Easy Leftover Turkey Lentil Soup

Turkey and lentil soup is comforting, lightly spiced, easy to make and ready in less than half an hour. There’s no need to blend it. Nourishing and delicious, this soup is a great way to use up leftover turkey from a roast.

Leftover turkey lentil soup

Turkey soup is a classic for the last of the leftovers, after Christmas or Thanksgiving. This effortless recipe is adaptable, quick and easy to make, as well as delicious. You don’t even need a blender to make it!

It is very easy to vary the spices to suit all tastes, so this leftover turkey and lentil soup is a real crowd pleaser. Packed with protein, it’s perfect for a warm up after a walk on a cold day. You can also fill a flask with it for a winter picnic.

I usually cook for two (did you know that the most common number of people in a household in the UK is 2?) but as this soup keeps and freeze so well, I’ve doubled it up to make enough for a generous bowl for lunch for two days.

I love soup. It is a lunch time staple for us, winter and summer. A great way to get all the healthy stuff into a quick lunch dish, it also keeps you feeling satisfied through to dinner time.

Some of my favourites are leftover salad soup, easy gazpacho (made with canned tomatoes), slow cooked root vegetable soup, and roasted tomato & lentil soup. Meaty soups can be easy too, especially when you have some scraps to use up, and this turkey lentil soup is as frugal as it is tempting.

Let me show you how to make the most of the last of the leftover turkey, with some hints and tips, and one of my favourite cheat ingredient substitutions. You’ll be roasting turkey just for the excuse to make another batch of this soup!

Why make this recipe!

• It is so easy and quick to make that you don’t even need a blender.

• This soup is fast – ready to serve in less than 30 minutes.

• It uses everyday ingredients along with that leftover turkey (or of course chicken). It doesn’t even matter if the vegetables are getting a bit past their best!

• The soup freezes well, so it is perfect for batch cooking!

Turkey lentil soup ingredients

This easy soup uses simple, everyday ingredients: 

• Carrots – Packed full of vitamins C, K, E, beta-carotene (for vitamin A), fibre, potassium, folates and manganese, carrots are a nutritional powerhouse. They are also super affordable, available throughout the year, and keep well in the salad crisper. 

• Garlic & Onion – We always keep a stash on hand. Store in a cool, dark cupboard or, failing that, in the salad drawer. 

• Celery – Along with carrot and onion, celery is the third ingredient of the Italian soffritto, or French mirepoix. It is one of those chef’s secrets that makes all the difference to the final dish, contributing to the whole, but not detectable as a standout flavour. I don’t especially like celery but miss the depth it adds to soups and stews when it is absent. However, if you are allergic, the recipe will work just fine if you leave it out.

Helen’s Fuss Free Tip

You can buy bags of finely chopped frozen celery, onion and carrots which take much of the work out of making this soup. Look for it with the frozen vegetables at the store it will be called soffritto, mirepoix, vegetable base mix or similar. Simply pour into a hot pan and fry from frozen. In terms of convenience it is worth every penny!

• Red Lentils – Delicious, packed with protein, fast to cook and super affordable, red lentils make a full-bodied, creamy-textured soup that doesn’t need blending. I love lentils!

• Warming Spices – I have used a dash of cumin and some turmeric for its rich golden colour. You could, however, also use curry powder or a dash of chilli for some extra heat.

• Coconut milk or milk /cream – this adds a touch of richness. I’ve used a dash of coconut milk but dairy cream is fine.

Helen’s Fuss Free Tip

You can use canned coconut milk here, or half the quantity of coconut cream. Once opened store, in a covered container in the fridge and use within 3 days. Both will freeze well for another recipe.

I prefer to use powdered coconut milk, as I find it helps to cut down on waste and mess. It is widely available, and you can make up the exact quantity you need to the exact strength you want.

• Leftover Cooked Turkey – Chopped or shredded, white or brown meat, it doesn’t matter which you use in this soup. You can also use leftover chicken.

