My 30-minute Turkey and Rice Soup recipe transforms leftovers into a bright, savory, and restorative meal that’s anything but bland.
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Warming and light, Turkey and Rice Soup is a wonderful way to enjoy leftover turkey. Tender turkey, vegetables and rice are swirled in a savory broth and finished with a splash of fresh lemon juice and a bright blend of parsley, lemon zest, and garlic. A welcome and restorative meal after days of decadent eating.
With this simple soup recipe, using ingredients that you likely have on hand, you’ll be serving up steaming bowls in just 30 minutes.
“Just made that tonight with leftover turkey. Everyone loved it and I thought it was delicious!”
Terry P.
Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
This soup comes together quickly, but it has a depth of flavor that tastes like it simmered for hours. Here’s why I love this specific method:
- It’s All About the “Gremolata”: The real magic here is the finish. That simple, fresh blend of parsley, garlic, and lemon zest (an Italian Gremolata) cuts through the rich broth and makes the turkey taste bright and intentional, not just like a leftover.
- A Smart 30-Minute Method: This is a true one-pot meal. By cooking the long-grain white rice directly in the broth, it soaks up all that savory flavor and releases just enough starch to give the soup a comforting, light body, all in about 30 minutes.
- You Control the Texture: This recipe gives you full control. I explain exactly when and why you’d want to rinse your rice (for a clearer broth) or leave it un-rinsed (for a slightly thicker, heartier soup). You get to choose the final texture.
Ingredients for Turkey and Rice Soup
- Leftover Turkey: White meat, dark meat or a blend.
- Onion: Yellow, white, or sweet onions work well.
- Butter: Salted or unsalted.
- Carrots: Peeled or unpeeled, your choice!
- Celery: This is a good way to enjoy those outer ribs that you may have removed for the more tender celery ribs beneath.
- Broth: Turkey broth (or homemade turkey stock – instructions below), or chicken broth or stock.
- Rice: Long grain white rice. Rinse your rice if you like a brothier soup as the outer starch will thicken the soup, particularly if you reheat it. (I don’t mind this and typically don’t rinse the rice.)
- Lemon: Juice and zest.
- Parsley: Flat leaf or curly, your choice.
- Garlic: A couple of fresh, fat garlic cloves.
- Kosher Salt: To taste.
How to Make Turkey and Rice Soup
Sauté Veggies and Simmer Rice: In a 3-quart saucepan, sauté onion in butter over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, or until softened. Stir in celery, carrots, broth, and rice; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until rice is nearly tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
Make the Gremolata: While soup cooks, stir together lemon zest, parsley, and garlic in a small bowl. Juice lemon in separate bowl.
Finish and Serve: Stir turkey meat into soup and cook just until heated through. Add lemon juice and stir. Ladle into bowls and garnish with parsley, garlic, and lemon zest mixture (gremolata). Serve hot.
Pro Tips for the Best Turkey and Rice Soup
- Don’t Skip the Gremolata: The splash of fresh lemon juice in the pot and the parsley-garlic-zest topping are what make this soup truly special. It’s the most important step for brightening up the flavor of the broth and the turkey.
- To Rinse or Not to Rinse the Rice: It’s your call. Rice has a starch coating. If you want a thinner, clearer broth, rinse the rice well in a fine-mesh strainer before adding it. If you (like me) don’t mind a slightly thicker, cozier soup, you can skip the rinse.
- Use Homemade Stock if You Can: If you’re making this after a holiday, I highly recommend making stock from the turkey carcass. It gives the soup an incredible depth of flavor. I’ve included my simple instructions for this right in the post.
Easy Variations
- Use Brown or Wild Rice: You absolutely can, but these rices take much longer to cook (around 45 minutes). I recommend cooking them separately according to package directions and adding the cooked rice to the soup along with the turkey at the end.
- Make it Extra Lemony: If you’re a big lemon fan, feel free to increase the juice and zest from half a lemon to one full lemon.
