This super easy homemade pork soup recipe is the best way to use leftover pork. It’s thick and creamy – almost like a stew – but dairy-free (no cream cheese). Whole30 compliant and if you skip the pork, it’s a delicious vegetarian meal!
My super easy homemade pork soup recipe is the best way to use leftover pork. It’s thick and creamy like a stew, and a perfect soup for the whole family to enjoy any time of the year.
Friends, whether you want soup or stew, the combination of pork and potatoes is out of this world!
Not only is this recipe easy and delicious, but it’s also:
- Simple. With a handful of easy-to-find ingredients, you can’t get any simpler.
- Versatile. Use what you have. Out of kale, but you have spinach? Throw that in instead.
- Frugal. Using leftover pork, and super affordable vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and celery, this soup is easy on the wallet.
- Dairy-free. An ideal creamy soup, minus the dairy.
- Whole30 compliant.
Ingredients for Pork Soup
- olive oil
- onions
- celery ribs
- carrots
- cloves garlic
- sliced mushrooms
- medium potatoes
- chicken stock (I use homemade chicken stock)
- leftover pork
- onion flakes
- Italian seasoning (It’s easy to make it yourself)
- granulated garlic
- salt
- ground or rubbed sage
- ground thyme
- pepper
- kale
Notes On Ingredients
- Pork. I used leftover rib meat for this recipe, but you can use any pork really. Leftover pulled pork carnitas, classic pot roast, or Instant Pot whole chicken will work. The flavors may vary a little, but that’s the beauty of leftovers!
- In fact, it doesn’t even HAVE to be leftover. If you have frozen pork chops in the freezer, by all means, use them. Boil them in water with seasonings, and use the cooking broth instead of chicken broth!
- Seasonings. My rib meat was intensely flavored in homemade barbeque sauce, but I made sure that there were plenty of seasonings in the recipe to make any pork addition taste good. Just know that if your pork is already cooked, that flavor will come through a bit!
- Chicken Broth / Chicken Stock. I save up all of our chicken bones in gallon freezer bags and make homemade chicken stock, which adds a delicious broth base for this recipe. (I use this Instant Pot chicken stock tutorial to make my own, but you can use the slow cooker chicken stock method too.)
- If you are using fresh / thawed pork for this recipe rather than leftovers, you can replace the chicken broth in the recipe with the pork broth from boiling the pork chops in water and seasonings.
- Vegetables. Use up any stray veggies from your fridge for this meal. If you have the staples mentioned in the recipe, use them, but if you want to add in some bell pepper, leeks, or even some cabbage try it out!
- Kale. Can be replaced with other leafy greens that you might have on hand like collard greens, chard or spinach.
- Potatoes. You can even use leftover potatoes for this recipe. For example, perhaps you have hash browns on your meal plan for a weekend for breakfast, and potato wedges are served with another dinner. Plan to make extras and use what you have on hand!
A complete list of ingredients with the amounts you need is located in the recipe card below.
Another Quick Note on the Pork
Serving my family heritage pork is important to me, so we’re members of Butcher Box. Butcher Box delivers heritage pork, grass-fed beef, and pasture-raised and organic chicken directly to your front door each month, saving me the hassle of driving all over town trying to find the cuts of meat I want on my meal plan!
You can read my honest review on Butcher Box here, and my post on how to make Butcher Box worth the cost! Click this LINK to get their current offer!
Step By Step Instructions for Leftover Pork Soup
Step 1: Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, celery, and carrots and cook on medium, stirring occasionally, until the onions just start to turn translucent.
Step 2: Add the mushrooms and garlic. Cook until the vegetables start to become soft.
Step 3: Add the potatoes and chicken stock. Turn the heat to high, bring just to a boil, and then turn the heat down to a medium simmer. Cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 15-20 minutes.
Step 4: Add the leftover pork, seasonings, and kale. Cook until the kale is wilted and the pork is heated through about 5-10 minutes.
Step 5: Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed.
Pork Soup Recipe Tips
- Any leftover meat will work well in this soup recipe. Leftover carnitas, classic pot roast, or Instant Pot whole chicken will work. The flavors may vary a little, but that’s the beauty of leftovers!
- Use up any stray veggies from your fridge for this meal. If you have the staples mentioned in the recipe, use them, but if you want to add in whichever diced veggies you may have on hand, go right ahead! They will be delicious in this pork soup.
- I made this on the stove every time, but I’m sure it would work in a slow cooker or Instant Pot (especially since the Instant Pot can save you money!). Before you jump in though, read these Instant Pot tips and also how to make a slow cooker recipe in the Instant Pot. Avoid making one of these Instant Pot mistakes at dinner time!
FAQs
For this recipe, I use homemade chicken broth since it is the broth that I usually have on hand in my freezer, and it goes well with other meats. I would not recommend beef broth in this recipe.
