THE BEST WAY TO USE UP LEFTOVER THANKSGIVING TURKEY
This Turkey Soup is filled with hearty veggies and tender turkey in a zesty tomato broth. It is pure and awesomely delicious comfort food perfect for Fall.
The soup comes together real fast, it’s easy to make, it’s hearty, LOADED with flavor, and tastes pretty darn amazing. What’s better is that you will only need one pot and 30 minutes to make it! Kind of like my Turkey Corn Chowder, that is also quick cooking and extremely enjoyable. 🍽
HOW TO MAKE LEFTOVER TURKEY SOUP
My Leftover Turkey Soup includes all your favorite Italian flavors in a belly-warming bowl of soup. Checkit:
- Just like any other soup, we will first start with warming up some olive oil and stirring in our diced onions, garlic, carrots, and celery.
- Once the veggies soften up, we will add in our cooked and shredded turkey meat; sauté for a few minutes and stir in some tomato paste, as well as a can of roasted tomatoes.
- Cook all of that few minutes more, then add some stock, orzo pasta, and seasonings.
- You will want to bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and continue to simmer for 10 minutes until the pasta is cooked.
- Finally, stir in the spinach and voila! Your soup is done!
THANKSGIVING LEFTOVERS
Because of the nature of my job, we had Thanksgiving dinner in October. I do this because I want to have enough time to photograph, write, and share my Thanksgiving recipes with all of you come November.
But, what happened afterwards was a jam packed fridge with ALL-the-food! I’m talking, Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Instant Pot Loaded Mashed Cauliflower, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole, and I can’t remember the rest. TOO MUCH food for a family of 4.
However, this Turkey Soup with Orzo and Spinach was the first thing I made with our turkey leftovers and it fed us for the next 2 days.
Find some more wonderful ideas for a lot of your Thanksgiving Leftovers 👈right here.
I say take whatever is left of that delicious Thanksgiving Roast Turkey and make this soup to enjoy for the days after Thanksgiving. See it as your Black-Friday-after-shopping-meal all taken care of!
HOW TO STORE COOKED TURKEY SOUP
- Transfer completely cooled turkey soup to an airtight container.
- Keep refrigerated for up to 4 days.
- To reheat, add more liquid, stir, and reheat over medium heat on the stove top.
HOW TO FREEZE COOKED TURKEY SOUP
- Make sure the soup is completely cooled.
- Transfer soup to large heavy duty freezer bags – I divide it into two freezer bags – and freeze the soup for 3 to 4 months.
MORE SOUP RECIPES
ENJOY!
Leftover Turkey Soup Recipe with Orzo and Spinach
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 3 celery stalks, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
- salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
- 4 cups cooked and shredded turkey meat
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 can (14-ounces) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 8 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 1/2 cups orzo pasta
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 bag (6 to 8 ounces) baby spinach
Instructions
- Heat oil and melt butter in a dutch oven or a large stock pot over medium-high heat.
- Add onion and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add carrots, celery, garlic and parsley; season with salt and pepper and continue to sauté for about 3 minutes.
- Stir in turkey meat and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Mix in tomato paste and stir in the canned tomatoes; stir in thyme, oregano, and rosemary and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add broth, orzo, and bay leaf; stir to combine and bring soup to a boil.
- Lower heat to medium-low and continue to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is done.
- Stir in the baby spinach and cook for 1 more minute, or until spinach is wilted.
- Remove from heat and taste for seasonings. Adjust accordingly.
- Remove bay leaf and serve.
Notes
- Transfer completely cooled turkey soup to an airtight container.
- Keep refrigerated for up to 4 days.
- To reheat, add more liquid, stir, and reheat over medium heat on the stove top.
- Make sure the soup is completely cooled.
- Transfer soup to large heavy duty freezer bags – I divide it into two freezer bags – and freeze the soup for 3 to 4 months.
- Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- To reheat, add more liquid, stir, and reheat over medium heat on the stove top.
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Slow Cooker
Low Carb
Instant Pot
Gluten Free
Keto
Chicken
Beef
Found this recipe while looking to use up leftover smoked Turkey . Had ripe Roma tomatoes so oven roasted them instead of using canned. Added a Parmesan rind when adding the broth for additional depth. Really tasty!
Thank YOU! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Made this last night, this was super good. I only had 3/4 c of orzo left so I added Ditalini as well, and it was fantastic! Served with Grated Parm on the top, YUM, a keeper. Thanks!
This was delicious! It turned out perfect and also looks beautiful!
This makes me want to have leftovers as the main dish on Thanksgiving! It looks amazing!
The soup looks perfect for cold days! I’m going to add it for my meal plan next week! Thanks!
Hi! Can I make this in a slow cooker? If so, would u be so kind to give me the instructions, please? Thanks
Yum! Perfect recipe to use with leftovers! Love the added orzo!
This is awesome!! Such a great way to use up leftover turkey!
Looks so good! I want a bowl today for lunch!!
This couldn’t come at a better time ! Thank you for sharing!
Fantastic idea for leftover turkey! This soup looks so dang comforting.
Leftover doesn’t give this tasty soup the credit it deserves cause it looks amazing. And it’s healthy too.
Wow really nice and awesome recipe with full of nutrients. Many Thanks for posting this recipe, I will must try to home. As a Nutritionist I appreciate this recipe with all healthy ingredients.
This sounds so good. I love how many veggies are in it. Pinning to the soup board for sure.
Holiday leftovers make the best soup! This one is sure to be a favorite.
I love how hearty this is!
This was so good!
What a delicious way to enjoy turkey after turkey day! No worries of dry turkey in this tasty soup!
Mmmm that looks like a bowl full of heartiness right there. I cant wait to whip this up!
So warm and comforting — and the perfect way to use up leftover turkey!