This Turkey Soup is so savory and delicious and it’s perfect for Thanksgiving leftovers! But you can make it year round too. I’ll tell you how in this recipe. Save this to Pinterest so you can make it!
When I was younger, we would all go over to my grandma’s the day after Thanksgiving – even if we had just been there for the holiday – to eat the leftovers. I’m fairly sure many members of my family still do this. In fact, I’d be doing it too if we still lived in the state. Day after Thanksgiving leftovers at grandma’s are really a time honored tradition in our family.
But, after that…how may turkey sandwiches can one really eat? Instead, I had another idea.
The inspiration
As you know I’m a big soup person. I love making soups because not only do they taste delicious, but they’re also easy, usually lower in calories and a great way to incorporate your daily dose of vegetables. Instead of eating turkey sandwiches on repeat, I decided to make Turkey Soup with our leftovers.
The inspiration for this recipe came from a cooking show. The cook ( I don’t remember who) was making dinner on a Friday night from the week’s meatloaf leftovers. That sounded like a great idea to me and I loved that she used up food that might have gone to waste. That one idea led me to create this recipe.
The Turkey Soup I’m sharing with you is honestly more of a guide for you to follow. The final taste will depend on your turkey seasonings and the mashed potatoes you use. But, this is one of the most flavorful soups I’ve ever created.
Make Turkey Soup throughout the year
As a side note, since I did not wait until Thanksgiving to make this so it could be done early for the blog. But I also wanted to show how easily it could be made year-round if you were making just a simple turkey breast with some mashed potatoes.
I made a large turkey breast in the slow cooker. I used the following dried herbs to season the turkey before adding it to the slow cooker: basil, oregano, bay leaf, Italian seasoning, rosemary, garlic salt and pepper. It was cooked with a cup of chicken broth for added flavor. Lastly, I also added a few sprigs of oregano, rosemary and thyme. I can never get enough for fresh herbs.
We ate this for dinner one night with the mashed potatoes and then made the soup the next night.
Shop our kitchen
I use my Le Creuset Dutch Oven for all soups and sauces. That and my cast iron pans are the work horses of my kitchen. You can find my favorite Le Creuset Dutch Oven {HERE}. I have it in white.
I love these soup crocks that I recently bought {HERE} and these gorgeous farmhouse style bowls {HERE} too. And these ones {HERE} are next on my list since I can’t get enough of soup.
My favorite wooden spoon set {HERE}. To be honest, I have a lot of favorite wooden spoons, but these ones are my favorite set.
Tips for making Turkey Soup
- Again, I will tell you how to make this with leftover turkey. You can either use leftover turkey from thanksgiving or you can use a leftover turkey breast you make any time.
- For the mashed potatoes in this recipe, use what you have leftover, or you can try my Creamy red Skin Mashed Potatoes with Thyme {HERE}.
- Feel free to add other vegetables as you like. Carrots would be great as would celery or even peas. However, if you add pea make sure you add them about 2 minutes before the soup is done cooking.
- This makes a large pot of soup, to save any leftovers, add them to an air tight container in the refrigerator. You can reheat on the stove on low for 30 minutes or in the microwaved for 3 minutes. You might need to add more chicken broth when reheating.
Thank you so much for stopping by friends! I hope that you will come back to visit us again here at Sugar Maple Farmhouse! You can find the full recipe for Turkey Soup below. Happy eating!
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Turkey Soup with Thanksgiving Leftovers
Equipment
- Slow cooker
Ingredients
- 32 oz + 1 cup chicken broth
- 4 cups or more of leftover turkey
- 2 cups mashed potatoes
- 1-2 cups green beans
- 1 cup corn
- 1/2 large white onion, diced
- 2 Tbsp. fresh oregano leaves, chopped
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 Tbsp. dried oregano
- 1 Tbsp. dried basil
- 1 Tbsp. garlic salt
- 1 Tbsp. pepper
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- Additional salt and pepper to taste
- Optional: Leftover stuffing
- Topping Options: Pepper, breadcrumbs, additional fresh herbs or cheese.
Instructions
- Add olive oil to Dutch Oven and heat through.
- Once the oil is warm add the diced onions. Mix continuously until the onions are translucent.
- Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.
- Add leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn and all fresh herbs and simmer for 20 minutes. If you’re adding stuffing feel free to add it at this point. However, if you add stuffing make sure to add extra chicken broth too as the bread in it will soak up a lot of the broth. If you decide to forgo the stuffing do not worry. The mashed potatoes will make this broth perfect and creamy
- Add dried herbs and continue to let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Add additional salt and pepper to taste now too.
- Remove from heat and serve. Top with bread crumbs, fresh herbs and freshly ground pepper if desired
Kate | Life of a Ginger says
Your turkey sound sounds really delicious. I love a good soup, especially in this colder weather.
