FREE 5-Ingredient Recipe EBook

• Why You’ll Love This Turkey Soup Recipe
• Ingredients & Substitutions
• How To Make Turkey Soup
• Variations On Turkey Soup
• Storage Instructions
• More Leftover Turkey Recipes
• Tools To Make Leftover Turkey Soup
• Turkey Soup Recipe card
• Recipe Reviews

I have dozens of ideas for what to do with leftover turkey, especially after Thanksgiving and Christmas — and you can find lots of them in my Thanksgiving turkey recipe post. One of my favorites is this leftover turkey soup recipe , because it’s made with common ingredients and it’s so easy to prepare. Shredded turkey, colorful herbs, and tender veggies combine for a comforting, yet light, turkey vegetable soup that’s perfect for those times after heavy holiday meals.

Why You’ll Love This Turkey Soup Recipe

• Fresh flavors in a savory seasoned broth
• Tender shredded turkey and veggies
• Simple ingredients you’ll have on hand
• Done in one pot
• Naturally healthy, low carb, and gluten-free
• The best turkey soup recipe to make with leftover turkey!

Ingredients & Substitutions

Here I explain the best ingredients for leftover turkey soup, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card .

• Olive Oil – For sauteing. You can substitute any neutral cooking oil you like.
• Vegetables – Onion, carrots, celery, and cauliflower. You can use other veggies such as green beans, peas, and zucchini, frozen bagged vegetables, or even leftover veggies from holiday meals.
• Sea Salt & Black Pepper – As needed. You can also use kosher salt instead of sea salt, but might need to adjust the amount a bit. For an extra savory flavor, add a teaspoon or two of poultry seasoning .
• Leftover Turkey Meat – I make this recipe for turkey soup most often using leftover Thanksgiving turkey , but you can also shred slow cooker turkey breast or even meat from turkey legs or turkey wings . If you don’t have any, you can use store-bought shredded turkey, or other poultry, like shredded chicken . Another option is to add pieces of raw chicken or turkey directly to the soup, and let them cook while the soup simmers.
• Chicken Broth – I use a reduced sodium version . If time allows, make your own chicken broth or use your leftover turkey carcass to make homemade bone broth instead.
• Fresh Herbs – Including fresh parsley and fresh thyme. If you need to use dried herbs, replace with 2 teaspoons dried parsley and 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme. You can also add a bay leaf for extra flavor, and just remove it before serving.

How To Make Turkey Soup

This section shows how to make this leftover turkey soup recipe, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions with amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card .

1. Saute aromatics . Heat oil in a large Dutch oven and saute the onion until soft. Add garlic and saute until fragrant.
2. Cook veggies. Add carrots, celery, cauliflower, and salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables start to soften. (If you prefer the cauliflower crisp-tender, you might prefer to add it to the soup in the last 5 minutes of simmering instead.)

1. Simmer. Stir in turkey, broth, parsley, and thyme. Bring to a boil and then simmer until the flavors develop.
2. Season. Taste and season as desired. Serve your homemade turkey soup recipe with additional chopped parsley, if desired.

Variations On Turkey Soup

• Creamy – For a creamy turkey soup, add up to 1/2 cup heavy cream in the last 5 minutes of simmering. You can also blend some softened cream cheese with some broth from the soup instead, then return to the pot.
• Noodles – Turkey noodle soup is an easy and popular option! Replace either all or half of the cauliflower with your favorite dry pasta, and add it in the last 8-12 minutes of simmering. (That’s how long noodles will take to cook, and you don’t want to add them too soon to prevent overcooking.)
• Rice – Add 2 cups of rice together with the turkey, and double the amount of broth. You can use white rice, wild rice, or brown rice, but make sure to add it uncooked. If you want to use up cooked rice or use cauliflower rice for a rice soup, add it just in the last few minutes of cooking.
• Potatoes – Make the soup more hearty by adding a pound of diced potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes, and double the amount of broth. Add the spuds at the same time when you add the leftover turkey.

Storage Instructions

• Store: Keep leftovers in a covered container up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
• Reheat: Pour the turkey vegetable soup into a pot or saucepan, place over medium heat on the stove, and simmer until warm.
• Freeze: Place portions in freezer safe containers or zip lock bags, and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight or reheat directly from frozen.

