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.

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword leftover turkey recipes, turkey soup recipes

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1 10

Total Time 1 20

Servings servings

Calories 311kcal

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.

Notes

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.

Nutrition