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Healthy Slow Cooker Turkey Wild Rice Soup

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5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 20 minutes
Yield 10 –11 cups
Category Soup
Cuisine American
Author Lauren Grant of Zestful Kitchen

Description

This healthy Slow Cooker Turkey Wild Rice Soup is as creamy as it is delicious. Packed with layers of flavor from fresh herbs and lemon to Parmesan and seared mushrooms, a bowl of this and you’ll be happily satisfied.

Ingredients

Soup

  • 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth or turkey stock, divided
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 2 cups carrot chunks
  • 1½ cups celery chunks
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
  • 1 cup dry wild rice, rinsed
  • 1 bunch fresh thyme, divided
  • 1 Parmesan rind, optional
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 1 sprig fresh sage
  • 2 dried bay leaves

Mushrooms

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
  • 1 pound cremini mushrooms, stemmed and quartered

Roux

  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups whole milk, warmed
  • 1 pound shredded turkey or chicken, about 4 cups
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 lemon, zested and cut into wedges

Instructions

Soup

  • Combine broth, wine, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, rice, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, and Parmesan rind in a 6-quart slow cooker or crock pot; season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
  • Tie three sprigs thyme, sage sprig, and bay leaves together with kitchen twine, add to slow, cover, and cook on low 5–6 hours until vegetables and rice are tender. Discard Parmesan rind and herb bundle.

Mushrooms

  • Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a sauté pan over medium-high. Stir in mushrooms and 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, season with salt and pepper, and cook until liquid has released and evaporated and mushrooms are brown, 7–8 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to a bowl.
    sauteed mushrooms in a saute pan

Roux

  • In now empty pan, melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat for the roux. Whisk in flour and cook until fragrant and golden brown, about 2 minutes. In a steady stream, slowly whisk in milk and cook until thickened and creamy, about 4 minutes.
    roux in a saute pan
  • Add roux to soup.
    roux poured into a stock-based soup in a slow cooker
  • Add sautéed mushrooms (save a few for garnish), turkey, parsley and 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest. Thin soup with additional broth as desired.
    creamy soup with chunks of vegetables and turkey in a white slow cooker
  • Cook until heated through, 5–10 minutes; season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with lemon wedges.
    creamy soup with chunks of vegetables and turkey in a white slow cooker

Equipment

slow cooker
saute pan
microplane

Notes

For the ultimate Thanksgiving leftover soup, reserve the turkey carcass to make homemade turkey stock.
If you don't have fresh thyme, you can use dried instead. Use 1 1/2 teaspoons in the soup and 1/2 teaspoon for the mushrooms.

Nutrition

Serving: 13/4 cupCalories: 500kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 36gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 102mgSodium: 1045mgFiber: 5gSugar: 10g
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