Pork chops will tend to dry out if you overcook them. In the case of this recipe, you are only reheating your fully cooked leftover pork for 5-10 minutes in broth, so your pork will not be dry in this pork soup recipe. In my Maple Glazed Pork Chops recipe, the pork cooks in a cast iron skillet for 10-13 minutes total. The pork comes out super tender and delicious.
Well-seasoned pork cooked with the proper cook time is what makes pork very flavorful and tender. For example:
The pork is made very flavorful and tender in this pork stew recipe when it is cooked in homemade chicken broth with seasonings like homemade Italian Seasoning, garlic, onion, celery, sage, thyme, salt & pepper, plus mushrooms.
My Maple Glazed Pork Chop recipe is very flavorful with just the right amount of maple syrup, and seasonings like cayenne, garlic, paprika, salt & pepper.
To Serve
- Serve with my No-Knead Artisan Bread and a Kale Caesar Salad.
- Use any vegetables that you have on hand (i.e. bell pepper, leeks, cabbage, collard greens &, etc).
- Any leftover pork will work (carnitas, classic pot roast, maple glazed pork chops). Or even Instant Pot whole chicken will work.
More Quick & Easy Soup Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- White Bean and Sausage Soup
- Instant Pot Curried Butternut Squash Soup
- Garlic White Bean with Kale Soup
- Slow Cooker Mexican Potato Soup
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Leftover Pork and Potato Soup
Super easy homemade pork and potato soup recipe is the best way to use leftover pork. It’s thick and creamy – almost like a stew – but dairy-free (no cream cheese). Whole30 compliant and if you skip the pork, it’s a delicious vegetarian meal!
- Prep Time: 7 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 37 mins
- Yield: 6–8 serving 1x
- Category: Soup & Salad
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions, diced
- 4 celery ribs, diced
- 4 large carrots, diced
- 2 large cloves garlic
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 4 medium potatoes, scrubbed and diced
- 2 quarts chicken stock
- 2 cups leftover pork, cubed into 1/2” pieces or smaller
- 2 Tbsp onion flakes
- 2 Tbsp dried Italian seasoning
- 2 tsp granulated garlic
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground or rubbed sage
- 1 tsp ground thyme
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2 large fistfuls of kale
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, celery and carrots and cook on medium until the onions just start to turn translucent.
- Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook until the vegetables start to become soft.
- Add the potatoes and chicken stock and simmer, cooking until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 15-20 minutes.
- Add the leftover pork, seasonings and kale and cook until the kale is wilted and the pork is heated through, about 5-10 minutes.
- Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed.
Notes
- Any leftover meat will work well in this soup recipe. Leftover carnitas, classic pot roast, or Instant Pot whole chicken will work. The flavors may vary a little, but that’s the beauty of leftovers!
- Use up any stray veggies from your fridge for this meal. If you have the staples mentioned in the recipe, use them, but if you want to add in whichever diced veggies you may have on hand, go right ahead! They will be delicious in this pork soup.
Nutrition
- Calories: 228
Pat
A very tasty soup. We enjoyed adding corn, as someone here suggested. I did cut back on the spices, and threw in maybe 1/4 t of herbes de Province, which I like.
But I just have to comment on these prep times I so often see in online recipes.
Even with a food processor, I would have to be the bionic woman to, in seven minutes, wash, peel and dice four carrots and four medium potaotes, wash and dice four celery ribs, peel and dice two onions, plus take out and measure all the other ingredients.
For me, this took significantly longer, but maybe, Tiffany, you are just much faster. Most importantly, we all enjoyed the soup, and I hope to make it again. And I’ll be taking a look at your other recipes too since this one was so good.
Angela
Awesome
Lisa
Used leftover souvlaki pork tenderloin. Loved the flavours!
DEANA
This is a very good “use up leftovers” recipe! I am not a huge fan of sage so I only used 1 tsp and next time I will leave it out entirely. Even with one it was too overpowering for me personally. I made it with leftover bake chicken and can see how any meat can work. I made just as written except the reduction of sage. Thank you for a great soup recipe! Oh, one last thing, my grandson will not eat mushrooms so I always dehydrate them in my dehydrator and grind into a powder so he never sees them in a recipe. LOL.
John B
Wow very tasty but I couldn’t believe the amount of seasonings. I used half the amt and it was perfect for my taste.
Pam B.
Wish I had read your comment before I made the soup. I found the amount of thyme was overpowering. Over all though it’s a good soup. I’ll make it again.
Jennie
This was delicious. I realized partway through I didn’t have potatoes so added some small pasta shells instead. And some frozen corn. The leftover pork had a very savoury seasoning too so it all came together beautifully and didn’t taste like a “leftovers” meal at all.
