The Best Turkey Noodle Soup with Leftover Turkey
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Whenever I have leftover turkey after the holidays or a family gathering, I love throwing together this leftover turkey noodle soup. It’s packed with veggies, aromatics, and seasoning to create a delicious, easy comfort food. Serve this turkey noodle soup with crusty bread for a cosier meal!
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Use up leftover turkey – This leftover turkey noodle soup recipe is a fantastic way to use up extra turkey, so you won’t be stuck with sandwiches every day!
- Easy Family favorite – With a delicious, savory broth, chewy noodles, and different veg, the entire family will love this recipe!
- Comforting – The noodles and savoury broth help create a deliciously cosy soup you’ll want to eat during the winter or rainy days.
- Simple yet easy broth – You can get a flavourful broth with a beautiful hue by utilising the tray juices and onion skins.
Try my other delicious Christmas recipes ; Christmas Dinner, Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Honey-Roasted Carrots & Parsnips Recipe
Ingredients
Leftover Turkey – This leftover turkey noodle soup recipe works great if you have turkey meat and a carcass. You can also make this recipe with leftover chicken meat and with leftover carcass. Or, use this soup for extra rotisserie chicken.
Fresh Thyme – Fresh thyme and parsley add a delicious flavour to this soup. You can swap them for dried herbs or other herbs.
Cavolo Nero – I love adding cavolo nero to this turkey noodle soup recipe to give it some texture. You can also add other types of kale or even spinach to this soup if you prefer. Or bake the Cavolo Nero with Garlic & Lemon
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations/ Adaptations
This leftover turkey noodle soup is versatile, so you can feel free to adjust it to your taste preferences. Here are a few options for making this homemade turkey noodle soup to your liking. Instead of using leftover Thanksgiving turkey, use chicken leftovers (see notes above in ingredients) to make chicken broth.
This recipe for turkey noodle soup also works well in the crock pot/slow cooker on chilly days. That way, it’s warm all day long for the whole family. Skip the noodles and add rice to the homemade turkey stock for a more comforting dish.
You can also substitute gluten-free noodles to make this recipe gluten-free. Or, use any noodles you prefer, like egg noodles for this turkey soup.
I also recommend using the cooked turkey meat from the carcass to make a more delicious homemade turkey broth for the soup, but turkey meat alone will also work.
Try these other yummy soup recipes this week ; Creamy Parsnip Soup, Tomato & Lentil Soup or Celeriac Soup
How to make leftover turkey noodle soup
- Start by slicing the carrots, onion, celery and cavolo nero (Image 1).
- Next add the onion into a large saucepan with a tbsp of oil or the reserved fat from a turkey roast. If you do have reserved fat from Christmas/the roast, this will add an additional layer of flavour & help to colour the broth (Image 2).
3. Sweat the onions and celery for 5 minutes before adding the carrots (Image 3).
4. Gently fry for around 3 minutes. The pieces should be medium sized as the broth will be simmering for a while and we want the veg to be able to hold its own and not turn into mush. After this 3 minutes, add the garlic to fry for a couple of minutes (Image 4).
5. Pour the stock into the pan with any leftover turkey fat (Image 5).
6. Place the fresh thyme and parsley stalks into the saucepan, not stirring so they still float & hang around at the top of the pan. If you have a cooking string then tie them up for ease with the removal process (I didn’t but it’s not too hard to fish them out at the end).
For added richness/colour for the broth, add the onion skins (washed) into the pot. This will provide that golden hue that we want in a noodle soup. Simmer with a lid on for 30 minutes (Image 6).
7. During this time, cook your spaghetti separately according to packet instructions (Image 7).
8. After this time, remove the fresh thyme, parsley stalks and onion skin from the surface and flavour with soy sauce and season generously with salt and pepper. It’s a lot of liquid so this isn’t the time to be stingy with the salt. Add the cavolo nero to cook for a minute before adding the spaghetti and turkey to heat through.
Add a squeeze of lemon and serve up! Top with fresh parsley and enjoy! (Image 8).
If you have leftover spaghetti, consider making one of these yummy recipes; Cheesy Marmite Spaghetti, Roasted Brussels Sprout Pasta and Pasta al Limon
Tips for the best result
- Pre-chop the veggies so you can just toss them in when you are ready to make the soup. One of my favourite ways to make the prep time quicker for this leftover turkey noodle soup is to chop the veggies ahead of time. That way, they’re ready to toss into the soup as needed. If you’re on a time crunch, you can buy pre-chopped veggies from the store and use those instead.
