Turn leftover turkey into something truly comforting with this hearty Turkey Barley and Lentil Soup, no noodles needed! Packed with protein-rich lentils, nutty quick-cooking barley, and fragrant herbs, this easy, wholesome soup comes together with minimal effort and delivers big, soul-warming flavor. It’s the perfect cozy bowl to stretch holiday leftovers into something new and nourishing.
What You Can Expect From This Recipe
If you’re looking for healthy soup option to use up that leftover Thanksgiving turkey, this version without noodles is the recipe you’ve been looking for. Keeping the ingredients fresh, healthy and brothy, will help you forget all of your Thanksgiving food sins. This soup simply delivers wholesome ingredients.
If you initiate a Google search for leftover turkey soup recipes, more than likely you’ll find a glut of recipes with some sort of noodles. This turkey soup without noodles is a lighter option.
- Turkey provides a lean protein.
- Nutrient rich barley, a whole grain is always a welcome addition.
- Nixing the noodles and instead loading this soup up with vegetables is a low carb healthier option.
- And lentils are a nutritional powerhouse super food, offering a lean protein, fiber and key vitamins.
- The seasonings used, basil, oregano, rosemary and thyme are pantry staples that you probably already have on hand.
- If you’ve made your own stock from the turkey carcass, the flavor will be even richer. Canned chicken stock fills in nicely for this quick turkey lentil soup recipe.
Cozy up to this mellow soup filled with vegetables, lentils, barley and plenty of flavor is a perfect place to use some of that leftover Thanksgiving turkey or even leftover Turkey Breast.
Tip: if you’re using canned chicken broth, place a leftover turkey wing or turkey leg into the soup while simmering. The flavor from the skin, bones and meat will elevate the flavor. Remove the wing or leg before serving.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chicken Broth.
- Canned Chopped Tomatoes.
- Fresh Vegetables: Celery, carrots and onion.
- Turkey: This soup is perfect to use left over Thanksgiving turkey.
- Lentils: Look for Puy Lentils or use regular green lentils.
- Barley: Varieties Explained: You may find a variety of barley types available at your supermarket. Most commonly, quick cooking, pearl and hulled barley. Hulled barley is a whole grain with the outer husk removed, retaining the bran and germ. Pearl barley has the outer husk and bran layers removed which will result in a smoother texture. Barley labeled quick cooking barley is a pearl barley that has been processed to cook quicker. It’s been partially cooked and then dried, which makes it a bit less nutritious. Any of these varieties will work, just adjust the cooking time according to package directions.
- Seasonings: Basil, oregano, rosemary and thyme.
Ingredient Substitutions And Variations
- Broth: If you’ve made turkey broth from your Thanksgiving turkey carcass, please us it, as the flavor of this soup will be deeper and even more delicious. Vegetable broth also works well here.
- Lentils: If you can’t find Puy Lentils, choose any colored lentil from the bulk aisle section. Avoid red lentils as they cook too fast and will dissolve too quickly.
- Turkey: Substitute cooked chicken or use meat from a rotisserie chicken.
- Butter: Substitute olive oil or vegetable oil.
- Gluten Free: Brown Rice: Brown rice is a good substitution for barley. Just adjust cooking time according to package instructions.
- Farro: Ever tried it? Farro is an ancient wheat grain with a nutty flavor and chewy texture. A good substitute for barley.
- Vegetarian: Make this soup vegetarian by simply omitting the turkey and using vegetable broth.
About French Puy Lentils. Lentilles de Puy are known for their small size and refined taste. They are prized by chefs not only for their peppery flavor, but they also have less starch which make they sturdy. They won’t get mushy as easily. If you can find them, I highly encourage you to use them in this soup.
How do you know if you’re getting official Puy lentils? Look for an AOP seal on the package, which certifies they’re truly Lentilles du Puy from France.
How To Make Turkey Barley and Lentil Soup, Step by Step Instructions
- Step 1: Melt butter or heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add sliced carrots and celery and cook, stirring occasionally for about 7 minutes. Add onion and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Step 2: Add Chicken Broth, tomatoes, water and spices. Stir until all is mixed together. Add lentils and cook according to package instructions.
- Step 3: 10 minutes before lentils are to be done, add quick cooking barley, and turkey or chicken. Simmer until barley and lentils are tender.
Tips For Success:
- Please don’t skip sauteeing the vegetables to make this soup. A quick cook in butter or oil will bring out the flavor in celery, carrots and onions. It caramelizes the vegetables bringing a level of robust flavor to soups.
- Choose a can of small diced tomatoes to make this Turkey Lentil Soup. Smaller cuts will cook down and blend better for better texture. Red Gold Diced Tomatoes pictured above are a good choice here.
- Liquid retention: You might find that after storing the soup in the refrigerator that the grains and lentils have absorbed some of the liquid. Simply add more broth before reheating.
