This delicious Turkey Soup is healthy, easy, and low-carb comfort food you’ll love! This soup recipe is the perfect way to use up leftover turkey or chicken for a light dinner that is easy to freeze for later!
Turkey Soup Recipe
Well, folks, the Thanksgiving feast is over, and you’re left with a fridge full of leftovers that’s starting to resemble a culinary jigsaw puzzle. What’s a turkey-loving hero to do? Fear not, for the answer lies in the unsung hero of post-Thanksgiving meals: turkey soup! It’s the soup that’s so good; even the turkey wishes it could be in it.
Think of it as the turkey’s encore performance, a star-studded sequel that takes those leftover turkey bits and turns them into a belly-warming masterpiece. It’s like a cozy hug in a bowl, and it’s here to save you from the dreaded turkey fatigue. So, grab your ladle and prepare for a journey into the land of comfort food, where leftovers become legends and flavor is the name of the game!
Why you’ll love it:
- Easy – This recipe comes together in just __ minutes, and it’s a good soup for beginners! You do temper the eggs (a neat skill to learn), but it’s not a complicated process.
- Healthy – This recipe is low in calories, fat, and carbs for a delicious, healthy meal! Even though it’s incredibly creamy, it includes no dairy, gluten, or nuts. It works with the keto, low-carb, whole30, and paleo diets.
- Uses leftover turkey – We love having this soup after holidays to use up the leftover turkey in the fridge! It’s an easy, inexpensive way to reduce waste and make the most of holiday sales.
Leftover Turkey Soup Ingredients
Here’s a quick overview of what you’ll need for this recipe. Scroll to the bottom of the page for the printable recipe card with exact measurements.
- Olive oil – Feel free to swap this with your preferred cooking oil of choice.
- Onion, Celery, Carrots, and Garlic – You can chop your onion, celery, and carrots up to a week in advance to help cut down your prep time! Jarred minced garlic can speed things up as well. Feel free to use frozen chopped veggies–Just add a minute or so to the first step.
- Cooked turkey – This can be holiday leftovers or freshly cooked. You can use smoked, air fried, roasted, or slow cooker turkey. Dark meat adds a bit more fat but stays nice and juicy.
- Broth or stock – Store-bought chicken broth is fine, but feel free to make your own stock to save money and add more flavor. If you cooked a full turkey for the holidays, use that carcass to create your own broth! It’s a great way to reduce waste that also adds loads of flavor.
- Eggs – These are used to thicken the soup and add a delicious creaminess. I’ve not tried any egg substitutes in this recipe.
- Lemon juice – This brightens the flavor and shouldn’t be skipped! Store-bought is fine, though freshly squeezed has more flavor.
- Fresh dill, Salt, and Pepper – Added for flavor, feel free to adjust for your own taste preferences.
For this recipe, you’ll also need a large pot or Dutch oven, a mixing bowl, a whisk, and a stovetop or hot plate.
How to Make Turkey Soup with Leftovers
This wholesome, delicious soup comes together easily. Here’s a quick step-by-step guide for this easy keto dinner.
Saute veggies
Place a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, then add in olive oil. Pour in the chopped onion, celery, carrots, and garlic, then saute for 4-5 minutes. Stir occasionally until the vegetables have softened and the garlic is fragrant.
Simmer
Add the cooked, seasoned turkey and the broth into the pot and increase the heat to medium-high. Bring the broth to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
Temper eggs
In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and lemon juice together. Scoop 1/2 cup of the hot broth out of the soup and very slowly pour it into the egg and lemon mixture while you continue whisking. This process allows the eggs to slowly warm up, preventing them from cooking too quickly and turning into scrambled eggs. Repeat this two more times until you have 1 1/2 cups of broth mixed into the lemon and egg mixture.
Stir together
Once the eggs have been tempered, slowly pour them into the soup pot with the chicken and veggies, stirring as you pour. Serve the soup immediately with fresh dill, salt, and pepper. Add lemon wedges for a nice additional hit of acidity.
How to serve turkey soup
I love garnishing this soup with some fresh chopped dill and cracked pepper. You can add croutons (to stay keto, cut and toast a chaffle) if you love a little crunch. See this post for more keto soup toppers and garnishes! We love to stretch the meal further by starting with an Instant Pot Artichoke appetizer, then serving salad and keto dinner rolls with the soup.
More keto sides to serve with soup:
Store
Allow soup to cool, then store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. Pouring leftovers into individual-sized containers is great for grab-and-go lunch packing! If you don’t have time or access for reheating, pack some in this thermos, and it’ll stay hot all day long! For offices, this little electric lunch box is super convenient!
Freeze
Allow soup to completely cool, then transfer to a freezer bag or container. Make sure to leave enough room for the soup to expand as it freezes, or your container may burst! This soup is best eaten within 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Reheat
You can easily reheat this soup in the microwave or in a pot on the stove.
- Microwave – Reheat in 1-minute increments at 50% power, then stir between each blast. Consider covering with a paper towel to prevent splatters.
- Stovetop – Pour soup into a pot over medium low heat, stirring occasionally until warmed throughout.
Soup may thicken up in the fridge. You can always thin out the soup a bit with a splash of broth.
If you love this easy dinner idea, check out these soup recipes!
- Buffalo Chicken Soup – All the great flavors of your favorite wings but with the comforting vibe of a soup! This healthy recipe is easy, quick, and still low-carb.
- Beef & Cabbage Soup – This is a super hearty soup that will fill you up without all the carbs or dairy of other soups. Each bowl has about 6 net carbs and works great as a leftover lunch.
- Keto Chicken Soup – This simple soup is a lot like the classic noodle soup but made low-carb. Carrots are used for that comforting vibe, but each bowl still is under 9 net carbs.
- Cheesy Jalapeno Chicken Soup – Talk about SUPER creamy! This soup is so flavorful and will be everyone’s new favorite. It’s like a jalapeno popper in a soup!
- Creamy Tomato Soup with Sausage and Spinach – This soup is so loaded with delicious ingredients, there’s something for everyone! It’s the perfect healthy recipe you can have ready in 30 minutes!
Want more? Check out this great list of keto soup recipes or this post for keto soup toppers and garnishes!
Turkey Soup FAQs
Adding tempered eggs to your soup is a great way to thicken it and make it creamy without a bit of dairy! Simply add small amounts of the hot broth to the eggs as you whisk, allowing their temperature to slowly rise. This helps turn them into a deliciously creamy soup instead of scrambled eggs!
Yes, this is an essential step that does require patience, but it’s so worth it. If you skip this step and add the eggs directly to the soup, you will have a brothy turkey soup with bits of scrambled eggs all throughout.
You can use any cooked meat from the turkey in this soup! To reduce waste, you can make a stock/broth from the turkey carcass, then use that in this soup.
Easy Turkey Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 1 cup carrots chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 3 1/2 cups cooked turkey usually about 1-1.25 pounds
- 32 ounces chicken broth
- 4 large eggs
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup fresh dill for serving
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion, celery, carrots, and minced garlic and saute for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions have softened.
- Add the cooked, seasoned turkey and the broth, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring the broth to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
- In a bowl, whisk the eggs and lemon juice together. Scoop 1/2 cup of the hot broth out of the soup and very slowly pour it into the egg and lemon mixture as you whisk. This tempers the eggs and ensures you do not have tiny bits of scrambled eggs in your soup.
- Continue this three times until you have incorporated 1 1/2 cups of broth with the eggs.
- Once the eggs have been tempered, slowly pour them into the soup pot with the chicken and veggies, stirring as you do this.
- Serve the soup immediately with fresh dill, salt, and pepper to taste and lemon wedges.
