This AMAZING Thanksgiving Soup is going to become your families favorite soup recipe! This is not only super yummy, but a great way to use up leftover Turkey after you Thanksgiving feast! Our family is known to cook up a turkey just to make this turkey leftover soup recipe! I know you will love this easy-to-make thanksgiving leftover soup.

Thanksgiving Leftover Soup

With Thanksgiving coming up most people are thinking about what they will make for the big day…..we spend most of our time dreaming of the day after. Nope – not talking about leftover turkey sandwiches (although those are super yummy!) I am talking about our family favorite Thanksgiving Leftover Soup. This super flavorful and delicious Thanksgiving Soup is one of our favorite soup recipes and a great way to use up leftover turkey for a super satisfying, simple soup recipe with turkey.

This soup is so good we are known to make turkey just to get to make this soup!! Seriously!!!

How to Make Turkey Broth from Scratch

First you put the turkey carcass (with some meat still on it) in a large stock pot and cover it with water. Bring it to a boil and simmer for a couple hours. You are making homemade turkey broth! (No mgs or artificial nonsense!)

Pull out the carcass and put it in a strainer. Let it cool a little bit so you can touch it without burning your hands. The meat will just “melt” right off it! Pull off meat and with your fingers (checking carefully for bones) and put aside. I get about 4 cups of meat from our turkey carcass – and we pick it pretty clean for dinner! Note: Make sure you check the broth for meat that came off during boiling. Put it aside as well. DO NOT DISCARD BROTH!

Thanksgiving Soup

Next chop up 1 large onion, 4-5 ribs celery, 3-4 carrots, and 4 cloves garlic.

Melt 1/2 cup butter in a stock pot. Add veggies and sauté over medium/high heat until tender, about 5-7 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup flour and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. The flour is going to thicken up your soup. You need to cook it with the flour on to loose the powder flavor!

Gradually add 8-10 cups of the turkey broth you made to you veggies.

Season your soup with 1 teas thyme, 1/2 teas parsley, 1/2 teas pepper, 1/2 teas salt, and 1/4 cup sherry (optional – note alcohol cooks off!). Bring to a boil.

Add 2 cups+ cooked wild rice to the stock pot.

Note: I use turkey broth instead of water to make the wild rice as it adds more flavor! I make 2 cups dry wild rice which = more than 2 cups cooked.

As wild rice takes about 20-30 minutes to cook I recommend starting it as soon as you begin sautéing your veggies.

At the same time as you add the rice, add 2 cups half and half and reserved 4 cups of turkey to the stock pot and simmer 20 minutes to blend flavor. Serve warm with good dipping bread – YUMMY!

Our Families Favorite Soup

This makes a LOT of wonderful soup and is a real penny pincher! We usually freeze a pitcher worth and still have soup for 2+ meals.  As the rice will absorb the liquid as it sits you may want to add additional turkey broth the next day when reheating to make it “soupier”. If not it will be a thick stew – equally yummy in my opinion =-)

*This recipe was tweaked from a recipe my neighbor Tyra shared with me. 
**Refreshed photography by Patty Kraikittikun-Phuong

Breakfast Recipes

Soup Recipes

• BEST Sweet Chili Recipe
• Easy Pumpkin Chili
• Instapot Corn Chowder Soup
• Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
• Best ever Tomato Soup with bacon
• Leftover Thanksgiving Soup
• Green Chicken Taco Soup
• Early Autumn Fall Soup Recipes with sausage and apple

Recipes for Salads and Sandwiches

• Creamy Avocado Egg Salad Sandwich
• Shredded Chicken Sandwich Recipe that is perfect for company
• Grilled Brie and Pear Sandwich
• Kid Favorite Quesadilla Pizza School Lunch
• Best Oriental Coleslaw with Soy Sauce
• Beet Pear and Goat Cheese Salad
• Easy Chicken Salad Recipe
• Ground Beef Taco Salad
• Easy Spinach and Berry Salad