Bobbie
This is about the 5th time I’ve made this and beef broth took this to a whole other level! Left out the thyme because i ran out of time haha, added a whole sweet potato, the best soup I ever made. Restaurant worthy! Also added leftover collard greens, not enough time to run to the garden for Kale. Soo good!!
Karen @ Team Crumbs
Yummm, Bobbie!
Your soup sounds amazing. Thank you for sharing. We really love this recipe too!
Laurie
Overall a wonderful soup! I’m not a fan of thyme so omitted that and also added a rue. I always keep dried kale in a mason jar so threw two handfuls in. For those that like a milk-based soups, I stirred in 1/2 Tbsp heavy cream to my individual bowl.
Brittany @ Team Crumbs
Hello Laurie,
Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Jo
What is a rue?
Denae
She spelled it wrong – it’s roux. It’s butter melted, flour stirred in, then milk whisked in gradually to make a creamy thickener that is the base for sauces (like the cheese sauce for macaroni and cheese) and soups.
Michelle
3rd time making this now and it really is great. A lot of flavour with relatively minimal effort. I’ve been using leftovers from the costco souvlaki marinated chops and I highly recommend.
Karen @ Team Crumbs
Hi Michelle! Thank you so much for your recommendation! It sounds amazing. 🙂
Aleta
Made this tonight with leftover bones from a slow roasted whole pork leg which I boiled with the seasonings as recommended. Followed the recipe almost exactly (I didn’t have kale) and fed my family of four with tons leftover for healthy lunches. My teenager who hates mushrooms even went back for seconds. Of course she strategically ladled out a mushroom-free portion on her second round. Thank you for helping me find a delicious and healthy recipe to stretch out my leftovers!
Karen @ Team Crumbs
Aleta,
You made me hungry! LOL That sounds amazing. We are so glad your family loved it. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Malia Nesbitt
I am in the process of making this soup and it tastes and smells delicious. The broth is succulent. I can’t wait to have it tonight.
Karen @ Team Crumbs
Hi Malia!
We hope you loved it! 🙂 Thank you so much!
Jennifer
We had entirely too much leftover smoked pork tenderloin and I ran across the recipe while looking for ideas of what to do with it. Let me tell you we were not disappointed. This is an incredible soup and I love that we can switch out the pork I used with any other kind of leftover meat. The two things I did differently were 1. I left out the kale. We don’t eat much of it in our house and I didn’t want to buy it knowing I would have it left over and 2. I cooked it much longer than the recipe calls for. I obviously turned the heat way down but I think this really helped develop the flavors overall. I believe I let it cook for a good hour. My husband really loved this method because he liked the starchiness the potatoes added to the broth once they cooked down. All in all a fantastic recipe; thanks for sharing!
Karen @ Team Crumbs
Hi Jennifer,
We’re so glad this recipe was a hit! Thanks for sharing with us. 🙂
Whitney
Can you use raw pork and cook it in the stew or would you suggest searing the pork before putting it in the soup?
Karen @ Team Crumbs
Hi Whitney!
I would recommend searing the pork first. Mainly because it really locks in the flavor. 🙂
Julia McGeary
Oh my goodness! Made this today and it’s definitely a five star recipe. It’s amazing and comfort food. Tickles the palate. I’m adding this to my favorites cookbook. Thank you for sharing.
SJ - Team Crumbs
So glad to hear Julia! You are most welcome. 🙂
Lisa
Absolutely love this!! It is very versatile I used one regular potato and one sweet potato. I halved the recipe because I had two pork chops left. Thank you! This will be a regular!
SJ - Team Crumbs
Hi Lisa, Thanks for sharing your swap with a sweet potato. What a great idea!
Cindy
Love this soup.
Did swap out some leftover spinach in place of kale. Also a little barley in place of potatoes. This is a keeper, thanks so much for sharing.
Kathy
I don’t understand why the recipe needs two different types of onion and garlic. If you have fresh it makes more sense to me to just add more fresh. That’s what I do anyways.
Brittany
Thanks so much for the recipe. I had some pulled pork in the fridge and I like to make soup pn Thursdays so my husband can take a thermos full to his evening classes. I happened to have everything I needed on hand, tossed it all in the instant pot and its smelling wonderful. I’ll definitely make this one again. Im sure it would be delish with any kind of meat leftovers
Desiree
Made this recipe today with some leftover peanut encrusted pork, cut the Italian spices in half, and added about 2/3 cup quick cook barley. My husband and I loved it! This is my new go-to soup recipe. Thank you for the delicious meal and helping with getting rid of the leftovers!
SJ - Team Crumbs
So glad Desiree! You’re most welcome 🙂
Desiree
Made this recipe today with some leftover peanut encrusted pork, cut the Italian spices in half, and added about 2/3 cup quick cook barley. My husband and I loved it! This is my new go-to soup recipe. Thank you for the delicious meal and helping with get rid of the leftovers!