Turkey Noodle Soup
on Oct 09, 2022, Updated Oct 08, 2023
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My turkey 🦃 noodle soup is the ultimate comfort food, and the perfect way to repurpose roast turkey leftovers. Each year, our Thanksgiving table is full of delicious dishes, but making soup from leftovers is one of my favorite ways to enjoy the flavors of the holiday. I never throw out any turkey meat or bones 🦴 because it makes for the most incredible and nutritious soup 🍲.
Whether you’re looking to repurpose Thanksgiving leftovers or simply craving a cozy and wholesome meal, this turkey noodle soup recipe is a fantastic way to make the most of your leftover turkey while soothing your soul with each spoonful 🥄. Please give my recipe a try and let me know how you liked it in the comments 🙌.
Why You’ll Love Turkey Noodle Soup:
This turkey noodle soup 🍲 recipe is not only a brilliant way to transform your Turkey dinner leftovers into a delicious, hearty meal but also a way to reduce food waste while stretching the holiday festivities even further.
The rich, savory broth infused with the roasted turkey 🦃 provides a delicious foundation for the soup, while the tender shreds of turkey meat are a perfect source of protein. The addition of hearty noodles brings a satisfying and comforting element to the dish, making it a perfect choice for chilly days during the fall season 🍂.
Moreover, this soup is incredibly versatile, allowing you to customize it with your favorite vegetables and seasonings to suit your personal taste 🤌.
How to Prepare This Turkey Noodle Soup:
To prepare this heartwarming turkey noodle soup 🍲, start by heating some olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. As the oil shimmers, add in finely diced onions, carrots, and celery, and then sauté them for approximately 5 minutes, allowing their flavors to melt together.
Next, toss in minced garlic 🧄, stirring it in for about 30 seconds until it becomes fragrant. Now, it’s time to introduce the star of the show – those leftover cooked turkey bones 🦴. Pour in a mixture of water and broth, bringing everything to a gentle boil. Season generously with a pinch of salt 🧂 and some freshly ground black pepper, then reduce the heat to medium and let the soup simmer for 30 minutes allowing all those flavors to come together.
After the simmer, remove and discard the turkey bones 🦴, ensuring no stray bones remain in the broth. Add the pasta to the pot, along with the shredded or chopped leftover turkey meat. Don’t forget to also taste and adjust the salt 🧂 as needed.
Simmer for an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until the pasta reaches its desired level of doneness. Finally, garnish with fresh parsley 🌿 and, for an extra burst of flavor, serve with a squeeze of freshly squeezed lemon 🍋 juice.
Variations and Substitutions For This Turkey Noodle Soup:
This soup is incredibly adaptable. Here are a few ways to make it your own, depending on your taste preferences or the ingredients you have in your kitchen:
- If you’re making this after Thanksgiving, and you have a bunch of leftover roasted veggies, you can chop 🔪 them all up, and add them to the soup. Bite-size, roasted squash makes a lovely addition.
- You can also make this soup with a leftover roast chicken 🍗, if you’ve saved the bones and some chicken meat.
- Gluten-free folks can use gluten-free pasta instead, as well as cooked white or wild rice 🍚.
- Instead of chopping the vegetables, feel free to add them whole. After 30 minutes you can discard the bones and blend the vegetables with some of the broth, then pour the blended mixture back into the soup. This is my hidden veggie method, which can be used with any vegetable broth based soup 🍲.
- You can cook the pasta separately as it will thicken and expand in the soup the following day.
- You can also place the turkey bones 🦴 in a cheese cloth before adding them to the soup. This will save you from having to fish out stray bones from the broth afterward.
Best Served With:
- A warm baguette 🥖, dinner rolls, or a slice of hearty artisan bread makes for an excellent side. My No Knead Peasant Bread is perfect for dipping into the savory broth.
- A stack of crackers, whether plain or seasoned, can add a satisfying crunch to your soup.
- A classic grilled cheese sandwich 🥪 with gooey melted cheese between crispy bread pairs exceptionally well with turkey noodle soup.
Similar Recipes:
Other Holiday Recipes:
- Gravy
- Juicy Turkey
- Mac and Cheese
- Stuffing
- Sweet Potato Donuts
- Pumpkin Pie
- Brussels Sprouts
- Sweet Potatoes
- Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Roasted Squash
- Cranberry Sauce
- Butternut Squash Pasta
- Baked Apples
- Mushrooms
- Green Beans
- Whole Roasted Sweet Potato
Common Questions:
Yes, you can certainly use a homemade or store-bought rotisserie chicken in place of turkey.
Yes, this is still a delicious veggie and pasta soup on its own, without the poultry bones or meat.
Leftover soup can be refrigerated for 3-4 days in an airtight container. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months for longer storage. Thaw and reheat as needed.
Yes, feel free to add vegetables like peas, corn, spinach, or green beans to customize the soup to your taste.
You can break angel hair pasta or capellini into little pieces like I did. Orzo will also work beautifully in this soup.
You can use any gluten-free pasta or rice instead.
Turkey noodle soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 1 celery rib, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- salt and pepper, to taste
- bones, leftover cooked turkey bones
- 4 cups water
- 4 cups vegetable broth, unsalted
- 1 cup pasta, broken into bite-size pieces (I used broken up capellini)
- 1 cup leftover turkey meat, shredded or chopped (as much as you like)
- fresh parsley, for garnish
- lemon juice, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and let cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir, about 30 seconds.
- Add the leftover cooked turkey bones, water, and broth. Let everything come to a boil, add a generous pinch of salt, season with pepper, reduce the heat to medium and let simmer for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove and discard the turkey bones. Add any pasta of choice. Add the shredded or chopped leftover turkey meat and always taste and adjust for salt. Don’t forget to be careful and discard any small bones as they can fall in the broth.
- Boil the soup for 5 to 10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked, garnish with parsley and enjoy with freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
