A mouthful of Creamy Turkey and Wild Rice Soup on a cold, snowy weekend has a way of wrapping an imaginary blanket around you. Comforting and savory, it’s a great way to use turkey, or even chicken, leftovers! If you can imagine chicken pot pie in a bowl, this would be it! Years ago I made Williamsburg Turkey Soup with turkey leftover from Thanksgiving, but it made like a gallon and I definitely don’t need that amount. The recipe I cut out from a Southern Living magazine still lives in my old recipe book, with some notes written on the side. My job today was to create a proportionally sized down version to enjoy, while trying to add a little flair of my own.
I had cooked a turkey breast in my crock pot with some herbs and veggies. If you have never tried cooking a turkey this way, you should! One of my favorite recipes on my blog is for Savory Crock Pot Turkey Breast It comes out so moist and it’s juices are contained to make some fabulous stock! The original recipe calls for cooking a whole turkey carcass to obtain the amount of (bone) broth needed for this recipe. I had reserved what was left in the crock pot to use for making the gravy. Obviously, I didn’t need all of it. A couple of days later, I decided to use what was left to make some soup. If I had thought about this the day I made the turkey, I would have saved the carcass to make more broth. However, to be honest here, I did have to add in some chicken broth using Better than Bouillon Chicken Base to obtain the full 4 cups of broth needed. Since they are similar in flavor, you could substitute chicken to make a creamy chicken soup.
Make a roux with the melted butter and flour. Stir constantly for about 5 minutes on a medium-low setting.
Add in the vegetables and stir an additional 10 minutes. I chose to use matchstick carrots I had in the fridge, instead of peeling, slicing and dicing. Reducing prep time is always a good thing! You will get to taste the end result sooner!
At this point, add in everything else. Frozen chopped spinach was added to this recipe. I usually keep some in the freezer to add to soups during the fall and winter. You could use fresh spinach or even kale, chopped finely in place of the frozen. Stir frequently as it thickens, about 15-20 minutes on low. When done, ladle some Creamy Turkey and Wild Rice Soup in your bowl and devour! A peaceful, serene smile should appear across your face shortly after the first bite!
Ingredients
- 5 T butter
- 1/3 c flour
- 1/2 c yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 c celery, finely chopped
- 1/2 c matchstick carrots or diced carrots
- 1/3 c wild rice or rice blend ( I used Rice Select brand.)
- 2/3 c half and half or milk for a lighter version
- 1/2 t Kosher salt
- 1/2 t pepper, freshly ground
- 1/2 t dried thyme
- 4 c turkey stock
- 1 c chopped turkey
- 1/4 c finely chopped fresh spinach or kale-frozen is ok to substitute
Instructions
- Melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour to make roux and stir constantly for about 5 minutes.
- Add in the onion, celery and carrots. Stir frequently for about an additional 10 minutes.
- Then add in the remaining ingredients. Whisk frequently as soup begins to thicken over low heat. In about 15 minutes, the desired consistency should be acquired.
