Slow Cooker Turkey Chowder
52 Comments Nov 22, 2020
Updated Oct 19, 2024
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Want to change up that leftover turkey? This turkey chowder is the ticket! Creamy and flavorful and a welcome change for leftovers.
We love a good chowder recipe, this turkey chowder is unique, but also try my easy clam chowder!
If you are like me you like to use up all the leftover turkey. Roasted turkey is such a nice change from the rest of the year’s meals and I always want to make as many meals as possible with it.
We often make turkey noodle soup, but this year I went in a different direction. I made creamy decadent turkey chowder that has chopped leftover turkey and small diced vegetables. This chowder is as good as any fancy restaurant!
How to make turkey chowder in the crockpot:
- Leftover turkey – Use up that extra turkey. Note that I DO NOT use turkey more than 3 days old. It tends to get a stale taste if left too long in the fridge.
- Vegetables – Carrots, celery, onion, red potatoes
- Corn – One can of cream-style corn and one can of drained kernel corn.
- Broth – I make slow cooker turkey stock from the leftover turkey bones (or you can use chicken broth).
- Cornstarch – This will give the soup a thick chowder like consistency. Make a slurry from cold water and cornstarch and add at the end of the cooking time. Cook for 30 more minutes.
- Heavy Cream – Adds flavor and helps to thicken the soup more.
How long do I cook?
- Place the lid on the slow cooker.
- Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours.
- Now you will need to add a cornstarch slurry and continue cooking until thickened. See the next step on how to do this.
How do I add cornstarch to a soup in the slow cooker?
- Mix equal parts of cold water and cornstarch and whisk together, this is called a cornstarch slurry.
- Add to the hot soup in the slow cooker. Stir.
- Add the heavy cream along with the cornstarch slurry to make this chowder creamy.
- Turn the slow cooker to HIGH and cook for 30 minutes more, this will get the soup up to temperature so the cornstarch will activate and thicken.
- Serve and enjoy!
Can I use chicken instead of turkey?
- Yes, you can use raw chicken breasts or cut up leftover chicken in this recipe.
- The same amount of cooking time for raw or cooked, for the vegetables take just as long to cook.
More turkey soups to make in your crockpot:
- Slow Cooker Turkey Stock
- Slow Cooker Turkey and Gravy
- Slow Cooker Turkey and Dumplings
- Slow Cooker Turkey Noodle Soup
- Slow Cooker Southwest Turkey Soup – Recipe from A Mindful Mom
- Slow Cooker Turkey and Brown Rice Soup
- Slow Cooker Turkey Dumpling Soup – Recipe from Mildly Meandering
- Slow Cooker Cajun 15 Bean Soup with Turkey
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Slow Cooker Turkey Chowder
How to Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups cubed leftover turkey
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup diced onion, (or diced leeks)
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 2 cups red potatoes
- 15 oz. can cream-style corn
- 15 oz. can whole kernel corn, drained
- 1 tsp. basil
- 1/4 tsp. thyme
- 2 tsp. dried parsley
- 4 cups turkey or chicken broth
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1/4 cup cornstarch, (WAIT TO ADD)
- 1/4 cup cold water, (WAIT TO ADD)
- 1 cup heavy cream, (WAIT TO ADD)
Instructions
- Add the turkey, veggies, seasonings, and broth to the slow cooker (WAIT TO ADD THE CORNSTARCH, WATER AND HEAVY CREAM).
- Stir.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker. Cook for 4 hours on HIGH or 8 hours on LOW.
- When the cooking time is up, whish together the cold water and corn starch, stir into the chowder. Stir in the heavy cream.
- Cook on HIGH for 30 minutes longer or until soup thickens.
- Serve and enjoy!
Sarah’s Notes
- Yes, you can use raw chicken breast or cut up leftover chicken in this recipe.
- The same amount of cooking time for raw or cooked, for the vegetables take just as long to cook.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Recipe adapted from Just a Pinch – Turkey Soup Continental
Made this with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving a few weeks ago. It came out great and my whole loved it. This is a great way to use leftover turkey. Will certainly be making this again.
I made a couple batch and followed instructions for x2 but my turkey soup turned out way to liquid after I put in the last 2 steps. How can I thicken it?
Add a cornstarch/water slurry to the hot liquid.
Turned out great, family really liked it. I used homemade turkey stock. It did require more seasoning to our taste. I recommend a bunch (5 or 6) generous dashes of Franks Red hot sauce. Great way to use leftover turkey.
HIGHLY recommend making her turkey stock recipe with this chowder! People have commented that it is one of the best soups they have ever had. I only use The Magical Slow Cooker for all of my creations!!
We love this recipe too! Thanks for the kind comment.
Accidentally left out the cornstarch, water & cream but still was delicious and enjoyed by my family! Made sweet potato corn bread to serve with it! Yum!
Easy to make .. Enjoyed it .. My only change was a little poultry seasoning .. Thank you
Just made this soup. We found it to be pretty bland, flavor wise. Added some chicken bouillon and it helped some. Overall warming and filling, but flavor needs help.
Can I freeze this??
Sometimes potatoes and cream don’t thaw well. I wouldn’t freeze this recipe myself.
I made thr recipe as written. However, it never thickend up!? I don’t know why!
You can always add more cornstarch and let the slow cooker get back to temperature.