Table of Contents
- Why I Love This Leftover Turkey Soup Recipe
- Leftover Turkey Soup Ingredients
- How to Make Leftover Turkey Soup
- Pro Tips for Success
- Variations and Substitutions
- Serving and Storage
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Soup Recipes
- Watch How to Make This Recipe
- Have I Convinced You to Make This Recipe?
- Leftover Turkey Soup Recipe
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Turn Thanksgiving extras into a hearty, flavorful leftover turkey soup! Tender turkey, aromatic veggies, herbs, and Parmesan create rich depth, while couscous adds light texture. Quick, easy, and perfect for post-holiday meals or any winter evening!
Why I Love This Leftover Turkey Soup Recipe
Leftovers are a holiday staple, but they’re also an opportunity to get creative. My favorite way to transform leftover turkey is by turning it into a comforting, flavorful soup. It’s a simple yet impactful dish that warms you up on chilly winter days and makes the most of every bite.
Turkey is a rare treat, usually reserved for special occasions, so it’s worth savoring and reinventing. This soup highlights the tenderness of the meat while layering in rich flavors and aromatic warmth. Even better, it’s quick to prepare, turning leftovers into a satisfying meal with minimal effort.
Leftover Turkey Soup Ingredients
This leftover turkey soup is filled with simple ingredients that are likely to be in your pantry or refrigerator. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Butter brings flavor to the aromatics while they cook, enriching them with a delicious creaminess.
- Onion provides a strong base flavor that contributes to the overall flavor in the dish.
- Kosher salt seasons the dish and pulls moisture from the onion as it cooks
- Black pepper seasons the dish along with the salt, providing a peppery flavor.
- Garlic brings a strong flavor, blooming with the onion and butter as it sautés.
- Celery adds texture and fresh flavor to the soup, providing an earthiness that is foundational to the dish.
- Carrot softens in the soup, soaking up the dish’s flavors and adding a soft, tender texture.
- Rosemary brings a woody flavor to the dish, amplifying the other flavors and combining well with the other herbs.
- Thyme brings an earthiness to the dish, bringing out peppery and minty notes to balance out other flavors.
- Bay leaves bring a delicious holiday herbal taste, adding warmth to the dish.
- Parmesan rind exudes the flavor of the cheese into the soup, providing a richer flavor.
- Turkey stock provides the liquid and flavor in the soup. It complements the flavor of the meat perfectly.
- Turkey brings protein and texture to the soup, giving it its name and strength.
- Couscous is a pasta that soaks up the flavors of the soup while providing some additional texture to the dish.
- Parsley is a garnish to the soup, giving a finishing touch of herbal flavor.
- Parmesan cheese gives a salty final touch on top of the soup, melting into the broth and adding to the dish.
How to Make Leftover Turkey Soup
There are two super simple steps to make this leftover turkey soup:
- Create the base
- Assemble the soup
Step 1: Create the base. Melt butter in a pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Dice the onion, then add to the butter. Season with salt and black pepper and allow to cook for 4 to 6 minutes, until the onion turns translucent. Mince the garlic, and chop the celery and carrot into bite-sized pieces. Add the garlic to the pot, allowing to cook for about 30-60 seconds, until fragrant. Add the chopped carrot, celery, bay leaves, and rosemary and thyme sprigs. Stir together to coat in the butter. Add the Parmesan rind to the pot. Pour in the turkey stock and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Step 2: Assemble the soup. Roughly shred the leftover cooked turkey, discarding the skin. Add it to the stock with the couscous. Let it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until the couscous becomes tender, then remove from heat. Garnish with parsley and shards of Parmesan.
Pro Tips for Success
- Be mindful of the size of the carrot and celery when chopping. You don’t want them to melt into the soup completely, but they should still soften. Pieces that are ¼- to ½-inch in length work best.
- Use fresh herbs in this dish. Fresh herbs always provide more flavor, and their essential oils break down well into the soup, allowing for a more robust and delicious soup.
- Remove any skin from the turkey before adding it to the soup. While delicious, the skin doesn’t soak up the soup’s flavors nicely. Instead, it becomes rigid and distracting in the dish.
Variations and Substitutions
Soup is highly customizable and can fit any personal tastes. Here are a couple of ways to alter this one:
- This soup isn’t limited to turkey. You can use roasted chicken or chicken stock instead of the meat or stock in this recipe. Bone broth or chicken broth can be used for a much richer, saltier soup.
- Other grains can be used. Wild rice, white rice, brown rice, quinoa, or orzo are all great alternatives to couscous. Each will vary slightly in texture, taste, and cooking time.
- Use egg noodles to change this recipe into a turkey noodle soup.
- A squeeze of lemon juice at the end can brighten the dish, amplifying the other flavors.
Serving and Storage
To serve: Let the soup cool slightly, and remove the Parmesan rind and any stems from the herbs. Serve in individual bowls. Garnish with parsley and Parmesan cheese, if desired. This soup works well with a side salad or bread. You can even use more of the turkey to make turkey sandwiches for a combo meal.
To store: Place in an airtight container and refrigerate. It can last up to 7 days in the fridge.
Frequently Asked Questions
I usually save my rind when I run out of Parmesan cheese. They freeze well, so I just put them in a bag in the freezer. Otherwise, you can often find them cheaply in the cheese section of a grocery store.
I prefer to use turkey stock, as it boosts the flavor of the turkey and complements it well. However, chicken stock or vegetable stock will also work.
Yes! It does not matter if the herbs are chopped up beforehand; just be sure to remove them in the end, along with the Parmesan rind.
Watch How to Make This Recipe
Have I Convinced You to Make This Recipe?
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Leftover Turkey Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 large carrots cut into ¼-inch pieces
- 1 rib celery cut into ¼-inch pieces
- 3 bay leaves
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 4-inch sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 6 cups turkey stock
- 1 4-inch piece Parmesan cheese rind (available in most grocery stores)
- 1 cup traditional pearled couscous
- 3 cups leftover shredded turkey
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- freshly grated Parmesan cheese to serve
Instructions
- In a 6-quart stock pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until it is translucent, 4-6 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until it is fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the carrots, celery, bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, salt, and black pepper. Stir to coat the vegetables in the butter.2 tbsp unsalted butter, 1 medium onion, 3 cloves garlic, 2 large carrots, 1 rib celery, 3 bay leaves, 3 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 4-inch sprig fresh rosemary, 1 ½ tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- Add the stock and Parmesan rind. Bring the soup to a boil and cook for 10 minutes to soften the vegetables. Reduce to a simmer and add the couscous and turkey. Cook until the cous cous is tender, 10-15 minutes. Remove the sprigs of rosemary and thyme and the parmesan rind. Add the parsley and top with grated Parmesan cheese and serve.6 cups turkey stock, 1 4-inch piece Parmesan cheese rind (available in most grocery stores), 1 cup traditional pearled couscous, 3 cups leftover shredded turkey, ½ cup chopped fresh parsley, freshly grated Parmesan cheese
