This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see our privacy policy.
Transform leftover turkey (or chicken!) into something delicious! This tortilla soup is full of fresh veggies and spices.
Are you all "turkey-ed out"? No, no, I didn't say "tuckered out" (though the two are a bit related), you heard me right- are you turkey-ed out? Don't worry, you're not alone. It's a seasonal malady that often occurs this time of the year in the U.S. and we came down with it at The Café this past weekend. After preparing and enjoying a traditional turkey dinner for Thanksgiving, we weren't really in the mood for much more turkey other than a sandwich or two. In fact, we were just plain tired of turkey (see, they are related - we were tuckered out on turkey)! My dilemma was that huge container of leftover meat staring at me each time I opened the refrigerator door.
Being in the mood for Mexican, I decided to give the leftovers a fun, flavorful facelift and set about making soup! Not just any soup, but a "south of the border" inspired soup with lots of fresh veggies, crushed tomatoes, green chiles, cilantro, chili powder, and cumin. I added fresh corn tortillas, not only to the soup itself where they melt into the broth providing a unique, delicious and authentic flavor, but also cut in strips and baked until crisp as a delightful topping.
We LOVED this soup! My husband, who's not a huge soup fan, ate THREE bowls for dinner the other night. The following morning we shot photos for the blog and guess what? After looking at that yummy stuff again and inhaling the intoxicating aroma as we took the pictures, we both ate the white bowls of soup pictured for breakfast! It's that good and we totally forgot about being "turkey-ed out".
If you don't have left-over turkey, this soup is just as delicious with grilled, roasted or even rotisserie chicken. It would be a wonderful and welcome treat to pull out of the fridge on a hectic pre-holiday evening when time is running short or when unexpected guests arrive. The recipe makes a lot, but it freezes well or makes a great meal for a crowd. Serve it with bowls of sour cream, chopped tomato, diced avocado, cilantro sprigs, Cotija cheese and the yummy crisp corn tortilla strips. Oh, and don't be surprised when your guests request second .............. or third helpings!
I'm sharing my soup on Stone Gable's On the Menu Monday.
Scroll Down for the Recipe - or Save It to Your Inbox
We’ll email you the recipe so it’s easy to save, print, or share.
Turkey Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium onions, chopped in ÂĽ-inch dice
- 3 stalks celery,  chopped in ¼-inch dice
- 4 medium carrots,  chopped in ¼-inch dice
- 4 teaspoons cumin
- 4 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon crushed or ground coriander
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 - 6- inch corn tortillas, cut in small pieces
- 2 ½ quarts low sodium chicken broth
- 2 28- ounce cans crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup finely chopped cilantro stems, I use the lower stalks of the cilantro and save the leaves for garnishing the top. The stems have a ton of flavor and this is a great use for them. Just cut off any roots and/or brown ends and use the lower few inches
- 2-3 teaspoons kosher salt or fine sea salt, to taste
- 4-6 cups shredded turkey or chicken
- 1 - 19- ounce bag frozen corn kernels, I like the kind labeled "super sweet"
- 2 - 4- ounce cans green chiles
- 2 - 15- ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- Suggested toppings:
- sour cream
- chopped tomatoes
- diced avocado
- cilantro sprigs
- Cotiga cheese, crumbled
- Crispy Tortilla Strips, see recipe below
Ingredients:
- 6 6- inch corn tortillas, cut in ÂĽ inch strips
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- fine sea salt or kosher salt
Instructions
Instructions:
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery and sauté until tender. Add the next 6 ingredients and cook stirring frequently for 2 minutes.
- Add chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, cilantro and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes until all veggies are tender.
- Puree soup in batches with a regular blender or food processor or use a stick blender* to puree soup right in the pot.
- If using a regular blender or food processor, return pureed soup to the pot. Add turkey (or chicken), corn, green chiles and black beans. Simmer gently for another 10 minutes. Ladle into soup bowls and serve with toppings, if desired.
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Pile tortilla strips onto the baking sheet and drizzle with the oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and toss with your fingers to coat.
- Spread strips out on the sheet pan. Bake in the oven until deep golden and crisp, stirring every few minutes for about 20 minutes Watch them carefully as they will easily burn.
Notes
Nutrition
Shop Our Café Loves
We’ve gathered our favorite kitchen tools, tableware, and entertaining treasures in one place, the Café Loves store. It’s a wonderful spot to find something special for yourself or the cooks and hosts you love!
Enjoyed this soup today! Thank you!
I made your soup today. We really enjoyed it! Thanks for the recipe!
So happy you enjoyed it Kaye. Thanks for taking the time to let me know ~ Chris
Mighty tasty and the photos are so enticing. Love this!
That is one lovely tortilla soup! Excellent use of leftover turkey and my family does love their soup 🙂
Chris thank you so much for responding to my questions. I love that you always respond to any question. You are so dedicated and I applaud you for doing what you do on a daily basis. I celebrate your recipes everyday and share them everyday. Thanks again.
