Name: Leftover Turkey Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 2 fingerling carrots around 2 cups or use sliced carrots; 3 stalks celery, around 1 cup; 1 yellow onion, chopped around 1/2 cup; 4 tablespoon olive oil or leftover Turkey fat; 3 teaspoons minced fresh garlic; 1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder; salt and black pepper to taste; 4 cups leftover turkey, chopped; 3 1.2 cups turkey broth (or chicken broth); 1 cup diced tomatoes; 3 1/2 cups water; 2 cups cooked pasta of choice to package instructions and drained (this goes in after the soup is cooked or you can also add white rice instead; 3 tablespoons of fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley; Optional: 1 cup lleftover corn, peas, or whatever other vegetables you may have leftover from a holiday, white or red kidney beans, green cut beans, 1 cup mixed vegetables, 1 cup spinach or escarole; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper for heat; 1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese for garnish

Leftover Turkey makes the best soup after Thanksgiving, it's always well seasoned so the broth is spectacular in rich flavor so this recipe is super easy.

We love to add tomatoes, beans of any kind, carrots, celery, and onion, leftover side dish vegetables, and make a huge pot during the black Friday shopping weekend to have a hearty repurposed turkey meal.

The best part about turkey soup is anything can go into the pot especially if you have leftover peas, carrots, corn, and green beans, you can turn this into a hearty vegetable turkey soup.

Scroll down to get our printable easy recipe.

this is a pot of leftover turkey made into soup

What to Add To Your Turkey Soup

leftover vegetable side dishes from the holiday
canned vegetables or frozen
any kind of pasta cooked and drained
rotisserie chicken instead of turkey
mixed frozen vegetables
green beans canned or frozen
canned black, white, or red beans
spinach leaves or escarole
diced celery, tomatoes, onion, garlic, are great flavor additions

Cooking Methods

Stovetop simmered for at least 2 hours
Instant Pot using the pressure cooker mode to instruction book (around 45 minutes)
Slow cooker/crockpot on low 6 to 8 hours using only boneless turkey

This is a huge pot of the real deal Wedding soup filled with a bowl of Authentic Traditional Italian Wedding Soup. This is how to make Italian Wedding soup with all fresh ingredients in this bowl of soup. Meatballs, Celery, Carrots, Acini Di Pepi pasta, diced tomatoes in a rich chicken broth homemade from scratch.

Optional Ingredient Suggestions and Tips

use all chicken broth or stock
Add some Pecorino Romano cheese on top when serving
always season to taste salt and black pepper
cubed zucchini or another squash is a nice addition
use all fresh herbs not dried
rice instead of pasta can be substituted
add canned stewed tomatoes for a more robust flavor

Easy Recipe

If you have never tried to make homemade soup, you're missing out on an easy really economical meal.

This version is more turkey vegetable soup or turkey bean soup since everything is in mine including spinach.

If you love a spicier soup add some cayenne pepper to it or use red pepper flakes on top of the soup as a garnish.

The grated cheese as a garnish will also enhance the flavors of this soup, and serving this with leftover rolls made into croutons is wonderful as well!