By: Jill Mills Posted: Nov 29, 2024

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This Turkey and Rice Soup is the ultimate comfort food and the perfect way to put your leftover turkey to good use. Loaded with tender veggies, hearty rice, and juicy turkey, every spoonful is packed with flavor. The best part? It’s made in the slow cooker, so you can set it and forget it while your kitchen fills with the delicious aroma.

Leftover Turkey Soup Recipe

I often struggle with figuring out creative ways to use leftover turkey meat. We typically have a lot, and I don’t like to let it go to waste. This soup is great to warm you up on a cold day and is a way to use Thanksgiving leftovers that don’t taste like the meal from the day before. The broth is nice, creamy and full of rich flavor from the stock and gravy mix. Plus, it’s made in the slow cooker, so you can avoid spending more time in the kitchen. It’s a winning dinner that the whole family will enjoy.

Why You’ll Love This Turkey and Rice Soup

It freezes well. I like to make this soup with leftover turkey and then store it in the freezer. It has a great shelf life and reheats wonderfully on the stovetop. This makes a good dinner when you don’t want to cool. Thaw it in the refrigerator the night before and it’s ready to heat.
Minimal work is needed. Since it’s a slow cooker recipe, there’s not a lot of prep needed to get it together. I would call this a “dump dinner” because all of the ingredients go straight into the pot.
Budget-friendly. The ingredients in this turkey and rice soup are super cheap! It makes things much easier after a huge Thanksgiving dinner and won’t break the bank.

Turkey and Rice Soup in white bowl with green napkin

What You’ll Need

I use simple ingredients to create this creamy turkey soup. It’s meant to be an easy recipe that utilizes leftovers to limit waste.

Turkey: This is the best way to use leftover cooked turkey. It’s my top recipe to use after Thanksgiving, but it’s great any time. Both dark and white meat are great. I use a combination!
Veggies: Carrots, celery, and onion are key to any tasty soup base. They add balanced flavor and texture to the broth.
Chicken stock: I use chicken stock but turkey stock is great as well. Even vegetable stock is delicious. I like to go with low sodium when possible to tame the salty flavor.
Turkey gravy mix: This is a great thickener for the soup because it doesn’t clump like plain flour and it’s seasoned. It’s one of my favorite shortcuts.
Spices: I chose onion powder, garlic powder, poultry seasoning, and black pepper. I find they impart the perfect balance of flavor. Feel free to use your favorite seasoning blend instead.
Long grain rice: Quick-cooking rice works in this recipe because you don’t have to worry about whether or not it is fully cooked. I grabbed a box of Rice A Roni and ditched the seasoning packet.
Cream: For a rich and creamy broth, I stir in heavy cream before serving. It thickens and adds flavor to the soup.
Parsley: Fresh parsley adds a pop of color. It’s my favorite optional garnish.

ingredients needed to make Turkey and Rice Soup

How to Make Turkey and Rice Soup

Below are the instructions to make this recipe for turkey rice soup. It’s super easy because all of the cooking is done in the slow cooker. Once you prepare the ingredients, you are finished in the kitchen.

Add your ingredients to the slow cooker. Combine the cooked turkey, chopped veggies, stock, gravy mix, and spices in the slow cooker. Stir them until they are well combined.
Cook. Cover and cook for 6 hours on low or 4 hours on high.

turkey, vegetables and chicken stock in slow cooker for Turkey and Rice Soup

rice added to turkey and vegetables in slow cooker for Turkey and Rice Soup

Stir in the rice. When there is 1 hour left of cooking time, stir in the rice. Replace the lid and cook for the final hour.
Add the cream. Stir in the heavy cream once the soup is ready.

cream in slow cooker with turkey, rice, vegetables for Turkey and Rice Soup

ladle with Turkey and Rice Soup in slow cooker

Garnish and serve. Top with freshly chopped parsley and enjoy!

Tips for Success

Add more veggies. Load your turkey and wild rice soup with more veggies! Diced potatoes, corn, and sliced cremini mushrooms are some ideas of what would go great with the other flavors. You may use whatever vegetables you like to create your version of this recipe.
Try it with chicken. You can make this recipe using leftover chicken instead of turkey! Try chicken from another recipe or if you have a craving, shred the meat from a rotisserie chicken. Any cooked poultry is perfect in this soup.
Uniformly chop the veggies. I like to ensure that the carrots, celery, and onions are cut to the same size. This ensures that they cook evenly so you don’t have undercooked vegetables in your turkey and rice soup.
Skip the cream. I love the creamy factor but if you would like to skip it, simply omit the heavy cream. It will be thicker than a traditional broth because of the gravy mix, but won’t have the same richness.

Proper Storage

Store extra soup in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. To freeze, cool the soup to room temperature and transfer it to a freezer-safe bag. Ensure the bag is flat and remove as much air as possible before you seal it. For best results, reheat the leftovers in a saucepan over medium-low heat.