One-Pot Leftover Turkey Rice Soup, a quick and easy recipe for chilly days. This hearty homemade soup is loaded with veggies for extra goodness, it's healthy, and ready in well under 30 minutes. A favourite soup with kids and grown-ups alike, the soup can be made with leftover chicken too, or any other leftover meat. Comfort food at its best!

What do you need on a cold rainy day? Soup! A hot bowl of soup to warm your soul, and comfort you like nothing else. Bonus point, this turkey and rice soup is ready in less than half an hour, which is amazing.
We all know that leftovers can't be avoided sometimes. I mean, better more food than not enough, right? And if you have guests over for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any other occasion, you can't possibly not be prepared. And, if you are left with too much food, there are always delicious ways to make some yummy dishes out of them.
This leftover turkey soup is absolutely delicious, it's filling, hearty, and so healthy too. No leftover turkey? No problem. Leftover chicken and rice soup sounds just as good. Or even leftover ham, or leftover roast beef, etc. My Leftover Roast Chicken and Noodle Soup is one of my favourite.
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Step-by-step photos and instructions
Since the turkey is already cooked, we only need to get the veggies tender first before adding the rice and meat. The usual suspects: onion, carrots, peppers and celery stalks give the best flavour to any soup, so that's what I went for, but you can use any other veggies you like.
- peel and chop the onion and carrots, and chop the pepper and celery stalk - finely or chunky, it's up to you
- add the chopped vegetables to a pan together with the turkey / chicken broth (stock) and leave to simmer with the lid on for 10-15 minutes until the veggies are tender
- add the rinsed rice and shredded leftover turkey, and leave to cook until the rice is ready
- if you like the soup more watery, feel free to add more broth, then bring to a boil again
- season with salt, pepper, add the tomato puree and herbs, and garnish with fresh parsley
Everything is made in one pot, it's simple, and just perfect for a midweek dinner.

How to make the soup in a slow cooker
This soup can be made in a crock pot too, and it's as delicious. We won't need that much broth though, since very little liquid is lost in the slow cooker, perhaps 3-4 cups maximum, but no more than that.
You can throw all the ingredients in from the beginning, minus the turkey, which can be added at the end with the seasoning and tomato puree, but the rice and vegetables go in with the broth.
Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for at least 4 hours. Once the rice and veggies are tender, add the rest of the ingredients, and give it a good stir. Leave to cook for a further 5-10 minutes so the meat can be hot too, and that's it, soup is ready.
What kind of rice is best for a soup?
I used basmati rice, but short- grain rice or wild rice are a good option too. The cooking time will be slightly longer, on the stove top and slow cooker too, so check to see if the rice is cooked through before adding the meat.
Other leftover turkey recipes
Leftover Turkey Hand Pies with Puff Pastry
Healthy Leftover Turkey Wraps with Cranberry Sauce

If you’ve liked my ONE-POT LEFTOVER TURKEY RICE SOUP or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.

Leftover Turkey and Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded leftover turkey
- ½ cup basmati rice
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 1 red pepper
- 1 celery stalk
- 5 cups turkey or chicken broth (stock)
- 2 tablespoon tomato puree
- ½ teaspoon salt
- â…› teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried mixed herbs
- 2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
Instructions
- Peel and chop the onion and carrot, and chop the pepper and celery stalk.
- Add the broth to a pan together with the vegetables, and leave to simmer with the lid on for 10-15 minutes until the veggies are tender.
- Add the rice and turkey, and leave to cook again until the rice is cooked, it should be ready in about 10 minutes. Add more broth if necessary and bring to a boil again.
- Season with salt and pepper, add the tomato puree and mixed herbs, and garnish with fresh parsley.
Notes
- This soup can be made in a crock pot too, and it's as delicious. We won't need that much broth though, since very little liquid is lost in the slow cooker, perhaps 3-4 cups maximum, but no more than that.
- You can throw all the ingredients in from the beginning, minus the turkey, which can be added at the end with the seasoning and tomato puree, but the rice and vegetables go in with the broth.
- Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for at least 4 hours. Once the rice and veggies are tender, add the rest of the ingredients, and give it a good stir. Leave to cook for a further 5-10 minutes so the meat can be hot too, and that's it, soup is ready.
Nick says
I used basmati rice and put the leftover soup in the refrigerator. The next day the rice had swelled up and absorbed most of the liquid leaving more of a stew than a soup. The taste was still wonderful but how can I keep the rice from becoming mushy?
Daniela Anderson says
I would use more liquid in the soup, rice does tend to become mushy in soups. Season the soup to taste if adding more liquid spoils the flavour.
Richard Bruce says
I cook the rice and set it aside until just before I reheat the soup for lunch or dinner. I throw in a 1/4 cup of rice per serving as my soup is warming. The precooked rice doesn't need or have time to absorb the liquid.