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  5. Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Soup Ideas That Make the Most of Leftovers

Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Soup Ideas That Make the Most of Leftovers

Kaitlyn Yarborough, Assistant Editor and Writer for Southern Living
By Kaitlyn Yarborough
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Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
Credit: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox
The day after Thanksgiving, we're often left nursing a post-feast food coma and housing a refrigerator laden with leftovers. Piling up a plate of casseroles and topping it all with gravy sounds like a tasty plan, but our favorite way of whittling down the Tupperware tower is transforming the Thanksgiving meal into dishes like a classic leftover turkey sandwich made with mayo and all the fixings.But if you really want to make the most of your leftover Thanksgiving turkey, you need a good turkey soup recipe. From Gumbo-style turkey stew to smoky sweet potato-turkey chili, these turkey soup ideas offer big batches of comforting, crowd-feeding suppers that'll give you a little more time to recover from the holiday—that is, before it's time to start decorating the Christmas tree.
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Turkey Tortellini Soup with Greens

Turkey Tortellini Soup with Greens
Credit: Greg DuPree

Recipe: Turkey Tortellini Soup with Greens

This leftover soup uses two parts of the Thanksgiving turkey: leftover meat and turkey stock made from the Thanksgiving centerpiece itself. Fill your family with its comforting mixture of fragrant broth, turkey, veggies, and tortellini.

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Green Chile-Turkey Soup with Hominy

Green Chile-Turkey Soup with Hominy
Credit: Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Mini Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Hadas Smirnoff

Recipe: Green Chile-Turkey Soup with Hominy

Holy hominy! Full of green chiles, tomatillos, and white hominy, this Tex-Mex soup might be our favorite leftover turkey recipe.

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Slow-Cooker White Chili with Turkey

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
Credit: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Slow-Cooker White Chili with Turkey

Consider dinner covered by this slow-cooker white chili. Cornmeal helps thicken the mixture and adds a hint of toasty corn flavor.

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Gumbo-Style Turkey Soup

Gumbo-Style Turkey Soup
Credit: Greg DuPree

Recipe: Gumbo-Style Turkey Soup

It doesn't get much cozier than gumbo. Spend your post-Thanksgiving, football-watching weekend chowing down on this roasted turkey rendition.

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Smoky Turkey-and-Sweet Potato Chili

Smoky Turkey-and-Sweet Potato Chili
Credit: Photo: Hector M. Sanchez

Recipe: Smoky Turkey-and-Sweet Potato Chili

This makes homemade chili feel even more fall-worthy, if that's possible. Throw in your shredded leftover turkey in lieu of ground turkey, and see how perfectly it complements the sweet potatoes, chipotle peppers, and lima beans.

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Turkey-and-Collard Green Stew

Turkey-and-Collard Green Stew
Credit: Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Mary-Claire Britton

Recipe: Turkey-and-Collard Green Stew

There's never a bad time to throw collard greens into the mix. This leftover-inspired soup gets even more heartiness from rice and chorizo sausage. Here's a tip: add some skillet cornbread.

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Slow Cooker Turkey Soup

Slow Cooker Turkey Soup
Credit: Southern Living

Recipe: Slow Cooker Turkey Soup

This might be the definiton of leftover Thanksgiving soup. Fill your slow cooker with aromatic vegetables, fragrant spices, and whatever's left of your turkey (all of which you already have on hand for Thanksgiving itself), and you're done.

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Slow Cooker Turkey Chili with Quinoa

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili with Quinoa
Credit: Hector Sanchez

Recipe: Slow Cooker Turkey Chili with Quinoa

Want something healthy and hearty after all that Thanksgiving feasting? This slow-cooker recipe has you covered. Swap in shredded leftover turkey instead of the ground turkey.

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Tortilla Turkey Soup

Tortilla Turkey Soup
Credit: Iain Bagwell

Recipe: Tortilla Turkey Soup

Forget the bland, the boring, the day-after slump. This tortilla soup, Thanksgiving edition, transforms your turkey into a zingy, Mexican-inspired dinner.

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Italian-Style Turkey Meatball Soup

Italian-Style Turkey Meatball Soup Recipe
Credit: Photo: Hector Sanchez

Recipe: Italian-Style Turkey Meatball Soup

Unless you're hosting an unconventional Thanksgiving meal that features turkey meatballs, swap in your leftover turkey instead. It'll pair just as deliciously with the simple Italian-style soup recipe.

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Slow-Cooker Turkey Chili

Slow-Cooker Turkey Chili
Credit: Photo: Oxmoor House

Recipe: Slow-Cooker Turkey Chili

Craving a comforting fall stew? This lightened-up chili is one of our most popular picks every season.

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Lemongrass-Turkey Soup

Lemongrass-Turkey Soup Recipe
Credit: Photo: Alison Miksch

Recipe: Lemongrass-Turkey Soup

This soup is like a breath of fresh air. Brothy and lemongrass-infused, the recipe can be made heartier by serving over rice or noodles.

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Fiesta Turkey Soup

Thanksgiving Menus: Fiesta Turkey Soup With Green Chili Biscuits Recipes
Credit: Southern Living

Recipe: Fiesta Turkey Soup

You'll happily throw a fiesta after tasting this 30-minute soup. It's the definition of quick-fix, using leftovers, canned ingredients, and hard-working spices.

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    1 of 13 Turkey Tortellini Soup with Greens
    2 of 13 Green Chile-Turkey Soup with Hominy
    3 of 13 Slow-Cooker White Chili with Turkey
    4 of 13 Gumbo-Style Turkey Soup
    5 of 13 Smoky Turkey-and-Sweet Potato Chili
    6 of 13 Turkey-and-Collard Green Stew
    7 of 13 Slow Cooker Turkey Soup
    8 of 13 Slow Cooker Turkey Chili with Quinoa
    9 of 13 Tortilla Turkey Soup
    10 of 13 Italian-Style Turkey Meatball Soup
    11 of 13 Slow-Cooker Turkey Chili
    12 of 13 Lemongrass-Turkey Soup
    13 of 13 Fiesta Turkey Soup

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    Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Soup Ideas That Make the Most of Leftovers
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