leftover turkey soup
This post contains affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
This homemade leftover turkey soup recipe is a simple, healthy soup you can make in your instant pot, slow cooker, or on the stove! A yummy, easy turkey soup everyone will love!
There’s nothing worse than eating Thanksgiving dinner 4x in a row to use up the leftover Thanksgiving turkey. That’s why this leftover turkey recipe is a MUCH better option than your boring turkey sandwich… It’s the BEST leftover turkey soup!
We use turkey bone broth (which you can easily make in under 5 minutes of prep), loads of hearty veggies, and tons of leftover turkey for maximum flavor.
This turkey soup is cozy, easy to make (in under 30 minutes), and delicious! This recipe is made with basic, affordable ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry/fridge, and it uses up all those Thanksgiving leftovers. It can also be paleo/whole30 friendly, or gluten free, depending on what add-ins you use. There’s a long list of substitutions below!
This soup is so simple to make. Especially if you’re enjoying this after a holiday.. You’re probably tired from all the cooking/hosting/traveling you did, which means you probably don’t want to spend ANY more time in the kitchen.
All you have to do is chop some veggies + the leftover turkey meat, sauté, and toss into the instant pot, slow cooker, or on the stove! It really doesn’t get any easier.
If you’re looking for how to cook your turkey, this Herb Butter Turkey and Crockpot Turkey Breast is the best! (And if you’re still planning your Thanksgiving menu – check out these Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes!)
liz’s top tips for leftover turkey soup
- Make your own homemade turkey stock from your leftover turkey carcass! It’s so much better if you can make it from scratch, plus so much cheaper and healthier than the store-bought kind!
- For the most flavor, add a bay leaf and parmesan cheese rind while cooking. Let them simmer in the pot and then remove when they’re done cooking and discard. You can also add a pinch of salt to help amp up the flavor.
Ingredients
Substitutions
Meat: You can make this with leftover chicken instead of turkey meat (white or dark meat) if you’d like. We also have a Chicken Wild Rice Soup recipe!
Can you make a creamy turkey soup? Sure! Stir in 1/4 cup heavy cream or coconut cream once it has cooked to make this recipe a creamy soup.
Oil: Avocado oil or vegetable oil can be used in place of olive oil.
Turkey Noodle Soup Recipe: Just add cooked noodles to the soup when you’re ready to serve turkey noodle soup. Or try this Turkey Noodle Soup
Keto Turkey Soup: If you are strict keto, cut the amount of carrots in half for this recipe and serve with zucchini noodles.
Spicy Turkey Soup: If you want some spice, add 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes to the soup as it’s cooking
Turkey Chili: For more leftover turkey recipes, try Leftover Turkey Chili
Broth: We used homemade turkey broth in this recipe, but you can use chicken broth, veggie stock, or whatever broth you have on hand.
Add ins: Quinoa, pasta, white rice, brown rice, or noodles all work in this recipe. You can also add zucchini noodles.
Wild Rice: If you like wild rice blend, try our Turkey Wild Rice Soup!
Zucchini Noodles: For best results, I recommend adding the zucchini noodles to the bowl instead of adding them to the slow cooker pot. This way your zucchini noodles/spinach won’t get soggy if you eat leftovers. You can also sub pasta for zucchini noodles.
Veggies: You can add peas, potatoes, or even spinach to this recipe! For more veggies, try our Turkey Pot Pie Soup.
Herbs: I like to add in a little chopped fresh thyme or rosemary and a bay leaf to this recipe – but you can use whatever herbs you like!
Low Sodium: If you’re watching your salt intake – omit the salt from the recipe or add it at the end to taste… Also, make sure to check your canned beans/broth. Look for low or no salt added beans/broth.
How to make leftover Turkey Soup
- Sauté onion + garlic, then celery + carrots until soft.
- Add in spices, cooked turkey meat + broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes.
- When you’re ready to serve, serve over cooked rice, noodles, or zucchini noodles.
Storage
Storing: Leftover soup is good for 3-4 days in the fridge in an airtight container. As the soup sits in the refrigerator, the rice/pasta will absorb the broth/liquid and become thicker. Don’t worry! Just add more broth when you’re ready to eat your leftovers.
Freezing: You can freeze this soup recipe for up to 3 months. We like these containers for freezing. If you need more tips on freezing food, check out this post on how to freeze soup!
Reheating: You can reheat this soup in the crockpot, microwave, or on the stove. Pasta, rice, or zucchini noodles will absorb some of the liquid overnight, so you can just add some broth when reheating or enjoy it thicker.
How long can you keep a turkey carcass before making soup?
You can keep a turkey carcass for 3 days at most before making soup. Make sure to pull all the meat off of it. Here’s a tutorial for how to make turkey broth.
