Leftover Turkey Soup

Serve up a hearty bowl of leftover turkey soup to your hungry family! If your gang is tired of having leftovers, use your Thanksgiving turkey meat in a warm and tasty soup.

This recipe has all the delicious ingredients of a traditional soup; plus, spinach, Israeli couscous, and a squeeze of lemon juice which gives the soup a Mediterranean twist.

Israeli couscous, or pearl couscous, is a little round pasta. It’s so good and doesn’t get mushy like other types of pasta or noodles. Healthy and satisfying, this soup is easy to make and is the perfect way to use your leftovers. Try it, you won’t be disappointed!

Looking for more recipes for turkey leftovers? I hope you’ll try our turkey carcass soup (for when you have the whole bird and time to make soup totally from scratch!), turkey tetrazzini (my favorite), turkey pot pie, and our turkey a la king next.

LEFTOVER TURKEY SOUP INGREDIENTS

• Fresh Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Parsely: These lovely herbs will be bundled together and added to the soup for maximum flavor.
• Bay leaf: This dried aromatic will be a part of the bundle too.
• Butter: Unsalted
• Onion/Carrots/Celery: This winning combination (mirepoix) is the base of most soups and many dishes.
• Garlic: Fresh garlic cloves
• Poultry Seasoning: This is a savory mix of sage, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, nutmeg, and black pepper and is used to season many poultry-based dishes.
• Cajun Seasoning: This seasoning adds a little kick! I use Slap Ya Mama brand, but any will do.  This seasoning includes salt, red pepper, garlic, black pepper, and paprika. If your family does not like spicy food, you can omit it.
• Salt: Table salt
• Better Than Bouillon, chicken flavor: This product adds terrific flavor to your soup base.  I always mix it with hot water so it melts, and mixes into the soup well. 
• Low-Sodium Chicken Broth: Use your favorite brand or use homemade from your turkey carcass.
• Israeli Couscous: This little gem is often thought of as a grain. It is actually a pasta and will soak up the flavor of the soup. The texture and taste are fantastic.
• Turkey: Use dark and/or white meat, making the most out of your leftover Turkey meat. You can also use rotisserie chicken instead of turkey.
• Spinach: Feel good about getting some healthy veggies into your diet.  This leafy green has a mild flavor and makes the soup so pretty.
• Lemon Juice: Adding this acid to the soup rounds out the flavor of the soup. It gives a little tang and zip that I feel is necessary to get a more complex flavor.

TIPS 

• What Is a Bouquet Garni? Basically, it’s a bunch of herbs used to flavor the soup, then fished out of the finished soup and discarded. A traditional bouquet garni includes parsley, thyme, and bay leaves. We’re making ours with herbs that complement the turkey. We use fresh rosemary, thyme, parsley, and sage.
• Versatility: This soup is versatile.  Add pre-cooked rotisserie chicken if you don’t have turkey meat. Leave out the Cajun seasoning for a less spicy soup.  I personally love it!
• Dissolve It! When using Better than Bouillon, I always mix it with a little hot water and dissolve it before adding it to a recipe.  Otherwise, the seasoning can be lumpy and you may have floaters in your soup.
• Gentle Heating: When using poultry, I never heat it in the microwave oven on full power or let it get boiled in the soup. That’s why I add the turkey at the end. When you reheat the soup, make sure you set the stove to low-medium heat or 50% power in the microwave oven. This way you avoid drying out the poultry.

STORING + FREEZING + MAKE-AHEAD

• How Long Can You Keep This in The Fridge? Once made, your Leftover Turkey Soup will last up to four days in the fridge. Reheat gently making sure not to bring the soup to a boil so the turkey remains tender.
• Can You Freeze This? Just store it in a freezer-safe container. The soup will last up to 3 months in the freezer. Thaw and warm on the stove at low-medium heat or microwave oven set at 50% power.
• Make-Ahead: You can make this ahead of time.  Just warm and serve.
• Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.

SERVING RECOMMENDATIONS

W love this soup with our amazing Jiffy cornbread recipe, authentic Southern cornbread, or our sweet cornbread. Biscuits are also fabulous with this soup! We love our cathead biscuits, butter swim biscuit, Bisquick biscuits, or 7 up biscuits!

