Sick of turkey sandwiches? I thought you might be! Time to switch things up with this curried lentil soup with turkey! It’s got different flavors, but makes a nutritious bowl of soup that’s full of protein, fiber, and major flavor. It’s basically a Thanksgiving tradition!
This soup was a total accident.
I didn’t have any leftover turkey – or plans for leftover turkey.
But then on Saturday, we decided to pick up a 15 pound turkey and have another round of Thanksgiving. My thoughts immediately went to leftovers. Can you blame me?
Isn’t that what the days following Thanksgiving are all about? But what if you don’t host and you don’t have any leftovers? YOU MAKE SOME! And really, 15 pounds isn’t THAT big of a turkey. 😉
I love playing around with turkey leftovers, and turning them into a totally different meal. (The cook once, eat twice method is the basis of the weeknight dinner club after all!)
How to Make Curried Lentil Soup with Turkey:
This lentil soup with turkey comes together easily with those turkey leftovers! (And no worries if you don’t have them, you can also use chicken.)
- Prep ingredients. Dice the onion, celery, and carrots. Mince ginger.
- Saute aromatics. Cook aromatics for a few minutes to soften the veggies, then make a well in the center of your dutch oven and add ginger and curry spices to let them toast a bit, before stirring into vegetables.
- Cook lentils. Add lentils and broth to pot and simmer until lentils are soft.
- Add coconut milk and turkey. Pour in coconut milk and chopped turkey and let heat for 5-10 minutes.
- Serve curried lentil soup with plain Greek yogurt and fresh cilantro.
Can you Make Curried Lentil Soup with Chicken Instead of Turkey?
Yes, you can easily swap shredded chicken and chicken broth for turkey.
More Healthy Soup Recipes to Try:
If you like this curried lentil soup with turkey meat recipe, you might also like some of these other healthy soup recipes:
- Turkey Quinoa Chili with Black Beans – This easy chili is loaded with nutritious ingredients and made in the slow cooker so that it’s super easy.
- Easy Homemade Chili – No need to simmer this one for hours, my fave kitchen shortcut makes it ready in just 30 minutes.
- Sausage Lentil Soup – Lentil lovers, this soup is for you. It’s ready in just 45 minutes, and the best way to eat healthy lentils.
- Easy Minestrone Soup – Filling, delicious, and loaded with vegetarian protein. (Vegan, too!)
- Chicken Taco Soup – This EASY soup recipe utilizes my FAVORITE (secret) soup ingredient, even though it’s unexpected. Make this Mexican chicken soup in just 30 minutes + serve with fresh toppings!
Helpful Tools to Make Curried Lentil Soup with Turkey:
- Dutch Oven – This dutch oven gets so much use over winter months. Whether it’s to make easy minestrone soup or this lentil soup with turkey, you’ll use it all the time.
- Glass Storage Containers – Store any leftover lentil turkey soup in these glass containers that can go straight from the fridge to the microwave.
Curried Lentil Soup with Turkey
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: Asian
Description
Looking for something to do with that leftover turkey? Try this Curried Lentil Turkey Soup! It’s so different than the standards, perfect when you need a change of flavors.
Ingredients
- 1 white onion
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 Tbsp. minced ginger
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1/8 tsp. black pepper
- 2 Tbsp. curry powder
- 1/2 tsp each: garam masala, turmeric, coriander (optional, if you have them)
- 2 cups uncooked green lentils
- 8 cups turkey (or chicken) broth (or mix of broth and water)
- 1–14 oz. can coconut milk
- 3–4 cups shredded turkey (or chicken)
- plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 bunch cilantro
Instructions
- Prep ingredients:
Dice onion.
Dice carrot.
Dice celery.
Mince ginger if using fresh. - Heat oil in large dutch oven or soup pot. Add onions, carrots, celery, sea salt, and black pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes.
- Make a well in the center of the pot and add in ginger and curry spices. Let them sizzle until fragrant, about 30-1 minute and then stir into veggies.
- Add lentils and broth to pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 40-45 minutes, or until the lentils are soft.
- Stir in coconut milk and chopped turkey, cook for 5 minutes, taste, and adjust salt and pepper if necessary.
Notes
- If soup is not thick enough, let simmer with no cover until desired consistency.
- Use shredded chicken and chicken broth if you don’t have leftover turkey.
Keywords: curried lentil soup with turkey,
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luv what you do
This soup is totally worth running out to buy another turkey for. It looks so yummy! I love that you guys Thanksgiving-part II. Hope you had a wonderful weekend!
Emily
Thank you! Hope you had a great weekend too!
erin
Yup, I’ll be making this with all the leftover turkey we have! Looks amazing and perfect for chilly Minnesota week ahead.
We had an unexpected thanksgiving part two, too! Hope you had a lovely holiday 🙂
Tiff @ Love, Sweat, & Beers
Sounds great! Then again, of course I’d be down for this, I love turkey, curry, and lentils!
sarah k @ the pajama chef
we have no leftover turkey since our only turkey was at a restaurant, and my mom made beef tenderloin for the at-home meal. my sister doesn’t like turkey… but we had thought about buying one this week to enjoy ourselves. this soup sounds great!
Emily
You should do it! Maybe you can find one on sale. My Mom just bought one and had the butcher cut it in half so she could freeze half of it.
sarah k @ the pajama chef
what a good idea!
Stephanie @cookinfanatic
I adore fresh cilantro and any chance to use it, this soup sounds fantastic!!
Rachel @ The Avid Appetite
Love the impromptu added Thanksgiving 🙂 I’ve never made lentil soup before…I must try this with chicken this winter! Yum!
Megan (Braise The Roof)
Yum, sounds awesome! I’ve been looking for a twist on regular ol’ turkey/chicken soup (’tis the season!).
Lori
What a great idea! I can’t get enough of curry coconut flavor. Using it with leftover turkey is perfect.