Hello Love to Cook!
I'm so happy you enjoyed the soup. Thanks for your questions. When you create recipes yourself, sometimes it's hard to make the directions really clear. I think because of your kind questions I corrected the recipe to make it more clear. Thanks!
Made the soup for dinner tonight. We all loved it . I roasted chicken breast in the oven and used that. So tasty and it makes a big batch. Sour cream and cheddar cheese and the tortilla chips were perfect. Had a hard time finding the recommended cheese. All worked out . Thanks Chris .
Chiles when do they go in or are they on top.
Chris, is this stems only for the cilantro or is it a combo . Thank you
so this is the recipe! the photo of the soup is good enough to tempt me..cant imagine scott doing the photoshooting for you..makes him even hungrier! LOL! like the idea of adding the crips tortillas too!
There are lots of my favorite flavors going on in this beautiful soup, Chris. I wish I had saved some of my turkey stock but next time I buy a rotisserie chicken at Costco I'll use it for the recipe. Love all those yummy toppings.
Love this soup!!!!!!! It looks really yummy, healthy and filling!
I'm ready for another day of feasting;)Now this is a delicious and fun way to use turkey leftovers-love the flavors!
What a lovely & very lovely soup! I must make it soon!
MMMMMM,..;Looks so appetizing & fab too!
Looks so yummy! I want to try it with chicken since I have no leftover turkey! Great photos too!
What a PERFECT way to use leftover turkey! I adore tortilla soup and your recipe sounds amazing. Lovely photos!!! Hope you had a wonderful holiday!
see, this is why i love soup, the list of ideas is endless. This looks so incredibly good x
This soup is a work of art! I have a little turkey left over but am afraid it will be gone soon. I love this kind of mean - I bet the flavors are wonderful. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!
That sounds like a great idea! I like how you made it Mexican. I actually miss turkey on Thanksgiving. My MIL does non-traditional every year. This year it was a pork roast and a beef roast. I need to make a turkey, just to make one!! I'm missing out on all these good turkey recipes 🙂
Thanks for all the kind comments! And Cait, now that you've made it, I'll need to create something new for you! I have a few ideas .......... 🙂
I love tortilla soup, it's one of my favorites and I love your spin on it using turkey!!
We love soup! I'll try this one out sometime. We were away for Thanksgiving, but I'll make a small turkey or turkey breast soon and then try out this soup with the leftovers. Loving the new look of the blog!
This was a-mazing mama!! Made it tonight and they gobbled it up. haha.....get it:)
C
Hi Chris,
This soup looks amazing. I just finished pulling all the meat of my turkey's bones and was planning to make my traditional version. You have just derailed me and I'm so glad!
The soup looks so comforting and delish.
Oh Gosh this looks delicious! And pretty darn healthy too! Can't wait to give it a try! Pinned!
I'm one of those weird people who can't get enough turkey! We actually eat it several times a year because we like it so much (it's great in summer time on the grill). And I love to make soup with it! But I haven't made a Mexican-flavored turkey soup - I really should. This looks delish. Great photos, particularly the top one (I'm a sucker for overhead shots).
Looks delicious, I just wish my husband ate turkey, I know he would totally love this.
I love tortilla soup, it is one of my favorites. I love using leftover turkey it in too!
Beth, the tortillas actually melt as the soup simmers and impart a wonderful, authentic corn flavor to the soup. You won't know exactly what it is (if you didn't make the soup yourself) but you'll love the delicious flavor. I also add the crispy tortillas to the top of the soup for garnish and crunch.
Question - Do you puree tortillas in the soup?
This recipe sounds delicious but I want to be
sure I'm reading it correctly. It sounds like you
have them both in the soup and as a topping.
Thanks.
This soup looks and sounds delicious!
i'm not turkey-ed out LOL but it's so cold outside a bowl of comforting soup is exactly what I need
I don't think it's possible to be turkey-ed out. This soup looks scrumptious!!
I LOVE any kind of tortilla soup, especially anything with crispy tortilla - yum! Beautiful soup, Chris. I leave here wanting to take a sip (or two)!
I love all the spices in your soup--I would have inhaled this, too. 🙂
I love all the spices in your soup--I would have inhaled this, too. 🙂
This sounds great, chris. I'm definitely saving this for a post christmas recipe, since we don't do thanksgiving here. Love the sour creamy combination. It's not something we have on a regular basis, so this would be a nice refreshing change.
Hi Chris, love your comfort soup, look very appetizing. I'm a soup person, a must have everyday. 🙂
Have a lovely week ahead.
We're not turkeyed at all yet in Paris but I'm so glad I popped in here for this amazing idea for Christmas time. Brilliant presentation too!
With those wonderful spices and toppings, I know this soup is a winner!
Chris, I may I have a couple of bowls of this soup too? It sound so delicious, I think I can even smell it through the screen... cilantro and avocado, yes, I'll go for it... 🙂