Leftover Turkey Soup

Leftover Turkey Soup 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! This is the perfect leftover turkey recipe! Easily made paleo, keto, Whole30 or gluten free. Customize with noodles, rice or make it creamy – it’s up to you!

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There’s nothing worse than eating thanksgiving dinner 4x in a row to use up the leftover turkey.. that’s why this leftover turkey is a MUCH better option!

This isn’t just any leftover turkey soup… it’s the BEST leftover turkey soup. What makes it so good you might ask?

Well, we use real turkey bone broth (which you can make if you just follow this turkey broth recipe!), loads of hearty veggies, and all that leftover turkey up for maximum flavor. 

It’s cozy, easy to make, and delicious! 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!

If you’re looking for other fun ways to use up turkey, you can also make this Asian Chicken Soup and sub in turkey for chicken. This Lemon Chicken Soup will also work with turkey! This Leftover Turkey Chili is also delicious!

Why we love easy turkey soup:

We love easy turkey soup because it’s so delicious – but it’s also great for other reasons.. here’s why we love it so much:

Easy to make: This recipe is done in under 30 minutes. Other than chopping some veggies, it requires little to no effort!

Loaded with veggies: We love sneaking veggies in soup (like this Healthy Broccoli Soup or Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Soup)

Budget friendly: This recipe is made with basic affordable ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry/fridge and it uses up all those leftovers. No more lame turkey sandwiches or tossing turkey after a few days – this totally transforms it!

This easy turkey 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, sauté, and toss in to the instant pot, slow cooker or on the stove! It really doesn’t get any easier. Here’s what you’ll need to make leftover turkey soup.

Ingredients for Homemade Turkey Vegetable Soup:

To make this leftover turkey soup you’ll need olive oil, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, salt, pepper,  broth, cooked turkey and your add in’s of choice (zoodles, rice or pasta)

Cooked rice, quinoa, zoodles or noodles are all great options!

How to make Leftover Turkey Soup: 

Making leftover turkey soup is very simple. Pictured below are stovetop instructions, but you can easily do this in the crockpot or instant pot (see recipe for instructions)

First, chop your veggies + leftover turkey.

Sauté onion + garlic, then celery + carrots until soft. Add in spices, cooked turkey + broth. 

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer on medium heat for 2o minutes. 

When you’re ready to serve, serve over cooked rice, noodles or zucchini noodles.

SO cozy.

This soup is easily customizable. Feel free to get creative with your add ins, and see below for some of the things we’ve tried.

Substituions for this turkey soup recipe:

There are so many ways to customize this healthy turkey soup and adjust it depending on what you have in your pantry/fridge.. Here are a few.

Meat: You can make this with leftover chicken instead of turkey if you’d like.

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 for 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

Broth: We used homemade turkey broth in this recipe, but you can use chicken stock, veggie stock or whatever broth you have on hand.

Add ins: Quinoa, pasta, brown rice or noodles all work in this recipe. You can also add zucchini noodles

Zucchini Noodles: For best results, I recommend adding the zucchini noodles to the bowl instead of adding 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.

WW Freestyle Note: This can be 0SP if you use spray to sauté your veggies instead of pouring olive oil into the pan.

Veggies: You can add peas, potatoes or even spinach to this recipe!

Herbs: I like to add in a little chopped fresh 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 too taste.. Also make sure to check your canned beans/broth. Look for low or no salt added beans/broth.

Storing + Serving Leftover Turkey Soup

As the soup sits, the rice/zoodles will absorb the broth/liquid and become thicker. Don’t worry! Just add more broth when you’re ready to eat your leftovers.

Turkey soup is best served with a big piece of crusty bread, and lots of parmesan cheese! Fresh basil and cracked black pepper also add a lot of flavor!

Reheating: This soup will last in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. You can reheat it in the crockpot, microwave or on the stove. If you use rice/zoodles – they will absorb some of the liquid overnight so you can just add some broth when reheating or enjoy it thicker

Can. you freeze turkey soup? Yes, you can freeze turkey soup! I do not recommend freezing or refrigerating it with the zucchini noodles or pasta as they can get mushy. 

