Cozy up with a bowl of this easy and healthy chicken or turkey pot pie soup, made with leftover chicken or turkey for a simple winter meal! (nut-free)

I realize that it's a little late to be posting a turkey leftovers recipe, but hey, that's how my life goes these days.

Hopefully, you're not still eating leftover turkey, since we're toeing the line of spoilage now. Leftovers are best when eaten within 3-4 days. Not that I obey this rule all the time, but my professional dietitian food safety police advice is to not eat leftovers after 4 days. Do as I say, not as I do.

Perhaps you did what I would do in the situation of too many leftovers with not enough time (or desire) to eat them, and put your leftover turkey in the freezer. Yay, you! We're all about reducing food waste here. If that's the case, this healthy turkey pot pie soup is for future you, on a day when you feel like eating turkey once again and you have nothing to make for dinner.

On said day, future you can pull out that bag of (pre-shredded, of course!) frozen turkey from the freezer, chop some veggies, and make a delicious turkey pot pie soup in no time at all! Then you can cozy up with a bowl on the couch and feel good about yourself for not wasting food and saving money by not ordering takeout!

But just in case you didn't save your leftover turkey, or you ate it all, or you traveled and didn't have any leftovers (sad day), you can also use chicken in this pot pie soup and it will still taste fabulous. And leftover chicken is almost always a thing (especially rotisserie chicken).

This delicious turkey pot pie soup is made healthy with white whole wheat flour, plenty of veggies, and low-fat milk. It's creamy and rich, thanks to umami-rich mushrooms and broth, with lots of chunks of turkey. And to top it all off, I served my turkey pot pie soup with homemade whole wheat biscuits. So good. Mr. Table even liked them, which was a shock to me.

If you want to add potatoes to your pot pie soup, go right ahead. I forgot to add them when I was cooking (as one does with a baby screaming at them), and the soup was still really good. So I just left them out of the recipe. But if you can't have pot pie without potatoes, go for it! Add them with the rest of the veggies at the beginning. You can also use frozen mixed veggies in place of the carrots and peas if that's what you have. Add them at the end where you would add the peas.

Next time you find yourself with an abundance of turkey or chicken leftovers, prevent food waste and use them all up in this tasty, healthy turkey pot pie soup!

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the comments!

Healthy Chicken or Turkey Pot Pie Soup

Print Recipe

Cozy up with a bowl of this easy and healthy chicken or turkey pot pie soup, made with leftover chicken or turkey for a simple winter meal! (nut-free)

Author: Kaleigh
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
Category: soup
Method: stovetop
Cuisine: Southern

Ingredients

Scale

2 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ medium yellow onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 small carrots, diced
½ pint mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp white whole wheat flour (or all purpose)
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth*
4 cups cooked turkey or chicken, shredded
½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
¼ tsp salt**
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
½ cup frozen peas
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
whole wheat biscuits, for serving

Instructions

In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, celery, carrots and mushrooms. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from pot and set aside.
Turn heat to low. Add butter to pot and melt. Add flour and whisk quickly to make a slurry. Add broth and continue whisking until well combined.
Add vegetables back to the pot with turkey, pepper, salt and thyme. Stir to combine. Cover and let simmer until vegetables are to your preferred texture, about 15-20 minutes.
Remove lid and stir in peas and milk. Let soup warm back up with the lid off, stirring occasionally until hot and thickened just a bit. Remove from heat.
Serve soup with whole wheat biscuits, optional.

Notes

*If you really want to get industrious, make homemade broth with the turkey carcass. It's delicious.

**The amount of salt in this soup can vary a lot depending on if you used salted butter and how much sodium is in the broth you used. I recommend tasting the soup before you add salt and adjusting it to fit your taste.

***If you'd like to add potatoes, add them in with the other vegetables at the beginning.

Keywords: healthy turkey pot pie soup, healthy chicken pot pie soup, healthy pot pie soup, pot pie soup