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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Add in the chicken stock, liquid aminos, honey, and anise seed to the skillet and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes.
4. 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 ¼ 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 teaspoon 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