How to Make Turkey Stock (Optional)
Though it’s not essential for this soup, homemade turkey stock tastes amazing and is easy to make. Here’s how to make it:
- Add the turkey carcass and, if you like, the little bag of treasures that you’ve pulled from the turkey before roasting (neck, gizzard, heart and liver) into a large pot or, ideally a stock pot, and add enough water to cover.
- Then add two quartered onions, a large handful of fresh parsley, a few ribs of chopped celery, a handful of black peppercorns and a bay leaf if you like.
- Bring this to boil then reduce the heat and leave simmering away for a few hours, occasionally skimming off any foam that rises. Let simmer until the volume of liquid has reduced by about half and your turkey stock has a rich, golden color.
- Let the stock cool, then strain out the solids and either enjoy it within a week or freeze in canning jars (make sure you leave a couple of inches for the liquid to expand as it freezes).
FAQ
Long-grain white rice cooks quickly (10-12 minutes) and holds its shape well. If you plan on having leftovers for several days, the rice will continue to absorb broth. If you’re making this purely for meal prep, your best bet is to cook the rice separately and add a scoop to each bowl as you reheat the soup.
I use long-grain white rice (like Jasmine or Basmati) for this recipe because it cooks quickly right in the pot. Brown rice or a wild rice blend also work, but you’ll need to cook them separately first, as they take 45+ minutes.
Yes, you can make this with ground turkey. Instead of adding cooked turkey at the end, sauté 1 pound of ground turkey with the onions until it’s cooked through. Then, add the rest of the vegetables and broth and proceed with the recipe.
How to Store and Reheat
Store leftover Turkey and Rice soup in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Gently reheat in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring often. The rice will have absorbed more liquid, so you will likely need to add another splash of broth to thin it out.
You can also freeze this soup in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. For the best texture, I recommend rinsing your rice before adding it to the soup. Also note that soups with starchy ingredients like rice will be thicker when thawed and reheated, so plan on adding more stock or broth if needed. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
More Ways to Enjoy Leftover Turkey
- Turkey Pot Pie (A lighter version of the classic with a puff pastry crust.)
- Turkey Pot Pie Soup (I love to serve this with Pie Crust Crackers made from scraps of my Lard Pie Crust.)
Plan Your Holiday Menu
Turkey and Rice Soup
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 large onion diced small
- 3 ribs celery thinly sliced into half moons
- 2 large carrots thinly sliced
- 8 cups chicken broth or homemade Turkey broth (see recipe note #1)
- 3/4 cup long grain white rice (see recipe note #2)
- 1/3 cup minced flat leaf parsley
- 2 medium cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 medium lemon juice and zest
- 2 cups cooked turkey shredded, ~10 ounces
- kosher salt to taste
Instructions
- Sauté Aromatics: Melt butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until softened and translucent, 3-5 minutes.
- Simmer Soup: Add celery, carrots, broth and rice. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer 10-12 minutes, until rice is tender, but still has a little bite.
- Mix Gremolata: Meanwhile, zest lemon into a small bowl and add minced parsley and garlic; stir to combine. Juice lemon half into separate small bowl. Set both bowls aside.
- Finish and Serve: When rice is tender, add turkey meat; cook and stir until heated through, 2-3 minutes. Stir in reserved lemon juice and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with parsley mixture. Serve.
Notes
- Stock: This soup is good with store-bought broth, but it’s fantastic with homemade turkey stock. I’ve included my method in the post above—it’s my favorite way to get every last bit of flavor from the holiday.
- Rice: I personally don’t rinse the rice because I like how the starch gives the soup a little more body. If you want a really clear, broth-forward soup, give the rice a good rinse in a fine-mesh strainer before you add it to the pot.
- Storage: Leftovers will keep beautifully in the fridge for up to 4 days. Just know that the rice will continue to drink up the broth, so the soup will get thicker. Simply add another splash of broth when you reheat it. You can also freeze the soup for up to 3 months. If you’re planning to freeze some or all of it, be sure to rinse the rice before adding to the soup.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious! First time on your website, and I was intrigued by the gremolata. The splash of lemon as well as the parsley, minced garlic, and lemon zest in the bowls elevated it to the best turkey and rice soup we’ve ever had. We like lemon, so I zested and squeezed an entire lemon. I used homemade turkey bone stock and basmati rice, rinsing it as directed when planning to freeze. This recipe made a full meal for two adults and two kids plus about 1-1/2 quart bags of soup leftover for future meals. Easily adaptable to rotisserie chicken, adding a handful peas, etc. A keeper.
