This turkey tortilla soup is a delicious way to use up leftover turkey! This tasty soup is made with beans, corn, tomatoes, flavorful turkey broth (from leftover turkey bones), and finished with lime juice. Toppings take this soup from great to knock-your-socks-off: we’re using crispy tortilla strips, flavorful cheddar, creamy avocado, and tangy sour cream. You’ll love this soup!
Another soup to make with leftover turkey is this turkey wild rice soup.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this soup:
I made this soup with my leftover turkey and broth made from leftover turkey carcass but you can easily make this soup with leftover chicken and chicken broth.
Corn and beans are usually added drained to soups but I also like to add the liquid from the can – it thickens the soup and adds additional flavor.
You can also use canned fire-roasted tomatoes instead of crushed tomatoes.
Instead of the spices listed in the recipe, you can add this Fajita seasoning to the soup – it will be a little bit more spicy.
Flour thickens the soup just a bit but can be omitted. If you have corn flour, use that.
What you could also add: This soup is just slightly spicy, if you want it spicier, add more chili powder (spice mix), more cayenne pepper, or diced jalapenos/other chili peppers to the soup.
Toppings for tortilla soup
Tortilla soup wouldn’t be complete without tortilla strips on top, right? I really recommend making your own – they taste so good it’s seriously so hard to stop snacking on them. You can fry them or bake them while the soup is cooking.
All the other toppings are optional but I would recommend using them. I love this soup with diced avocado, sharp shredded cheddar, chopped cilantro, and a dollop of sour cream.
How to make this soup step by step
You can also start with frying tortilla strips and used that tortilla-infused oil to sauté the vegetables but I think it’s much quicker to fry them while the soup is cooking.
STEP 1: Prepare the ingredients: dice the onion, cut bell pepper into small cubes, finely chop garlic.
STEP 2: Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When hot add the onion and bell pepper, cook for about 5 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the onion is soft and translucent.
STEP 3: Add garlic, chili powder, oregano, paprika, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Cook for 30 seconds.
Add the flour, cook for 1 minute.
STEP 4: Add turkey broth, corn with the liquid from the can, beans with the liquid from the can, and crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil then simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
STEP 5: Add turkey to the pot and cook for 1-2 minutes, until warmed through.
STEP 6: Take the pot off the heat, season the soup with lime juice, salt, and pepper to taste.
Assemble the soup: ladle soup into bowls, stir in some chopped cilantro. Top with tortilla strips, chopped avocado, shredded cheese, and a dollop of sour cream.
Enjoy!
Storage
This soup reheats very well. Store it in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
It can also be frozen for up to 3 months – it freezes very well. Don’t freeze this soup if you have used frozen turkey to make it.
Recipe FAQ’s
I’m just using a small amount of flour to thicken the soup. Corn flour would be better but I don’t usually have it in my cupboard. Some recipes add corn tortillas to the soup and cook it with them until they are dissolved. The problem is they don’t always easily dissolve in the soup but you can try how it works for you.
This soup is flavored with aromatic spices such as chili powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Then the flavor is boosted with fresh lime juice, which is absolutely necessary for this soup. It adds a refreshing tang to the soup making it irresistible. If you want the soup more spicy, you can add canned green chilies, chilies in adobo sauce, chipotle chili powder, or fresh diced jalapenos.
Tortilla soup (or sopa de tortilla in Spanish) is a traditional Mexican soup traditionally made with chicken broth, roasted tomatoes, onion, garlic, Mexican chilies, and fried tortilla strips. This recipe is made with easily available ingredients, leftover turkey meat and turkey broth.
More soup recipes you may like
- Chicken Fajita Soup
- Kidney Bean Soup
- Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut Milk
- Salmon Chowder
- Vegetable Tortellini Soup
- Chicken Tomato Soup with Mushroom
- Stuffed Cabbage Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup (with homemade chicken broth recipe included!)
Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!
Turkey Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
for the soup:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion
- 1 red bell pepper
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon chili powder spice mix
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- pinch of cayenne pepper or more, to taste
- 1 tablespoon flour or corn flour
- 5 cups turkey or chicken broth 1 1/4 liters
- 1 (14-oz/400ml) can kidney or black beans
- 1 (14-oz/400ml) can corn
- 1 (14-oz/400ml) can crushed or diced tomatoes
- 3 cups cooked turkey chopped into cubes 375g
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice or to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
soup toppings:
- fried or baked tortilla strips
- diced avocado
- sour cream
- grated sharp cheddar
- cilantro
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Instructions
- Prepare the ingredients: dice the onion, cut bell pepper into small cubes, finely chop garlic.
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When hot add the onion and bell pepper, cook for about 5 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the onion is soft and translucent.
- Add garlic, chili powder, oregano, paprika, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the flour, cook for 1 minute.
- Add turkey broth, corn with the liquid from the can, beans with the liquid from the can, and crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil then simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
- Add turkey to the pot and cook for 1-2 minutes, until warmed through.
- Take the pot off the heat, season the soup with lime juice, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Assemble the soup: ladle soup into bowls, stir in some chopped cilantro. Top with tortilla strips, chopped avocado, shredded cheese, and a dollop of sour cream.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- This soup is just slightly spicy, if you want it spicier, add more chili powder/more cayenne pepper/diced jalapenos/canned green chilies/other chili peppers to the soup.
- Instead of tortilla strips, you can garnish the soup with crushed tortilla chips.
- If you have some oil reserved from frying tortilla strips you can use it here instead of olive oil.
- You can fry/bake tortilla strips while the soup is cooking (it doesn’t take long).
- Calories = 1 serving (1/6 of the soup), doesn’t include toppings. This is only an estimate!
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