Buckwheat Soup

Roasted buckwheat soup with chicken or turkey leftovers, lots of spices, and vegetables. Simple and healthy kasha soup.

This easy and healthy buckwheat soup or kasha soup makes the most of any leftover chicken or turkey you might have during the holiday season. Add some veggies and serve the soup only half an hour later.

I made this buckwheat soup a few weeks ago using leftover turkey from this turkey drumstick recipe. There was a fair amount of meat left over, so I was able to make not only this soup but also this Vegetable Strudel and a few sandwiches with roasted vegetables, chili sauce, and turkey meat.

I used the last pieces of meat I was able to scrape from the bones to make this soup and used the bones to make a delicious stock. I make stock all the time, either with leftover chicken, turkey, or duck bones or even with the leftover goose bones I get from my mother-in-law's Christmas goose every year. I would not consider throwing even one bone away; there really isn't any stock or broth you could buy that tastes as good as homemade stock.

Recipe ingredients

Buckwheat:

• Roasted buckwheat or kasha is the most common kind you will find in the store.
• There is also the raw buckwheat, but roasted tastes better.
• The best way to tell the two sorts apart is to check the color. Raw buckwheat is pale, while roasted is brown.
• You could check the package to see if the seeds are roasted or not, but that is not always specified. Generally, if you cannot read anything on the package, then the buckwheat is roasted.

Vegetables:

• The ones I mentioned are not exactly mandatory.
• I would definitely take carrots, bell pepper, and some celery, but all the rest can be replaced with something else.
• If you don't happen to have a leek in the fridge, use regular onions or green onions instead, and if you don't have parsnip or parsley root, chop a larger piece of celeriac, for instance.
• The pumpkin or squash could be easily replaced with a small sweet potato, or you could add a couple of regular smaller potatoes to the soup.
• You could even add or replace some of the veggies with cauliflower or broccoli florets, kohlrabi, or a small piece of chopped white cabbage.
• Really, use what you have; you will love the result.

Chicken or turkey:

• Either leftovers or fresh meat.
• The quantities are not very important. Use whatever leftovers you have, more or less 250 g/ 8.8 oz.

How to make buckwheat soup?

• If you don't have chicken or turkey leftovers, chop about 250 g/8.8 oz fresh meat into small cubes and set aside.
• Cook the chopped vegetables in the stock for about 10 minutes.
• Add the spices and the buckwheat. Check the cooking times on the kasha package. I need to cook mine for 20 minutes, but that might differ from brand to brand.
• If using fresh meat, add it after 10 minutes.
• If using meat leftovers, add them after 15 minutes.
• Once the buckwheat (and fresh meat) are cooked, adjust the taste with soy sauce, balsamic, salt, and pepper.

Recipe FAQ

More buckwheat recipes

Buckwheat Soup

Healthy buckwheat soup with chicken or turkey leftovers, lots of spices, and vegetables.

5 from 2 votes

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Course: Soup

Cuisine: Russian, American

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 370kcal

Author: Adina

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Ingredients 

• ▢ 1 ½ liter/ 0.4 gallon/ 6.5 cups stock chicken or turkey
• ▢ 2 medium carrots
• ▢ 1 small leek Note 1
• ▢ 125 g/ 4.4 oz pumpkin or butternut squash Note 2
• ▢ 1 small piece celeriac about 50g/ 1.8 oz or 2 celery sticks
• ▢ 1 small parsnip or parsley root
• ▢ 1 red bell pepper
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground all-spice
• ▢ ½ teaspoon chili flakes
• ▢ 80 g/ 2.8 oz/ ½ cup roasted buckwheat groats
• ▢ about 250 g/ 8.8 oz cooked turkey or chicken Note 3
• ▢ 3-4 tablespoon soy sauce
• ▢ 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• ▢ fine sea salt and pepper
• ▢ fresh parsley

Instructions

• Bring the turkey or chicken stock to a boil.
• In the meantime, chop the carrots, leek, pumpkin or butternut squash, celeriac, parsnip or parsley root and bell pepper into small pieces. Add them to the stock and cook slowly for about 10 minutes.
• Add the spices and the buckwheat and cook according to the buckwheat's packet instructions or until the vegetables and the buckwheat are soft. I cooked the buckwheat for 20 minutes.
• If you use fresh turkey or chicken breast, chop it into small cubes and add it to the soup 10 minutes after adding the buckwheat. If you use already cooked turkey or chicken, chop it into small pieces and add it to the soup during the last 5 minutes of the cooking time, so that they can get hot.
• Adjust the taste with soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

Notes

1. Or 3 green onions or 1 small onion.
2. Or 1 small sweet potato.
3. If you don't have any turkey or chicken leftovers, you can use the same amount of fresh turkey or chicken breast. Chop the meat into small cubes and add it to the soup 10 minutes after adding the buckwheat.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/4 of the dish | Calories: 370kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 1789mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 11g

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