Hi Sunshine! Thanks for your detailed recipe notes. I’m so glad this was a hit with you and your loved ones!
So good! The favor is great just the right amounts of everything to make a great soup
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Julie!
Super tasty! Any tips on keeping the rice from absorbing all the broth?
Hi Rachel! So glad you’re enjoying it. The best way I know is to cook the rice separately to add when you’re reheating the soup (I often do this with soups that contain pasta as well).
I am putting this one on the menu for this year! I do love a good turkey sandwich after Thanksgiving, but soup season is here (it’s cold this morning!), and a hot bowl of turkey and rice soup sounds absolutely delicious right about now!
I can’t wait for you to try it, David!
So So 😊 yummmmmm
So glad you enjoyed it, Kara!
The gremolata took it over the top. Absolutely love the flavors of this soup. Mine although purple due to the heirloom carrots I used and the rustic flavors of a mix of white and wild rice brought it to a new place for me…I will definately use this recipe again.
I forgot the 5 star review.. noteworthy
I’m so glad you enjoyed this soup, Linda! Thank you for coming back to let me know.
Well this certainly was a labor of love! Making the stock, the soup (picking the carcass), the gremolata. . . I think I used every pot, bowl, colander, kitchen tool and inch of counter space today. I found myself wondering if it was worth the effort. Then we sat down to steaming bowls of homemade soup and WOW it was worth it! Gremolata is something new to me and it really made the soup sing. And for all the effort, we’ve plenty left for tomorrow, Sunday game day. Thank you, Marissa, for a fresh new take on leftover turkey.
aww…I’m so happy this soup was a hit for you and your family, Deborah!
Nothing is perfect but this is close.
So glad you enjoyed this, Holly!
A bowl of warm soup for a cold day! Perfect! Thank you for sharing!
My pleasure! Thanks, Dennis.
We’re having turkey tetrazzini tonight, but there should be enough leftover turkey for your fabulous soup! It will be nice as the snow moves in…ugh.
I bet you make a mean turkey tetrazzini, Liz! Definitely save a little turkey for this soup – I promise it’s a keeper. And yes, snow, we’ve got it in the forecast too…
This is a great reminder to make turkey stock this year! I’ll be honest that some years I forget it – or just pass on it as I’m too tired to deal with it after making the entire meal. But I’m doing it this year – this soup looks amazing, and I’m sure it has so much flavor thanks to the stock and extra turkey!
It’s so good, David! Always nice to have homemade turkey stock, right? So much better than store bought.
Perfect timing for this cozy looking soup, Marissa! We always make turkey soup after Thanksgiving. Yours looks so warming and delicious!
Thanks, Katherine! I hope you’ll give this one a try!
This soup has everything I need right now, so hearty and looks delicious. I love the taste of lemon in soups. Thanks for sharing 🙂
My pleasure, Muna! Thank you for your kind comment.
Turkey (chicken) & rice soup is an ultimate comfort yet not overly heavy recipe that is deeply associated with my childhood (As a kid, you got sick – you got a bowl of chicken soup! Best remedy ever!) You’re also right that it’s a great way to eat cleaner/healthier after all the decadent and festive meals. I’m even a little bit jealous that you might have some turkey leftovers after celebrating Thanksgiving 🙂 Delicious!
So true about the ultimate comfort food, Ben! Sometimes I think that I enjoy meals from leftovers even more than the main meal.
Hi Marissa! This sounds so comforting! It’s just going to be the two of us this year so I’m making a couple of bacon wrapped turkey tenderloins. No carcass to make stock so I’ll make due with chicken stock .My favorite part of Thanksgiving is the leftovers. 🙂
Hi Dorothy! I bet those turkey tenderloins will be incredible. I’m with you on the leftovers. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, my friend.