Creamy Turkey Soup

This velvety, creamy turkey soup is hearty, rich, and incredibly satisfying! Whether you use deep-fried, smoked turkey breast, or baked turkey legs, the result is always perfect!

Every year I look forward to Black Friday. Not for the reason that most women look forward to this day; unlike most women, I hate shopping! Especially if I have to deal with crowds.

I'd much rather stay home and make this delicious creamy turkey soup. It's become a family tradition that I look forward to every year. Maybe you can make it a family tradition too?

Jump to:

• 😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
• 🛒 What Goes into This Recipe
• 🔖 Ingredient & Substitutions
• 🥣 How to Make Creamy Turkey Soup
• 🥘 What to do with turkey soup leftovers?
• 👩🏼‍🍳 Pro Tips
• 🍽 Related Recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe

• This delicious creamy turkey soup has amazing flavor. It is easy to prepare and so satisfying and warm, especially in the colder months.
• The recipe is very forgiving and can be adjusted by replacing some of the ingredients if needed. For example, you can replace the barley with brown rice, or add only milk if you don't have half and half.
• Although this is a creamy turkey soup recipe, you can even go as far as using a rotisserie chicken instead of turkey.
• Use leftover soup to make mini turkey pot pies!

🛒 What Goes into This Recipe

🔖 Ingredient & Substitutions

• Turkey: I prefer to use both light and dark turkey meat in my soup. If you have a preference, you can use it. Also, if you want to make this soup throughout the year and not just around Thanksgiving, a rotisserie chicken is a great option! You can also use deep-fried, baked, or grilled.
• Barley: I love the texture of the barley in this soup. It's not only healthy but also filling. However, you can substitute with white rice, wild rice blend, or egg noodles.
• Half & Half: Depending on how rich (or not) you would like the soup to be, you can use milk, half and half, or heavy cream.
• Garlic: Use either fresh garlic (never from a jar), or if you have a little extra time, roast the garlic first!
• Veggies: You will also need plenty of vegetables. I recommend carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and corn. If you choose to add potatoes, you'll probably have to add more liquid, or the soup will be too thick.
• Herbs: Sage and thyme.
• Seasoning: Sea salt and black pepper or add some of my turkey rub instead!

🥣 How to Make Creamy Turkey Soup

Step 1: Begin by stripping the meat from the carcass. Set the meat aside until needed. Place turkey carcass in a soup kettle or Dutch oven and cover with enough water to fully immerse. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 to 2 hours.

Pro Tip: If your turkey was stuffed with fruit or vegetables while roasting, add everything to the pot! If not, add onions, celery, carrots, and bay leaves to improve the flavor. 

Step 2: Remove carcass and strain 10 cups of turkey broth. Strip remaining turkey meat from the carcass and slice into bite-size pieces. You'll need four cups of turkey.

Step 3: Melt butter in a large soup kettle or Dutch oven. Sauté onion for a few minutes, then add celery, carrots, corn, and garlic. Saute for a few more minutes. Add flour, and cook for for three additional minutes.

Step 4: Gradually add reserved turkey broth, stirring until smooth. Add turkey, barley, sea salt, black pepper, sage, and thyme. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 35 minutes or until barley is tender. 

Step 5: Add milk and half & half, then simmer on low for an additional 10 minutes. 

Enjoy the fruits of your labor!!!

If you are looking for other hearty soup recipes, make sure you check out this delicious Italian penicillin soup from Angela at TheBellaVita.com

"This was delicious! I substituted orzo pasta for the barley and it came out great. A hit with the entire family." —Kristine

🥘 What to do with turkey soup leftovers?

This is one of those times that you are going to wish you have some leftovers. That's because you will need the leftover creamy turkey soup to make mini turkey pot-pies. 

These mini pot-pies are absolutely delicious and perfect for a quick lunch or an easy dinner. They freeze well too! Alternatively, you can make the traditional-sized pies, but we are huge fans of the individual-sized ones.

You will need the 5" disposable mini tins which can be purchased on Amazon. I always make sure I have some on hand!

👩🏼‍🍳 Pro Tips

• I like to boil the turkey carcass on Thanksgiving night. I then refrigerate the broth until the next day, when I make the soup.
• One of the advantages of making the broth the night before is that you can skim the hardened fat off the top of the broth, reducing the amount of fat in the soup.
• Be sure to reserve some of the soup to make mini Turkey Pot Pies!
• Add leftover turkey soup to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

"I’ve been making this soup every year for the last 7 years and my family loves it just as much as the big Thanksgiving feast itself. My favorite tweaks are to use a carcass from a deep fried turkey using Cajun seasoning and I like to sub out the rice and use barley. Happy cooking!"
—Zara

🍽 Related Recipes

If you love this creamy turkey soup recipe, check out these other delicious soups as well!

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📖 Recipe

This post was originally posted on 11/16/2018 and was updated with more pictures and instructions on 11/29/19.