Nothing warms my tummy like a bowl of soup on a freezing cold winter day.
This soup is a Kirksey tradition. We make it every year on Thanksgiving weekend from leftover turkey the day we get our Christmas tree. Served up with eggnog and a sappy Steven Curtis Chapman Christmas CD, it’s just one of those things we do and we love.
Christian calls this his favorite soup EVER, so sometimes, it warrants a non-Thanksgiving serving. If I didn’t have enough turkey left over to freeze, a rotisserie chicken will work in a pinch. Or sometimes, for dinner, I’ll put a turkey breast in the crock pot and serve it for dinner and then those leftovers can be used for pot pie or this wonderful yumminess.
I serve it with leftover homemade Pumpkin Crescent Rolls (also from the thankful holiday).
I begin by getting my big soup pot out and filling it with 6 cups o’ chicken stock and 5 cups of water.
Bring this to a boil. When it is boiling, lower the temp and cook for at least 25 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked.
Cook eight strips of bacon until crispy enough to crumble. Drain on paper towels and set aside.
While my bacon is frying and my rice is cooking,
I mix together 1 cup of flour,
3/4 tsp. salt,
Add in 2 cups of fully cooked, shredded turkey or chicken.
Continue to cook until hot and slightly thickened, stirring frequently so you don’t burn the creaminess onto the bottom of the pot.
Before serving, crumble bacon onto each bowl of creamy goodness.
And, of course, enjoy thoroughly.
- 6 cups of chicken broth or stock
- 5 cups of water
- 1 box Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice mix (chicken flavor) -- or your favorite organic boxed long grain and wild rice mix with seasoning packet
- 8 slices of bacon
- ¾ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. pepper
- ½ tsp. poultry seasoning
- 1 c. flour
- ½ c. butter
- 3 cups of whole milk
- 2 cups of cooked, shredded turkey or chicken.
- Put chicken stock and water in a soup pot.
- Add in the box of rice and the seasoning packet. Bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked.
- Fry the bacon until crispy, drain and set aside.
- Mix together flour, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning.
- Melt the butter and add in the flour/seasoning mixture and whisk together until blended well. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the milk and whisk continuously until a low boil when it will thicken substantially.
- Add about two cups of the broth into the creamy mixture and whisk until well combined. Then, pour it into the big pot and stir.
- Add in the turkey or chicken.
- Cook until warmed through and thickened, stirring frequently to avoid burning on the bottom of the pot.
- Garnish with bacon to serve.
**Bacon storage tip** I buy a bacon 4 lbs. at a time. Though I’d love to, I should not cook and eat all of this meat candy in one meal so I freeze it in a way that I can use 1 slice or 12 at a time easily without having to thaw too much or not enough.
This way, I almost always have bacon on hand to crumble onto soups or salads or for breakfast. Get a gallon size freezer bag ready and then begin to wrap each piece of bacon, one at a time, around two fingers until it is in a little rolled up bundle. Don’t pull tightly and wrap–loosely wrapped is perfect.
Now freeze those little bundles of meat candy until you need some. When you need it for dinner (or a bacony craving), whack the bag on the counter where you want the pieces to break apart and take as many out as you need to defrost. Hope this helps.
this was the ONLY thing i specifically asked for when i came home for thanksgiving break! i look forward to this recipe every year and try to get my sweet momma to sneak it in at random times (which isn’t that hard to do cause it’s THAT good). also i loooove the new website it is so cute!
Thank you, Abby!!!!!!! That’s the sweetest comment ever. :o) We have to figure out how you can make this for your dorm friends! I bet you could do it! ((I am counting this as your second contest entry.))
My family loves this recipe! We are dairy free and gluten free so I made a few substitutes: sub ghee or animal fat (I usually use pork fat) for butter, sub almond milk for milk and sub your favorite gluten free flour (I prefer Namaste brand) for flour. I also used a combo of 1 cup wild rice 1 cup riced cauliflower instead of the Uncle Ben’s rice box. You can replace all rice with riced cauliflower to make this a completely GF meal!
Thank you so much, Libby for this amazing comment! It’s so helpful for other readers to know how to modify recipes to make them workable for their family’s dietary needs. I love that you love my Creamy Turkey and Wild Rice Soup! I’m grateful for the kind words. :o)
Made the creamy turkey & wild rice soup… Yum 🙂
Melissa!!! Hi!! :o)
So glad you tried and liked this soup! Happy to find you here! Hope you and yours have a wonderful Christmas!!
sounds divine! I like using leftovers in this kind of way instead of just eating them. They are always too dry to just eat. LOVE the bacon saving idea. I just cut a 1lb pack into thirds and then freeze those to use later, but I like this way better. Thanks!
Hey, Melissa!
Still using bacon this way? Hope you’re still making this yummy soup, too — all these years later. :o)
Ha, I just saw this comment as I am making this soup again (have made it other times in these years, just seeing this comment). I don’t make this one as often as others on this blog bc I don’t have turkey too often, but it usually follows the meal with the big bird. I bought a turkey at Thanksgiving and didn’t use it so I’m cleaning out the freezer and decided to make it. Still love the bacon storage tip too!
This soup is too good to make once a year, right? :o) you can always use rotisserie chicken as well just so you don’t have to wait for turkey day. I always make more than one turkey when they’re on sale at Thanksgiving and freeze the leftover meat so I can make this soup and pot pie any time I get the urge. Thanks for the comment love. ❤️