
- Chicken or Vegetable Stock
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Fresh Rosemary and Thyme
What kind of rice should I use? I love this recipe because you can make many adjustments to fit your family’s preferences. I like to use instant rice because it makes this recipe even faster to make but you can use any rice you want.
Some people really like wild rice because it adds a pop of color to the soup and has a nutty, sweet flavor. White rice and wheat rice also taste great.
If you are not using minute rice then you’ll want to cook your rice first. You can pop it in a rice cooker or use leftover rice.
What type of veggies do I use? I used yellow onion and carrots in the pot I made. Most of time I’d throw some celery in too but my family is not a big fan so I leave it out. You can also add mushrooms and/or spinach to your soup to boost the heartiness.
Also, I shred the carrots because my kiddo eats them better this way and I like the texture better in this creamy soup. You can chop or slice them if you prefer.
Fresh Herbs vs Dried Herbs? I always use fresh herbs when I’m cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving. I never use them all so this turkey soup is perfect for using up the rest.
However, if you don’t have fresh herbs on hand you can use dried herbs. As long as you aren’t skipping the herbs entirely then your soup will taste great.
How to Store Leftover Soup
This creamy turkey and rice soup does make a pretty big batch, so if you have a smaller family like I do then you’ll most likely have some leftovers. Storing this soup can be a little tricky.
Put leftovers in some tupperware and place them in the fridge. As the soup sits, the rice will continue to absorb the liquid in the soup. This will thicken things up considerably. There are two things you can do.
- You can eat the leftovers like you would a casserole. It taste great and has a slightly different texture which helps change things up.
- You can add more broth and a touch of cream to get it back into a soup form. I can’t tell you exactly how much to add because it all comes down to the amount of soup you have left. Start with small increments and work your way up until it’s as “soupy” as you want. Less is more, flavor wise, though so don’t get carried away.
This creamy turkey and rice soup is my go-to dinner the day after Thanksgiving. My go-to lunch is Cream Cheese, Cranberry, and Turkey sandwiches. They are so good they make me want to cry! I love them so much.
Make sure you put the ingredients you need for both these recipes on your pre-Thanksgiving shopping list so you don’t have to go to stores the day after Thanksgiving. Then you can chill more that day and have some really amazing food.
What do you like to make with your leftover turkey? I’d love some more ideas. Just drop your answer in the comments below.
Creamy Turkey and Rice Soup
Equipment
- Dutch oven
- Cheese Grater
- Measuring cups
- Knife
- Cutting Board
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 3 medium carrots peeled and shredded
- 4 tbsp salted butter
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1-2 tbsp leftover fresh herbs like rosemary and thyme chopped
- 1 whole bay leaf
- 1/4 cup flour
- 8 cups broth chicken or veggie
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked minute rice If using pre-cooked rice then you'll want 2-3 cups of rice.
- 1 tsp salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- If you are not using minute rice then you'll want to get your rice going in the rice cooker. Otherwise, you can skip this step since the minute rice will cook right in the soup.
- Start by melting the butter in the dutch oven over low heat.
- While the butter is slowly melting, chop the onion and grate the carrots. Chop any other veggies you want to add.
- Once the butter is melted, add in the carrots and onions and turn the heat up to medium. Cook until the onions are soft.
- Add in the garlic and chopped herbs and stir for one minute.
- Add the broth and bay leaf. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil.
- Once the broth is boiling, add in the rice and cook for the amount of time on the box. Mine said 5 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaf and whisk in the flour.
- Cook for 5 more minutes and then add the cream. Salt and pepper to taste.