How can I thicken my Turkey Soup?
Thickening soup is easy to do. Put a tablespoon of cornstarch in a small bowl. Whisk in 3-4 tablespoons of broth.
Once combined into a slurry, add the mixture to the pot and stir over low heat. However, we don’t recommend trying to thicken this soup. It’s meant to be a broth-based soup, not a thick soup.
Other healthy soup recipes:
We love soup recipes and have rounded up the best Healthy Soup Recipes. We also have a free Healthy Soup Ebook you can download here!
Looking for other healthy crockpot recipes? Check out these Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes!
Turkey Soup Recipe (Easy)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup onion diced finely
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1/2 cup celery diced finely
- 2 cups carrots cut in small circles
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
- 4 cups leftover turkey cut in small cubes (about 1 lb)
- 8 cups low/no sodium broth make bone broth from your leftover turkey bones!
- 2 cups cooked rice OR pasta optional -zoodles work too!
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions
- Chop vegetables + turkey.
- In a large pot, heat olive oil.
- Sauté onions + garlic until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add celery + carrots. Sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients to the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and cover. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While soup cooks, cook rice or grains to your liking. (spiralize zucchini noodles if paleo/whole30/keto)
- Stir in cooked rice & enjoy!
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Chop vegetables + turkey.
- Set instant pot to saute, 10 minutes.
- Sauté onions and garlic until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add celery and carrots. Sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients to the pot. Cover and set to sealing, High Pressure, for 8 minutes.
- While the soup cooks, cook rice or grains to your liking or spiralize zucchini into noodles.
- While soup cooks, cook rice or grains to your liking. (spiralize zucchini noodles if paleo/whole30/keto)
- Once cooked, quick release pressure. Stir in cooked rice & enjoy!
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Chop vegetables + turkey.
- Optional, but recommended: In a large pot, heat olive oil. Sauté onions, garlic + celery until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add cooked veggies to the crockpot. Add remaining ingredients to the crockpot + stir.
- Cover and cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
- While soup cooks, cook rice or grains to your liking or spiralize zucchini into noodles.
- Stir in cooked rice & enjoy!
This Turkey Soup recipe is quick, easy and tastes delicious. We used fresh parsley and rosemary instead of dried parsley and thyme. Added cooked egg noodles. Yum!
A super easy & delicious way to enjoy leftover turkey! Especially appreciated the different cooking options.
Barley is so much better than rice or noodles in a turkey soup! Just saying
Was happy to see this recipe and even more delighted when I was able to eat it! I chose the crock pot option and it was delicious! I am not so kitchen savvy and skill level was not required for a tasty meal. I cooked as instructed for flavor and added the sautéed mix to the crock pot. I added 2 russet potatoes cubed, and substituted ‘better than bullion’ for the stock and omitted salt. I had about 20oz of turkey, so its a hearty soup, but the flavors shined through with the leftover turkey.
Definitely give it a try! Pinned for another day when I will be making this again!
Best and easiest soup ever! How can something so simple be so delicious! I added ginger , turmeric and pepper for warmth and zing! Could eat this everyday!
I add the smoked turkey to this recipes. It’s really delicious Also I make less of the chicken broth from chicken boil or chicken broth can however I prefer chicken in the boil become broth because it more flavor. I prefer rice in boil in separate then I make mixing rice and soup when to eat meal.
Just made the Turkey soup with rice. It was super easy over the stovetop. My finicky crew of 6 loved it. It’s the best turkey soup I’ve ever made. I will definitely be making this one again and again.
So glad you enjoyed it, Shaula! Thank you!
I just made this using homemade turkey stock and it was delicious!!!! I added rice instead of noodles and I like it so much better then adding noodles!! I will definitely be making this again!
So happy you liked it!
I used this recipe to finish off the Christmas Day turkey left overs. Simple to follow, quick and easy! I used zucchini noodles as my “pasta” to increase the amount of veggies and also chopped up and added some kale at the end.
Thanks, Vicki!! So happy you liked it. Love the addition of veggies 🙂
I love this soup! Easy to make and healthy. I used zoodles and thought it was delicious
So happy you liked it Johana!
I’m curious why such a long cooking time for the Instant Pot considering the turkey is already cooked?
That’s the time needed to cook the vegetables and meld the flavors together. We tested it multiple times and that was the time that worked best!
This soup is seriously delicious! I made it using the homemade turkey broth, too. Both recipes are so simple with such huge flavor!
Thanks, Kim! Soup with homemade broth really is the best!
This is so easy to make and delicious. We were craving a turkey dinner but then got sick of the leftovers.. so glad I found this recipe
So glad you liked it, Jane! Thank you so much!