Jump to Recipe

Turkey Kale Sweet Potato Soup is a perfect idea for using leftover turkey in a slow cooker soup, but it can also be made with chicken. This soup is pretty low in net carbs for a soup with sweet potatoes, but see tips in the recipe for making this an even lower-carb soup.

PIN Turkey Kale Sweet Potato Soup to try it later!

Slow Cooker Turkey Soup with Kale and Sweet Potatoes with soup in bowl on yellow plate

Turkey Kale Sweet Potato Soup is my day-after Thanksgiving Friday Favorites pick. And this soup was inspired by leftover turkey breast that I cooked in the slow cooker. The day I brainstormed this recipe I also had sweet potatoes and kale that I needed to use, two of my favorite soup ingredients.

I loved how this veggie-loaded soup turned out, and sweet potatoes and kale are both healthy foods so this is a soup that’s loaded with nutrition. I was home the day I made this slow cooker turkey soup, so I cooked my soup on high, but you can cook the broth and veggies all day on low, then turn your slow cooker to high and add the turkey and kale when you get home from work.

And did you know that any soup that’s made with leftover turkey can also be made with rotisserie chicken? You can absolutely use leftover rotisserie chicken to make this Turkey Kale Sweet Potato Soup if you don’t have turkey. Either way you make it, if you like these ingredients this will be a tasty soup!

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(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.)

What if you don’t have homemade turkey stock?

I’m a huge fan of homemade turkey stock, and I’d always use that in any recipe for turkey soup if I had some in the freezer. But if you don’t have turkey stock, you can still make a tasty soup using canned chicken broth (affiliate link) or turkey broth if you can find it. If you use broth, I recommend adding a little Penzeys Turkey Soup Base (affiliate link) or another type of turkey soup base of your choice.

How many carbs are in Turkey Kale Sweet Potato Soup?

This tasty and healthy turkey soup has about 13 net carbs per serving and 17 grams of protein.

How to make Turkey Kale Sweet Potato Soup lower in carbs:

This recipe is pretty low for a soup with sweet potatoes. But if you want to make it even lower in carbs, just replace the sweet potatoes with two cups frozen cauliflower rice which will make a soup with only 6.6 net carbs in a serving! Add the cauliflower rice at the same time you would add the sweet potatoes.

Can you use other greens in this Turkey Kale Soup?

There’s no doubt that I love Kale in soup! But if you’re not a fan you could use Swiss Chard, Collards, or Spinach in the slow cooker turkey soup. Spinach is softer and will cook more quickly than the other greens.

Slow Cooker Turkey Soup with Kale and Sweet Potatoes collage of recipe steps

How to Make Slow Cooker Turkey Kale Sweet Potato 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. Chop up a large onion and about a cup of chopped celery and add to the slow cooker.
  2. Add the poultry seasoning, dried thyme, 10 cups turkey or chicken stock (or about 6 cans of broth), and fresh ground black pepper. If your stock or broth isn’t that flavorful I’d add a couple of teaspoons of turkey base or chicken base. 
  3. Let this start to cook while you cut up the sweet potatoes. I cut up two medium sweet potatoes to make about 3 cups small sweet potato cubes, but a little more or less won’t hurt.
  4. Add sweet potatoes to the soup mixture in the slow cooker and cook 4 hours on high (or 8-9 hours on low if you’re not going to be home.)
  5. I only had about 2 cups of chopped leftover turkey, but use a little more if you have plenty.
  6. Cut away the ribs of the kale and chop the leaves into small pieces to make 4 cups (packed) of kale.
  7. Add the turkey and kale to the slow cooker, turn to high if you had been cooking on low, and cook 1-2 hours more.
  8. Here’s how mine looked after the kale and turkey had cooked in the soup for nearly two hours.
  9. Stir in the balsamic vinegar; I’d start with the smaller amount of balsamic vinegar; then taste to see if you want a little more.
  10. Serve Turkey Kale Sweet Potato Soup hot and enjoy!