Claudia says
Now this is how you do leftovers! I can’t wait to make these. We always have leftovers, and I never know what to do with them.
Anna Elle Liz says
Why have I never thought of making turkey soup? Like my brain thought of chicken soup but not turkey soup! This is the perfect leftover option!
Tara Pittman says
This is a great idea for the leftover turkey. My husband would love this soup.
Kathy says
This looks so good. It would be perfect for leftover turkey from Thanksgiving too. I’ll be trying this with our leftovers for sure.
Bri says
This looks like Heaven! I’m totally making this!
Kita Bryant says
Wow this soup looks so good. Turkey soup needs to be in my cookbook!
Sherry says
Now this is a delicious way to use leftover turkey. This soup is just loaded with flavor. I so want a bowl right now.
Ryan Escat says
Sounds so relaxing,I love soups so much. Especially when it has meat on it. Thanks!
Mimi says
This looks delicious!! I need to make this for dinner to warm up after a long day at work!
Patricia A Conte says
I love this with the green beans! What a delightful way to use of that leftover turkey!
Catalina says
I am drooling over this soup! I love hearty and delicious soups like this! I will make it tonight!
Puja Kumari says
Wow, this is a super tasty soup, I’m so excited to try it. BTW, thanks for sharing!
Jazmin Maybell says
Oh my gosh, that looks amazing and perfect for the fall season!
Emily says
I love recipes that use up leftover turkey! Soup would be great, especially because the more you reheat the turkey, the tougher it gets. This looks delicious!
Everything Enchanting says
This is such a healthy recipe! I love soups but never tried The Turkey Soup. This is easy to follow so I’ll definitely give your recipe a try 🙂
Glenda says
I am definitely saving this recipe! This will be perfect for me for Thanksgiving because I’m on a Paleo diet.
Erin says
Thanks for this soup idea! Will have to use it for Thanksgiving Turkey leftovers!
Nancy L. says
I was just wondering what I was going to do with our leftover turkey. This recipe sounds delicious!!! My family loves soups and I have all the ingredients, yay!
Celebrate Woman Today says
Give me any soup, especially homemade, any time.
Tara @ Mama's Money Diary says
This looks delicious! I’ll definitely be making this with leftover Turkey this year. Thank you for sharing!
Marysa says
It is good to have some ideas for how to use up those Thanksgiving leftovers – this sounds great!
Kimmy says
Turkey soup has always been my favorite to have after Thanksgiving
Marysa says
This looks like a good way to use up turkey and veggies. Sounds like an easy recipe and a great fall dish for this cooler weather.
Briana Baker says
Great recipe! I have so much left over turkey and was looking for something to do with it!
Maggie says
I never know what to make with leftover turkey. Thank you for sharing. Definitely making this recipe.
Amber Myers says
I need to make this for sure. We do have leftover turkey and I don’t want it to go to waste.
Deanna says
This looks amazing, can’t wait to try it!
LisaLisa says
What a perfect time to read this recipe. I bet this would do wonders with leftover turkey..
Whitney Stewart says
I luv to eat soup and no just when I’m sick. I especially love to eat it when it’s particularly cold outside. Plus this sounds amazing! I’ll have to try it out!
Charlie Moore says
This is such a great use of Thanksgiving leftovers!
Tara Pittman says
This is perfect for all the leftovers. It is also perfect for this cold day that we are having.
Celebrate Woman Today says
The pictures of your soup recipe just show how fresh and wholesome this soup is! All the veggies are from your own farm!
IceCreamnStickyFingers says
Yum. This soup would be a perfect way to use up that last bit of turkey. I love soup especially when it’s cold outside.
Richelle Milar says
Wow! This looks absolutely delicious and tasty! I would really love to try this recipe!
Heather says
Looks delicious and a great way to use up all those turkey leftovers.
Jen @ JENRON DESIGNS says
YUM we do this too such a great idea and way to use the whole turkey!
sara smith says
This was so delicious! A perfect post-Thanksgiving warm soup. My kids and family members loved it!
Charlie Moore says
Such a great use of leftovers – can’t wait to try!
Melissa Cushing says
I pinned this one for next year as this is a fabulous and delicious way to reuses those leftovers. My husband would love this too! Thank you!
laura says
This is a wonderful way to use your leftovers and make a great homemade soup. That is so good and delious too.
Beautiful Touches says
That’s a nice looking soup, looks like it would go easy on your stomach which is good around the holidays!
Sharon says
What a wonderful way to use up those Thanksgiving day leftovers. I love the addition of the stuffing on top.
Tisha says
Perfect for left over turkey and so cozy!!!
Everything Enchanting says
I haven’t yet tried any Turkey dishes! The soup looks so good 😍. I can try making this at home for me and my family ❤️.
Catalina says
This soup is so rich and flavorful! Love the idea to use turkey!
Lynndee says
I’ve never had turkey soup before. That looks good. Would be perfect on this rainy day.