Hearty Turkey Stew (with leftover turkey)

We love leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, and this Turkey Stew is a full and delicious meal with those leftovers!

Once the festivities are over and you’ve got a fridge full of leftover turkey, we’ve got you covered.  A rich and rustic turkey stew with herbs and veggies is just the thing for a chilly day!

Leftover Turkey Stew

• This easy meal turns leftover turkey into a whole new meal, incredibly cozy and delicious.
• If you’ve got a leftover carcass, you can make turkey broth and add it into this recipe or use boxed chicken broth.
• This stew has all the fixings to make it warm & filling including root veggies, and, of course, turkey. If you’ve got leftover roasted carrots, parsnips or potatoes, throw them in the pot too!
• This stew can be cooked on the stovetop or in the crockpot.
• Turkey Stew is so versatile. Any leftover veggies in the fridge can be added to this recipe!

Ingredients

The main ingredient is, of course, turkey. The rest of the ingredients are probably in the refrigerator:

TURKEY: Leftover turkey from the holidays is great for this recipe. Chop or shred into bite-sized pieces.

BROTH: Make turkey broth and use that as a base for this stew. Short on time? Boxed or canned turkey or chicken broth will taste great too. The base of this broth also includes heavy cream for some richness.

VEGETABLES: Carrots, celery, peas (or green beans if you’d prefer), and potatoes are tossed into this stew. Any potatoes will work but baby potatoes don’t require peeling so they make it easy.

VARIATIONS: As with any stew, there are lots of variations that can be made. Add some sweet corn kernels, beans, or fresh garlic. The meat in this recipe can also be substituted with ground turkey. Remember to fry the ground turkey before adding it to the soup.

How to Make Turkey Stew

1. Cook onions with seasonings.
2. Stir in broth. Add vegetables & simmer.
3. Stir in cream & turkey (per recipe below).
4. Add peas & discard bay leaf. Garnish & serve.

Crock-Pot: Slow cook this stew in the crockpot. Toss everything in the pot except for the peas and cream. Cook on high for 4-5 hours. In the last 30 minutes, add the cream, stir, and let cook. Add the peas, discard the bay leaf and let the peas cook for another 2-3 minutes.

How To Thicken

This recipe is thickened with flour (and by simmering uncovered).

SLURRY: Once cooked if you’d like to thicken it further, you can use a cornstarch slurry much like we do with our traditional beef stew. Mix equal parts cornstarch and cold water or broth. Drizzle into the simmering stew a little bit at a time to thicken. Start with a tablespoon or so, you may not need all of the mixture.

POTATOES: Another option is to stir in leftover mashed potatoes or even potato flakes. Extra creamy and good!

More Tips

• The Turkey is already cooked so add it at the end. You want it to get flavored by the broth but you don’t want to cook it too much so it doesn’t overcook.
• If you’re using raw turkey (cutlets or breasts) cut into ba
• Cut the veggies larger for a hearty rustic stew or cut them smaller to make things cook a little bit quicker.
• Use any kind of potatoes but we love baby potatoes or yellow/red potatoes because they don’t require peeling. Russet potatoes will need to be peeled.
• If you swap out peas for green beans, the green beans will need longer to cook.

Storing Leftovers

Leftover stew will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. This soup does not freeze so well because of the cream. However, it can be made up until the peas and cream are added and then frozen. The peas and cream can be added when it is thawed and reheated.

Use Up That Leftover Turkey!

Did your family love this Turkey Stew? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!