More Leftover Turkey Recipes

A bowl of this easy turkey soup isn’t the only thing you can do with your leftovers! Try these other leftover turkey recipes:

• Casseroles – One dish casseroles are perfect for busy schedules! Try leftover turkey casserole recipes or make chicken cordon bleu casserole with turkey meat instead.
• Salads – This turkey salad recipe is my favorite. You can also swap chicken with turkey in avocado chicken salad , buffalo chicken salad , or Mediterranean chicken salad . Or, add plain meat on top of fall dishes like butternut squash salad and kale salad .
• Sandwiches – Use turkey in cucumber subs, lettuce wraps, or between slices of your favorite bread (almond flour bread is one of my fave healthy options).

Tools To Make Leftover Turkey Soup

• Dutch Oven – A stunning pot that takes your turkey soup from stove to table beautifully.

Ingredients

Tap underlined ingredients to see the ones I use.

• 2 tbsp Olive oil ▢
• 1 medium White onion (diced, about 1 ¼ cups; or yellow onion) ▢
• 3 cloves Garlic (minced) ▢
• 1 cup Carrots (diced) ▢
• 1 cup Celery (diced) ▢
• 2 cups Cauliflower florets ▢
• 1/2 tsp Sea salt (or more to taste) ▢
• 1/4 tsp Black pepper ▢
• 2 cups Leftover turkey (shredded or diced) ▢
• 6 cups Chicken broth, reduced sodium ▢
• 2 tbsp Fresh parsley (chopped) ▢
• 1 tsp Fresh thyme ▢

Instructions

Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes , until softened.
3. Add garlic and continue cooking for 30 seconds , until fragrant.
4. Add carrots, celery, cauliflower, sea salt, and black pepper. Stir well and continue cooking until vegetables start to soften, about 5 minutes .
5. Stir in the leftover turkey, chicken broth, parsley, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes , until the flavors develop to your liking and the vegetables are soft.
6. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve with more fresh parsley, if desired.

LAST STEP: Leave a rating to help other readers, or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram. I’d love to hear from you!

Maya’s Recipe Notes

Serving size : 1 1/2 cups

I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy .

Add Your NotesYour Notes

© Copyright Maya Krampf for Wholesome Yum. Please DO NOT SCREENSHOT OR COPY/PASTE recipes to social media or websites. We’d LOVE for you to share a link with photo instead.

Turkey Soup Recipe

Free Printable: Low Carb & Keto Food List

• Want The Keto Cheat Sheet Printable PDF System?
• The Basic Keto Meal Formula
• Understanding Macros
• Keto Food Swaps
• Keto Food List
• Electrolyte Basics
• Keto Diet Types
• Want The Keto Cheat Sheet Printable PDF System?
• Recipe Reviews

Even though I have a great guide to starting a keto diet , people often ask me for a quick keto cheat sheet they can use. That’s why I created this simple keto diet cheat sheet , so that you can have all the info you need handy. We’ll cover the basic keto formula for building meals, foods to eat and to avoid, delicious keto swaps for high-carb foods, electrolyte basics, and 4 ways to follow the keto lifestyle.

You can keep reading to view this info, or download my keto cheat sheet printable pdf to print out or save ad-free on any device (plus the pdf has more details!).

Want The Keto Cheat Sheet Printable PDF System?

Get all this information and MORE in convenient printer-friendly format – 13 cheat sheet pages you can take with you anywhere or keep in your kitchen, plus 4 recipe cookbooks! Includes:

1. Keto food list (230+ foods) – Super detailed & color-coded, with net carb counts, so you’ll know exactly what to eat.
2. Foods to avoid on keto – Detailed and specific list so that you know exactly what to watch out for.
3. Macros cheat sheet – Explains everything you need to know about macros to succeed on keto.
4. Keto food swaps (60+ foods) – Covers virtually every food you love, so you don’t have to miss out!
5. Keto meal formula – With specific food ideas, so it’s easy to mix-and-match.
6. Keto flu guide – Understand what it is and exactly how to avoid it.
7. Electrolyte cheat sheet – With whole food ideas + bonus keto tips.
8. Keto Diet Types – Summary of 4 ways to do keto, so you can choose what fits you best.
9. FOUR (4!) Keto Swaps Recipe EBooks – Dozens of recipes to replace bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, desserts, and other carbs you’d otherwise miss.

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The Basic Keto Meal Formula

Eating keto doesn’t have to be complicated! While there are plenty of delicious easy keto recipes to choose from, you don’t even have to cook from a recipe to get started.

Simply follow the keto cheat sheet formula of protein + veggie + fat for your meals.

Be sure to choose a moderate amount of protein, only low carb vegetables (mostly ones that grow above ground), and generous fat to attain an optimal macro ratio. That’s approximately 60-75% of calories from fat, 20-25% protein, and 5-10% from carbohydrates. The table below will give you ideas for what to choose.

