Leftovers can cause mixed emotions. On one hand, they’re easy to reheat to throw together a meal. On the other hand, after cooking and eating at multiple Thanksgiving gatherings, it can feel boring and overwhelming to be faced with a week’s worth of leftovers. I personally fall into the second camp. Between our Friendsgiving and two family Thanksgivings all within the week of the holiday, by the time Thursday has passed, I’m done. However, food wasted is a terrible thing, so in order to work around the monotony of holiday leftovers, I present to you this Thanksgiving Leftover Soup!
This soup is a great way to go through any leftover herbs, turkey, and vegetables you’ve got that you’re not sure what to do with. The great thing about soup is that it’s highly amenable, so it’s easy to change the recipe to work in the leftovers you’ve got lying around. Overall this soup takes less than an hour and nutritionally is a filling and balanced meal! Plus it makes enough for two folks to meal prep their entire week’s dinners.
Tell me in the comments below, what do you usually do with your holiday leftovers?
Ingredients
- Butter
- Onions
- Celery
- Carrots and parsnips
- Seasonings
- Herbs
- Green beans
- Corn
- Condensed soups
- Chicken broth
- Milk
- Turkey
- Egg noodles
. Butter, onion, celery, and carrots as a soup base is a classic concept known as a mirepoix (meer-eh-pwah). You’ll notice these ingredients in many soups and while it is classic, if you’re missing some of these ingredients or want to make swaps, be bold and try it out!
. All the seasonings are common spices and minerals that you likely have at home already. As for the herbs, I find fresh to be better almost always, but dried herbs will do in a pinch! Just make sure you give them enough time cooking in the soup to soften a bit and release their flavors.
. Feel free to play around with the texture of this soup by messing with the ratios of condensed soup to milk and broth. If you know you like thinner soups, don’t add all the condensed soup cans. You can always mix in more later if you find it not thick enough.
. You don’t need to add egg noodles, but they’re cheap and I like the texture of them in this meal.
How to Make this Soup
Start by chopping your mirepoix veggies. Carefully cut these items into roughly equally sized bits and them add them to the pot of melted butter. Stir them lightly to coat them in butter, then cover and cook on medium heat 5 minutes or so to soften them just a little. Next, stir in your spices and herbs, reduce heat slightly, and cover again. Cook this another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom. Now toss in your green beans and corn. Stir them in gently until well mixed, then add the condensed soups and chicken broth.
Again, gently mix the liquids into the solids and continue to stir lightly while the soup heats. After about 5 more minutes, stir in the milk and turkey and continue to heat until it’s ready to serve. You may even want to combine the last 2 steps to save time. If that’s the case, when you add the soup mixes and broth, also add the turkey and milk. I generally keep the turkey until the end as well as the milk because A) I don’t want the turkey cooking any further and B) the milk is only used to adjust the viscosity of the soup.
What to Pair this With
This soup nutritionally everything you need for a warm, filling meal. If you’re looking to boost it, you could add a dark leafy salad on the side or some buttered toast for extra coziness. This can be served as a main course or as a side depending on how many people you’re serving.
Thanksgiving Leftover Soup
Equipment
- Large Pot
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp salted butter
- 2 yellow onions, chopped
- 1 bunch celery, sliced
- 2 large carrots, sliced
- 1 parsnip, sliced, can swap out with more carrot
- 1 tsp onion salt
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp parsley, chopped if fresh
- 1 tsp rosemary, chopped if fresh
- 2 tsp sage, chopped if fresh
- 1 tsp thyme, chopped if fresh
- 1/2 cup green beans, sliced into thirds or fourths
- 15 oz golden sweet corn, drained if canned
- 36.5 oz cream of celery, use 1 26 oz can and 1 10.5 oz can
- 26 oz cream of chicken, can swap with more cream of celery
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups low fat milk
- 4 cups shredded turkey, can swap in chicken
Optional Ingredient
- 2 cups bowtie or egg noodles, boiled and kept separate from the soup until it's time to serve
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat butter till melted. Add chopped onion, celery, carrot, and parsnip and cook on medium heat, covered, about 5 minutes.
- Uncover, stir, and add the spices and herbs. Continue to cook on medium heat partially covered another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add green beans and corn to the mix and let it heat another few minutes.
- Stir in condensed soups and chicken broth and heat, stirring, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in milk and shredded turkey and continue to heat until it's warm enough to serve.