This warm and comforting soup is loaded with hearty vegetables and quinoa. Ideal for using up leftover turkey or rotisserie chicken.
We hosted our very first Thanksgiving this year which was particularly special since it’s also our first holiday season in the new house! To celebrate, my husband went a little crazy and ordered a 32 pound bird. Needless to say, we have a lot of leftover turkey to enjoy.
Whenever I have leftover protein, be it turkey, chicken, pork or beef, I love finding creative ways to turn it into a new healthy recipe. Soup is an ideal way to use up leftovers because you can truly use whatever meat and vegetables you have on hand. For added flavor, I’ve added lemon juice, garlic and cinnamon to this heart turkey vegetable soup.
For even more protein, fiber and nutrients, I use cooked quinoa instead of the traditional egg noodles. This not only makes the soup naturally gluten free but it results in a high-protein meal that will keep you fueled and satisfied for hours. Pro Tip: Make a double batch to freeze for a busy day another time.
Your spoon is waiting.
Turkey Vegetable Soup with Quinoa
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 medium carrots peeled and diced
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and diced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 medium zucchini diced
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 8 ounces shredded cooked turkey breast or rotisserie chicken
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
Instructions
- Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat and drizzle in the olive oil. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in the onions, peppers, carrots and zucchini then season with salt, pepper and cinnamon. Sauté until vegetables are tender, about 7-9 minutes.
- Pour in the lemon juice and chicken broth then bring pot to a boil. Add in cooked shredded turkey breasts and cooked quinoa then bring to a boil once again. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes. Check for seasoning and add additional salt and pepper to taste before serving.
Chef's Notes
How to reduce the sodium:
Look for a chicken broth with little or no salt added and don’t add any additional salt.Nutrition
Check out more healthy soup recipes on my Pinterest board!
john
Pretty Fabulous! Turned a lack luster turkey breast from the prior evening into a delicious and hearty soup! Doubled the recipe and used red quinoa.
John
…Great for those of us who are gluten sensitive or intolerant too.
Liz DellaCroce
Glad you enjoyed it Josh!
Richa Gupta
A wonderful soup choice for winter!
Erin Clarkson
Yum! Soup is my fave!!
alyssa | everydaymaven
Love turkey soup – seriously the best part of Thanksgiving!!
Liz DellaCroce
So agree!
Heather
Love homemade turkey soup and I really like the veggies you chose. Thank you for the inspiration!
Liz DellaCroce
So glad to hear that!! Enjoy!!
Lindsay @ The Live-In Kitchen
Looks so healthy!
Liz DellaCroce
Big time!!
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes)
Leftovers never looked so good!!
Liz DellaCroce
Thanks lady!
Lane & Holly @ With Two Spoons
32 ounce bird!?!?! That’s crazy! I bet you had an awesome Thanksgiving and are getting to eat so many awesome leftover meals! PS-love the soup!
Liz DellaCroce
I hope I said pound not ounces hahahah! Thank you!
Joani
Ohmigosh! 1374 mg. of sodium!! That’s 3x the amount of sodium per meal per day that anyone should have. My husband and I are on low-salt heart-healthy lifestyles, so I’ll work at keeping the salt content in this recipe ‘way down!
The recipe sounds great except for the very high salt content.
Liz DellaCroce
Hi Joani, If you’d like to reduce the amount of sodium simply look for a chicken broth with little or no salt added and don’t add any additional salt. Additionally, add turkey that doesn’t have salt on it. Does that help at all? I don’t like to assume people will do these things so I include the full amount of sodium but there are so many easy ways you can modify to make it low sodium. :) That’s what’s so great about cooking at home from scratch!