Leftover Turkey Soup with Rice & Spinach

This comforting recipe for Leftover Turkey Soup with Rice & Spinach is flavorful and filling, chock full of rice, turkey, and veggies — and the perfect way to make a little of your Thanksgiving turkey into something completely new!

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What a lovely relaxing day today! While not braving the stores on Black Friday, I just let a pot of this Leftover Turkey Soup with Rice & Spinach simmer on the stove all afternoon — and also made up a batch of turkey broccoli cheddar hand pies, while I was at it. Nothing better than leftover turkey for recipes, I’m telling you.

Every year I use the bones from our Thanksgiving turkey for broth overnight in the Crock-Pot, then use that slow-cooked broth to make some kind of turkey soup the next day. When I’m simmering up a batch of turkey soup every year, I occasionally turn to this Crock-Pot turkey & wild rice soup from A Year of Slow Cooking — and have always liked the flavor that a little balsamic vinegar imparts to the soup; it goes really nicely with turkey and sage.

Her recipe inspired me to create this stove top turkey & rice soup today, but I kicked the flavor up a bit with a few more spices, and used this RiceSelect Royal Blend rice I picked up on clearance a while back instead of straight up wild rice.

Leftover Turkey Soup with Rice & Spinach

Ingredients

10 cups turkey broth (make this overnight in your slow cooker with the bones, then strain and refrigerate for a while in the morning so you can skim the fat before using)
6 cups water, divided
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1.5 cups chopped cooked turkey
1/2 a medium yellow onion, chopped
1 cup uncooked wild rice blend
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp thyme
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp sage
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp cayenne
5 oz fresh baby spinach

Directions

Add broth, 4 cups of water, and all other ingredients except for the spinach to a large soup pot or Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Boil for about 10 minutes, skimming if necessary.

Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 2-2.5 hours to allow vegetables to soften and flavors to blend, stirring occasionally. As the rice will start absorbing a lot of the broth, add two more cups of water about 1.5 hours in — and you can add a little more water if soup appears too thick.

After the soup is done simmering, wilt in spinach and serve.

Look how colorful and flavorful this is!

Doesn’t this just scream comfort food in a bowl to you? This leftover turkey soup recipe is flavorful and filling, chock full of rice, turkey, and veggies — and the perfect way to make a little of your Thanksgiving turkey into something completely new!

What do you like to make with your leftover turkey?

Leftover Turkey Soup with Rice & Spinach, printable recipe

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Leftover Turkey Soup with Rice & Spinach

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Leftover turkey soup recipe is flavorful and filling, chock full of rice, turkey, and veggies — and the perfect way to make a little of your Thanksgiving turkey into something completely new!

Course dinner

Cuisine soup

Keyword leftover turkey, leftover turkey soup, rice, soup, spinach, turkey soup

Total Time 3 hours hours

Servings 8

Author Rachel Singer

Ingredients

• 10 cups turkey broth (make this overnight in your slow cooker with the bones, then strain and refrigerate for a while in the morning so you can skim the fat before using)
• 6 cups water divided
• 3 carrots peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks chopped
• 1.5 cups chopped cooked turkey
• 1/2 a medium yellow onion chopped
• 1 cup uncooked wild rice blend
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic (about six small cloves)
• 2 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1 tsp sage
• Sea salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 5 oz fresh baby spinach

Instructions

• Add broth, 4 cups of water, and all other ingredients except for the spinach to a large soup pot or Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Boil for about 10 minutes, skimming if necessary.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 2-2.5 hours to allow vegetables to soften and flavors to blend, stirring occasionally. 
• As the rice will start absorbing a lot of the broth, add two more cups of water about 1.5 hours in — and you can add a little more water if soup appears too thick.
• After the soup is done simmering, wilt in spinach and serve.

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