This creamy duck & wild rice soup is hearty, savory, and chock full of tender duck, veggies, rice, wild mushrooms, and herbs! Not only is it incredibly creamy and delicious, but it is loaded with tons of flavor! Plus, this soup is the perfect way to use up any leftover duck meat that you may have on hand!
Creamy Duck & Wild Rice Soup Recipe
This creamy soup is super easy to make, especially if you have some leftover duck meat already! It is so amazingly flavorful and delicious that you'll want to make it every time you get your hands on some duck!
The broth itself is actually very simple to whip up, so don't let it intimidate you if you've never made some before! Trust me, it's worth the extra effort!
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🥘 Creamy Duck & Wild Rice Soup Ingredients
This soup is full of different veggies, herbs, and spices. Use fresh ingredients for the best flavor!
- Wild Rice - 1 cup of raw wild rice that has been thoroughly rinsed in hot water before cooking.
- Butter - ¼ cup of salted butter.
- Leek - ½ cup of chopped leek.
- Carrots - 3 medium carrots that have been washed and diced.
- Celery - 4 celery ribs that have been washed and diced. If you have them, you can also use the leaves!
- Bay Leaves - 2 bay leaves.
- Herbes De Provence - ½ tablespoon of herbes de provence.
- Salt & Pepper - ½ teaspoon of both salt and pepper to taste.
- Garlic Powder - ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Parsley - 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley. If desired, you can use an additional ½ tablespoon for garnish.
- Duck Stock - 6 cups of duck stock.
- Duck - 2 cups of cooked duck. This is approximately 1 pound of chopped or pulled duck with the skin removed.
- Heavy Cream - 1 cup of heavy cream.
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 How To Make Creamy Duck & Wild Rice Soup
Simply cook your rice, saute the veggies, and let the soup simmer! Grab your stock pot (or Dutch oven), a cutting board, and a knife to get started.
This recipe yields 8 satisfying servings of duck soup! Don't worry, the leftovers are just as tasty!
- Rinse the rice. Minnesota wild rice needs to be rinsed well in hot water for at least 30 seconds to a minute. Add 1 cup of raw wild rice (that has been rinsed) to your saucepan with 3 cups of hot water while you prepare the remaining ingredients (go ahead and follow the cooking instructions on the packaging for the rice with these exceptions). *Make sure to strain the rice once cooked, as the water it was cooked in can give off a bitter flavor.
- Saute. Place a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium heat and melt ¼ cup of butter. Add ½ cup of chopped leeks, 3 medium carrots, and 4 ribs of celery. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes, or until the carrots have softened.
- Add. Add 2 bay leaves, seasoning (½ tablespoon of Herbes de provence, 1 tablespoon of parsley, ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon of both salt and pepper), and 6 cups of duck stock, then stir to combine.
- Simmer. Increase heat to high and let the soup come up to a boil, then reduce heat to low, put the lid on, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add. Add 4 ounces of wild mushrooms, 2 cups of chopped duck meat, cooked Minnesota wild rice, and 1 cup of heavy cream. Continue to simmer the soup until everything is heated through.
- Taste. Once cooked, discard the bay leaves and adjust the seasoning as needed. Then, serve immediately.
Serve your creamy duck and wild rice soup with some butter herb Rhodes rolls, or rustic bread! Of course, it tastes fantastic as-is, too! Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- I used a 5-pound duck for this recipe, but you can also use the leftovers from more than one duck if you are so lucky to roast or grill two at a time.
- To make the duck broth, pat your duck dry after rinsing it in cool water. Trim any excess skin as needed. Then cook your 5-pound duck with 6+ cups of water (more if needed to cover the whole duck) with roughly chopped mirepoix vegetables (carrots, celery, onion). Bring to a boil then cook at a low boil for 30 minutes. Remove from the broth and pull the duck meat then strain out the vegetables for your broth (skim the fat if needed).
- An optional step for more depth of flavor is to sear your duck on all sides for 2-3 minutes over medium-high heat with ½ tablespoon of cooking oil in the stockpot before boiling.
- Don't skip rinsing the wild rice with hot water thoroughly! This will remove any remaining excess starch before cooking.
- The stock or water used to cook your wild rice should be discarded once the rice is cooked. This will prevent the soup from taking a bitter flavor that can linger in the liquids.
- To add another amazing layer of flavor, you can roast the wild rice in a dry skillet over medium-high heat before cooking it. This not only adds a nice nutty, smoky flavor but also helps to break the hull. Just be sure to have a clean container ready for the roasted rice (so you can immediately stop the cooking).