Understanding Macros

Macros are macronutrients for short. They include fat, protein, and carbohydrates.

You can calculate your own macros using the macro calculator , but the macro keto cheat sheet below will explain how to look at macros when following a keto lifestyle.

Carbs Are A Limit.

Keeping carbs low is what gets you into ketosis and keeps you there. Ketosis means that you’re using fat as your primary energy source instead of sugar, and requires keeping carbs very low.

A good starting point is 20-25 grams net carbs per day, but you can experiment after a few weeks to see if your body stays in ketosis at higher levels. People who are very active may be able to do more and stay in ketosis, up to around 50 grams per day.

“Carbs are a limit” means that you set a limit for how many carbs to eat per day and don’t exceed it. You don’t have to hit that limit, so if you’re under that’s okay, just don’t go over. Ideally most of your carbs would come from low carb vegetables, and if you’re eating enough veggies, you’ll usually get close to the limit naturally.

A common misconception is that reaching ketosis requires a certain macro ratio, but it’s really only restricting your carb intake that gets you there [ * ]. In the absence of sufficient carbs to use as energy, the body will switch to using fat as fuel. This is called the metabolic state of ketosis.

Protein Is A Goal.

Protein is made up of amino acids, the building blocks of all our cells. It’s a crucial for keeping our muscles strong and for many cellular functions [ * ].

“Protein is a goal” means that you always want to eat enough protein to reach the goal each day, but not exceed it too much. You want enough for your needs, but excess protein can trigger gluconeogenesis, which is protein being converted to sugar [ * ] and can kick you out of ketosis.

Fat Is A Lever.

Fat is the primary macronutrient in a keto lifestyle, because being in ketosis means that fat is your primary fuel source. Fat as a fuel source will come from your food, and if you are losing weight, from your body.

A big advantage of a keto lifestyle is the high fat intake. It keeps you full and satisfied, making it easier to stick to, and using it as the primary fuel source makes it easier on your body to burn body fat, with a lower chance of breaking down your muscle (provided you get enough protein).

Aside from reaching your protein goal and limiting your carbs, the remainder of your calories on a keto diet comes from fat.

Don’t fear fat – it’s your main energy source on keto, and getting enough of it trains your body to use fat for fuel instead of sugar. That means that as long as you are not overdoing your overall calorie intake, you’ll efficiently burn your body fat for fuel as well.

“Fat is a lever” means that you can increase or decrease your fat intake depending on your goals and hunger levels. Increase it (along with exercise) to gain muscle, or decrease it to lose weight.

Keto Food Swaps

One of my favorite challenges is creating recipes, or just discovering, keto food swaps. These are delicious keto replacements for traditionally high-carb or high-sugar foods.

So, I created this keto diet cheat sheet with all the swaps in one place! I also have more keto food swaps in my Easy Keto Cookbook .

Keto Swaps For Breakfast

Keto Swaps For Bread

Keto Swaps For Meals & Side Dishes

Keto Swaps For Snacks & Sauces

Keto Swaps For Cooking & Baking

Keto Swaps For Drinks

If you’re looking specifically for keto alcohol options, browse the full keto alcohol guide .

Keto Food List

When looking for a keto cheat sheet printable, the most-requested information is a keto food list.

The great thing is that keto doesn’t have to feel restrictive. It’s incredibly satisfying and there’s such a wide variety of foods you can eat!

Foods To Eat On Keto

• Leafy greens – Such as spinach, chard, and lettuce.
• Above-ground veggies – Such as peppers, zucchini, and cauliflower.
• Full-fat cream & cheese – Such as heavy cream, sour cream, and full-fat hard cheeses.
• Natural meats – Such as beef, lamb, and pork.
• Berries – Such as raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries.
• Avocados
• Unsweetened nut milks – Such as almond milk and coconut milk.
• Almond flour and coconut flour
• Eggs
• Healthy fats – Such as coconut oil, avocado oil, olive oil and butter.

Foods To Avoid On Keto

• White flour & sugar
• Rice & grains – Such as barley, wheat, and corn.
• Milk & yogurt – Such as fruit on the bottom yogurt, sweetened Greek yogurt, and all milk.
• Cereal
• Processed food – Such as granola bars, candy
• Most fruit – Such as apples, bananas, and grapes
• Hydrogenated fats – Such as vegetable oil, soybean oil, and margarine
• Sweetened beverages & condiments – Such as soda, ketchup, and sweet dressings
• Starchy veggies – Such as peas, carrots, and beets.
• Potatoes – Such as sweet potatoes and white potatoes.

