Easy Slow Cooker Leftover Low Carb Turkey Rice Soup
A cozy, nourishing, low carb keto turkey soup recipe perfect for the holiday season or any cold day of the year!
Leftover Turkey Recipes for the Holidays
This slow cooker keto turkey rice soup is the comforting bowl your body craves after Thanksgiving, Christmas, or whenever you’ve got leftover turkey meat waiting to be used.
Warm, soothing, and loaded with vegetables, this nutrient-packed low-carb turkey tasty soup fits perfectly into a keto diet, low-glycemic diet, low-carb lifestyle, or even just your weekend food prep routine.
With simple ingredients like turkey broth, bone broth, fresh herbs, and your choice of miracle rice or cauliflower rice, this recipe delivers huge flavor with minimal work.
Whether you enjoy this on a chilly cold day, after a long day of holiday cooking, or as part of your weekly low-carb meal prep, this savory, nourishing soup is one of the best ways to use leftover turkey.
Why You’ll Love This Low-Carb Turkey Soup
This low-carb soup recipe has been a reader favorite since 2013 for three reasons:
✔ Perfect for Leftover Turkey
During the holidays we always end up with leftover Thanksgiving turkey or even a turkey carcass that can be simmered into a delicious homemade turkey stock.
Instead of letting it go to waste, turn it into this deeply flavorful soup. But don’t worry—if you don’t have leftovers, use leftover chicken for chicken soup or ground turkey or chopped raw turkey breast also works and cooks beautifully in the slow cooker.
✔ Supports Keto, Low-Carb, & Midlife Macros
Using miracle rice keeps the net carbs extremely low. You’ll get all the texture and satisfaction of a classic turkey rice leftover soup but without white rice, brown rice, or wild rice—all of which traditionally add too many carbs for keto or low-glycemic diets.
✔ Easy Slow Cooker Recipe
Just toss everything into a large stock pot or slow cooker, set to medium heat or medium-high heat, and let the flavors develop as it simmers for hours. Perfect for busy schedules, post-holiday recovery, or stress-free winter cooking.
Choosing Miracle Rice vs. Cauliflower Rice
Both work beautifully here.
Miracle Rice (Shirataki/Konjac Rice)
- Zero calories
- Zero net carbs
- Takes on the best flavor of the broth and seasoning
- Great option for low-carb or keto soup recipes
- Rinse well before adding to remove its natural aroma
Miracle rice is made from glucomannan, an indigestible fiber from the konjac yam, making it ideal for anyone following a keto & low net carb lifestyle.
Cauliflower Rice
- Still low carb but higher than miracle rice
- Adds great texture
- Naturally blends with turkey soup flavors
- Add during the last 20–30 minutes to keep from overcooking
This swap is perfect if you prefer whole-food ingredients or don’t love konjac-based products.
What Makes a Really Delicious Leftover Turkey Soup Recipe?
This soup builds layers of flavor by sautéing shallots, garlic cloves, carrots, and stalks of celery before slow cooking.
Adding herbs like thyme, oregano, basil, and bay leaf (optional) infuses the broth with depth. Using either turkey broth, chicken broth, or bone broth ensures every sip is rich and satisfying.
Want an extra punch? Add a tiny bit of:
A splash of lime juice for brightness
Creole seasoning (for a subtle kick)
Fresh parsley
Black pepper
How to Build the Best Low-Carb Leftover Turkey Soup
Creating a truly delicious turkey soup is all about layering flavors and choosing quality ingredients. Start by sautéing aromatics over medium heat or medium-high heat—this step adds a richness you never achieve by tossing everything into the pot raw. While some slow cooker recipes skip this, don’t! It’s the first step toward exceptional flavor.
Next, consider your broth. A turkey broth, homemade turkey stock, seasoned chicken stock, or bone broth works beautifully. Bone broth especially adds collagen, minerals, and depth to the soup, making it both deeply satisfying and nourishing.
Then think about your “rice.” Traditional long-grain rice, white rice, or brown rice will spike carbs too high for keto or low-glycemic diets. That’s why miracle rice and cauliflower rice are the perfect alternatives.
Miracle rice offers a nearly zero-carb solution, while cauliflower rice gives you a whole-food option with the same comfort you expect from a warm bowl of turkey rice soup.
Finally, finish your soup with fresh herbs like parsley, thyme, or basil. The brightness cuts through the richness of the broth and brings the soup to life.
