Thanksgiving holidays are observed on the fourth Thursday of November, where families celebrate gratitude for the blessings they received in the past year. It consists of a big dinner with a large roasted turkey as the main dish. After devouring the big bird, don’t throw away the carcass and leftovers. Turkey bones make delicious broth that can be used to make various soup delicacies. Turkey recipes for preparing stock or broth are easy and are very healthy and nutritious. Below is a list of the 10 best soups you can make using turkey stock.
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Curried Chicken/Turkey Noodle Soup
The most delicious way to use leftover turkey stock is by adding thin rice noodles with shredded chicken, turkey, or bacon, along with curry paste that’s filled with aromatic spices. You can also add a little lime juice for a more tangy flavour.
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French Onion Soup
The best-tasting French onion soup depends on two factors. The first is the stock, where traditionally beef is used. However, since it’s Thanksgiving and you have a lot of turkey carcasses and leftovers, the turkey stock will do.
The second important factor is the caramelisation of onions, hence the name “onion soup”. This process usually takes about 40 minutes. To get more flavour out of the soup, you can add in a little extra sugar to get that deep colour of the caramelised onions.
French onion soup goes well with toasted garlic bread, spread with Parmesan or Mozzarella cheese. However, the main ingredient is the stock, as it tremendously increases the flavour and taste of the soup.
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Baked Potato Soup
This creamy soup is the ultimate comfort food and is loaded with proteins, carbohydrates, and vitamins. You can use your leftover turkey, or swap it with chicken or bacon, whichever you prefer. Then there’s boiled and mashed potatoes, your turkey broth, loads of cheese, chives, milk, and butter. Just yum!
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Corn and Salsa Tortilla Soup
As the name suggests, this soup has a zesty and tangy flavour to it and can be prepared within one hour for a nutritious dinner. Typically, vegetable broth is used for this soup, but you can also use turkey stock to add in more flavour. The pasilla chilis, corn tortillas, roasted tomatoes, sour cream, and lime are among the ingredients that make this soup zesty and crunchy.
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Hot and Sour Soup
This soup contains ingredients that make it spicy and sour. It is an Asian culinary delicacy that is available in every Chinese restaurant. It is also very easy and simple to make at home. Apart from that, this soup is best eaten during winter or when you are suffering from a cold.
The good thing about making it at home is that you can easily customize the flavour and taste according to your preference. If you like it extra spicy, add in more chilis. Likewise, to make it extra sour, add in more vinegar or lime juice. If you prefer your soup vegetarian, add tofu or any vegetables of your choice. You can also use vegetable broth to make the soup. On the other hand, if you like it meaty, go ahead and add in your chicken shreds, pork, or turkey leftovers along with turkey or chicken stock for the broth.
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Mexican Chicken and Rice Soup
This is a quick and simple recipe if you already have your chicken or turkey stock base, and if you prefer to have meat in your soup, use the leftovers or pre-cook chicken, bacon, or turkey before preparing the broth.
Mexican dishes feel incomplete without tomatoes. This soup is no exception. Roasted juicy tomatoes along with diced onions cooked in olive oil, some corn, meat (your preference), a small amount of rice, a variety of spices and lastly adding the turkey stock, and you will have your delicious soup ready within 20 minutes and in time for dinner.
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Pea and Carrot Soup
This nutritious soup is highly loaded with proteins and fibre, making it healthy and flavourful. You can either make pea and carrot soup separately or you can mix them in turkey, chicken, or vegetable broth and garnish with sour cream, cilantro or sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
As a side dish, you can have healthy sausage rolls along with your delicious soup.
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Asian Chicken Noodle Soup
This soup consists of a lot of vegetables, meat, and noodles. So basically you have carbohydrates, proteins, nutrients, vitamins, and fibre all in one dish. It is healthy, delicious, and packed with flavour.
You can use any type of noodles you prefer; thin rice noodles or thick ramen ones. Ramen noodles look more authentic and very fulfilling. You can add toppings like mushrooms, peas, chopped sausages, and so on.
Garnish it with more shredded meat, cilantro and if you prefer a more tangy taste, add in some lime juice.
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Tomato and Cabbage Soup
Cabbage soup is known to be the ultimate weight-loss diet. Add in tomatoes, and you have a more flavourful, healthy dish that is delicious, low in calories, and easy to make.
As this dish is low in proteins, complex carbohydrates, and fats, it is best to add in chicken, turkey, or beef along with brown rice to meet your nutritional needs.
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Classic Vegetable Soup
For this soup, you can add any vegetables you prefer and also mix in meat for extra nutrition. You can swap vegetable broth with turkey stock, which makes the soup tastier.
For flavour, you can add in Italian seasonings, garlic and onion powder, some red pepper flakes, and cheese during the final touches, garnish the soup with cilantro at the end.
Final Thoughts
Soups are an exceptional way to have a balanced diet, that is loaded with nutrition and deliciousness. Thanksgiving is all about the turkey, and turkey is all about the leftovers. These leftovers lead to mouth-watering turkey stock, which yields delectable and flavourful soups.
So if you are planning on making turkey broth this Thanksgiving, what soups do you intend to cook?