How To Serve It
Since we’re recuperating from that heavy holiday meal, may I suggest a simple Accompaniment Salad or something fancier like this Hearts of Palm Salad With Avocado.
Questions You May Have
Yes, if you want to make ground turkey lentil soup rather than using leftover Thanksgiving turkey, purchase 1 pound of ground turkey. Add the ground turkey at the same time you add the vegetables. You can also use ground chicken or a rotisserie chicken.
No, barley is a grain that contains the protein gluten. If you’d like to make this gluten free, double the amount of lentils, or substitute the barley for Brown Rice.
You don’t have to, but soaking them will reduce the cooking time for them to become tender. The recipe card for this recipe does not include Instructions for soaking. That decision is up to you.
Storage and Reheating
- Refrigerator: This recipe makes a large batch. Store any leftovers in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or up to 4 days if you’ve just cooked your turkey within the past day.
- Freeze: You can freeze Turkey Lentil Soup up to three months. I like to use freezer safe zip-lock bags. One the soup has cooled, stand the bag upright and spoon soup inside. Squeeze the air out, and then lay flat in the freezer to optimize freezer space. Remember to use a sharpie to label and date the bag.
- Meal Prep: This is a great recipe to use for meal prep. Store leftovers in smaller freezer safe containers.
- Reheat stovetop or microwave. Reheat on low temperature stovetop using a sauce pan. To reheat in the microwave, the 50% power feature is your best friend. Heat in 30 second increments, stirring, until nice and steamy.
TIP: Freeze soup in a freezer zip-lock type bag. That way you can easily squeeze out the air and store the bag flat in the freezer, which saves room.
Recipe for Turkey Barley and Lentil Soup
The lentils and barley give this turkey soup an earthy down home flavor. A true comfort food recipe that your family will love.
Bright and healthy with big chunks of carrot and celery, this turkey soup is one your family will embrace. And they won’t even miss the noodles.
If you’re looking for an easy soup recipe using leftover turkey, I hope you give this one a try.
Related Soup Recipes
And don’t miss my Soup Category, you’ll find lots of brothy goodness there. Including one of the most popular soup recipes on my site for Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup.
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Turkey Barley and Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- ½ cup Lentils French, regular green or red lentils
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter or vegetable/canola oil
- 2 carrots peeled and thick sliced
- 2 ribs celery sliced cross ways
- 1 cup yellow onion diced
- 3 ½ cups chicken broth
- 3 cups water 2 – 3 cups water, depending on how brothy you want the soup.
- 1 turkey wing or leg
- 16 ounce Canned chopped tomatoes undrained
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 cups Roasted Turkey or Chicken Cut into bite sized pieces
- ½ cup Quick Cooking Barley
Instructions
- Rinse lentils in a colander before using.
- Melt butter or heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add sliced carrots and celery and cook, stirring occasionally for about 7 minutes. Add onion and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add Chicken Broth, tomatoes, water and spices. Stir until all is mixed together.
- If you want, add a whole turkey wing or leg. The bone and remaining meat will add flavor to the broth. You'll remove it when ready to serve.
- Add lentils and cook according to package instructions. 10 minutes before lentils are to be done, add quick cooking barley, and turkey or chicken. Simmer until barley and lentils are tender.
- Serve and garnish with chopped fresh parsley. Some grated Parmesan cheese is nice here. These are both optional.
Notes
- Please don’t skip sauteeing the vegetables to make this soup. A quick cook in butter or oil will bring out the flavor in celery, carrots and onions. It caramelizes the vegetables bringing a level of robust flavor to soups.
- Choose a can of small diced tomatoes to make this Turkey Lentil Soup. Smaller cuts will cook down and blend better for better texture. Red Gold Diced Tomatoes pictured above are a good choice here.
- Liquid retention: You might find that after storing the soup in the refrigerator that the grains and lentils have absorbed some of the liquid. Simply add more broth before reheating.
Nutrition
Turkey Barley and Lentil Soup … It’s what’s for Dinner
Why Trust My Recipes? I am a Culinary School Graduate and a lifelong student of home cooking. I hope to inspire you try to cook as often as you can. I’ve been cooking for 50 years, and my recipes are tried and true tested and tested and then tested again before published. To read more take a look at my About Page.
Sometimes the leftovers recipes are the best part of making Thanksgiving dinner. Your soup sounds delicious! Finding real Lentils du Puy is difficult nearby so I usually buy them online. So worth the effort!
I’m definitely going to prepare this soup from a leftover turkey which always stays! Is it possible to use plain water instead of white wine, Lea?
Love any and all lentils (red ones are particularly nice, although I agree the French ones are in a class of their own). We’re making a lot of soup at the moment, and I know I’ll be doing some sort of soup with leftover turkey — probably this one! Thanks so much.
Good looking bowl of soup LA. After our soup bar evening and eating the leftovers, I’m about souped out.