Grain-free Turkey & Rice Soup
gluten-free | grain-free | dairy-free | tree nut free | egg free
by Alexa Lehr | The Pioneer Chicks | February 1, 2024
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This grain-free turkey and rice soup is creamy, flavorful, and the perfect comfort food! Even if you are not a huge soup fan, this turkey soup will change your mind! It passed my family’s taste test, and even my dad (who doesn’t eat grain-free and doesn’t like vegetables) loved this soup! This soup is soup-er simple to make, bursting with nutrition, and makes the perfect cozy, winter meal. The creamy broth mixed with the soft texture from the rice and complimented by the turkey and vegetables makes this soup amazingly delicious!
Grain-free turkey and rice soup is a modern pioneer recipe with heritage roots! All of the ingredients in this soup are wholesome and nutritious. While the earlier pioneers would usually have stews as opposed to soups, but wild game was still used to make both stews and soups… which included wild turkey! As for the rice, the modern pioneer version of rice probably wasn’t used, but another type of rice may have been used which we will talk about in a minute!
All the ingredients in this soup except the rice can be sourced right from your homestead! Homemade bone broth contains numerous health benefits and is super easy to make in the homestead kitchen. The carrots, celery, onion, and herbs can be sourced from the homestead garden.
Dairy-free coconut milk and organic, grass-fed butter are ingredients I keep stocked in my homestead pantry and fridge all the time. However, you may be able to use homemade butter or whole milk from a dairy animal if you are far enough along in your modern pioneer journey!
Aside from the wholesome, nutritious ingredients, this soup is naturally allergy-friendly! For modern pioneers with dietary restrictions, this soup is….
My mom used to make the best chicken and rice soup when I was younger. Since going on an anti-inflammatory diet, we have cut rice out of our diet. One of my biggest regrets about not having rice is not being able to eat that amazing chicken and rice soup! So…. I went about creating this turkey and rice soup as a substitute for that amazing soup I have such fond memories of. This turkey and rice soup met all my expectation and more!
So how did I do it? Is rice grain-free? Did I even use rice in this turkey and rice soup? First, no, rice is not grain-free. However, there are many different varieties of rice. Second, yes, I did use rice in this soup. However, it is not traditional rice.
One option for making this soup grain-free is using a rice substitute, which is what I did. I used Banza rice that is made from chickpeas! It is not techinally rice, however, the ‘rice’ made from chickpeas looks and cooks just like regular rice. I couldn’t tell the difference in taste or texture when I used the Banza chickpea rice in my soup!
I also love using the chickpea pasta made by Banza in other recipes like this chicken noodle soup or homemade mac’n’cheese pie!
Another way to make this turkey and rice soup while still sticking to an anti-inflammatory diet is to use wild rice. I did a quick Google search on wild rice and was fascinated by the history of this ancient grain! Many websites called wild rice a grain, however, it is actually a pseudograin (much like amaranth and buckwheat) that is the seed of a grass. Wild rice grows in North America and was used by the Indians, and maybe even the early pioneers!
Wild rice is very nutritious and is a considered a complete plant-based protein since it contains all of the essential amino acids. It is lower on the glycemic index than regular rice and is easier to digest. You could easily use wild rice in this soup instead of the chickpea rice substitute!
I love using wild rice in this creamy chicken & wild rice soup or for this quick and easy Instant Pot chicken and wild rice meal!
Fun Fact: Wild rice is the state grain of Minnesota!
I know I’ve mentioned it before, but in my house we usually serve soup with a bread product side. This grain-free turkey and rice soup is no different! You don’t have to serve this soup with a side, it’s delicious served by itself, but I like some carbs with my soup. Some of my favorite sides for this soup include:
Of course, serving this soup warm makes for a cozy and nutritious winter meal… but if you’re like me and don’t mind cold leftovers, the leftovers are also delicious served cold! I know, all you warm-food folks are cringing out there, but this soup really is just as creamy and delicious eaten cold as it is when it is heated up.
As for storing leftovers, soup leftovers can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days or it can be frozen for later. Ladle the leftover soup into glass canning jars and allow it to cool for 20-30 minutes before moving it to the fridge. If you are going to freeze the leftover soup, allow it to cool completely in the fridge before sticking it in the freezer. And make sure you leave extra headspace in the freezing container since the soup will expand when it freezes.
This creamy turkey soup is naturally dairy-free since it uses olive oil as the cooking oil and full-fat coconut milk or cream to give the soup its creamy taste and texture!
You can use either pre-cooked rice or uncooked rice in this recipe. If using pre-cooked rice, you can add it to the soup at any time. Keep in mind that the longer the soup simmers before you serve it, the softer the rice will be since it will cook down more. If you are using Banza chickpea rice, don’t allow the cooked rice to simmer in the soup for longer than 1 hour since it will get VERY soft and may even disintegrate.
If using un-cooked rice, you will want to add the rice about 15-20 minutes prior to serving the soup. The chickpea rice will simmer and cook in the soup. Once it is soft, the soup is ready to serve!
For picky vegetable eaters, you can finely chop the veggies in a food processor or by using a handheld veggie chopper. I finely chopped the celery and onion but left the carrots in bigger pieces for my soup.
You can use arrowroot flour, tapioca flour, or tigernut flour in place of the cassava flour in the soup. Make sure you add it to the veggies first to keep the flour from clumping in the soup.
I have not tried using any other dairy-free milk in this soup. I like using coconut cream to make the soup both creamy and thick, but any other dairy-free milk can be used to achieve the creaminess. Without the cream however, the soup won’t be quite as thick.
Yes! You can make this soup in a slow cooker, over the stovetop in a stock pot, or in the Instant Pot! You can cook the veggies right in your Instant Pot using the sauté setting, then add the remaining ingredients except for the rice. Pressure cook the soup on high pressure for 20 minutes. Once the pressure has been released, you can remove the lid, add the cooked rice, and serve!
This grain-free turkey and rice soup is one of my new favorite soups! Soup is usually on the homestead menu at least once a week during the fall and winter, so this soup will definitely be added into the rotation. If I don’t have leftover turkey on hand, then cooked chicken will work just fine too!
Grain-free turkey and rice soup is a healthy and nutritious comfort food! It is creamy, bursting with flavor, and has the perfect rich, thick texture of a rice soup! I love using the Banza chickpea rice as a rice substitute in this soup since it has the same taste and texture as traditional rice when added to the soup. My whole family approved of this soup recipe, so it will definitely become a staple on the homestead menu. Served with a side of grain-free baguette and some grain-free crackers… this soup is the perfect cozy meal for a cold winter day! It’s nutritious, delicious, and super easy to make!
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