- Buy stock if you don’t feel like making it. Another way to shorten the prep time of this easy turkey noodle soup is by using store-bought stock. You can still adjust the flavours of the broth by including fresh herbs, soy sauce, etc.
Here are some tasty recipes to pair with this soup ; Perfect Pan Fried Cod Recipe, Air Fryer Salmon Bites and Halloumi Burger
Make ahead instructions
You can also make certain elements of this leftover turkey noodle soup ahead of time. For one, you can chop the veggies beforehand. They will stay good in the fridge for about two days.
Another way to prep this recipe is by making the broth a few days ahead of time. It can last in the fridge for up to four days. Then, when you’re ready to make the soup, you can add in the cooked noodles, veggies, parsley, lemon juice, and turkey.
You can also fully prep the recipe and freeze it to enjoy later. I’d recommend leaving the noodles out if you plan to freeze the soup, as they can get mushy when reheating. Otherwise, follow the directions below: allow the soup to cool, pack it into an airtight container/bag, and freeze.
Leftover storage and reheat instructions
Let the leftover turkey noodle soup cool fully once cooked. Then, pack it into an airtight container and keep it in the fridge.
How long does turkey noodle soup last in the fridge?
Be sure to eat the turkey noodle soup with leftover turkey within 3-4 days. If you can’t finish it all, you can freeze any extra you have. Reheat the soup by microwaving it until warm. Or, add it to a pot over medium heat and cook until it’s warmed.
Can you freeze this recipe?
Yes, you can freeze this recipe! Once the soup has cooled, you can store it in airtight baggies for easier freezer storage. It will last in the freezer for up to six months.
Try this Turkey Salad with any left turkey.
FAQS
Yes, you’ll need to cook the noodles separately before adding them to the leftover turkey noodle soup. For this step, be sure to follow the directions on the pasta package.
If you are only using a turkey carcass for this recipe, you can use one that has been in the fridge for a week. However, if you’re using leftover turkey meat, it should not be older than four days.
Turkey broth can stay in the fridge for up to four days. If you have leftovers, you can freeze them for up to six months.
If you tried this turkey noodle soup recipe, it would be mean so much to me if you could leave a review & a star rating to let me know how you found it! I love hearing about your experiences – it motivates me to keep creating more and more recipes for you guys 💛 Let’s get cooking! – Mimi x
The Best Turkey Noodle Soup with Leftover Turkey
Ingredients
- 1 onion, sliced thinly (£0.15)
- 2 stalks of celery, chopped into medium-sized slices (£0.69/2)=(£0.35)
- 2 large carrots, chopped into medium-sized slices (£0.28)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (£0.39)
- Bunch of fresh thyme (£0.55)
- Fresh parsley, torn to serve (£0.55)
- 250 g spaghetti (£0.28)
- 1 bag cavolo nero, destemmed/torn (£1.00)
- 600 g left over turkey
- Juice of half a lemon (£0.30)
Cupboard Essentials
- 1 tbsp olive oil (not needed if you have reserved fat)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1.5 litres chicken stock (2 stock cubes)
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- Red pepper flakes
- Salt & Pepper
Method
- Start by adding the onion into a large saucepan with a tbsp of oil or the reserved fat from a turkey roast. If you do have reserved fat from Christmas/the roast, this will add an additional layer of flavour & help to colour the broth. Sweat the onions and celery 5 minutes before adding the carrots.
- Gently fry for around 3 minutes. The pieces should be medium sized as the broth will be simmering for a while and we want the veg to be able to hold its own and not turn into mush. After this 3 minutes, add the garlic to fry for a couple of minutes before pouring the stock into the pan.
- Place the fresh thyme and parsley stalks into the saucepan, not stirring so they still float & hang around at the top of the pan. If you have a cooking string then tie them up for ease with the removal process (I didn’t but it’s not too hard to fish them out at the end).
- For added richness/ colour for the broth, add the onion skins (washed) into the pot. This will provide that golden hue that we want in a noodle soup. Simmer with a lid on for 30 minutes.
- During this time, cook your spaghetti separately according to packet instructions.
- After this time, remove the fresh thyme, parsley stalks and onion skin from the surface and flavour with soy sauce and season generously with salt and pepper. It’s a lot of liquid so this isn’t the time to be stingy with the salt.
- Add the cavolo nero to cook for a minute before adding the spaghetti and turkey to heat through. Add a squeeze of lemon and serve up! Top with fresh parsley and enjoy!
Notes
- Pre-chop veggies in advance for quick soup preparation or consider using pre-chopped veggies from the store to save time.
- Opt for store-bought stock to streamline prep; customise flavour with fresh herbs or soy sauce.
Nutrition
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