What You Will Need

• olive or avocado oil – a splash in the pot to help with sautéing the garlic and onion.
• garlic & sweet yellow onion – the classic combination that gets the flavor party started.
• celery, carrots, & mushrooms – the vegetables that help to round out this soup.
• arrowroot powder – we love using Bob’s Red Mill Arrowroot Powder to be the thickening agent.
• chicken or turkey broth – either will do the trick and if you have some homemade turkey broth on hand, even better!
• unsweetened coconut milk – provides the creaminess without any of the dairy.
• turkey – a perfect way to use that leftover Roast Thanksgiving Turkey!
• wild rice – cook it up on the stovetop, in a rice cooker, or in your Instant Pot.
• bay leaf, fresh sage, fresh thyme, kosher salt, & ground pepper – a great combination of seasonings that bring all the flavor!
• lemon zest – a bit of acidity really brightens this recipe and elevates all of the flavors.

Slow Cooker + Instant Pot Options

Soups that have rice in them can be tricky when it comes to the slow cooker.  This recipe calls for cooked rice because (of course) when you cook the rice in the soup, it will soak up a good amount of liquid and can leave you with a porridge-like consistency.  I have only tested this on the stove-top, but if you do try and make it in your slow-cooker, make sure you add the rice at the end because even though it calls for cooked rice, it will still soak up some of the liquid! Especially if you use a different rice than wild rice.

I wouldn’t recommend the Instant Pot for this recipe just because the rice and the turkey are already cooked when you are adding it in – so it is really most efficient to make it on the stove top!

How To Make Turkey Wild Rice Soup

First, you can begin by warming a dutch oven on the stovetop at medium-high heat, drizzle in the olive oil, and sauté the garlic and onion. Next add the carrots and celery, followed by the arrowroot powder, and then slowly add the broth.

Now comes the addition of the coconut milk, bay leaf, and cubed turkey. Let these simmer for a few minutes and then finally add the seasonings, sautéed mushrooms, and cooked wild rice. Make any seasoning adjustments you want and enjoy!

Recipe FAQ

• turkey: we love making this with all of the turkey leftovers from Thanksgiving, but you can also use cooked, cubed chicken.
• wild rice: this will maintain the best results in texture, but you can use a long grain brown rice or white rice in its place if you want. The texture is just going to be a bit more soft or fluffy.
• coconut milk: feel free to use a heavy cream or half & half if you don’t need it to be dairy-free.
• mushrooms: these do not need to be sautéed before being added to the pot, but it does add some great flavor!
• thickening the soup: if the soup isn’t getting as thick as you like, you have the option to add more arrowroot powder in small amounts at a time.
• reheating leftovers: either in a saucepan on the stovetop or in a bowl in the microwave, both will do the trick!

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