Make This Soup Your Own
This recipe is easy to modify depending on what you have during the holiday season or weekend food prep:
- Add daikon radish for a potato-like texture
- Add extra vegetables processed in the food processor for a finer texture
- Add more spice with creole seasoning
- Use coconut-lime turkey rice soup flavors: add coconut milk + lime juice
- Add a squeeze of lemon for acidity
- Swap kale for spinach if you prefer a softer green
You can even include leftover vegetables from Thanksgiving—green beans, roasted carrots, or even leftover celery from stuffing prep.
Why This Turkey Soup Is Perfect After Thanksgiving
Holiday meals are often rich, heavy, and high in fat. The next day, most of us crave something warm, hydrating, and nourishing. This soup checks every box:
- Hydrating from broth
- Low in carbs
- Packed with protein
- Gentle on digestion
- Comforting without feeling heavy
It’s the perfect leftover turkey recipe when you want to get back on track without sacrificing flavor or satisfaction.
More Low-Carb recipes you might like:
Recipe Notes & Substitutions
Add soy sauce or coconut aminos for deeper umami flavor.
Net Carbs: 4g
If you’re not a fan of miracle rice, sub cauliflower rice but note this raises the carbs.
Add a little coconut milk for a creamy version.
Use leftover turkey bones to make your own broth for even better flavor.
This recipe works with a slow cooker, crock pot, or instant pot recipes with minor adjustments.
Great for Meal Prep & Storage
This soup stores beautifully, making it perfect for meal prep, holiday dinners, weekend food prep, or busy weeknights.
Freeze without the miracle rice for longer storage, then add fresh when reheating.
Store in an airtight container or mason jar for 3–4 days.
The flavors deepen as it sits—seriously even better the next day!
Slow Cooker Keto Turkey Rice Soup Recipe
Slow Cooker Keto Turkey Kale Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or olive
- 1/2 cup shallots chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 cup carrots sliced
- 1 cup celery sliced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 cups turkey cooked, chopped
- 4 cup turkey broth or chicken or bone broth
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup miracle rice
- 4 cups kale stems removed, chopped or 100 grams
- optional topping: 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet and cook shallots, garlic, carrots, and celery stirring frequently until veggies are softened, about 10 minutes.
- Add salt, pepper, basil, oregano, and thyme and cook about a minute more.
- Add all the ingredients, except miracle rice to a large crock pot.
- Cook 3-4 hours on high until kale is soft. Rinse miracle rice well and drain then add to pot the last 30 minutes of cooking time.
- Top with fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
About Brenda
Brenda Bennett is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, certified Sugar Detox Coach, certified Keto Coach, and certified Life Coach. She has been Sugar Free & refined-carb free for 20 years and is the author of four cookbooks: Sugar-Free Mom, Naturally Keto, The 30-Day Sugar Elimination Diet, and her newest release, Good, Better, Best (2025). Her work focuses on helping women detox from sugar, eliminate cravings, balance blood sugar, and lose weight while enjoying delicious, nutrient-dense whole foods. Brenda is also the creator of the Midlife Macro™ Method and the weekly Midlife Macro Meal Plans™, designed specifically for women in perimenopause and menopause who want simple, high-protein, low-carb meals to support hormones, metabolism, and long-term health.She is the founder of the Sugar Free Fresh Start course and the Sugar Free Mom Tribe membership.
A crunchier texture, not “a more crunchier” texture. 😉
Could I substitute the rice for quinoa? It has less carbs.
Sure or even cauliflower rice for lower carbs.
Hi! I just wanted to double check the cooking time. The recipe says 6-8 hours on high. Should that be on low? I usually never use the high setting, and I’d just like to be sure. . .
You could try it on low, but I used high to make sure the rice was fully cooked.
I cooked this on low for 8 hours and the wild rice became mush. The soup was inedible. Very disappointed.
Really? I’m surprised, had you presoaked the rice?
This is probably a dumb question, but are you putting the kale in the crock pot?? Or adding it at the last minute till wilted??
Yes I added it for the entire cooking time because I wanted it totally soft. If you prefer a more crunchier texture just add it the last 30 minutes.
I have some chard in my freezer I need to use up, is it a suitable sub for kale in this recipe? 🙂
Sure, that sounds great!
thanks, it turned out great, hubby loved it too 🙂
Another great recipe! This one was enjoyed by all the family…even our 1 year-old. I had never used Kale in anything. It was easy to work with and had a nice texture in the soup. I hear that it is full of nutrients. I skipped the shallots and used 1/3 cup of onion in place of. I’ve never used shallots before and figured I should probably limit myself to one new ingredient at a time. What type of flavor difference would you think the shallot would make in the end product? This one is definitely going in our recipe binder.
My family loved this soup as well, even the picky 12 year old! I like to use shallots sometimes because they have a milder taste that my kids prefer. If they see too much onion they frown on it so the shallots still give that flavor but less of a bite.