This healthy leftover lemon garlic turkey meatball soup will warm you up with it’s hearty savory broth and it’s immune-boosting lemon and garlic. It’s the perfect excuse to use up those Thanksgiving turkey leftovers and fight off those cool-weather colds! It is also gluten-free, paleo, and dairy-free!
Leftover turkey recipes:
Here is yet another leftover Thanksgiving turkey recipe just like I promised.
I already covered the paleo leftover turkey sweet potato frittata, the pumpkin sage turkey meatball lettuce wraps + hot bacon vinaigrette, and the slow cooker white turkey chili recipes earlier this week that all used leftover turkey meat from your holiday turkey.
But then I got sick as a dog a few days ago.
Actually, as sick as my dog (who is currently wearing an E-collar “party hat” after her emergency surgery this week too!). We are quite pitiful the pair right now.
And all I want to do when I’m sick is curl up in bed, take too many naps, and wake up when it’s time to slurp up some homemade soup. Then back in bed.
So I decided partly out of want and partly out of necessity to make a leftover turkey soup recipe that incorporated some immune-boosting effects but also tasted damn good too.
It’s well known that when your sick, your taste buds go on vacation so almost everything tastes blah and bland and boring.
So I needed a broth that wouldn’t upset my sore throat but would wake up those taste buds.
From start to finish this soup only takes about 15 minutes once you have all your ingredients prepped.
Basically what that means is if you’re sick and slow moving it’ll take ya about 20 minutes (trust me, been there) till you get to slurp your first spoonful.
Turkey Meatball Soup Flavors:
I decided to throw together a lemon, honey, and garlic broth, saute in some healthy kale, potatoes, and other veggies, and then add in the leftover turkey (plus a few of my pumpkin sage meatballs!) for some added protein.
The lemon and garlic are known to help your immune system and the honey naturally helps to soothe any sore throats.
I seasoned the soup with a combination of garlic, cumin, anise, and honey for a robust savory flavor with a hint of sweet to finish.
Turkey Meatball Soup Ingredients:
- olive oil
- carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 large potato, cubed
- sweet onion, chopped
- minced garlic
- kale, or spinach
- leftover cooked turkey meat, or pumpkin sage meatballs!
- lemon peel of 1 lemon
- lemon juice
- cumin
- red pepper flakes, optional
- gluten-free chicken stock, or vegetable stock
- liquid aminos
- honey
- anise seed
- salt and pepper to taste
How to make Turkey Meatball Soup:
For a full detailed description of ingredients and directions, scroll down to the recipe card.
- Warm a large skillet with the olive oil in the bottom of it over medium heat. Add in the carrot, potato, onion, and minced garlic for 4-5 minutes or until the potato starts to become a bit tender.
- Add in the kale, leftover turkey meat, lemon peels, lemon juice, cumin, and red pepper flakes and cook an additional 3-4 minutes or until the kale becomes darkened and wilted.
- Add in the chicken stock, liquid aminos, honey, and anise seed to the skillet and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before topping with salt and pepper to taste and enjoying.
What to pair with turkey meatball soup:
We like to have a fluffy biscuit, like our Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread Muffins or our Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits to dunk into the soup!
We also like to pair this soup with some healthy warm greens with Quick Teriyaki Green Beans and the Sriracha Mayo Cream Broccoli.
Healthy leftover turkey lemon garlic soup tips:
- If you don’t want any heat at all, omit the red pepper flakes. If you like it hot add in more than the called for 1/4 tsp.
- If you have leftover sweet potatoes from your Thanksgiving feast and need a great excuse to use them up, use them in place of the regular potato in the recipe. Mmmmm!
- Having a hard time finding anise seed? You can sub it out for star anise (1 star anise) or in a bind you can also use fennel seed for a similar taste (about 1 tsp fennel seed for this recipe).
- No liquid aminos? No prob. You can use soy sauce if you are okay with the recipe not being paleo. If you need your substitution to stay gluten free, make sure you are using a gluten-free soy sauce.
