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Turkey, Sweet Potato, and Black Bean Soup is a great use for leftover turkey, but you can also make this tasty soup with chicken. And I’ve adjusted this recipe a bit to use more turkey and less beans and sweet potatoes for a lower-carb version. (See recipe notes if you were a fan of the original soup.)
PIN Turkey, Sweet Potato, and Black Bean Soup to try it later!
It won’t be long before you might have leftover turkey, and when you do this delicious and easy Turkey, Sweet Potato, and Black Bean Soup is a lovely way to use it. One of my favorite traditions for the day after Thanksgiving is taking the turkey carcass, putting it in a roasting pan with lots of water, onions, carrots, celery, and a bit of Penzeys Turkey Soup Base, and filling up the house with the smell of turkey stock.
This soup recipe with turkey, black beans, and lime is one of my favorite soups to make with leftover turkey, and I’m indulging my love of sweet potatoes in soup here as well. This recipe is pretty flexible, but don’t leave out the touch of fresh lime juice added at the very end. Lime and sweet potatoes, that’s what makes this soup so absolutely delicious!
What ingredients do you need?
Can this recipe be made with chicken?
Any soup recipe that uses leftover turkey can also be made with cooked diced chicken!
What did I do to make this a lower-carb soup?
I love this soup so much, but the original recipe was more of a carb splurge than I wanted these days with both beans and sweet potatoes. To make a lower-carb version of the soup, I just used less sweet potatoes and beans and more turkey. And I also added a little more turkey stock to make sure it’s still eight servings. Here’s the printer-friendly recipe of the original version for anyone who was a fan!
Want Low-Carb Turkey Soups?
Check out Low-Carb and Keto Turkey Soup Recipes to see the lowest-carb turkey soup recipes on my blog and blogs around the web.
More Delicious Recipes for Turkey Soup:
How to make Turkey, Sweet Potato, and Black Bean Soup:
(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information.)
- You can make the soup using chicken broth from a can, but I highly recommend making turkey stock if you have a turkey carcass. Here is how to make Turkey Stock, and it will make your house smell great while it cooks.
- Start by cooking the onions and celery a few minutes in the bottom of the soup pot.
- Then add diced sweet potatoes, spices, and turkey stock and simmer about 40 minutes.
- Add black beans and liquid and simmer about 15 minutes more.
- Then add the diced turkey and green chiles and simmer another 15 minutes.
- Stir in the lime juice, simmer a few minutes more, and serve hot.
- This is good with cheese and sour cream to sprinkle on at the table.
Weekend Food Prep:
This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Ingredients
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 T olive oil
- 2 cups diced sweet potato, cut in pieces about 1/2 inch (see notes)
- 2 tsp. dried oregano (see notes)
- 2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. ground chile powder
- 1/2 tsp. dried sage
- 6 cups turkey stock (see notes)
- one 15 oz. can black beans
- 4 cups diced leftover turkey (see notes)
- 4 oz. can diced green chiles
- 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (I used my fresh-frozen lime juice)
- salt, fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in heavy soup pot, add onions and celery and saute about 5 minutes.
- Add sweet potatoes, oregano, cumin, chile powder, sage, and turkey stock, lower heat to a simmer, and cook about 40 minutes, stirring a few times.
- Add black beans, rinsing out the can with a small amount of water and adding all bean liquid. Simmer soup 15 minutes more.
- Add diced turkey and green chiles and simmer about 15 minutes more.
- Stir in fresh lime juice, season with salt and pepper as desired, and cook 5 minutes more.
- Serve hot, with additional fresh lime to squeeze into soup if desired.
Notes
These are orange sweet potatoes, which are often called Yams or Sweet Yams in U.S. stores. I used Mexican oregano, but either kind will work.
You can use chicken stock or broth for this soup if you don’t have turkey stock.
I’d use 3-4 cups leftover turkey, depending on how thick you prefer the finished soup to be.
This would be great with sour cream, chopped cilantro, or grated cheese, and you could even add crushed corn chips for family members who aren’t watching their carbs.
If you want to make the original higher-carb version of this recipe, you can find it here.
Recipe created by Kalyn.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 327Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 79mgSodium: 635mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 6gSugar: 9gProtein: 29g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Sweet potatoes and black beans are both considered to be “good carbs” for the original South Beach Diet, meaning they are digested slowly. This Turkey, Sweet Potato, and Black Bean Soup would be suitable for phase 2 or 3 on South Beach. I have adjusted this recipe so it is lower in carbs, but check the nutritional information if you’re following a stricter low-carb plan.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Check out Soup Recipes for more tasty soups! Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You can also Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2007! It was updated with better photos in 2014 and last updated in 2021 with recipe tweaks to make it a lower-carb soup.
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