Crockpot Turkey Wild Rice Soup
This turkey wild rice soup crockpot recipe is a good way to use leftover turkey. It simmers into a thick, creamy soup with carrots, celery and nutty wild rice.
Crockpot Turkey Wild Rice Soup
Course: SoupDifficulty: Easy8
servings20
minutes7
hoursWild rice, vegetables and turkey simmer in broth until soft, then half-and-half makes it creamy. It tastes like fall in a bowl.
Ingredients
1 cup uncooked wild rice blend, rinsed
3 cups cooked turkey, diced
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup half-and-half
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp chopped parsley
Directions
- Melt the butter in a skillet and cook the onion, celery and mushrooms 5 minutes until softened.
- Stir in the flour and garlic and cook 1 minute.
- Scrape the vegetables into a 6-quart slow cooker.
- Add the rinsed wild rice, carrots, thyme, bay leaf, pepper and broth.
- Cover and cook on LOW 6 to 7 hours or HIGH 3 to 4 hours, until the rice has split open and is tender.
- Stir in the diced turkey and cook 30 more minutes on LOW to heat it through to 165°F.
- Remove the bay leaf.
- Pour in the half-and-half and stir. Heat 10 minutes without boiling.
- Taste and add salt as needed.
- Ladle into bowls and top with parsley.
Notes
- Use fresh raw turkey tenderloin instead of cooked turkey, cut into chunks and cooked for the full time. Stir in a handful of spinach at the end. Soup keeps 4 days in the fridge and thickens as it sits, so thin it with broth. Freeze it before adding the cream.
Pin it
Why wild rice suits the slow cooker
Wild rice is the one grain that actually likes a long cook. It needs hours to split open and turn chewy-tender, and in a crockpot turkey wild rice soup it gets exactly that while the broth takes on the flavor of the vegetables and mushrooms. On the stove it is easy to rush it and end up with hard kernels.
This is also the best use of leftover turkey. The turkey goes in at the end so it only heats through and stays tender, and the cream goes in last so it never curdles. The result is thick, rich and deeply comforting.
Ingredients worth a closer look
Wild rice blend: a blend of wild and long-grain rice works, but check that it takes about an hour to cook on the stove. Instant blends turn to mush in a slow cooker. Rinse it first.
Cooked turkey: leftover roasted or rotisserie turkey, diced. Dark and white meat both work. Remove the skin and any gristle.
Mushrooms: cremini give more flavor than white button. Brown them in butter first, because the browning builds the base of the soup.
Flour: a quarter cup cooked into the vegetables thickens the soup without a separate slurry.
Half-and-half: it gives a creamy finish without being as heavy as cream. Add it at the end.
Carrots and celery: dice them small and even, about the size of a pea, so they soften at the same pace as the rice and do not turn to mush.
Tips for the best soup
Brown the vegetables first: five minutes in butter takes away the raw onion taste and gives the soup a rounded flavor. It is the one extra pan worth washing. Even a small amount of butter makes the mushrooms brown instead of steam, and that browning is where much of the flavor comes from.
Watch the liquid: the most common mistake is too little broth. Wild rice drinks a lot as it cooks. If the soup looks like stew by the end, thin it with a cup of warm broth.
Keep the cream gentle: stir in the half-and-half after the cooking is done and heat it only 10 minutes on LOW, without boiling. Boiling dairy can split and look grainy. If the soup breaks anyway, a quick whisk will bring it back together.
Ways to change it up
Use chicken in place of turkey, or add a diced parsnip for sweetness. For dairy-free soup, replace the half-and-half with full-fat coconut milk and the butter with olive oil. A splash of dry sherry at the end adds depth. Add a handful of fresh spinach just before serving for color.
Do not use quick-cooking white rice in place of wild rice. It breaks down in hours of heat and makes the soup gluey.
Sides and serving
Crusty bread or warm biscuits are all you need, and a simple green salad with a sharp vinaigrette cuts through the cream. This soup is a good day-after-Thanksgiving dinner. Ladle it into wide bowls and finish with fresh parsley and cracked pepper. Leftover cranberry sauce on the side is a good, sharp contrast.
Fridge, freezer and reheating
Soup keeps 4 days in the fridge, but the rice will keep absorbing broth, so it thickens a lot. Thin it with broth or milk when you reheat.
Freeze for up to 2 months. Dairy-based soups can change texture after freezing, so for best results freeze it before adding the half-and-half and stir that in after reheating. Reheat gently on the stove over medium-low heat until it reaches 165°F.
Crockpot Turkey Wild Rice Soup at a glance
- Prep time: 20 minutes
- Cooking time: 7 hours
- Servings: 8 servings
- Ingredients: 16, led by uncooked wild rice blend, cooked turkey, low-sodium chicken broth, diced carrots
Tips for Crockpot Turkey Wild Rice Soup
Use fresh raw turkey tenderloin instead of cooked turkey, cut into chunks and cooked for the full time. Stir in a handful of spinach at the end. Soup keeps 4 days in the fridge and thickens as it sits, so thin it with broth. Freeze it before adding the cream.
Crockpot Turkey Wild Rice Soup FAQ
How long does Crockpot Turkey Wild Rice Soup take?
Crockpot Turkey Wild Rice Soup takes 7 hours of cooking after 20 minutes of prep.
How many people does Crockpot Turkey Wild Rice Soup serve?
This recipe makes 8 servings.
What do I need to make Crockpot Turkey Wild Rice Soup?
16 ingredients, led by uncooked wild rice blend, cooked turkey, low-sodium chicken broth, diced carrots. Amounts are in the recipe card above.
