This Leftover Turkey Soup is a hearty meal with Andouille sausage and Cajun flavor. A low-carb, gumbo-inspired soup you can make with leftover turkey!
Gumbo-Style Soup
Now, before you sit down to write me a mean-spirited email (haha), I’ll say right off the bat that this recipe does not make authentic New Orleans gumbo.
However, it is gumbo style or cheater gumbo! In flavor and technique, it is almost identical to gumbo, but there are a few things that make this soup/stew quicker to make, and more convenient for utilizing leftovers.
It’s incredibly hearty and flavorful, too. Plus, it’s a lower in carbs than most gumbo recipes. Let’s call it good for you comfort food! YES, easy low-carb gumbo (gumbo style) soup does exist!
Leftover Turkey Soup Ingredients
Here’s what makes this meal more of a thick soup/stew rather than a gumbo:
- It calls for medium-dark roux – Rather than using a cornstarch or arrowroot slurry, I use a roux because I LOVE how it add flavors and thickens the soup at the same time.
- No okra or tomato – I don’t add okra to the turkey rice soup because it doesn’t need it. Instead, rice (or cauliflower rice) and the roux will thicken it nicely.
- Meat – If you have leftover Thanksgiving turkey, this recipe is calling your name! In addition to the turkey, I also use Andouille sausage, for an authentic flavor. Feel free to use chicken sausage or another lean sausage if you prefer it.
- Creole seasoning – There are several creole seasonings available in the stores. Be sure to check the ingredients, as some do have gluten. I use Tony Chachere’s and it’s gluten-free. Feel free to adjust the amount you use to increase or decrease the amount of heat in the dish.
- Tabasco sauce – I know, it’s not authentic, but it’s so good. You could even use green tabasco for a milder flavor.
- Cauliflower rice – It helps thicken it even more. Plus, it helps to keep it lower-carb. You can definitely serve it over white or even brown rice if you prefer; but it will not be low-carb!
Leftover Turkey Soup
- Prep your ingredients.
Feel free to prep and chop a day or two ahead if you want to. I like to cook large batches of cauliflower rice. Then, I freeze them into smaller portions so that I can use them for recipes just like this one!
- Brown the sausage.
If you’re using a lean sausage, you’ll want to add a bit of oil to the pan to prevent the meat from sticking. - Make the roux.
Roux is a thickener made from equal parts fat and flour. In this case, it’s a gluten free roux, but the process to make it is the same.
DO YOU KNOW?
There are actually 5 different “levels”, or colors, of roux, ranging from blonde to dark. The color of a roux is determined by the amount of time you cook it.
I chose to make a medium-dark roux, because cooking dark roux can take up to 30 minutes. Let’s face it, after cooking a big Thanksgiving meal, you deserve to sit down and relax a little bit!
- Saute the veggies, add the stock, and let ‘er simmer!
It does take about 30 minutes for the flavors to “marry”. Honestly, the longer you let the turkey soup simmer, the better the flavor will be. TRUST ME.
More of Our Favorite
Hearty Soup Recipes
Leftover Turkey Soup Recipe
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 4–5 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This leftover turkey soup is a hearty meal with Andouille sausage and Cajun flavor. It’s a low carb gumbo you can make with leftover turkey. If you want to thicken the soup even more, feel free to serve it over cooked cauliflower rice.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons oil, or as needed
- 10 oz Andouille chicken or pork sausage, sliced (see notes)
Roux (see notes for alternative)
- ¼ cup (2 oz) unsalted butter
- 5 tablespoons gluten-free flour
For the Soup
- 1 medium white onion, chopped
- 1 cup diced celery (about 2 stalks)
- 1 cup diced green or red bell pepper (1 bell pepper)
- 1 ¼ teaspoons minced garlic (about 2–3 cloves)
- 2–3 cups leftover smoked turkey or dark meat roast turkey, diced
- 1–2 tablespoons Creole seasoning (such as Tony Chachere’s), to taste
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 ½ tablespoons smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce or hot sauce of choice (optional)
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- 2+ cups cooked cauliflower rice
- Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Brown the sausage. Heat oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the sausage and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned. Remove sausage from the pot and set aside.
