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Got turkey leftovers? Make this Turkey Kale Soup! This soup has a hint of Italian flavors thanks to the tomatoes and spices, and is so hearty and delicious. If you don’t have turkey leftovers, no problem because it also works great with leftover shredded chicken as well!
Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Kale Soup
With a seasoned tomato broth and hearty veggies, this Turkey Kale Soup is so comforting. And the perfect soup to make post-Thanksgiving with leftover turkey! It comes together simply, which means a quick and easy dinner everyone will love. It’s also Paleo and Whole30 friendly, too.
If you are able to utilize the leftovers of a turkey carcass to make broth with, as I did, it takes this soup up to another level! The better the broth, the better the soup, so make sure if you aren’t making your own to buy a good quality brand!
Ingredients Used
- Leftover Turkey (see substitutions below)
- Kale
- Canned Diced Tomatoes
- Onions + Garlic
- Celery
- Carrots
- Olive Oil
- Italian seasoning
- Salt + Pepper
- Turkey or Chicken Broth
- White Beans (skip out on these for Paleo and Whole30)
Substitutions
Turkey: You can use leftover turkey for this recipe. Or, you can use leftover shredded chicken. Additionally, you can also make this recipe with ground turkey, if you want! The recipe has a note on how to substitute this in.
Kale: Feel free to use whatever type of kale that you like. You also could swap in another type of green here instead, such as collards, chard or fresh spinach. If changing up the greens, such as spinach, it might need to be added later in the recipe.
Broth: We have linked a recipe for how to make your own turkey broth from the leftover turkey, or you can use homemade or store-bought turkey or chicken stock.
Beans: We love the addition of beans, but you could also omit them for Whole30 or Paleo diets. Or you could replace the beans with pasta, to make this a bit heartier.
How to Make Your Own Turkey Stock or Bone Broth
I made a super quick turkey bone broth with the leftover carcass and it was so simple! I used the Instant Pot, of course, but you can also do this on the stovetop. I put the whole carcass, a few aromatics, spices, and water in the Instant Pot and cooked on high pressure for 50 minutes. It might have been the best broth I’ve ever tasted and was just so perfect in this soup. I’ve linked the instructions in the notes of the recipe if you want to make your own as well. If you don’t want to make it you can use regular bone broth or stock.
How Long to Store this Soup
Well, that depends on a few factors, including what ingredients you used to make this soup.
If you made this soup with fresh leftover turkey (as in, the day after Thanksgiving) you could store this soup for 2-3 days in the refrigerator. You could even freeze this soup for 2-3 months.
If however, you made this soup with leftover turkey 3-4 days after Thanksgiving in an effort to use up some of the leftover turkey…I don’t suggest storing it at all. Eat it fresh the day you make the soup.
And if you’ve made this soup with leftover shredded chicken, the same rules apply.
If you like this soup recipe, check out these others:
- Turkey Wild Rice Soup
- Healthy Italian Wedding Soup
- Instant Pot Lentil Soup
- Instant Pot Southwest Chicken Soup
Turkey Kale Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 medium carrots diced
- 2 medium celery stalks diced
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1-½ teaspoons fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 6 cups turkey or chicken broth more as needed
- 1 small bunch kale washed and sliced thinly (about 4 big handfuls)
- 2 cups diced leftover turkey or chicken or 1 pound ground turkey (see note)
- 1 15 ounce can white beans (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oil over medium heat in a dutch oven. Once hot, add onion and garlic, and cook for 3 minutes, until beginning to soften.
- Add in carrots and celery, let cook over medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes, until softened, stirring occasionally.
- Add in Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and diced tomatoes and cook for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Add in broth and increase heat to bring to a boil, and then add in kale. Boil for 5 minutes, until kale is dark green and wilted. Lower the heat, and add in diced turkey and white beans and let simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add more broth if necessary.
- Taste and adjust seasoning.
What a delicious recipe! I never would have guessed a soup with kale in it would be this yummy and delightful. You and your website have been a godsend to me throughout an elimination diet for food sensitivities. I recommend your site to everyone who will listen. Lol
This soup is The Best! I used rotel original diced tomatoes and green chilies. Added more carrots because really wanted that. Everything else as the recipe says. The seasonings makes it so delicious! Definitely a keeper 🌟 Loved it!
I made this soup tonight, using ground turkey and my own home made bone broth. It’s absolutely delicious! What a great recipe.
Wish it would have included nutritional data.
They’re there now.
I loved this recipe! I used ground turkey which worked great. I actually love that this recipe doesn’t have pasta as it kept for longer. Very healthy and easy!
This really missed the mark. I added two small potatoes and otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I agree it would have been better without the tomatoes. This one is not a keeper for me.
This really does hit the spot and is delicious as well. That’s to say, my husband, mother, and I thought so. Added about a couple teaspoons of sea salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Thank you for sharing this – it is now going into my recipe binder.
This soup was great! It cooked super quick and was very healthy (and gluten free). I would omit the tomatoes next time, I didn’t care for them in this recipe. I also added some potatoes, well, because I love potatoes! I will definitely be making this soup again 🙂
This recipe has become a Fall and Winter staple for my family…love this soup!
Made this for hubby and me and had dinner for two nights. This was so filling and delicious! He is super picky and loved it, too! Thank you!
Just finished dinner and had to comment! This soup was incredible. I was skeptical at first – figuring it was just another turkey + veggie soup – but, wow did it impress. I used two cubes of Trader Joe’s frozen basil while browing the turkey and added two more cubes while the soup wa simmering. I also used the entire 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes. Other than that I followed the recipe to a ‘t’. My husband loved it as well. We can’t wait to make it again!
I know it’s January and I shouldn’t be thinking about Thanksgiving, but this would be such a great way to recycle all that Thanksgiving leftover turkey! Love it!!
I love you! I just came from Lee @ Fit Foodie Finds blog and looked at your Foodgawker gallery and it’s absolutely ridonkey!
I love
I’m doing the Whole30 right now with a bunch of peeps in my FB group and we’re loving it. I’ll share the recipe with them! Yay. Looking forward to more! x
Thank you so much Rachael! I’m so happy you found me 🙂 Good luck on your Whole30!
Great recipe! I made this tonight and was the perfect combination of quick, easy and flavorful! Thank you.
Love the kale in this hearty and healthy soup.
Great recipe. Definitely will be sharing this with my friends who are doing their first whole30!
Wow! This looks so comforting and like an amazing way to get in extra veggies during the cold months. Thanks for sharing it!
I can’t wait to make this soup! All I need to buy is the kale!
You haven’t added when you cook the turkey…no big deal we can figure it out but just wanted you to know. Also..question….what do you do when after you eat you crave something sweet? Do you have something on hand always?