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It’s one week after Thanksgiving and you’ve still got leftover turkey….as much as you loved the first 5 turkey sandwiches, you just can’t handle another one. The turkey is drying out and there isn’t enough mayonnaise on the planet to revive it.
What do you do with it?
Make soup, of course!
Think about it, using dried out turkey meat in a brothy soup brings back life to the turkey. It adds moisture and salt back in, makes it juicy. Yes, even that dried out, boring turkey breast.
This wild rice sweet potato soup makes use of two whole cups of leftover Thanksgiving turkey meat, white or dark meat, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you make all that turkey useful. Trust me, you’re gonna love it!
This wild rice sweet potato soup makes use of ingredients you might still have lying around from Thanksgiving. If you bought an extra sweet potato, or didn’t end up using those mushrooms, if you have extra celery from the stuffing, or an onion partially used, this soup is the perfect way to use all those yummy ingredients up.
If you don’t have Thanksgiving turkey leftover, no problem, you can easily use chicken breast and cook it right in the soup and then chop it up. If you have a butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes, feel free to swap that out. Options, my friends. All that matters is that the end result is a warm comforting, healthy, big pot of soup!
You will love this wild rice sweet potato soup. It’s packed with veggies, and fiber. It’s savory, slightly sweet from the sweet potatoes, creamy, and hearty. It only takes 40 minuets to make and makes a huge pot that’s great for leftovers or meal prepping. It’s gluten free, dairy free adaptable and just all around delish.
Here’s what you need for wild rice sweet potato soup:
- butter/olive oil or avocado oil
- onion
- garlic cloves
- fresh sage leaves (if you have them)
- wild rice
- chicken broth
- mushrooms
- salt – every good soup needs to be well seasoned
- sweet potatoes (or butternut squash)
- celery
- full fat coconut milk (for the creamy goodness)
- leftover Thanksgiving turkey (or leftover instant pot whole chicken, or chicken breasts)
- nutmeg
- pepper
- kale
See, so many yummy and nutritious ingredients in this soup. You will be feeling like yourself again in no time. Because who else needs a major break from all the heavy starchy, comforting, wonderful Thanksgiving foods? You just want something that’s packed with veggies and is light, yet satisfying?
Yep. That’s me right now. Just give me all the salads and veggie packed soups, please and thank you!
And that’s exactly what this wild rice sweet potato soup is.
I have officially decided to make this wild rice sweet potato soup a post Thanksgiving tradition. Bring on all the turkey leftovers!!!
Sweet potato wild rice soup is brothy, slightly creamy, a little sweet, savory, and a little earthy. It is packed with protein, veggies, and fiber. If soup were a hug this would be it. Late or early fall time heaven in a bowl.
Have I convinced you to make this wild rice sweet potato soup yet?!?
The truth about this wild rice sweet potato soup is that I was planning to have it published last week, just before Thanksgiving, so that you could know about it in advance and make the soup right away. Overcast days screwed things up, because I photograph in natural light. The weather creates my schedule sometimes. Anyways, it actually worked out perfectly because I was previously using chicken for this recipe and was going to mention that you could use leftover Thanksgiving turkey…well by making it later I actually got to use leftover Thanksgiving turkey in this soup!
And I actually prefer the turkey over the chicken. It really adds a nice flavor to this soup.
Things have a way of working out, even when it doesn’t seem like it.
I hope you still have Thanksgiving turkey hanging out in your fridge so that you can make this soup. If not, feel free to swap it for the chicken (directions in the notes of the recipe card) and be prepared to save some turkey to make this wild rice sweet potato soup next Thanksgiving. You could make it the day after, or two days later to serve to any guests you may have visiting.
Or just hog it for yourself and relish in the fact that you don’t have to cook for a few days. Healthy Leftover Thanksgiving turkey soup for the win!!!
Did you happen to save your Turkey bones?
Try my instant pot chicken broth recipe.
It’s super easy to make. The exact same method applies when you use turkey bones.
The result will be the most flavorful homemade broth.
And here are more soup recipes for you to cozy up to all fall/winter long:
- slow cooker chicken and wild rice soup
- dairy free zuppa Toscana soup
- Thai carrot noodle soup with chicken
- fall turkey pumpkin chili
- lentil turkey chili
- healing roasted tomato and red pepper soup
- roasted cauliflower soup with arugula pesto
- nourishing miso soup with mushrooms
If soup were a currency, I would be rich lol. Happy soup eating.
Did you make this recipe? Do me a huge favor and leave a comment below along with a star rating. This helps my recipes to rank higher in google, and I enjoy hearing from you. Thanks, friends!
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Wild Rice Sweet Potato Soup (with Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey)
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 to 8 1x
- Category: soup, entree, easy, healthy, turkey, chicken, meal prep
- Method: saute, simmer
- Cuisine: gluten free, dairy free
Description
Wild rice sweet potato soup is the perfect way to use up leftover Thanksgiving turkey. It’s packed with fall veggies making it a nutritious meal. P.S. If you don’t have leftover turkey, no problem, you can use chicken breast instead (directions below).
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves, pressed
- Optional: 1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, chopped
- 1 cup wild rice
- 5 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 3/4 to 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 to 3 celery ribs, chopped
- 1 15 ounce can full fat coconut milk
- 2 cups previously cooked turkey, cubed (see notes)
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bunch kale leaves, chopped
Instructions
- Prepare: Chop all the veggies as instructed above, place in separate bowls. This soup goes pretty fast so it’s helpful to have everything ready to go.
- Saute: Heat a large dutch oven or other large soup pot over low heat. Melt the butter and heat up the oil. Add the onion and saute, stirring occasionally until the onion has softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Saute the garlic and sage for 30 seconds. Add the wild rice and saute for 3 minutes, stirring frequently – this adds a nice nutty taste to the rice.
- Simmer: Immediately add the chicken broth, turn the heat up to high. Stir in the mushrooms, salt, and sweet potatoes. Cover and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and simmer covered, stirring occasionally for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the sweet potato is fork tender and the rice is al dente (mostly tender with a bite). Stir in the carrots and celery and simmer for another 3 minutes.
- Finish: Stir in the coconut milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg until well combined. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the leftover, chopped turkey, and the kale. The kale might seem like a lot, but give it a minute, it will wilt down. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
- Serve: Ladle into soup bowls and serve immediately.
- Leftovers: Allow the soup to cool quite a bit and transfer to air tight containers and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat gently in the microwave or on the stove top in a sauce pan.
Notes
Turkey: If you don’t have turkey and still want to make this soup no problem. Simply use 2 chicken breasts. Here is what you will do: you will add the chicken breast in at the same time as the broth and other veggies. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temp of 160 degrees Fahrenheit, remove from the soup. Allow the chicken breast to rest for 10 minutes. Chop into bite sized pieces. Return to the soup at the same time you would stir in the cooked turkey.
Sweet potato: I also made this recipe using 1 medium butternut squash. You could easily swap the sweet potato for the butternut squash if that’s what you love/have on hand. Both taste great in this recipe.
Dairy free: to keep this soup dairy free either use vegan butter or swap the butter with 1 tablespoon extra oil.
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