Main Dishes

• Mom’s Easy Lasagna Recipe
• General Tso Chicken Recipe
• Easy Cashew Chicken Recipe
• Delicious Homemade Tortilla Recipe
• Rich Mac and Cheese Pies
• Sausage Make Ahead Foil Packet Dinners
• Easy Barbecue Chicken Recipe
• Juicy Lemon Chicken Pasta Instant pot
• Jazzed up Creamed Chicken over Biscuits
• Best Ever Mac and Cheese
• Copycat Dave’s Gourmet Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
• Easy Cheese Souffle
• Super Tender BBQ Roast
• Homemade Copycat Godfathers Taco Pizza Recipe
• Easy Crockpot Beef Stroganoff
• Leftover Turkey Pot Pie Recipe
• How to make homemade pasta
• Super Flavorful Grilled Pork Loin
• Healthy Pineapple Fried Rice
• Seriously the Best, Make Ahead Twice Baked Potatoes
• Easy Pasta Recipe with Ham, Walnuts, and Parmesan Cheese

Desserts

• This Easy Oreo Cheeseball can be served as an appetizer or dessert!
• Making this snow ice cream is one my kids’ favorite annual traditions!
• Pumpkin Lava Cake is an ooey gooey fall dessert your family will want seconds of!
• This sandcastle ice cream is so clever and EASY to make! You are sure to be the coolest mom on the block!
• You don’t need a fancy ice cream maker; here is how to make ice cream in a bag
• These homemade cinnamon sugar tortilla chips are the perfect dessert to go along with your Mexican dinner
• If you’ve never tried our melt in your mouth sugar cookies, you are missing out!
• Whip up a batch of this carmel chex mix for your next game night or potluck!
• These snicker cookies are so decadent with a delightful melty middle!
• This soft Gingerbread Man Recipe for kids is my most requested for every cookie swap!
• I can almost smell this cooking, my perfect every time, best pumpkin pie recipe
• My kids favorite cookies – Monster Cookie Recipe
• Or make these classic Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
• So good their gone, easy homemade brownies recipe
• Perfect for summer, Lemon Bars with vanilla wafer crust
• Homemade Ice Cream Cake – this is what I request for my birthday cake every year! YUM!
• Classic Vanilla Ice Cream in a homemade ice cream maker
• Our favorite cake ball recipes
• So good you just can’t stop eating it Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge
• Mom’s Homemade Apple Pie

Appetizers

• Pepperoni Cheeseball Game Day Appetizers
• My famous pineapple cream cheese dip
• Zesty Spinach Artichoke Dip
• Our GO TO Salsa Recipe with gardne fresh tomatoes
• Grab your veggies, they are going to want to take a dunk in this Southwestern Dip
• Family Favorite appetizer meatballs with super quick secret sauce!
• Quick Pineapple Salsa made from scratch
• Sweet and Sour Bacon and Water Chestnut Appetizer
• Go to Peanut Butter Dip for Apples
• It wouldn’t be Christmas without serving up this family traditional Wassail Recipe

Breads and Side Dishes

• Super Moist Southern Cornbread recipe with creamed corn
• Easy Bread Machine Hamurger Buns
• Super Yummy Quick Yeast Rolls
• Rosemary Crock pot Bread
• Sweet Potato Sourdough Buns
• Delicious Yeastless Bread – quick bread recipe no yeast

AMAZING Thanksgiving Leftover Soup

Beth Gorden

This Thanksgiving Leftover Soup is going to become your families favorite recipe! Our family is known to cook up a turkey just to make this turkey leftover soup recipe!

5 from 9 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine American

Ingredients

  

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3-4 medium carrots, chopped
• 4-5 ribs celery, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups wild rice, cooked
• 2 cups half & half
• 2 cups cooked turkey, cut up
• 8-10 cups turkey broth
• 1/4 cup sherry, optional

Instructions

 

• Cover turkey carcass in water; boil. Reduce heat & simmer 2+ hours (the longer you simmer, the more flavor). Pull off loose meat and save (about 2 cups). Strain mixture to save broth for soup, discard bones.
• Make wild rice soup per package directions. I like to use extra turkey broth instead of water to give it extra flavor.
• In soup kettle over medium heat melt butter; add onion, celery, garlic, and carrots until transparent, about 5-7 minutes.
• Reduce heat and add in flour; cook and stir for 2 minutes.
• Gradually add in broth; stirring constantly. Add seasonings while bringing to a boil; cook for 1 minute.
• Reduce heat to low; add wild rice, turkey, and sherry and simmer 20 minutes.