This creamy Leftover Turkey Soup is perfect for the days after a big holiday meal! It’s flavorful, easy to make and filled with healthy vegetables and plenty of leftover turkey meat.
Which do you like better: The actual holiday dinner, or the leftovers? ? While I do enjoy a big, special meal… I think it’s fun to use leftovers in a different and creative way. And while a classic Turkey Noodle Casserole is always a hit, sometimes it’s good to try something else.
I love soup, and here I’m sharing my favorite recipe to use up leftover turkey (and also roasted chicken, for that matter). It’s creamy but not heavy, full of delicious vegetables and tastes great on a cold day!
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
Ingredient notes
- Broth: Turkey broth is my favorite here, but if you don’t have any on hand, chicken or vegetable broth works just as well.
- Mushrooms: I love the mushrooms in this soup, but if you’re not a fan you can just skip them.
- Potatoes/rice: Feel free to skip one of these and instead double the other. I do like the mix, it makes it more interesting (and also… the baby potatoes come out so creamy, they are basically my favorite part of this dish).
- Half and half: Feel free to use heavy cream for a richer dish, or fat free half and half for a lighter one. You can also use evaporated milk instead.
Other leftovers: If you have any leftovers that are similar to the ingredients used here (for example, if you have creamed corn (not the fully blended/canned kind, but the actual corn in a creamy sauce), feel free to use it in place of the corn kernels.
You can also use leftovers of a creamy mushroom gravy, or sautéed mushrooms in place of the fresh.
You can add cooked wild rice to the soup for the last 10 minutes of cooking.
If you have roasted or even glazed carrots… Cut them up and throw them in for the last 10 minutes of cooking instead of using fresh, too.
How to make leftover turkey soup
1. Sauté the onion and celery in butter and oil until fully softened – I do highly recommend allowing 4-5 minutes for this step over medium heat, for the best flavor development.
If you leave the onions too raw before adding liquids, their raw taste will linger even in the finished soup!
2. Stir in the sliced mushrooms and sauté them as well until softened, about another 3-4 minutes. Then, stir through the garlic and cook for one more minute.
sauté celery and onion 
add mushrooms and sauté, too
3. Stir the flour and seasoning into the vegetables, then pour over the broth. Stir very well as you’re adding the broth, to keep any lumps from forming.
4. Add the carrots, potatoes and rice. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the soup with a lid on until the rice is almost cooked (for parboiled wild rice mixes, this usually takes around 20 minutes; for regular wild rice mixes it’s about 35 minutes).
add flour and seasoning, then stir in broth 
add vegetables and rice, simmer
5. Once the rice is close to beign done, add the turkey meat, corn and half and half. Stir well, then simmer until heated through and the rice and vegetables are all fully cooked – about 10 more minutes.
add remaining ingredients 
simmer until heated through
6. Serve the soup right away with bread, croutons or crackers. It thickens as it cools, so you may need to re-heat it if it sits for too long.
Recipe tips
- Make sure to use medium to medium-low heat when cooking the onions and celery. You want them to slowly soften for the best flavor. If the heat is too high, they quickly burn, yielding a soup with a scorched flavor and a darker color than we want to achieve here.
- On a similar note, you really do want to reduce the heat to medium-low before adding the flour, and when stirring in the broth. This helps to keep the flour from scorching, and also helps to keep lumps from forming as you’re adding the liquid.
- Be sure to cook the onions and celery fully before continuing with the recipe for the best flavor in the finished soup. It takes a few minutes of patience, but it’s very much worth it!
Storage tips
Leftovers keep well in the fridge for up to 2 days. Place them in an airtight container and refrigerate the soup as soon as it reaches room temperature. Reheat on the stove, making sure the soup heats through fully and is hot, steamy and simmering everywhere.
If you’re purposely making the soup in advance to eat at a later time, I highly recommend leaving out the rice. You’ll be better off cooking rice right before serving, then stirring the freshly cooked rice into your reheated soup.
The soup isn’t well-suited for freezing, as potatoes change their texture after defrosting. And soups containing dairy can split during freezing.
Serving ideas
If you like serving your soup with homemade bread, try one of these recipes:
More recipes for leftover turkey
PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.
Printable recipe
Leftover Turkey Soup
Recipe details
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup finely chopped onion
- ½ cup chopped celery
- 4 ounces sliced cremini mushrooms
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 6 cups turkey broth OR chicken, OR vegetable
- 3 medium carrots peeled and sliced
- ½ pound baby potatoes halved or quartered
- ½ cup wild rice blend
- 1 cup half & half
- 4 cups cooked Turkey meat shredded
- ½ cup corn
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook aromatics: Heat butter and oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and celery and cook until softened, 4-5 minutes.
- Cook mushrooms: Stir in mushrooms and sauté for 3-4 minutes, until mushrooms have softened. Stir through garlic and cook for one more minute.
- Season: Reduce heat to medium-low. Sprinkle Italian seasoning and flour evenly over mushroom mixture, stir well for 1 minute.
- Add broth: Gradually pour in broth, stirring constantly, to keep any lumps from forming.
- Simmer: Stir in carrots, potatoes and rice. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook, covered, until rice is nearly done (about 20-25 minutes for parboiled rice, about 35 minutes for regular).
- Finish soup: Once rice is nearly ready, open lid and stir soup well. Add half and half, cooked turkey meat and corn. Stir well, then simmer over medium heat, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until heated through.
- Serve: Season with salt and pepper to taste, then serve immediately.
Notes
Ingredient notes
- Mushrooms: I love the mushrooms in this soup, but if you’re not a fan you can just skip them.
- Potatoes/rice: Feel free to skip one of these and instead double the other. I do like the mix, it makes it more interesting (and also… the baby potatoes come out so creamy, they are basically my favorite part of this dish).
- Half and half: Feel free to use heavy cream for a richer dish, or fat free half and half for a lighter one. You can also use evaporated milk instead.
- Other leftovers: If you have any leftovers that are similar to the ingredients used here (for example, if you have creamed corn (not the fully blended/canned kind, but the actual corn in a creamy sauce), feel free to use it in place of the corn kernels. You can also use leftovers of a creamy mushroom gravy, or sautéed mushrooms in place of the fresh. You can add cooked wild rice to the soup for the last 10 minutes of cooking. If you have roasted or even glazed carrots… Cut them up and throw them in for the last 10 minutes of cooking instead of using fresh, too
Denise Armstrong says
We made this last night and really enjoyed it. Followed the recipe ingredients, mostly, but did make a few adjustments due to what we had in the house. We had homemade turkey broth and we also doubled most of the vegetables. It was delicious and we’ll definitely be making it again!
Nora says
So glad to hear it, Denise!
Jackie says
We doubled the recipe, used all butter instead of part oil, and omitted the rice (simply bc we didn’t have it). This recipe is delicious! We will definitely be making this one again!