Slow Cooker Turkey Soup with Kale and Sweet Potatoes shown in bowl with spoon

Want more recipes for leftover turkey?

Check out Low-Carb Leftover Turkey Recipes or Low-Carb and Keto Turkey Soup Recipes if you’re lucky enough to have a lot of leftover turkey!

Slow Cooker Turkey Soup with Kale and Sweet Potatoes with soup in bowl on yellow plate
Yield: 8 servings

Turkey Kale Sweet Potato Soup (Slow Cooker)

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 20 minutes

This Turkey Kale Sweet Potato Soup is a perfect soup to make in the slow cooker with leftover turkey, but it can also be made with rotisserie chicken.

Ingredients

  • 1 large onion, chopped fairly small
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 10 cups turkey broth (see notes)
  • 1 T turkey soup base or chicken base (optional, but recommended especially if you use canned broth)
  • 1 tsp. poultry seasoning
  • 1 tsp. dried thyme
  • fresh ground black pepper to taste
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes (see notes)
  • 2 cups chopped cooked turkey (see notes)
  • 4 cups finely chopped kale (packed into measuring cup)
  • 2-3 T balsamic vinegar

Instructions

  • Peel and chop the onion and chop enough celery to make one cup chopped celery; add onion and celery to the slow cooker.  Add the poultry seasoning, dried thyme, 10 cups turkey or chicken stock (or broth), and fresh ground black pepper, turn on the slow cooker and let it start to cook while you chop the sweet potatoes.
  • Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 3/4 inch cubes. Add to the slow cooker with the chicken (affiliate link) or turkey (affiliate link) soup base (if using) and cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
  • Chop up enough turkey or chicken to make 2-3 cups bite-sized pieces.
  • Cut away the ribs from the kale leaves and finely chop enough kale to make 4 cups packed kale.
  • Add the turkey and kale to the slow cooker, and turn to high if you’ve been cooking on low.
  • Cook for 1-2 hours more on high, or until the kale is done to your liking.
  • Add balsamic vinegar and stir into the soup.  (I would start with 2 tablespoons and taste to see if you want to add more.)
  • Serve the Turkey Kale Sweet Potato Soup hot.
  • This would probably freeze okay, but the sweet potatoes will be starting to fall apart after this long cooking time and freezing will make them even softer.

    • Notes

    I would use homemade turkey stock or chicken stock you have some! If not use about 6 cans turkey broth or chicken broth, preferably with a little Penzeys Turkey Soup Base (or other turkey base.)

    I used about 3 cups sweet potato cubes, although a little more or less won’t hurt. You can use more than 2 cups of chopped turkey if you have plenty. Use chopped rotisserie chicken if you don't have turkey.

    I used my Crock-Pot 5-Quart Programmable Smart-Pot Slow Cooker (affiliate link) for this recipe. (A slightly smaller model would also work.)  If you’re cooking all day, this type of slow cooker is a good choice because you can set it to cook 8 hours on low and then it switches to “warm” after 8 hours.

    Recipe created by Kalyn.

    Nutrition Information

    Yield

    8

    Serving Size

    1
    Amount Per Serving Calories 173Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 53mgSodium 1250mgCarbohydrates 16gFiber 3gSugar 7gProtein 17g

    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.

    Did you make this recipe?

    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: Slow Cooker
    Slow Cooker Turkey Soup with Kale and Sweet Potatoes in bowl, square image

    Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
    This Turkey Kale Sweet Potato Soup is relatively low in net carbs, but replace the sweet potatoes with about two cups of frozen cauliflower rice for a soup that’s even lower in carbs. (I am tagging the recipe low-carb because of that option.) Using sweet potatoes would make this soup limited to phase 2 or 3 for the original South Beach Diet.

    Find More Recipes Like This One:
    Use Soup Recipes for more tasty ideas for soup! 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 soup to make in the slow cooker with leftover turkey, kale, and sweet potatoes was first posted in 2014. It was last updated with more information in 2025.

    Pinterest image of Turkey Kale Sweet Potato Soup (Slow Cooker)

    Share This: