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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 to use more turkey and fewer beans and sweet potatoes for a lower-carb version.

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Turkey, Sweet Potato, and Black Bean Soup soup shown in bowl with spoon and toppings.

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 homemade Turkey Stock.

And 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 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!

And I’ve updated this favorite soup to make it a bit lower in carbs, but here’s the printer-friendly recipe of the original version for anyone who was a fan!

What ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

Can this Turkey Sweet Potato Soup 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 the Turkey Sweet Potato Soup lower in carbs?

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 fewer sweet potatoes and beans and more turkey. And I also added a little more turkey stock to make sure it’s still eight servings. 

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.

More Delicious Recipes for Turkey Soup:

Turkey, Sweet Potato, and Black Bean Soup process shots collage

How to make Turkey, Sweet Potato, and Black Bean Soup:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

  1. 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 homemade Turkey Stock, and it will make your house smell great while it cooks.
  2. Start by cooking the onions and celery a few minutes in the bottom of the soup pot. 
  3. Then add diced sweet potatoes, spices, and turkey stock and simmer about 40 minutes. 
  4. Add black beans and liquid and simmer about 15 minutes more.
  5. Then add the diced turkey and green chiles and simmer another 15 minutes. 
  6. Stir in the lime juice, simmer a few minutes more, and serve hot. 
  7. This is good with cheese and sour cream to sprinkle on at the table.

Square image for Turkey, Sweet Potato, and Black Bean Soup, shown in bowl on orange plate.

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe for Turkey, Sweet Potato, and Black Bean Soup 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!

Turkey, Sweet Potato, and Black Bean Soup finished soup in bowl with toppings
Yield: 8 servings

Turkey, Sweet Potato, and Black Bean Soup

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes

Turkey, Sweet Potato, and Black Bean Soup is a great use for leftover turkey and I've adjusted this recipe so now it's quite a bit lower in carbs! Check notes if you prefer the original version.

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

  1. Heat olive oil in heavy soup pot, add onions and celery and saute about 5 minutes.
  2. 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.
  3. Add black beans, rinsing out the can with a small amount of water and adding all bean liquid. Simmer soup 15 minutes more.
  4. Add diced turkey and green chiles and simmer about 15 minutes more.
  5. Stir in fresh lime juice, season with salt and pepper as desired, and cook 5 minutes more.
  6. 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.

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Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

© Kalyn Denny
Category: Soups & Stews
Turkey, Sweet Potato, and Black Bean Soup thumbnail image of finished soup in bowl

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. That means this Turkey, Sweet Potato, and Black Bean Soup would be suitable for phase 2 or 3 on South Beach. I’ve adjusted this recipe so it’s 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 might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe for Turkey Sweet Potato Soup was first posted in 2007! It was updated in 2021 with recipe tweaks to make it a lower-carb soup and last updated with more information in 2024.

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