How to store leftover turkey meatball soup:
You can store leftover cooled meatball soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
How to reheat leftover turkey soup:
To reheat your refrigerated leftover soup, place your soup in a microwave-safe bowl with a loose-fitting lid on it.
Microwave your soup on high for 60 seconds, stir it with a spoon, and check it’s temperature.
If you’d like your soup warmer, microwave for another 60 seconds, stir it with your spoon, and check on the temperature once again.
Then slurp away!
More gluten-free soup recipes:
- Egg Drop Noodle Soup + Kimchi Sauce
- gluten-free slow cooker skinny loaded baked potato soup
- healthy one pot mexican chicken noodle soup
- gluten-free slow cooker beer cheese soup

Healthy Leftover Turkey Lemon Garlic Soup (Gluten Free, Dairy Free, & Paleo)
This healthy leftover turkey lemon garlic soup will warm you up with it's hearty savory broth and it's immune-boosting lemon and garlic. It's the perfect excuse to use up those Thanksgiving turkey leftovers and fight off those cool-weather colds! It is also gluten-free, paleo, and dairy-free!
Ingredients
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 1/2 carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 large potato, cubed
- 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 cup kale, or spinach
- 2-4 cups leftover cooked turkey meat, or pumpkin sage meatballs!
- lemon peel of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
- 4 cups GF chicken stock, or vegetable stock
- 2 TBSP liquid aminos
- 2 TBSP honey
- 3/4 tsp anise seed
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Warm a large skillet with the olive oil in the bottom of it over medium heat.
- Add in the carrot, potato, onion, and minced garlic for 4-5 minutes or until the potato starts to become a bit tender.
- Add in the kale, leftover turkey meat, lemon peels, lemon juice, cumin, and red pepper flakes and cook an additional 3-4 minutes or until the kale becomes darkened and wilted.
- Add in the chicken stock, liquid aminos, honey, and anise seed to the skillet and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before topping with salt and pepper to taste and enjoying.
Notes
You can sub anise seed out for star anise (1 star anise) or in a bind you can also use fennel seed for a similar taste (about 1 tsp fennel seed for this recipe).
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 4 ServingsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 426Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 299mgSodium: 1542mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 6gSugar: 19gProtein: 95g
This sounds so delicious and I love that it’s an easy option for leftover turkey. I’ll definitely be tucking this away for November.
Oooh. Yes please! I am definitely saving this recipe for the week after Thanksgiving. I always have too much turkey!!
Yum and what perfect timing this is for back to school! It never fails, 3-4 weeks in the kids get sick or just dont feel well! Love this simple soup and what a perfect way to use up leftovers!
I’ve been craving soup lately and today would be a perfect day for a bowl of this! Sounds and looks so delicious 😀
Yes, it’s getting to be that season for a big bowl of this!
One of my friend who loves turkey will definitely love this. It makes my mouth drool.
Oh I hope your friend likes it, I know that my family does!
I am bookmarking this for after thanksgiving meal. I usually don’t know what to do with leftovers but I am definitely making this,.
What a great use of leftover turkey. Love that you made this healthier by adding honey, garlic and lemon broth. Love my soup with lots of garlic too, but adding and lemon in it, is new to me. I can’t wait to try this.
I love the idea of using leftover sweet potatoes instead in this. And I assume I can use leftover chicken if I have it instead? And thanks for the tip on subbing out liquid aminos and using soy sauce instead. I always have that on hand!
The soup that is hard to miss – it looks perfect and just what a soup should me in my understanding. I am sure this will be a great find for when it gets a bit colder + that leftover benefit will be sooo handy!
This leftover turkey lemon garlic soup looks like the perfect pick me up when you are not feeling your best. I also love that I can use up turkey leftovers from Thanksgiving.
I cannot wait for fall and for all the lovely soup recipes! This looks so good, and I have been trying to eat more turkey and less red meat, so this is perfect.