HOW TO MAKE LEFTOVER TURKEY SOUP

1. Tie the herbs. Set aside.
2. In a pot, saute the aromatics and veggies.
3. Add the dissolved bouillon, chicken broth, and the tied herbs. Boil and simmer.
4. Add the Israeli couscous, and boil until it’s tender. Stir in the turkey, spinach, and lemon juice.
5. Serve.

***See the full instructions below.

MORE YUMMY SOUP RECIPES

• Cheeseburger Soup
• Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
• Sausage and Bean Soup
• Black Eyed Pea Soup
• Hamburger Soup
• Mexican Chicken Soup
• Potato Soup
• Beef Barley Soup
• Vegetable Beef Soup
• Beer Cheese Soup
• Beef and Noodle Soup
• Crack Potato Soup
• Chicken Florentine Soup

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Leftover Turkey Soup

Serve up a hearty bowl of leftover turkey soup to your hungry family! If they are tired of leftovers, use your Thanksgiving turkey meat in this tasty soup.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Servings: 6 servings

Author: Kathleen

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• ▢ 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• ▢ 4 fresh sage leaves
• ▢ 4 sprigs fresh parsley
• ▢ 1 bay leaf
• ▢ 2 tablespoons butter
• ▢ 1 cup onion, finely chopped
• ▢ 2 cups carrots, diced into 1/4
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups celery diced into 1/4
• ▢ 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons  ground poultry seasoning
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
• ▢ 3/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 heaping tablespoon Better Than Bouillon, chicken flavor
• ▢ 1/2 cup boiling water
• ▢ 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• ▢ 3/4 cup Israeli couscous
• ▢ 4 cups cooked turkey, cut into 1/2 chunks
• ▢ 4 cups spinach, stems trimmed
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ▢ 2 tablespoons parsley, minced

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Gather freshly washed herbs and bay leaf in a bundle. Wrap the butcher's twine around the bundle several times then knot it; set aside.
  
• Melt the butter (2 tablespoons) in a large pot and sauté onions (1 cup), carrots (2 cups), and celery (1 1/2 cups) until onion is translucent and carrots are softening, about 10 minutes. (Remember they will finish cooking in the broth). Add garlic (4 cloves) and continue to sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  
• Stir in the dried poultry seasoning (1 1/2 teaspoons), Cajun seasoning (1/2 teaspoon), salt (3/4 teaspoon), and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
• Whisk together Better Than Bouillon (1 heaping tablespoon) and boiling water (1/2 cup) in a small mixing bowl.
• Gradually stir in low-sodium chicken broth (8 cups) and the dissolved Better Than Bouillon and water. Add bouquet garni. Bring to a boil over high heat. Immediately reduce heat and gently simmer, uncovered, for 40 minutes.
  
• Add the Israeli couscous (3/4 cup) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the couscous is tender, about 6-8 minutes.
• Stir in the turkey (4 cups), spinach (4 cups), and lemon juice (1 tablespoon) and continue to cook until the turkey is heated through and the spinach is wilted. Adjust seasoning if needed. Ladle into individual bowls and garnish with parsley (2 tablespoons). Serve immediately.
  

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Notes

1. What Is a Bouquet Garni? Basically it’s a bunch of herbs used to flavor the soup, then fished out of the finished soup and discarded. A traditional bouquet garni includes parsley, thyme, and bay leaves. We’re making ours with herbs that complement the turkey. We use fresh rosemary, thyme, parsley, and sage.
2. Versatility: This soup is versatile.  Add pre-cooked rotisserie chicken if you don’t have turkey meat. Leave out the Cajun seasoning for a less spicy soup.  I personally love it!
3. Dissolve It! When using Better than Bouillon, I always mix it with a little hot water and dissolve it before adding it to a recipe.  Otherwise, the seasoning can be lumpy and you may have floaters in your soup.
4. Gentle Heating: When using poultry, I never heat it in the microwave oven on full power or let it get boiled in the soup. That’s why I add the turkey at the end. When you reheat the soup, make sure you set the stove to low-medium heat or 50% power in the microwave oven. This way you avoid drying out the poultry.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 311kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 636mg | Potassium: 910mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 9559IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 94mg | Iron: 3mg

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