Leftover Turkey Soup

This turkey soup made with leftover turkey meat tastes great without adding anything. Yet, I prefer my soups with a bit more substance, so my turkey soup recipe calls for the addition of pasta.

When it comes to adding pasta to your turkey soup, there are a few options:

Conchiglie

Normally called ‘pasta shells’ or ‘seashells’ because of their shape, they are normally rigid on the outside and smooth on the inside, which gives them an interesting contrast in textures.

They come in three sizes – small (conchigliette), medium (conchiglie) and large (conchiglioni) and are great to use in soups as they hold up well when boiled, keeping their shape and texture.

Gnocchi

These potato-based pasta balls would be excellent in turkey soup, soaking up all the juices to make an even better turkey soup recipe. If you do go with gnocchi, keep in mind that they cook very quickly, so add towards the end of the recipe.

Fusilli / Rotini

Known as fusilli in the UK and rotini in the States, these tasty little tubes are also a good option to serve in soup. They soak up the flavors and, while they don’t hold their shape quite as well as conchiglie, they do bring a nice texture when added to soups.

Tortellini

Little pasta twists, tortellini are traditionally stuffed with ingredients. Although they are not normally served up in soups, find the right type of tortellini and these little beauts would make turkey soup even more wonderful.

Go for a spinach and ricotta tortellini for the best match for this turkey soup recipe.

Orzo

If you like the idea of a rice soup, this type of pasta might be the one for you. Orzo is a form of short cut pasta that is traditionally made from semolina flour, but can also be made from wheat grain. Go for this option if you want to soup on the lighter side. 

Noodles

Of course, if turkey noodle soup is more your thing, you can replace the pasta with noodles. I recommend going for egg noodles, although udon noodles or ramen noodles would be great as well. 

When it comes to leftover turkey, don’t be picky about the meat. Use all of it!

Of course, the dark meat of the turkey normally brings more flavor than the breast meat, but this leftover turkey soup recipe is about using up all of the meat that’s leftover from Thanksgiving or Christmas.

So, throw it all in there and enjoy! 

If you follow this recipe to a T, it should end up with the perfect consistency. Not too thick and not too thin – just right!

However, of course cooking is subjective, so maybe you’ll find that you would prefer it to be a little bit thicker. In which case, there are a couple of things you can do to change the consistency of this leftover turkey soup recipe.

First, try adding a tablespoon of flour to the carrot, celery and onions just before you add the stock. Then, cook the flour in for a minute on a medium heat. When you add the stock, the liquid will be slightly thicker and the final consistency will be thicker.

Another option is to add cornflour at the end of the recipe. This involves a paste in a separate bowl, using a teaspoon or two of cornflour and an equal amount of water. Then, stir and when you have your paste ready, stir it into the soup. Repeat as necessary.

Finally, adding a touch of cream is a great way to thicken your soup without compromising on flavor.

Absolutely! If you prefer cooking your carrots, onions and celery in olive oil, you can easily substitute it for the butter.

One of the great things about this leftover turkey soup recipe is that it’s so easy to tweak to your personal preferences. For a little inspiration when it comes to finding your perfect flavor profile, here are a few ingredients you could add to your soup.

Herbs  

The king of herbs when it comes to pairing with poultry is thyme. You could also use tarragon, marjoram, oregano, sage or rosemary. Go for poultry seasoning, which is a mix of most of these herbs, for a great all-round blend.

You could also add a bay leaf (don’t forget to remove it before serving up the soup).

Spices

Be subtle with the spices. Just a pinch here and there and you can make this soup really sing. Try some paprika or cayenne pepper for some smoky charm. Also, a little cumin and turmeric can give it an interesting angle. Try grinding some fenugreek for a wonderful aroma.

Other ingredients

If you’re looking for a big hit of umami flavor, go for a teaspoon of Marmite or a splash of Worcestershire Sauce.

Another great option is a teaspoon of mustard. It will add some earthy heat to your soup and mustard just goes so well with turkey and any kind of meat.

Yes, you can. This easy turkey soup can be adapted to be an easy chicken soup, with cooked chicken and chicken broth or chicken stock to replace the turkey ingredients.

You can store this soup in the fridge for up to 3 days. Store it in an airtight container.

Yes you can. The only thing I would say is to leave out the pasta if you think you’re going to freeze it. Then, when you’re ready to serve it up later, you can cook the pasta.

This leftover turkey soup will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months. To freeze it, place it in an airtight, freezable container and place in the freezer. Don’t forget to label the container with the content and the date of freezing.

You can also free your leftover Thanksgiving turkey soup in smaller batches. That way, you can defrost only what you need each time.

I recommend defrosting your frozen turkey soup in the fridge overnight.

Reheat it in a saucepan on a medium heat on the hob, stirring continuously until piping hot.

If you want to keep it simple, serve your soup with some delicious crusty bread and creamy butter. You could also make simple sandwiches to serve alongside it.