I think I look forward to turkey leftovers more than the big bird gracing the Thanksgiving day table itself. Although I do appreciate and enjoy a heaping plate from the traditional feast, it’s anticipating the next few days of chow that get me giddy.
Using the leftovers in the simplest form, I cannot deny a cold turkey sandwich on soft white bread with a smear of mayo and a sprinkling of salt. And the next must have is soup. Creamy Turkey and Wild Rice Soup. I started making this deeply satisfying soup shortly after we were married and have been perfecting it ever since. So…all you friends and family who asked for my recipe years ago…it’s been updated!
We make this with either turkey or chicken. If you ever happen to smoke a turkey, be sure to save some for this soup. The smokiness goes perfectly with the nutty wild rice. And we always double the recipe. Always. It takes a big pot, but it’s well worth a little extra vegetable chopping to have a few day’s worth of this delicious creamy soup on hand.
What’s your favorite way to eat leftover turkey?!
Ingredients
- 1 c. uncooked wild rice (I prefer the whole grain style, not the cracked)
- 1/2 c. unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 carrots, sliced into 1/4'' thick coins
- 8 oz. fresh button mushrooms, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
- 8 c. low sodium chicken broth
- 2 c. half and half
- 2 T. soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp. finely chopped fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
- 1/4 c. finely chopped fresh parsley (or 2 tsp. dried)
- 4 c. cooked and coarsely shredded turkey or chicken
- 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Preparation
First off, you’ll want to get your wild rice cooking, so it’s ready to add to the finished soup. Prepare according to the package instructions. (It takes awhile – the instructions on my bag says to cook it for 55 minutes.)
The remainder of the recipe can be made in one stock pot. Start by melting the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms, and garlic. Stir well and saute until the onion is transparent and softened. Blend in flour, cooking until it bubbles a bit. Gradually add the broth, stirring constantly. Turn up the heat a bit and bring the soup to a low boil. Boil for 1 minute. Reduce heat slightly and add the cooked wild rice, half and half, soy sauce, salt, pepper, bay leaf, thyme, parsley, and turkey or chicken. Simmer for 20 minutes or until thoroughly warmed. Stir in the fresh lemon juice and taste test to see if it needs more salt and pepper. Serve with crackers or warm bread.
If you have leftovers, the soup will thicken overnight. If desired, when reheating, thin with additional chicken broth and season with a bit more soy sauce, salt, and black pepper.
Source
From a farmgirl's dabbles.
I’m linking up with:
- Robyn at Add a Pinch for Mingle Monday
I’m with you on the turkey leftovers…When we have Thanksgiving at someone elses place, another dinner must be made at our home so we can have all of the leftovers. Your soup looks and sounds delicious and will be printed out and handed over to hubby who fancies himself the official soup maker after the big event. – Have a wonderful weekend!
We are on exactly the same page. We buy a turkey when they go on sale for Thanksgiving, even if we aren’t home to entertain, just to make a few meals of yum from it. Hope you like the soup!
this looks great, wish I had a bowl right now. It’s overcast and cold
Diane {Created by Diane} recently posted..Gingerbread Cheesecake Bites
Thanks, Diane. I’ve made more soup this past year than ever before. It’s become a new comfort craving for me.
Brenda’s Dad and I can attest to the comforting yumminess (is that a word??)
of this tasty soup!
Of course yumminess is a word!!
Love you! xoxo
We make turkey soup all the time but we’ve never added half and half to it, in fact we’ve never made a creamy turkey soup. This does look as your Mom states *comforting yumminess* Thanks for sharing the wonderful recipe.
P.S. My favourite left-over meal from turkey is a toss-up between cold turkey sandwiches on fresh, fresh bread or hot-turkey sandwiches with home fries and gravy. Now I’m so anxious for our Christmas to come if only for the leftovers
Now you have me craving hot turkey sandwiches with gravy! There’s a local restaurant chain that serves an awesome turkey and gravy sandwich that I love. Thanks for the yum, Paula!
Perfect for turkey leftovers!
maria recently posted..Cheddar Sage Biscuits
Most definitely! Thanks, Maria.
Oh this will be perfect for dinner next weekend!
Christina @ This Woman Cooks! recently posted..Ham and Cheese Apple Panini
Thanks, Christina – hope you enjoy it!
Gosh, I can almost smell this cooking. It looks SOOOO good. Thanks for the recipe. We never have turkey leftovers. This year however, I bought 2 birds just in order to make soup. This is great recipe and one I’m looking forward to trying.
Two birds? That’s a GREAT plan, Renee!
I completely agree! In fact I always make a way bigger turkey than we need to be sure I have plenty leftover for all the leftover dishes.
Jen at The Three Little Piglets recently posted..When in doubt, KISS!
Just if I stare at the pictures I am getting hungry ! must do this, thanks for the recipe !
Lisa Robinson recently posted..Pacsun Printable Coupons
Hope you like it, Lisa!
I think you gave me this recipe about 10 years ago and I’ve made it many times since then. It is one of our family favorites! In fact…I haven’t made it yet this fall…maybe it’s about time!
Yep, it’s about time, Audrey! Blake is going to smoke a turkey on Friday – I’ll be waiting for my stash for this soup. Great to hear from you – hope all is well with you and your family.
this looks like a great way to use up the leftovers. I think I will have to to try it.
Hi, I’m an old farmgirl and from SD too, just tried your recipe for Wild Rice Soup on Pioneer woman. YUMMMMMY
Have you frozen this before?
Hi Niki! Yes, I have. It freezes just fine, but you may want to add some additional chicken stock to loosen it up. The broth gets absorbed by the wild rice and other goodies and ends up “thickened”.
Found this recipe on Tasty Kitchen and love it! Great way to use leftover turkey. Thanks for sharing!
we had this for dinner tonight. delicious.
thank you!
emily recently posted..if not now, when?
I’m so happy to have found this recipe!! Panera Bread makes a chicken & wild rice soup and it’s my fav … I’m certain yours will be so much better and I’m anxious to add it to my winter favs!! Thank you!!
Serving this soup for dinner…smells amazing!
Thanks for sharing!
~Liz@Pocket Change Gourmet & Hoosier Homemade
Liz@PocketChangeGourmet recently posted..December Menu Plan
Yay! Thanks for letting me know, Liz!
I loved this soup, calories and all! It is a keeper in my recipe collection. Astonishing that my husband didn’t even complain about weeds and seeds (wild rice). Great job.
Ha! “weeds and seeds” – love it! There’s just nothing like it, and I keep growing more and more fond of it. Thank you for letting me know you liked it!
I am going to make this for lenten soup supper!
I have to say this is the best soup I have ever made! I left out the mushrooms, cuz I didn’t have any in the frig, used all of the left over dark meat and wow, sad to see my supply dwindling in the frig!
I love to hear that, Linda! Thanks for writing.
I just made this soup tonight and it was amazing! Served it with some cheddar biscuits, et voila, perfect comfort food – and even more so on a cool, fall, New England Sunday eve. I also added a few dashes of worcestershire sauce, some shallots and Marsala, to ‘make it my own’.
Thanks so much for posting this – my husband says that I “need” to add this to my cooking repertoire!
Thank you so much for coming back to let me know, Carrie – I’m so happy you and your husband enjoyed this wonderful soup!
I read this paragraph fully about the difference of latest and earlier technologies, it’s awesome article.
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