Leftover turkey soup is the ultimate recipe to use up that leftover turkey from Thanksgiving or Christmas. This delicious healthy turkey soup recipe is bursting with flavour!
Hey folks, in case you missed Tuesday's recipe, turkey chow mein, this weeks recipe theme is all about using up that leftover turkey from Thanksgiving or Christmas.
So today it's time for my tried, tested and much loved family leftover turkey soup recipe to make an appearance! It's another one that granny used to make.
This is such an easy turkey soup to make. There's just a handful of simple store cupboard ingredients needed. And it only takes 45 minutes on the stove.
You can also make this healthy soup in your slow cooker or crockpot as well. Full instructions included below!
Its usually after Thanksgiving or Christmas that there’s an abundance of leftovers and that makes for the perfect opportunity to get creative with next-day meals of which this leftover turkey soup is no exception.
Heating up the leftovers and eating the same meal over and over again just isn’t going to cut it, that's where this turkey soup from leftovers recipe comes into play!
You'lll find this turkey soup a great way to use that cooked turkey meat turning it into an amazing bowl of healthy goodness.
This homemade turkey soup is one of my favorite recipes for using up leftovers and is ideal for making after the festivities because it really doesn't require too much effort at all.
Plus if you don't have any leftover turkey meat it's equally easy enough to make this soup at any time of the year just by using cooked and shredded turkey breast meat.
Just like my chicken soup the health benefits of this leftover turkey soup are numerous and its especially great for if you have a winter cold!
I've made this a really simple healthy turkey soup where I've added rice as a cheap "bulk up" grain but you can add any different kind of vegetables you want to change it up a little or to substitute for the rice.
If you don't want to use rice then you could use noodles to make a turkey noodle soup.
You can more or less use up whatever leftover vegetables you have sitting in your fridge!
This is a thick and comforting turkey soup for the winter season, and perfect for turkey leftovers!
It goes to show that leftover thanksgiving turkey or Christmas turkey or indeed Sunday roast turkey is not just for making turkey sandwiches with!
Make sure to add this delicious thanksgiving leftovers recipe to your list of leftover turkey recipes!
And check out the list below for other amazing recipes you can make with cooked turkey meat!
Jump to:
- Ingredients
- Substitutions
- Why You'll Love This Best Leftover Turkey Soup
- Other Veggies You Could Add To This Leftover Turkey Soup
- How To Make Leftover Turkey Soup Recipe
- How To Make Slow Cooker Leftover Turkey Soup
- FAQ's
- Equipment
- Other Great Recipes for Leftover Turkey
- 📋 Leftover Turkey Soup Recipe
- Nutrition Label
- Rate The Recipe
Ingredients
- Olive Oil
- Onion
- Cooked Turkey
- Tarragon
- Chicken Stock
- Rice
- Milk
- Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Extra Tarragon (Garnish)
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
- Olive Oil - you can substitute with any kind of oil. Vegetable oil and Canola oil would be fine.
- Onion - this is the base of the leftover soup so no substitution.
- Cooked Turkey - you could use chicken instead. Cold rotisserie chicken or Sunday roast chicken would be fine too.
- Tarragon - I use dried herbs but you could substitute with fresh herbs like fresh thyme, sage, marjoram or a bay leaf (remember to remove your bay leaf once your delicious soup is ready!)
- Chicken Stock - if you have time you could use turkey bones or your leftover turkey carcass to make homemade turkey stock.
- Rice - white rice is fine. I use basmati in this rice soup. You could also use wild rice or brown rice too.
- Milk - I use semi skimmed as this is a healthy soup. You can use a milk of your choice but that might change the nutritional values and calorie content.
- Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Extra Tarragon (Garnish) - optional
Why You'll Love This Best Leftover Turkey Soup
- This is a tried and tested much loved family recipe using very simple ingredients. Our favorite way of using up turkey leftovers.
- A delicious healthy soup it's quick and easy to make.
- You don't need a whole lot of leftover turkey to make it!
- On a cold day this is such a good soup for the whole family but it's equally good at any time of the year too.
- You can add in other fresh veggies (as suggested in the list below) to bulk up this simple turkey soup making it an easy meal option too.
Other Veggies You Could Add To This Leftover Turkey Soup
- Carrots
- Sweet Potatoes
- Parsnips
- Turnips / Swede
- Green Beans
- Peas
- Cauliflower
- Brussel sprouts
How To Make Leftover Turkey Soup Recipe
Detailed instructions are the recipe card below. But here is a quick step by step guide of how to make homemade turkey soup:
1. Heat the oil in your soup pot and sauté the onions.
2. Stir in your choice of herbs and cooked shredded turkey and then add your stock. Allow to simmer.
3. Add your choice of rice and simmer until your rice is cooked. Add other veggies if you want. Turn off the heat
4. Stir in your milk, season to taste and serve!
Full method in recipe card.