If you’re going to freeze, put in airtight containers. It will last up to 3 months in freezer!

We hope you love this simple leftover turkey soup recipe. It’s great for after the holidays – or really ANY time you have turkey leftovers you have to use up!

Can you make this Easy Turkey Soup in the crockpot?

Yes, you can make turkey soup in the crockpot – the longer it cooks, the softer and more tender the turkey pieces get! 

I’ve included crockpot instructions for this soup below. It’s important to note that you don’t add the pasta/rice/zoodles (whatever you’re using) to the crockpot until you’re ready to eat the soup. If you let them cook in the soup they will turn to mush!

Can you make Instant Pot Turkey Soup?

Yes you can! See below for instructions. Here are some tips for making turkey soup in your instant pot.

Make sure to really scrape the veggies off the bottom of the pot too avoid getting a burn notice.

Do *not* add rice/pasta/zoodles to the instant pot to cook. Cook them separately and add when you’re ready to serve.

How To Thicken 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, 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.

How long can you keep a turkey carcass before making soup? 

You can keep a turkey. carcass for 3 days before making soup. Make sure to pull all the meat off of it. Learn how to make turkey broth here.

Other healthy soup recipes:

We love soup recipes and have rounded up 25 Healthy Soup Recipes. We also have a free Healthy Soup Ebook you can download here!

• Healthy Italian Wedding Soup
• Leftover Turkey Chili
• Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Soup
• Healthy Potato Soup
• Vegan Pasta Fagioli
• Healthy Lemon Chicken Soup
• 15 Bean Soup

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5 from 4 votes

Leftover Turkey Soup

Leftover Turkey Soup 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! This is the perfect leftover turkey recipe!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword healthy turkey soup, leftover turkey soup

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 6 people

Calories 246kcal

WW Freestyle Points 1

Author The Clean Eating Couple

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup onion diced finely
• 1 tablespoon garlic minced
• 1 cup celery diced finely
• 2 cup carrots cut in small circles
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 8 cups low/no sodium broth make bone broth from your leftover turkey bones!
• 4 cups leftover turkey cut in small cubes (about 1 lb)
• 2 cups cooked rice OR zucchini noodles optional

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 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• While soup cooks, cook rice or grains to your liking or spiralize zucchini into noodles..
• Add soup to bowl, add grains or veggies + 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 10 minutes.
• While the soup cooks, cook rice or grains to your liking or spiralize zucchini into noodles.
• Once cooked, allow the soup to naturally release pressure for 10 minutes, then manually release remaining pressure.
• Add soup to bowl, add grains or veggies + 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.
• Add soup to bowl, add grains or veggies + enjoy.

Video

Notes

Substituions for this turkey 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.

Turkey Noodle Soup Recipe: Just add cooked noodles to the soup when you're ready to serve for turkey noodle soup

Spicy Turkey Soup: If you want some spice, add 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes to the soup as it's cooking

Broth: We used homemade bone broth in this recipe, but you can use chicken stock or whatever broth you have on hand.

Add ins: Quinoa, Brown Rice or Noodles all work in this recipe. You can also add zucchini noodles

Zucchini Noodles: For best results, I recommend adding the zucchini noodles to the bowl instead of adding 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.

WW Freestyle Note: This can be 0SP if you use spray to sauté your veggies instead of pouring olive oil into the pan.

Veggies: You can add peas, potatoes or even spinach to this recipe!

Herbs - I like to add in a little chopped fresh rosemary and a bay leaf to this recipe - but you can use whatever herbs you like!

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition Facts

Leftover Turkey Soup

Amount Per Serving (2 cups (nutrition facts calculated with zucchini noodles))

Calories 246 Calories from Fat 81

% Daily Value*

Fat 9g14%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Cholesterol 102mg34%

Sodium 450mg20%

Potassium 693mg20%

Carbohydrates 11g4%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 29g58%

Vitamin A 7240IU145%

Vitamin C 27mg33%

Calcium 61mg6%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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