Easy Turkey and Rice Soup

Made with leftover roasted turkey, veggies, and rice simmered in a seasoned broth, this turkey and rice soup is a healthy and comforting way to warm up in cold weather.

It’s a cozy comfort food meal that you can feel good about enjoying by the bowlful.

Stovetop Turkey and Rice soup is an easy recipe to help you use up leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, as well as those last few carrots, onion, and celery you needed to make the Roasted Carrots and Savory Sausage Stuffing.

Of course, you can toss in any of your favorite diced veggies or add extra herbs for more flavor, but we’ll talk more about that below.

Ingredients

Here’s everything you need to make this turkey soup happen: 

• olive oil: used to brown the veggies. This can also be swapped for butter.
• mirepoix: a mixture of yellow onion, carrots, and celery that give this recipe the quintessential “cozy soup” flavor
• garlic: more flavor! 
• dried thyme and bay leaf: swap for poultry seasoning or Herbs de Provence
• chicken stock: soups made with stock have a richer broth, but regular chicken broth from the carton works too
• white rice: or any variety of rice such as multi-grain, Jasmine, or brown
• shredded roasted turkey: the best comes from leftover Thanksgiving turkey
• salt & pepper: always need these two

Other vegetables to include: 

While the recipe below only calls for the ingredients I’ve just listed, if you have more veggies on hand, you can always add to the mix. A few other favorites for this soup are:

• green peas
• diced cauliflower
• chopped spinach
• green beans

You’d simply add these veggies along with the rice and roasted turkey.

Should Rice Be Rinsed?

Rinsing rice is usually done before cooking to remove any surface starch and prevent it from getting gummy. However, since we are adding it to a soup and not using it as a side or in a stir-fry, rinsing isn’t necessary.

If you happen to have leftover rice from a previous meal, you can add that instead.

Simply wait to add it until right just you are ready to serve, about 10 minutes. This will allow the leftover rice to warm up without getting mushy.

Turkey Broth or Chicken Broth?

The best option is whatever’s easily available to you. Both turkey or chicken broth can be used without much difference in flavor. However, if you’re using leftover roasted turkey from Thanksgiving, the bones and skin can be simmered down with vegetables into an epic homemade broth.

How to Make Turkey and Rice Soup

This homemade soup is the easiest meal that cooks up fast on the stove-top. Here’s how to make it:

Prep
Chop the veggies and shred the leftover turkey meat. Shave off even more time and prep these items a few days ahead.

Sauté
In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the veggies, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook until softened.

Simmer
Add the chicken stock and water. Bring to a boil, add the rice and turkey, stir and cook over medium-low heat until the rice is tender.

It’s Finished
Once the veggies and rice are tender, remove the soup from heat and ladle into bowls.

They say soup tastes better the second day, so if you’d like to work ahead, prepare this recipe the night before. It will give the veggies and rice more time to absorb flavor from the broth and roasted turkey meat.

Slow Cooker Turkey and Rice Soup

Want to turn this turkey and rice soup into a slow cooker recipe? We can make that happen.

Follow the directions below, and you’re all set:  

1. Combine the veggies, seasonings, chicken broth or stock, and water in a slow cooker dish. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours. 
2. Remove the lid, add the shredded turkey and rice. Cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes or until heated through. 

This is definitely a day-after-Thanksgiving recipe, so if you need a plan for those leftovers, this turkey and rice soup is perfect!

And if it’s not Thanksgiving Day yet, but you’re looking forward to a delicious bowl of soup, grab the recipe below along with your copy of the Giving Thanks: a Thanksgiving Menu. It has over 23 mouthwatering recipes to choose from and a prep guide to help you stay one step ahead.

More Ways to Use Leftover Turkey

This classic soup isn’t the only idea for leftover turkey, you can also use it to make: 

• Turkey Stew
• Turkey Pot Pie Soup
• Swap for chicken in this Healthy Chicken Salad
• Turkey Taco Soup
• Leftover Turkey Chili
• Turkey Noodle Soup
• In this Fall Roasted Vegetable Salad

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