That’s the short keto diet cheat sheet version of all the keto food categories, but I recommend downloading the full Keto Cheat Sheet System. It includes a super detailed printable keto food list with over 100 items, including 2 color-coded pages with net carb counts, along with 6 more pages of keto cheat sheets:

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Electrolyte Basics

Getting enough electrolytes is crucial for anyone, but especially so on a keto diet. The reason is that ketosis has a diuretic effect, which increases excretion of water and electrolytes, especially sodium [ * ]. This is often the cause of the keto flu.

For more details on electrolytes and avoiding keto flu, check out the full keto flu guide here .

The important thing to know about electrolytes is that replenishing them will keep keto flu away and keep your body functioning well. I always recommend an electrolyte drink and whole food sources of anything your body needs before resorting to supplements, so I made a list of what to eat to get each of the 3 major electrolytes – sodium, magnesium and potassium.

Here’s your keto diet cheat sheet for getting electrolytes from food:

Keto Diet Types

People follow a keto lifestyle for different reasons. Some do it just to lose weight, others are after better overall health, increased energy, and reduced inflammation.

Strictly speaking, the defining factor of a keto diet is the metabolic state of ketosis, which is achieved by restricting carbs. However, many people (myself included) also reduce or eliminate processed, inflammatory, or low-nutrient foods.

Below is your keto cheat sheet summary of the different ways that people follow keto. You choose what works best for your goals and lifestyle!

• Strict Keto – Up to 20-30g net carbs daily, count all calories and macros, and eat clean, unprocessed foods.
• Lazy Keto – Up to 20-30g net carbs daily, and track only net carbs OR eat keto foods without tracking.
• Dirty Keto – Up to 20-30g net carbs daily, with “if it fits your macros” approach including processed foods.
• Low Carb – Up to 50-100g net carbs daily, less strict.

For a more detailed listing of these different types of keto with pros and cons, grab the Easy Keto Cheat Sheet Printable PDF below!

Want The Keto Cheat Sheet Printable PDF System?

Get all this information and MORE in convenient printer-friendly format – 13 cheat sheet pages you can take with you anywhere or keep in your kitchen, plus 4 recipe cookbooks! Includes:

1. Keto food list (230+ foods) – Super detailed & color-coded, with net carb counts, so you’ll know exactly what to eat.
2. Foods to avoid on keto – Detailed and specific list so that you know exactly what to watch out for.
3. Macros cheat sheet – Explains everything you need to know about macros to succeed on keto.
4. Keto food swaps (60+ swaps) – Covers virtually every food you love, so you don’t have to miss out!
5. Keto meal formula – With specific food ideas, so it’s easy to mix-and-match.
6. Keto flu guide – Understand what it is and exactly how to avoid it.
7. Electrolyte cheat sheet – With whole food ideas + bonus keto tips.
8. Keto Diet Types – Summary of 4 ways to do keto, so you can choose what fits you best.
9. FOUR (4!) Keto Swaps Recipe EBooks – Dozens of recipes to replace bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, desserts, and other carbs you’d otherwise miss.

Get The Printable Keto Cheat Sheet System (75 pages, Only $37!)

Turkey Soup

What to do with leftover turkey? Make this easy leftover turkey soup recipe, loaded with cozy meat and veggies in a seasoned broth.

Scan this QR code with your phone’s camera for the full recipe, including tips, step-by-step photos, and storage, or to save it to your account. You can also find it at: https://www.wholesomeyum.com/turkey-soup/

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 medium White onion (diced, about 1 ¼ cups; or yellow onion)
• 3 cloves Garlic (minced)
• 1 cup Carrots (diced)
• 1 cup Celery (diced)
• 2 cups Cauliflower florets
• 1/2 tsp Sea salt (or more to taste)
• 1/4 tsp Black pepper
• 2 cups Leftover turkey (shredded or diced)
• 6 cups Chicken broth, reduced sodium
• 2 tbsp Fresh parsley (chopped)
• 1 tsp Fresh thyme

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes , until softened.
3. Add garlic and continue cooking for 30 seconds , until fragrant.
4. Add carrots, celery, cauliflower, sea salt, and black pepper. Stir well and continue cooking until vegetables start to soften, about 5 minutes .
5. Stir in the leftover turkey, chicken broth, parsley, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes , until the flavors develop to your liking and the vegetables are soft.
6. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve with more fresh parsley, if desired.

Maya’s Recipe Notes

Serving size : 1 1/2 cups

I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy .

© Copyright Maya Krampf for Wholesome Yum. Please DO NOT SCREENSHOT OR COPY/PASTE recipes to social media or websites. We’d LOVE for you to share a link with photo instead. :)