Turkey, Farro and Chickpea Soup

By Melissa Clark

Published Nov. 20, 2023

Turkey, Farro and Chickpea Soup
Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Total Time
40 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(1,057)
Comments
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Filled with spices and nubby with grains and beans, this easy soup is a satisfying way to use up as much of your leftover Thanksgiving turkey as you’re willing to spare from future sandwiches. Pearled or semi-pearled farro will soften in about half an hour, but you can use other grains here as long as you adjust the cooking time. White rice will be ready in 15 to 20 minutes, while brown rice and barley need about 45 minutes to an hour. (You might need to add a little water if the liquid level in the pot reduces too much.) And if you want to make this aromatic soup when you don’t have leftover turkey on hand, cooked chicken is a perfect substitute.

Featured in: Keep Thanksgiving Going With This Leftover Turkey Soup

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1large onion, chopped
  • 1tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1½teaspoons baharat (or use another fragrant spice mix, such as garam masala or curry powder)
  • 1teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1cup pearled or semi-pearled farro
  • 2carrots, diced
  • 1teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal), more to taste
  • 6cups turkey or chicken broth
  • 2 to 4cups shredded cooked turkey (or use chicken)
  • 1(14.5-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1tablespoon fresh lemon juice, more to taste
  • 1cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • Grated Parmesan (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

455 calories; 13 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 50 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams dietary fiber; 11 grams sugars; 36 grams protein; 937 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add onion and sauté until golden at the edges, 5 to 7 minutes. Add tomato paste, baharat and cumin, and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.

  2. Step 2

    Add the farro, carrots and salt to the mixture and stir until coated. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the farro is tender, 20 to 30 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Stir in turkey, chickpeas and lemon juice, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Let cook for another 5 minutes or so, or until the turkey is warmed through. If the mixture seems thick, add a little water to thin it out. Taste and add more salt and lemon juice if needed. Stir in cilantro right before serving and top with grated Parmesan, if you like.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,057 user ratings
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Comments

Carol Reid

For newbies, this presupposes you’ve already simmered your carcass for broth. But if you’re starting with the turkey carcass, complete step 1, add the carcass and any other good dripping stuff, water to cover, and simmer until the meat is coming off the bone and the broth taste good (you’ll need to add salt). Remove bones, tedious but satisfying, and move to step 2. Based on the size of your carcass, feel free to add more onion etc in step 1. Extras of the finished soup will freeze well.

ellefp

There are many recipes for traditional turkey soup that many of us remember not-so-fondly from childhood. If you want that, go find one of the hundreds of recipes out there online rather than comparing about this one actually adding flavor.

Cyril

Barley, rice, diced potatoes or small pasta for the farro. Fennel, celery for the chickpeas. Also, check with those who are going to eat this soup. Do they like Indian spices? (baharat, garam masala or curry powder). Or would the crowd prefer thyme, rosemary, bay leaf? Know your audience, or risk rebellion. Turkey soup done well in a traditional fashion (thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, celery, carrots, potatoes) is usually made once a year. It is delicious without the trip to India.

very good

I heard a Mark Bittman interview on NPR about how to make turkey stock and decided I should try that. I actually have his book How to Cook Everything and used the recipe for Full-Flavored Chicken Stock substituting turkey bones. Now that I had all this stock I needed to use it and found this recipe. The remaining stock, I froze in quart bags. Since I have an allergy to lemons, I used some Chive Vinegar I had made previously for the lemon. I had only quick cooking pearled Barley so used that in place of the Farro. Also, used garam masala for the baharat mentioned in the recipe as a substitute. We loved the soup. I will definitely make this again.

DennisD

Delicious as written! Great opportunities for variation!

RF

An interesting take on turkey soup, leveling up from a basic turkey broth, vegetables and rice. The spice blend and tomato paste add a lot of interest. Yum.

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