“Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.”

Yes, yes, yes. I love Thanksgiving. It’s the perfect holiday - no presents, lots of food, spending time with people you love, and the best part, lots of leftovers.

Over the years, the idea of having “Friendsgivings” has gotten more popularity, and our group of friends is no exception. We play in an intensely anticipated flag football game, watch college football and then gorge ourselves with turkey, mashed potatoes and booze. It can’t be good for our waistlines but it makes our hearts happy.

I may be in the minority on this, but I love the prepping and planning that goes into Thanksgiving dinner. I like sitting down a few weeks before, choosing my menu, writing shopping lists and creating my plan of attack. It’s a task I look forward to every year, and even better when I get to enjoy multiple Thanksgiving feasts. I did my best to document some of my Friendsgiving prep on my Instagram story.

While there are countless resources for recipes and ideas for preparing Thanksgiving, I feel like utilizing leftovers deserves just as much attention. There is ALWAYS too much food. There is ALWAYS something that you made that only you liked. And there are probably STILL leftovers after you’ve made two or three perfect leftover sandwiches. Not to mention the stock, cream and herbs that didn’t get used up.

Hence, the creation of the Leftover Thanksgiving Soup! It’s a blend of leftover roasted vegetables and apples, mixed with herbs, stock and a little cream. It then gets topped with leftover turkey and stuffing croutons. It’s a soul-soothing soup, and you would never know it’s all from leftovers.

I always roast my bird over a bed of vegetables. For this year’s Friendsgiving turkey, I went with parsnip, celery root and onion. Most of the time, it’s extra vegetables that didn’t make it into a stuffing or used in my stock. But you can use any root vegetables you’d like - potatoes, carrots, fennel, squash, etc. I chop them into large chunks (so they don’t burn) and line the bottom of my pan. It helps to keep the bird from sticking, and as they roast, they soak up all those yummy turkey juices. Once the bird is done, pluck them out and store in the fridge until it’s soup time. You can still make gravy with the drippings. It will be extra veggie-fortified.

Not all stuffing (or dressing - since it’s not literally stuffed in the bird) is fit to make stuffing croutons. In order for them to keep their croutony shape, you need to use stuffing that holds together well. Generally something with smaller chunks of veggies and soft bread like traditional white or brioche. If you are able to slice it cold without it falling apart, it should be work. The stuffing I used was this yummy cheesy brioche stuffing and it was not only delicious, but it made for great croutons.

I imagine classic StoveTop stuffing would hold together fine as well. If you don’t have stuffing that will hold it’s shape (like a cornbread stuffing), no worries! Just crumble it in a pan and cook until it gets nice and crispy. It will be just as tasty.

Keep a light hand when adding salt to this soup. Since leftovers are probably already seasoned, you don’t want to add more salt than you need. Taste as you go and make it how you like it.

Leftover Thanksgiving Soup with Stuffing Croutons

Makes 4 servings

SOUP

3 - 4 cups roasted root vegetables from turkey roasting pan
1 apple (Honeycrisp are my favorite)
1 tablespoons assorted fresh herbs, plus more for garnish - sage, rosemary, thyme
¼ cup apple cider vinegar or leftover wine (if that’s even a thing)
3 - 4 cups chicken or turkey stock
1 tablespoon heavy cream, sour cream or crème fraîche, plus more to taste
EVOO
Salt and pepper

CROUTONS / ASSEMBLY

1 cup leftover stuffing
Cornstarch
EVOO
1 cup leftover turkey

Cut leftover stuffing into a block and cube into bite-sized pieces, about ¾ inches. Set cubes on a plate and set in the fridge and keep cold until the soup is ready.

To make the soup, lightly coat the bottom of a heavy bottom pot with EVOO. Chop the roasted vegetables into smaller pieces, add to the pot and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Core and chop the apple and add to the pot, continuing to cook for additional 3 minutes until the apple is soft. Chop the assorted herbs and add to the pot. Deglaze with the vinegar or wine, scraping the bits up from the bottom of the pot. Let the liquid cook out, about 3 minutes. Once the liquid has evaporated, add the stock and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let bubble for 5 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat. Using an immersion blender, (or in batches in a blender) slowing begin to puree the soup until reaching a smooth consistency. Add more stock or water if needed to loosen it up. Return to low heat and stir in cream. Cover and keep warm while preparing the croutons.

Remove the stuffing cubes from the fridge and sprinkle on cornstarch and toss to lightly coat each cube. Heat a skillet over medium heat and drizzle in EVOO. Add the cubes and let brown a few minutes on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Once brown and crispy, remove from pan and set aside.*

Tear or chop turkey into bite-sized pieces and place in the same pan as the croutons. Cook until turkey takes on a bit of color and is warmed through. Set aside.

To plate, ladle soup into a shallow bowl. Place a few croutons and a handful of turkey in the middle. Drizzle with EVOO, dollup a few spoonfuls of sour cream or crème fraîche and top with extra chopped herbs.

*If your stuffing will not hold it’s shape, crumble into the skillet and cook until brown and crispy.