Easy Leftover Turkey Soup Recipe

Name: Easy Leftover Turkey Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons butter; 2 ribs celery (diced); 1 cup chopped green onions; 8 ounces mushrooms (sliced); 1 teaspoon salt; 32 ounces chicken or turkey stock; 10.5 ounces cream of chicken soup; 2 cups Yukon Gold potatoes (diced ); 2 cups cooked turkey (diced); ½ teaspoon pepper; ½ teaspoon dried thyme; 4 ounces grated Fontina cheese ((or cheese of your choice))

This delicious, hearty, and easy Leftover Turkey Soup with potatoes and mushrooms is topped with a generous amount of cheese and served with crusty bread on the side.

5 from 4 votes

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

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Leftover turkey soup in a vintage serving bowl with a spoon.

Once you’ve eaten all the leftover turkey sandwiches that one human being can tolerate, use the rest of that gigantic Thanksgiving turkey to make the best, Easy Leftover Turkey Soup you’ve ever had! Top your bowl of this hearty, satisfying soup with a generous amount of cheese and serve it with crusty bread on the side.

Sometimes the best recipes happen completely by accident. That’s how this delicious soup happened.

It was late in the afternoon two days after Thanksgiving when I realized that I had absolutely nothing planned for supper. The grandkids were getting hungry and it was either get in the kitchen and cook or go out to eat.

Honestly, I was so tired I would have just skipped dinner rather than put forth enough effort to make myself presentable for going out. So, into the kitchen I went.

I started pulling out Thanksgiving leftovers that I thought might go together in a soup. And, my goodness, what a delicious soup it turned out to be!

All that leftover celery, onions, potatoes, and mushrooms combined with the turkey and stock made a flavorful and nutritious soup that we all thoroughly enjoyed. Even the kids. Though I did have to fish all the mushrooms out of their bowls. Still.

🥘 Ingredient Notes

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Chicken or Turkey Stock (Ideally you’d make stock from the turkey carcass leftover after roasting your Thanksgiving turkey. However, you can always use purchased stock.)
Yukon Gold Potatoes (Use any potato you like and have on hand. I happened to have Yukon Golds when I first made this recipe.)
Diced Cooked Turkey (Use your leftover Thanksgiving turkey or make this soup with a purchased rotisserie chicken.)
Fontina Cheese (Use any kind of cheese you want. Parmesan, white Cheddar, Mozzarella, and Swiss all work well.)

You’ll find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe at the bottom of this post.

🥄 How to Make Turkey Mushroom and Potato Soup

This is one of the easiest soups you’ll ever make. For real.

Start by sauteing some celery, onions, and mushrooms with butter in a soup pot. Then add the stock, cream of chicken soup, potatoes, turkey, and seasonings.

Let that all simmer together just until the potatoes are cooked through. Top individual servings with grated cheese.

Serve with my Steakhouse Honey Wheat Bread or Easy Homemade Bread slathered with butter for a special treat!

Leftover turkey soup in a vintage bowl with a spoon.

🔀 Variations

Just before serving, add a handful of frozen peas or baby spinach. Continue cooking until the peas are heated through or the spinach is wilted.
Serve with pasta or egg noodles. Cook the pasta or noodles separately so they don’t get too mushy. Add to individual serving bowls and ladle the soup over.
Substitute oil for the butter if you like.

🍚 Storing and Freezing

Storage: Place in an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to four days.
Freezing: Transfer the cooled soup into a freezer-safe container (or individual serving size containers) and freeze for up to 3 months.

❓ Questions About Leftover Turkey Soup

Can I make this in the slow cooker?

To make this soup in the slow cooker, after sauteeing the vegetables transfer everything to the crock pot and cook for about 3-4 hours on high or 4-5 hours on low.

I can’t find turkey stock and don’t want to make my own. Can I use chicken broth?

You can use any purchased chicken stock, broth, or bouillon for this recipe.

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