🥡 Storing & Reheating
Keep any leftover soup stored in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Reheating Duck & Wild Rice Soup
You can reheat small portions in the microwave or larger portions in a saucepan on the stovetop. Simply simmer it over medium heat until hot!
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❓ Recipe FAQs
Yep! Make sure you thoroughly rinse the rice in order to remove any excess starch before cooking it. If you cook the rice directly in the broth with the soup, it could add a bitter flavor to your dish. This is why it is best to cook it separately and then add it to the soup.
Wild rice has a texture that is chewy, similar to brown rice. However, the flavor is more earthy, with a toasty and nutty essence to it.
You'll see duck is commonly compared to chicken since they are both birds. However, duck meat has a bold flavor that is more similar to red meat than chicken and it is also fattier (which makes it more tender).
🥩 Recipes Using Game Meat
- Rabbit Stew - A rich stew that is full of tender rabbit, potatoes, and veggies!
- Bison Burger - A classic burger recipe that features bison instead of beef!
- Smoked Bison Prime Rib - A smokey and flavorful roast that everyone will love!
- Elk Burgers - Hearty and juicy burgers that are loaded up with flavor!
- Venison Meatballs - A tasty twist from standard beef or sausage meatballs!
- Venison Chili - Smokey and delicious chili that is packed with spices, beans, and venison!
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📖 Recipe Card
Creamy Duck & Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw wild rice (rinsed thoroughly in hot water using a fine mesh sieve)
- ¼ cup butter (salted)
- ½ cup leek (washed, chopped)
- 3 medium carrots (washed, diced)
- 4 ribs celery (washed, diced - use the green leaves from the celery if you have them)
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ tablespoon Herbes de provence
- ½ teaspoon each, salt & pepper (to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (chopped - use another ½ tablespoon or more of chopped parsley to garnish, if desired)
- 6 cups duck stock
- 4 oz wild mushrooms
- 2 cups cooked duck (approximately 1 pound chopped or pulled duck, skin removed)
- 1 cup heavy cream
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Minnesota wild rice needs to be rinsed well in hot water for at least 30 seconds to a minute. Add the raw wild rice (that has been rinsed) to your saucepan with 3 cups of hot water while you prepare the remaining ingredients (go ahead and follow the cooking instructions on the packaging for the rice with these exceptions). *Make sure to strain the rice once cooked, as the water it was cooked in can give off a bitter flavor.
- Place a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium heat and melt the butter. Add chopped leeks, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes, or until the carrots have softened.
- Add the bay leaves, seasoning (Herbes de provence, parsley, garlic powder, salt, and pepper), and the duck stock, then stir to combine.
- Increase heat to high and let the soup come up to a boil, then reduce heat to low, put the lid on, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add the wild mushrooms, chopped duck meat, cooked wild rice, and heavy cream. Continue to simmer the soup until everything is heated through.
- Once cooked, discard the bay leaves and adjust the seasoning as needed. Then, serve immediately.
Notes
- I used a 5-pound duck for this recipe, but you can also use the leftovers from more than one duck if you are so lucky to roast or grill two at a time.
- To make the duck broth, pat your duck dry after rinsing in cool water. Trim any excess skin as needed. Then cook your 5-pound duck with 6+ cups of water (more if needed to cover the whole duck) with rough chopped mirepoix vegetables (carrots, celery, onion). Bring to a boil then cook at a low boil for 30 minutes. Remove from the broth and pull the duck meat then strain out the vegetables for your broth (skim the fat if needed).
- An optional step for more depth of flavor is to sear your duck on all sides for 2-3 minutes over medium-high heat with ½ tablespoon of cooking oil in the stockpot before boiling.
- Don't skip rinsing the wild rice with hot water thoroughly! This will remove any remaining excess starch before cooking.
- The stock or water used to cook your wild rice should be discarded once the rice is cooked. This will prevent the soup from taking a bitter flavor that can linger in the liquids.
- To add another amazing layer of flavor, you can roast the wild rice in a dry skillet over medium-high heat before cooking it. This not only adds a nice nutty, smoky flavor but also helps to break the hull. Just be sure to have a clean container ready for the roasted rice (so you can immediately stop the cooking).
- To store: Keep any leftover soup stored in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
- To reheat: You can reheat small portions in the microwave or larger portions in a saucepan on the stovetop.
Andrea says
My family loved this! We added homemade bacon bits, too. Paired with Texas toast and white wine... it was to die for!
Anna says
Do I need to break down the whole duck before making stock? Everyone online seems to, but is that necessary?
Angela Latimer says
In the recipe (as photographed) I am using leftovers from roast duck, however, you can 100% use a whole duck and boil it down like you would chicken to make your base. Pull the meat after boiling then add all of the ingredients per instructions. Let me know if you have any other questions.