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Turkey Noodle Soup is a hearty, comforting and tasty soup that is sure to satisfy throughout the winter season. It is a great way to use some of that leftover turkey from all the holiday dinners.
Never know what to do with all that leftover turkey? This soup is the perfect recipe, along with my Turkey Pot Pie with Puff Pastry and Thanksgiving Leftover Pot Pie. I also like to freeze some of the leftover turkey, so it's available to enjoy soup or pot pie any time of the year. Make a big pot of this delicious soup and freeze individual portions for lunches or nights you don't feel like cooking.
This post was originally posted on 11/07/2016 and updated on 11/27/2020.
Ingredients for Turkey Noodle Soup from Scratch
- Butter
- Olive Oil
- Onion
- Celery
- Carrots
- Garlic
- Leftover Turkey
- Flour
- Homemade Broth or Chicken Broth
- Water
- Egg Noodles
- Salt & Pepper
- Parsley
Homemade Broth for Turkey Noodle Soup
Making homemade broth is easier than you think.
- Pull all the extra meat you can off of the turkey carcass and set meat aside.
- Place the carcass in a large pot with a quartered onion, roughly chopped celery stalk and carrot, bay leaf and 2 garlic cloves. If no one likes the neck, add that to the broth too.
- Add enough water just to cover everything, this will be about a gallon or so of water.
- Turn stove to medium-high heat and bring broth to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce heat to low and let simmer until the liquid has reduced by almost half. This will take anywhere from 3-4 hours.
- Once reduced, remove from heat. Carefully remove the larger bones and pieces of veggies.
- Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer or a strainer with cheesecloth.
- Pick off any pieces of meat from the bones. Not necessary but uses up every little bit of the turkey!
- Use the broth for this soup, store in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze for 3-4 months.
Alternate Option to Make Homemade Turkey Broth
Alternatively, if you have a big enough crock pot, you can use that and cook it on low for 8 hours or overnight. Works great and the broth is ready in the morning when you wake up!
How to Make Turkey Noodle Soup with Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey
Step 1: Prepare the Ingredients
First step in any good recipe is to prepare your ingredients. Chop the onions, celery and carrots and gather the rest of the ingredients.
Step 2: Sweat the Veggies
In a large dutch oven or soup pot, melt butter and oil over medium-low heat and add the chopped onions, celery and carrots. Sauté until the onions are translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and sauté another minute until garlic is really fragrant.
Step 3: Add Turkey and Broth
Stir the turkey into the veggies to warm through. Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and turkey, stir well and cook for 1-2 minutes. Slowly pour in the broth and water, stirring constantly until fully incorporated.
Step 4: Make it a Noodle Soup
Bring the soup to a boil and stir in the noodles. Reduce heat to low and cook until noodles are al dente. Remove soup from heat. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Step 5: Garnish and Serve
Garnish soup with fresh or dried parsley and serve. Serve with No Knead Dinner Rolls, Garlic Cheese Drop Biscuits or crackers.
How to Freeze Homemade Turkey Noodle Soup
Let the soup cool completely and then portion into air tight freezer safe containers or zip top bags. Don't forget to label and date! I like to use bags, freeze them flat and then store them upright once frozen. Saves space in my freezer. Soup will last 3-4 months in the freezer.
To thaw soup: thaw the soup in the fridge overnight. In a pinch you can thaw in the microwave using the defrost button.
More Soup Recipes to Enjoy!
- Instant Pot Split Pea Soup
- Cheesy Broccoli Soup
- Pasta E Fagioli
- Easy Tomato Soup
- Creamy Carrot Soup
- Chicken Wild Rice Soup
- Easy 3 Bean Chili
- Chicken Taco Soup
- Pizza Soup
- Classic Chicken Noodle
- Chicken Dumpling Soup
Don't get stumped with what to do with all that leftover turkey. Make this hearty and comforting Turkey Noodle Soup and let me know how much you enjoyed it in the comments below! Pictures encouraged on Instagram with the hashtag #heathershomemadekitchen You can also follow me on Social Media to see what other crazy things my family and I are doing! If you like what you see, please share with your friends and family!
Don’t forget to pin the recipe for later!
Turkey Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 celery stalks, chopped
- 4 large carrots, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 cups leftover turkey, chopped
- ¼ cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 8 cups homemade broth, or chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 16 oz Egg Noodles
- Salt and Pepper
- Parsley for garnish, if desired
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven, heat butter and oil over medium-low heat.
- Add onion, celery and carrots. Sauté for 3-4 minutes or until onions are translucent.
- Add garlic and saute another minute until garlic is fragrant.
- Add chopped turkey and mix well.
- Sprinkle with flour and stir to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring often.
- Slowly add chicken broth and water while stirring.
- Bring soup to a boil and stir in noodles.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer until noodles are cooked to al dente.
- Remove soup from heat.
- Taste. Add salt and pepper if needed.
- Garnish with parsley.
- Serve and enjoy!
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