Wishing you a blessed Thanksgiving with family, friends and delicious food. As hungry as everyone will be, leftovers are likely to be part of the equation if you’re like me  – I always make too much for the feast! My recipe for Skinny Turkey & Quinoa Pot Pie Soup  is a “must make” and will use up all those turkey scraps and vegetable bits left on the platter. 

Another perk, the recipe comes together in under 30-minutes making it perfect for a day spent holiday bargain shopping at the Black Friday Sales. Read on to get all the details and the full recipe:

 This super soup supper (say that three times fast) is inspired by a childhood of chicken pot pie eating, but has been made much healthier with swaps that include low-fat dairy instead of cream, herbs instead of an excess of salt, and delicate crescent stars to float on top instead of enveloping in heavy pie crust. I also used quinoa to serve as a thickening agent and provide great texture — not to mention a little extra protein and healthy omega fatty acids.

The Instantly Fresh Poultry Herb Blend from Litehouse  I used to season my bird yesterday conveniently adds tons of homemade flavor thanks to freeze-dried onions, thyme, sage, marjoram, garlic and a bit of rosemary. It’s really convenient to just grab a bottle of freeze-dried herbs from the pantry rather than keeping all these herbs fresh on hand.

I think both white or dark meat scraps from turkey work equally well in this soup, but in a pinch, shredded chicken or even a rotisserie bird from the market suffices nicely. You’ll be wanting to make this yummy soup recipe ALL SEASON, not just the day after Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Each serving of Skinny Turkey Pot Pie & Quinoa Soup (without the crescent stars) has just 234 calories, 23 grams of protein and less than 7 grams of fat. The addition of each “star” adds just 45 calories and 2.5 grams fat.

Did you have a bunch of Thanksgiving leftovers? How many turkey sandwiches will you eat this week? Score any great shopping deals? Did you run in a Turkey Trot? Share one or all in the comments – XOXO, Jennifer  

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Skinny Turkey Quinoa Pot Pie Soup

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

Use up those holiday leftovers with this 30 minute soup. The ingredient list may look long, but don't let that fool you -- super easy!

Course: Main Dish, Soup, Vegetable

Cuisine: American

Servings: 8 sevings

Ingredients

For Soup

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3/4 cup chopped yellow onion
• 3/4 cup chopped carrots
• 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 6 ounces chopped fresh button mushrooms
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour gluten free if needed
• 1 quart 99% fat free chicken broth (4 cups)
• 2 tablespoons freeze-dried Poultry Herb Blend from Litehouse Foods
• 3/4 cups dry quinoa, rinsed
• 3 cups 1% milk
• 3 cups chopped, skinless turkey white and/or dark meat perfect for holiday leftovers, but can sub chicken
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

For crescent stars (omit if gluten-free)

• 1 8-ct can reduced fat crescent roll dough from refrigerated section
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 tablespoon Poultry Herb Blend

Instructions

1. In large stock pot, add olive oil and bring to medium-high heat.
2. Add onions, carrots, celery, and mushrooms, stirring constantly until starting to soften, approximately 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and temporarily transfer to bowl.
3. In same stock pot, melt one tablespoon of butter over medium heat and then add flour, stirring constantly to make a roux. Mixture will bubble and start turning golden brown, remove from heat.
4. Return cooked vegetables to pot and add chicken broth, 2 tablespoons Poultry Herb Blend, and quinoa. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then cover pot and reduce heat to medium or medium-low and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until quinoa is cooked.
5. Stir in milk and chopped turkey and heat over medium, stirring frequently, until warmed through.
6. Garnish with fresh parsley and Crescent Stars (below), if desired.
7. For Crescent Stars: While quinoa in soup is cooking, pre-heat oven to 375 F degrees. Unroll cylinder of crescent dough and gently press seams together. Use a star cookie cutter to cut out approximately 16 stars. Place on baking sheet and sprinkle with garlic salt and poultry blend herbs. Bake for approximately 8 to 11 minutes or until turning lightly golden brown. Remove and serve one or two with each bowl of soup.

Recipe Notes

One serving without crescent stars.