Wondering what to do with your roast turkey leftovers? This Leftover Turkey and Lentil Soup is your answer! Such a quick, easy and delicious way to use up leftover roast turkey – it takes just 30 minutes and only uses 1 pan! If you don’t have any leftovers, don’t worry… I have included instructions for how to make this with fresh turkey breast fillets too… or you can use leftover chicken if you prefer!
Got leftover roast turkey? Not sure what to make?
Make Turkey and Lentil Soup! This delicious soup is a quick and easy way to use up leftover roast turkey – it takes just 30 minutes from start to finish and only uses 1 pan!
No leftover turkey? No problem!
If you don’t have any leftovers, don’t worry… I have included instructions for how to make this with fresh turkey breast fillets too… or you can use leftover chicken if you prefer!
How to make Turkey and Lentil Soup
This Turkey and Lentil Soup is super simple to make.
All you need to do is fry diced onions, carrots, celery and garlic in a large pan over a low heat. Then add tinned tomatoes, stock, bay leaves and black pepper, and simmer for 15 minutes.
Next, add drained lentils and cooked turkey, and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Taste and add salt and/or pepper, if necessary. Finally, serve garnished with fresh parsley.
(Full recipe given in the recipe card below.)
What to serve with Turkey and Lentil Soup
This Turkey and Lentil Soup is delicious served with freshly baked homemade bread. For example, my Super Simple White Bread or my Super Simple Wholemeal Bread.
If time is tight, why not try one of my super easy and super fast soda breads, such as:
- Easy White Soda Bread
- Easy Wholemeal Soda Bread
- Pumpkin Seed and Rye Soda Bread
- Guinness and Treacle Soda Bread
- Easy Soda Bread Rolls
Guinness and Treacle Soda Bread
What to drink with Turkey and Lentil Soup
This delicious Turkey and Lentil Soup is equally at home with red or white wine.
If you prefer white wine, go with a vibrant Sauvignon Blanc from somewhere like New Zealand or Chile, or an oaked Chardonnay from somewhere like Australia, South Africa or the USA.
If you prefer red, go for something like a Spanish Garnacha or a Southern French red.
What to do with leftover Turkey and Lentil Soup
PLEASE NOTE: This soup is NOT suitable for reheating, if using cooked turkey. (This is because you should not reheat food more than once, especially turkey.)
However, this soup is IS suitable for reheating, if using fresh turkey.
Place any leftovers in a lidded container in the fridge, where they will keep for up to 3 days.
To reheat, tip into a saucepan, along with a small splash of water. Reheat over a medium heat until piping hot all the way through.
Alternatively, you can reheat this soup in the microwave.
Can you freeze Turkey and Lentil Soup
PLEASE NOTE: This soup is NOT suitable for freezing, if using cooked turkey. (This is because you should not reheat food more than once, especially turkey.)
However, this soup is IS suitable for freezing if using fresh turkey.
Place the cooked and cooled soup in a lidded container in the freezer, where it will keep for up to 1 month.
Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat as above.
If you like this recipe…
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Turkey and Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- 2 medium carrot diced
- 2 sticks celery thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic grated or crushed
- 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- 400 ml chicken stock (from a cube is fine, I used 1 x Kallo Organic Chicken Stock Cube)
- 2 dried bay leaves
- Salt and pepper to taste (see Note 1)
- 400 g tin green or brown lentils drained
- 300 g cooked turkey chopped into bitesize pieces (see Note 2 for what to do if using fresh turkey)
- Fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Place the oil, onions, carrots and celery in a large pan over a low heat. Cover with a lid and fry for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened but not brown.
- Remove the lid and add the garlic. Fry for 1 more minute, stirring occasionally.
- Add the tomatoes, stock, bay leaves, salt and pepper (see Note 1). Bring to the boil, then simmer with the lid off for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Add the drained lentils and cooked turkey. Stir well to combine, then simmer for a further 5 minutes. If the soup gets too dry, add a little boiling water to ensure it is the correct consistency for your own personal tastes.
- Taste and add more salt and/or pepper, if necessary.
- Serve garnished with fresh parsley (optional).
Notes
- This is up to you and your tastes, but personally I only add black pepper, as the salt in the stock cube makes it salty enough for my personal taste.
- If using fresh turkey breast fillets, first cut the fillets into small pieces, then stir-fry in 1 tablespoon olive oil over a high heat until lightly browned on most sides – this should take 3-5 minutes. Remove to a plate, then follow the recipe above exactly as written, adding the cooked fresh turkey (along with all the tasty juices!) back into the soup at the same time as you would with leftover roast turkey.
- Suitable for freezing if using fresh turkey. Not suitable for freezing if using cooked turkey. (This is because you should not reheat food more than once, especially turkey.)
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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