- Make the roux. Reduce the heat to medium. Add butter to the same pot, and once melted, whisk in the flour. Cook the roux for 10–12 minutes, whisking continuously, until it turns a nutty golden brown and smells toasty (it may not darken as much as a traditional wheat flour roux — that’s OK). See notes for slurry option.
- Stir in the onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Sauté for 8–10 minutes, until the vegetables are softened and fragrant. Return the sausage to the pot and cook for another 5–6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the Creole seasoning, cayenne, paprika, and salt. Stir well, then slowly pour in the broth, whisking or stirring to combine. Add the bay leaf, cover, and simmer over medium-low heat for 10–15 minutes to let the flavors deepen and the soup thicken.
- Stir in the cooked or leftover turkey and Tabasco (if using). Simmer uncovered for another 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the gumbo has thickened and everything is heated through.
- Taste and season with additional salt and pepper as needed. Serve hot over cooked cauliflower rice or white rice, and top with fresh parsley if desired.
Notes
Cooking Sausage Note: Pre-cooked Aidells Cajun andouille works great for convenience; if using uncooked, it will finish cooking as it browns and simmers)
Roux Alternative: If you prefer, you can skip the roux and use a slurry instead: whisk together 1–2 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot starch with 2 tablespoons cool water and stir it in during the last 10 minutes of simmering.
Cauliflower Rice Substitute – If preferred, you can substitute cooked white rice for the cauliflower rice. Just note that this option won’t be low carb.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Soup
- Method: stove
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl includes roux
- Calories: 441
- Sugar: 3.7 g
- Sodium: 975.7 mg
- Fat: 26.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 12.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 13 g
- Fiber: 2.7 g
- Protein: 37.4 g
- Cholesterol: 147.7 mg
Poorly put together recipe. You do not include garlic and bay leaf in the list of ingredients, so I had to guess on the amount of garlic.
Hey Kim! My apologies — we recently updated our recipe card plugin, and a few recipes were showing older versions by mistake. It should be updated now, and I’ve double-checked both the ingredients and instructions. I’ll also email you a copy just to be safe.
We did a Cajun brined and injected turkey in the air fryer and it was delish. So glad I found this recipe for the leftovers–perfect! Like another reviever, I added some of our leftover Cajun gravy as a thickener and it worked brilliantly. Thanks much!
We are DROOLING. YUM! Thanks for sharing your recipe experience with us. 🙂
3rd time making this..delish
I cut the Cajun seasoning in half as well as the cayenne….and we love things hot! since.i was making this from Thanksgiving leftovers…I used a cup of the gravy as my thickener…worked great. also added fresh riced cauliflower at thd did and simmered another 10 minutes.
Gravy as a thickener is an amazing idea!! Thanks for feedback Janet!
I used leftover roast pork the 2nd time I made this. Yum
Oooo, that sounds delish, Janet!
This recipe has been a lifesaver with the leftover turkey. I love the combination with the creole seasoning and the sausage- it’s so tasty and it’s a very different flavor than the Thanksgiving turkey. Such a good recipe!
right? I couldn’t agree more
This was unbelievably good. I made it two times in three days. I used both the slurry and the roux variations. We liked the slurry more; it seemed to let the savory flavors and the spice come through loud and clear.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it celest! Did you make a cornstarch slurry? Just curious.
An arrowroot slurry, actually. It was sooo good.
What an awesome idea! I love gumbo!
Thanks! Would love to know if you make it!
what a great leftover recipe, gumbo-ize it! Adds a totally different flavor and with andouille sausage, even better, thank you!
I’m so glad! Thanks Sabrina!
I really love how comforting this is!! A perfect meal for cold nights!
Right? Glad you likes it Toni!
I just made this this morning and it is SO delicious! I just hope my husband doesn’t eat it all 🙂
So glad you both love it Lauren!