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Turkey Vegetable Soup is a great way to use up leftover turkey and enjoy something lighter the day after your big Thanksgiving meal.
This turkey soup recipe takes the leftovers from my turkey recipe and turns it into a big bowl of brothy deliciousness. It’s chock full of healthy veggies, so it’s a whole meal in itself. Serve with a loaf of crusty Italian bread, Cheesy Garlic Bread, or Oven Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. Or do a whole soup and salad thing!
Turkey soup is soothing, filling comfort food that’s good for you, too. However you choose to serve it, leftover turkey soup with vegetables is a protein-packed hearty soup recipe that is perfect for lunch or dinner!
recipe walk-through
Turkey Vegetable Soup Ingredients
- Olive oil
- Veggies – Onions, carrots, celery, garlic, corn and peas. But you can really use any vegetables you have on hand, like zucchini, green beans, mushrooms, even beans.
- Herbs and spices – Dried oregano, dried thyme, bay leaves, fresh parsley, salt and pepper. My favorite combo for soup, but feel free to add herbs you love, like rosemary, basil or Italian seasoning.
- Leftover turkey – use white or dark meat; chicken can also be used. Even ground turkey could be swapped in if you’re fresh out of Thanksgiving leftovers. If you’re feeling, just go to town on the turkey carcass and use the leftover meat for your soup.
- Can of diced tomatoes – with the juices.
- Turkey broth – I prefer to use the low sodium variety. Chicken broth can be substituted.
How to Make Turkey Vegetable Soup
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
It’s really easy to make a basic soup recipe like this one. The method is similar to my Vegetable Soup or Smoky Vegetable Beef Soup, just with turkey!
- Cook to soften veggies, herbs and spices in a large stock pot over medium high heat.
- Add meat, tomatoes and broth, bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Stir in fresh herbs and serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s important to properly season your soup. Salt and pepper are a must, but if you need salt free, you can always add some Mrs. Dash seasoning or more of the herbs and spices in the recipe.
Cooking potatoes or pasta in your soup will release starch, naturally thickening it. If you want a thick and creamy soup, mix some of the broth with cornstarch and add a splash of cream as it simmers.
Leftover turkey will be safe to eat for about 3-4 days if properly stored in your fridge. Or you can freeze it for up to 6 months.
Storage Tips
Storing and Reheating
Storage: Any leftover soup should be cooled and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.
Freezer: To freeze, place cooled soup in a freezer safe container or bag for up to 6 months.
Reheating: If frozen, thaw in the fridge overnight. Reheat on the stove for best results, or heat in the microwave.
Recipe Tips
- This recipe works with any kind of veggies that you love in soup. You can use fresh, frozen or canned. Don’t like peas? Leave them out! Or try adding leftover Oven Roasted Vegetables.
- If you want to bulk up your soup, potatoes, rice or pasta are a great addition. Pasta and rice should be cooked separately then added when serving. Potatoes can be added with the veggies at the beginning and the soup simmered until the potatoes are tender.
- Any kind of turkey or chicken will work – shredded, ground or diced.
- Make turkey soup in a slow cooker! Cook the diced onions in a skillet and add them to the crock pot along with the rest of the ingredients (except the parsley – add that at the end). Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
More Soup Recipes You’ll Love
- Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Matzo Ball Soup
- Creamy Sausage and Potato Soup
- French Onion Soup Recipe
- Turkey Taco Soup
Turkey Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 Small onion diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 cup Sliced carrots
- 1 cup Sliced celery
- 3 Garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon Dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon Dried thyme
- 2 Bay leaves
- 3 cups Diced or shredded turkey white or dark meat
- 15 ounce Can of diced tomatoes with the juices
- 8 cups Low-sodium turkey broth
- 1 cup Frozen corn or fresh, canned
- 1 cup Frozen peas
- 2 tablespoons Fresh minced parsley
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add diced onion, carrots and celery. Season with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, until veggies begin to soften; 3-4 minutes.
- Add minced garlic, oregano, thyme and bay leaves to the pot and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring often.
- Add shredded turkey, tomatoes and turkey broth. Turn heat to medium-high and bring soup to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add peas and corn and simmer for 5 more minutes.
- Stir in fresh minced parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Delicious soup recipe. My husband always says “add more carrots, so I did. We really liked this soup. I didn’t have corn so I left that out.
Thank you Karen!
Where does all the sodium come from? I want to make this but the sodium 1693 mg seems so high ?
Hi Cindy, That does seem high. The calculations are just estimates. It really depends on the specific ingredients you use. It looks like most of the sodium listed is coming from the shredded turkey and the canned tomatoes.