Turkey Soup

This Turkey Soup Recipe is the perfect recipe to use up leftover turkey from Thanksgiving or the holiday season.

Let's face it, we all have lots of leftover turkey after Thanksgiving. If you're like me, you likely cannot wait to whip up fabulous new recipes with those precious leftovers.

One of my faves is turkey noodle soup. It's so easy to make, packed with flavor, and always gets gobbled up so fast. Everyone loves soup during the cooler months so it's the perfect recipe to make after Thanksgiving.

Plus, it's always a good thing when you can stretch your leftovers into multiple meals for future use. Especially with soaring food prices these days.

Another perk is soup freezes really well. So, you can make a ginormous batch of it and freeze up a bunch for a later date. That's a win-win in my book.

If you don't have leftover turkey and still want to make this you can totally use fresh turkey. Ground turkey or turkey breast would work for this recipe too. Just be sure to brown your meat prior to making this.

You can use the same pot, just brown the meat prior to everything else. Easy peasy.

I hope you love this recipe as much as we do. With soup season if full swing it's always a good thing to have a homemade turkey soup recipe at the ready!

Ingredient Notes:

• Oil - I used olive oil for this. You can substitute grape seed oil, vegetable oil, or even coconut oil if you prefer.
• Onion - Personally, I love sweet onions for making soup. If you prefer white or yellow feel free to use those.
• Turkey Carcass - Remove all the meat from your turkey carcass. Depending on the size of your pot you may need to break the carcass up a bit.
• Chicken Broth - You can use a pre-made broth or make your own homemade turkey stock. Alternately, you can mix water and Better Than Bouillon together. You do you!
• Vegetables - This recipe uses carrots and celery. Chop them up into bite size pieces.
• Turkey - I used leftover turkey meat for my soup. You can use white meat, dark meat or a mix of both for this turkey soup recipe.
• Herbs and Spices - This recipe uses salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf.
• Noodles - I used egg noodles for my soup but feel free to use whatever kind of noodle you love.
• Garnish - Fresh parsley is perfect to sprinkle over finished soup before serving.

Optional Ingredients:

Garlic - Fresh garlic or garlic powder would make a nice addition if you dig garlic in soup.

Rice - White rice, brown rice, or wild rice would be lovely in this soup.

Green Beans - Lots of folks add green beans to their soup. It's a great option to get more veggies in your soup.

Sweet Potatoes - These are a great addition if you like potatoes in your soup. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of combining noodles and potatoes in turkey soup. That said, if you are a fan of that combination, go nuts!

Heavy Cream - You can totally add heavy cream to your soup if you want a more creamy turkey soup.

How to Make Turkey Soup:

1. Begin by adding the oil and diced onions to a large Dutch oven or pot. Cook over medium to medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the onion softens and begins to just begin to turn amber around the edges. Remove from heat and transfer the onions to a bowl. Set aside.
2. Add the turkey carcass to the Dutch oven or pot, and add 6 to 8 cups of chicken broth or chicken stock. Turn the heat to medium high and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover your pot and simmer for about 30 minutes.
3. Uncover the pot and carefully remove all the bones. You can use a strainer and another pot to be sure to remove ALL the bones. It is extra cleanup but ensures no tiny bones will be left in the pot. Then pour the broth back into the Dutch oven. Discard the carcass.
4. Now add the onion back to the Dutch oven, as well as all the veggies, turkey, herbs, and spices. Give it a stir.
5. Bring the pot to a boil over medium high heat. Once it comes to a boil add the noodles, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 12 to 15 minutes, depending on what kind of noodles you use. The soup is done when the noodles are tender.
6. Remove from heat. Ladle the leftover turkey soup recipe into soup bowls.
7. Serve!

How to Store Soup:

Always allow soup to cool completely before storing it.

Storing Soup in Fridge:

Once cooled, transfer the leftover turkey soup in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Storing Soup in Freezer:

Once cooled, transfer the leftover turkey soup in an airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to 4 months.

Tip - If you are not eating the soup right away I would recommend not adding the noodles to the soup before freezing. Freeze without them and then add them when you thaw and reheat the soup.

How to Reheat Soup:

Stovetop Instructions:

Soup Safety Tip - Heat until it's hot, not just warm. Soup should reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F for safety reasons.

Transfer the thawed soup to a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Turn heat on medium and bring to a boil, then simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove from heat. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with parsley.

Serve.

Microwave Instructions:

Soup Safety Tip - Heat until it's hot, not just warm. Soup should reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F for safety reasons.

Transfer the thawed soup to a microwave safe bowl or container. Place in the microwave and cook until soup is hot. Depending on how much you are reheating, this should take anywhere from 3 to 5 minutes. I recommend checking it frequently.

How to Thicken Soup:

My husband prefers soup that is not thickened so I generally don't bother using a thickener. However, if you prefer to thicken your soup you can use cornstarch or flour.

Make a slurry by mixing 1 tablespoon cornstarch or flour with 1 tablespoon water. Mix well. Add a little to your soup and wait for it to thicken. Obviously, it's better to start with less and add more as needed. Don't just dump the whole thing in from the jump.

I hope you enjoy this easy turkey soup with a baguette or crusty bread. Another option is dinner rolls.

You can toss in some saltines if that's your thing too!

More Great Recipes:

• One Hour Bread
• Spatchcock Turkey
• Lasagna Soup
• Pasta e Fagioli
• Seafood Chowder

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Thanks for visiting today!

If you’re looking for more dinner recipes be sure to check out my recipe index. You can also find a lot more soup recipes as well.

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Toodles! xx