This turkey soup recipe is homemade turkey broth loaded with vegetables, diced turkey and egg noodles simmered to perfection. The absolute best way to use up leftover turkey, this is a comfort food classic that never goes out of style.
Whenever I make a Thanksgiving turkey, I save the carcass and some meat to make this fabulous turkey soup. Add a simple side dish, such as honey cornbread or garlic knots, then watch the rave reviews come in!
I love a good holiday meal, but sometimes the leftovers are almost as good as the main event! I use leftover turkey to make this simple, yet totally satisfying turkey soup. It’s a twist on the classic chicken noodle soup, and it’s always a big hit with both kids and adults alike.
This soup is one of my favorite leftover turkey recipes along with turkey casserole, turkey pasta carbonara and turkey tetrazzini.
Table of Contents
Turkey Soup Recipe
To make this delicious turkey soup recipe make sure you have the following ingredients for the broth: a turkey carcass, an onion, carrots, celery, peppercorns, parsley, thyme, garlic, a bay leaf and salt. For the soup you will need butter, an onion, carrots, celery, garlic, turkey, Italian seasoning, turkey broth, egg noodles, parsley, salt and black pepper.
How Do You Make Turkey Broth?
You can’t have turkey soup without turkey broth! To make the base of this soup, start with a turkey carcass. You’ll want to remove the majority of the meat first. Place the carcass in a large pot along with onions, carrots, celery, herbs and spices. Cover the ingredients with water, then bring them to a simmer. Cook for 3-4 hours, occasionally skimming the foam off the surface of the broth. Pour the finished broth through a strainer, and you’ll be ready to make your soup.
How Do You Make Turkey Soup?
To make this turkey soup melt butter in a pot, then add carrots, onion and celery. Cook until the veggies are tender, then stir in garlic. Add the diced turkey, herbs, spices and turkey broth to the pot, then bring everything a simmer. Let the soup simmer, then stir in egg noodles. Cook until the egg noodles are done, then add a sprinkle of fresh parsley and serve.
Tips For The Perfect Soup
- This soup tastes best with homemade turkey broth. If you don’t have the time to make your own broth, feel free to use prepared turkey or chicken broth from the grocery store.
- When straining broth, I like to pour the broth through a colander with a paper towel inside. Straining the broth through a paper towel and colander helps catch small bits. If you use a paper towel, pour slowly so the broth has a chance to filter through the paper towel.
- You can make the turkey broth up to 3 days before you plan to use it.
- You can store broth in a pitcher so that it fits in a refrigerator and is easy to pour when you are ready to make the soup.
- This soup can be prepared in the slow cooker. Simply place the vegetables, broth, turkey and seasonings in a slow cooker, and cook on low for 4 hours. Stir in the noodles, then cook for an additional 30 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley, then serve.
Quick Tip
I use extra wide egg noodles, but any variety of egg noodle or short pasta will work just fine.
Recipe FAQs
This soup stays fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can also freeze your soup for up to 2 months. If you choose to freeze the soup, omit the pasta as it will become mushy in the freezer. Thaw the soup, then heat it on the stove top and add the pasta at that time.
If you make your own broth, you will not have bland turkey soup. You can also increase the flavor with extra salt or Italian seasoning. For a little heat try adding some cayenne pepper to taste.
No. After you make turkey broth you should let it cool for about 20 minutes on the counter and then put in in a pitcher or other container in a refrigerator.
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Flavor Variations
This soup is fabulous as-is, but you can add other ingredients to customize it to your tastes.
- Protein: This recipe works just as well with a chicken as it does a turkey.
- Veggies: Add more vegetables such as tomatoes, corn, green beans, zucchini, potatoes or spinach.
- Grains: Instead of the pasta, stir in some cooked white rice, quinoa, barley or wild rice.
This turkey soup is worth making all year round – it’s perfect for those cold weather nights!
More Soup Recipes To Try
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
50 mins
Vegetable Soup
55 mins
Chicken Pot Pie Soup
1 hr 5 mins
Taco Soup Recipe
30 mins
Manhattan Clam Chowder
1 hr 5 mins
Turkey Soup Video
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Turkey Soup
Ingredients
For the broth
- 1 turkey carcass
- 1 onion peeled and quartered
- 2 carrots peeled and cut into 3 inch pieces
- 3 stalks celery with leaves, cut into 3 inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 3 sprigs fresh parsley
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 teaspoons salt
For the soup
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 cup carrots peeled and sliced
- 3/4 cup celery thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons garlic
- 4 cups diced cooked turkey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 8 cups turkey broth
- 8 ounces egg noodles uncooked
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Instructions
For the broth
- Place the broth ingredients in a large pot. Cover with cold water (at least 10 cups).
- Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Cook for 3-4 hours, skimming the surface occasionally.
- Pour the broth through a fine sieve into a container.
For the soup
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrot and celery and cook for 4-5 minutes or until just softened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the turkey, Italian seasoning and broth to the pot, along with salt and pepper to taste.
- Bring to a simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until veggies are tender.
- Add the noodles. Cook for another 10 minutes or until noodles are softened.
- Sprinkle with parsley, then serve.
Notes
- This soup tastes best with homemade turkey broth. If you don’t have the time to make your own broth, feel free to use prepared turkey or chicken broth from the grocery store.
- I use extra wide egg noodles, but any variety of egg noodle or short pasta will work just fine.
- You can make the turkey broth up to 3 days before you plan to use it.
- You can store broth in a pitcher so that it fits easily in a refrigerator and is easy to pour when you are ready to make the soup.
Easy and absolutely delicious. I made the turkey broth from a small turkey breast so not much in the way of bones. I had to add 2 cups of vegetable broth to the soup. Thank you for your substitution recommendations. I was so close to doing noodles when I saw the wild rice suggestion, which gave me a whole grain meal. So used a Lundberg wild rice mix. Mmmm. Your recommendation to use homemade broth was right on the money! I’m on a low salt diet so didn’t add the salt and used reduced sodium vegetable broth, and it was so flavorful and beyond delicious!! Thank you!!
This soup was so delicious! Everyone loved it!
I made this soup today with my left over turkey and it was amazing! Perfect flavors!
I know what I will be making with all the leftover turkey!! Yum! Love all the flavors!
Looks so good! I know my family will go crazy over this.
Love this soup! It’s the perfect soup for the day after Thanksgiving! Maybe served alongside a cranberry muffin or a slice of pumpkin pie… 😀 On my list!
Yum! This soup is so inviting! I love the idea of using turkey!
Such an amazing comfort food! We will be enjoying this all fall!
Yummy! My family and I love this recipe! I can’t wait to make this again!
Awesome, this delicious soup is the perfect way to put that leftover turkey carcass to use!
Absolutely delicious! I’ll be making it again after Thanksgiving!
I absolutely love this recipe! Amazing turkey soup!
The more noodles the better! Thanks for the recipe!