How To Make Slow Cooker Leftover Turkey Soup
1. Heat the oil in a small saucepan and sauté the onions.
2. Add onions, cooked turkey meat, herbs and stock to slow cooker and stir.
3. Cover and cook on low for about 3 hours.
4. Add rice and simmer until cooked for a further 20 minutes.
5. Turn off slow cooker, stir in the milk, season to taste and serve!
FAQ's
What To Serve With This Soup?
This turkey soup is delicious on its own or perfect with a slice of multigrain bread.
How Long Can You Keep Homemade Turkey Soup In The Fridge?
Store your soup in an airtight container for 2 - 3 days in the fridge maximum. It can be reheated on the stove over a medium heat or in the microwave.
Can This Soup Be Frozen?
Yes. Freeze by portioning into individual containers first. Soup will last for up to 6 months in your freezer.
What To Serve With This Turkey Soup Recipe?
This soup is great served with a piece of fresh crusty bread like my wholemeal cob loaf or some wholemeal bread and rolls.
Equipment
For This Turkey Soup Recipe You May Need….
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This means that if you click on it and then buy that product, I’ll get a small commission (at no extra cost to you of course).
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This is the set of pans I recommend for cooking with.
The set includes 16, 18, 20 cm saucepans, 1 x 14 cm milk pan and 1 x 24 cm fry pan.
The pans are suitable for all hobs including induction.
They come with a 1-year guarantee which can be extended to a 10-year warranty when you register the product.
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Other Great Recipes for Leftover Turkey
📋 Leftover Turkey Soup Recipe
The following links and any links in the recipe card below are affiliate links.
This means that if you click on it and then buy that product I’ll get a small commission (at no extra cost to you of course).
If you do click through then thanks for being a part of Neil’s Healthy Meals!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 175 g cooked turkey shredded
- 1 tablespoon tarragon fresh or dried
- 600 ml chicken stock
- 40 g washed rice
- 150 ml skimmed milk
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- A little tarragon to garnish
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add the diced onions. Saute for 2 - 3 minutes until softened.
- Stir in the shredded turkey and tarragon and then add the chicken stock and bring to the boil, turn down to simmer.
- Add the rice and simmer for 20 minutes until its cooked then turn off the heat.
- Stir in the milk, season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve in bowls with a little more tarragon sprinkled over.
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Heat the oil in a small saucepan and sauté the onions.
- Add onions, cooked turkey meat, herbs and stock to slow cooker and stir.
- Cover and cook on low for about 3 hours.
- Add rice and simmer until cooked for a further 20 minutes.
- Turn off slow cooker, stir in the milk, season to taste and serve!
Nutrition
Nutrition Label
Nutritional information provided below is calculated using paid for online tools and the exact ingredients and quantities used above.
Rate The Recipe
If you’ve made this turkey soup recipe, or any other recipes on Neil's Healthy Meals, then please let me know.
I’d love to hear what you think of my recipe in the comments below and please do rate my recipe 5* if you like it! 🙂
David @ Spiced
We always go on our "soup detox diet" after New Year's Day, and this sounds like a great one to include in the lineup. We seriously make big batches of soup for several weeks in a row. And the ability to use leftover turkey to flavor this soup sounds awesome. Thanks so much for sharing, Neil, and I hope you have fun with the guys this weekend!
neil@neilshealthymeals.com
We're pretty much the same as you David.
Although I eat soup every day as a packed lunch at work anyway, we'll still be making everything that's left over after Christmas into soup! 😆
Ben|Havocinthekitchen
Simple, light but hearty and satisfying soup is what we all need after all those holiday treats. I always enjoy simple chicken soup with vegies (and occasionally some grains like barley or buckwheat) in January. But I'll keep it for later - not quite done with cookies and other stuff 😉
neil@neilshealthymeals.com
Absolutely Ben! I'm enjoying a few "treats" myself at the moment and no doubt come January I'll be needing to get stuck into lots of low calorie soups when the guilt kicks in. LOL! 😉
Jeff
I love using up leftovers. I also love the flexibility this recipe offers.
neil@neilshealthymeals.com
Thanks Jeff. You can practically put any kind of vegetable in it!
krissy
I love soup! Its my go to winter meal! The kids always enjoy it! This is a great way to use up that leftover holiday turkey! So yummy!
Neil
Thanks Krissy, yes this is an excellent way to use up that leftover turkey saving money and avoiding any waste. 🙂
Andrea
I added carrot and celery to mine, and added a little more chicken broth because it was pretty thick with the added vegetables, especially after simmering for a bit. This was SO hearty and flavourful! I couldn't believe how much flavour the tarragon adds! It barely needed any salt and pepper!
Neil
Glad you enjoyed making my leftover turkey soup recipe and that you added your own twist to it, Andrea!
Yes the tarragon is a lovely flavour in this soup isn't it? Thanks so much for taking the time to rate and comment on my recipe too! 🙂