Y’all know that I’m not a huge fan of turkey…but I’m also not a fan of tossing anything out, so when my mom sent us home with just about a turkey’s worth of leftovers, I thought I might be in trouble.

What am I going to do with all of this?

First off…I divided it up and put it in the freezer. And I left one portions worth in the fridge…to make this soup.

I knew immediately in looking at the 15 Bean Chicken and Sausage Gumbo recipe from Hurst Beans that the turkey would be a great substitute. I thought that the other flavors in the soup – the bite from cajun seasoning, the pop from mirepoix and the smokiness from the andouille – would completely take over the turkey flavor…and I was right.

Note: I intended to make a roux and turn this into a gumbo…but the “dump and simmer” concept seemed easier and more appealing to me, so that’s what I ended up doing. With a little more time and more focus (walking baby, anyone?!?) in the kitchen, I probably would have made this as a gumbo!

So for all you non-turkey fans looking for a way to use up that leftover turkey in the fridge/freezer…look no further!

And stay tuned…fun giveaway coming up next week from Hurst Beans!

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Cajun Turkey & Andouille 15 Bean Soup

Prep Time20 minutes

Cook Time2 hours

Servings - 8 persons

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• 1 lb. bag HamBeens Cajun 15 Bean soup
• 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 medium white onion, chopped
• 2 small green peppers, seeded and diced
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups leftover cooked turkey
• 12 oz. andouille sausage, sliced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Soak the beans overnight in water, or according to package directions. Drain and rinse.
• To a very large saucepan or stock pot, add the beans with 10 cups of water. Then stir in the seasoning packet, the diced tomatoes, the onion, green peppers and celery plus the garlic cloves and bay leaves.
• Stir in the turkey and sausage slices.
• Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook covered for about 2 hours, or until all the beans are soft.Season with salt and pepper before serving.
• Serve Cajun Turkey & Andouille 15 Bean Soup.
• Freeze any leftover soup by cooling completely and then adding to resealable plastic baggies or plastic container.

Disclosure: Hurst Beans is a long time friend of $5 Dinners. This post is part of a sponsored series with them. Recipes, opinions and toddling babies are my own.