• Stock/Broth – Homemade turkey stock is ideal here – (make it as you would make chicken stock). Otherwise a good quality stock concentrate is perfect.

Olive Oil – Preferably extra virgin, which is non refined and packed with omega 3 oils. 

Optional (not pictured)

• Lemon – I often add a squeeze of lemon juice to soup, as it lifts, lightens, brightens and focusses all the favours. Generally a squeeze of lemon is a great way to revive any dull dish.

• Chopped herbs – parsley and coriander / cilantro would work well here.

• Pumpkin or other seeds – to garnish

How to make turkey lentil soup

Before you start, read my step-by-step instructions, with photos, hints and tips so you can make this perfectly from scratch every time.

Scroll down for the recipe card with quantities and more tips at the bottom of the page.

Step One – Peel and dice the onion, celery, garlic and carrots into small pieces.

Step Two – Heat the olive oil in a saucepan or casserole dish/Dutch oven. Add the chopped onion, celery and carrot. Sauté over medium heat for a couple of minutes.

(If you are using a frozen sofritto mix, you will need about a cup. Let it cook for a little longer.)

Add the garlic and season with pepper and salt. Then cook for another minute or so.

Garlic cooks faster than the other vegetables so add it last to ensure it won’t burn.

Step Three – Add the spices, and gently cook them for a minute or so. You want to release the flavour from the spices, but not burn them. 

Step Four – Add the lentils, milk, stock or broth, and the shredded turkey. Give it all a good stir, put the lid on and let it simmer for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are soft and mushy.

Step Five – Adjust the texture to suit your taste. If you prefer the soup smoother, mash with a potato masher, or fully or partially blend with a stick blender to the texture you want. You can add some more stock or water to thin the soup if you prefer.  

Step Six (optional) – Add some chopped herbs, and a squeeze of lemon juice to taste.

Finally, serve your leftover turkey and lentil soup! If you like, you can garnish it with chopped herbs and some pumpkin seeds, and add a blob of natural yogurt or a swirl of cream.

Serving suggestion

This leftover turkey lentil soup is delicious with homemade bread and butter. Try it served with soft yogurt bread, quick no yeast bread, self raising flour bread and homemade butter.

Storage

Keep leftovers in a covered container in the fridge for 3 days, or freeze.

Defrost overnight in the fridge, or for a few hours on the countertop, and then reheat in a saucepan on the stove top or in the microwave.

Hints, tips & variations

• Turkey lentil soup freezes very well. Simply pour into leakproof containers and then allow it to cool before freezing. Alternatively, it will store for three days in the fridge.
• Vary the spicing to suit your taste. Try a hint of mace or curry powder as you prefer.
• You can substitute cooked canned or pouched lentils for dried ones, or use green lentils or (soaked) yellow split peas instead of the red lentils.
• If you can’t eat celery, you could use leeks, or fennel.

FAQs

More leftover turkey recipes

Spice up your leftovers from a festive roast with these easy recipes.

• Leftover Turkey Curry – a classic no fuss easy British style turkey curry.

• Turkey fajitas – lightly spiced, sizzling hot, ready in less than 30 minutes and perfect for feeding a crowd.

• Leftover Turkey Pasta Bake – this creamy pasta bake is packed with turkey, cheese, ham and mushrooms

• Turkey Biryani – A classic spiced rice one pot that is so easy to make.

Red lentil recipes

I love red lentils because they’re delicious, easy and a great source of protein and iron. They last for ages, are relatively cheap, cook quickly and are perfect for bulking out another dish.

• Red lentil dal – supremely comforting this dal is like a hug in a bowl!

• Lentil Loaf – adaptable and packed with veggies.

• Carrot & Lentil Soup – Quick easy, vegan, gluten free and perfect for batch cooking and filling the freezer.

• Tomato & Lentil Soup – Minimal ingredients and effort but maximum taste in this delicious creamy textured soup.