This leftover turkey soup is the best way to make the most of Thanksgiving leftovers. Made with a rich broth, tender turkey, fresh vegetables and noodles, it’s comforting and super easy to make!
Other ways we enjoy leftover turkey recipes, are making this turkey pot pie, turkey tetrazzini and turkey cranberry sliders!
Table of Contents
Easy Leftover Turkey Soup
If you need a recipe to use up all that leftover roasted turkey or smoked turkey after Thanksgiving, definitely give this easy turkey soup a try!
If you love chicken noodle soup, you will love this leftover turkey soup, too. We love to add the noodles, but you can easily omit them or use rice, similar to this chicken and rice soup!
Why This Recipe Works
- Easy to make. Everything cooks in just one pot, making clean up super easy and quick. Done is less than 1 hour.
- Best use of leftovers. This turkey soup recipe is great to use leftover turkey meat from Thanksgiving. Use leftover vegetables from dishes such as crockpot stuffing, too.
- Comfort food. Like chicken pot pie soup, the savory flavor and hearty texture make this leftover turkey soup the ultimate comfort meal!
Recipe Ingredients
Made with a simple mix of veggies, noodles, seasonings and leftover turkey, this soup recipe is both hearty and comforting!
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Turkey: Use leftover turkey that’s been cooked and shredded. Using both white and dark meat adds the best flavor.
- Veggies: Chopped celery, onions and carrots (mirepoix) are sauteed in butter to add the perfect aroma to the turkey soup.
- Noodles: Uncooked elbow noodles are my favorite to use, but egg noodles are great, too.
- Broth: You can use chicken broth or make your own homemade turkey stock which will make it even more rich and flavorful.
- Herbs and spices: A simple mix of fresh thyme or dried thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper is all that’s needed to flavor this leftover turkey soup.
Substitutions and Variations
- Veggies: Spinach, kale, peas, green beans, potatoes and corn.
- Protein: No leftover Thanksgiving turkey, no worries! Try shredded chicken or oven roasted chicken.
- Seasonings: Other spices that would taste delicious are parsley, sage, marjoram, rosemary, a bay leaf and poultry seasoning.
- Grains: Instead of noodles, add cooked white rice, brown rice or a wild rice blend.
- Creamy: Make a roux to add to this easy turkey soup recipe or just whisk some flour with some half and half and stir it in near the end. You could also add in 1/2 cup heavy cream.
How to Make Turkey Soup
This recipe for leftover turkey soup takes just 15 minutes to prep and is ready to devour in just about 45 minutes.
- Cook the veggies. In a large pot over medium-heat, add in carrots, onion, celery and butter. Cook until onions are soft, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add in liquids. Next add chicken broth (or turkey stock) and water to the pot and bring to a boil. Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Mix in noodles and meat. Then stir in the noodles, cooked turkey, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Bring to a boil. Cook for additional 10 to 12 minutes (until noodles are cooked through).
- Serve. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with a leftover homemade dinner roll from your Thanksgiving meal! Add a squeeze of lemon juice to brighten flavors if desired.
5 star review
This recipe was the inspiration needed to figure out a way to make a veggie-filled turkey soup for my family. Thank you for this recipe and the chance to change leftovers into something comforting on a cold day. :-)
– Dina
Recipe FAQs
Cooked turkey will keep in the fridge for about 3 to 4 days, so I’d recommend making this soup about 1-2 days after your Thanksgiving meal. That way if you have any leftover soup, the turkey will still be fresh for a few more days.
We love serving ours with a piece of crusty French bread or sweet cornbread. Leftover reheated Lion House rolls from Thanksgiving also taste delicious on the side.
Any casserole that calls for chicken you can substitute leftover turkey! It also tastes delicious in a breakfast casserole or substitute the protein in this ham and cheese quiche.
Store soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days. Reheat on the stove oven medium-heat, until the soup is warm throughout. You may need to add in a little more broth or stock if the soup has thickened.
If you’re planning to freeze the turkey soup recipe, I’d recommend leaving out the noodles when cooking. They tend to get mushy when frozen and reheated. Cool soup completely then store in an airtight container in the freeze for a few months.
Thaw in the refrigerator overnight then warm on stove. Add freshly cooked noodles to soup before serving.
More ways to repurpose your Thanksgiving leftovers include cranberry meatballs with cranberry sauce or transform roasted butternut squash to a fall salad or butternut squash soup!
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Turkey Soup Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter
- 1-2 cups sliced carrots
- 1 cup chopped celery
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 1 cup water
- 43.5 ounces chicken broth (or turkey stock)
- 1 cup elbow noodles , uncooked
- 2 ½ cups turkey , cooked and shredded
- 1-2 teaspoons fresh thyme , or 1/4 teaspoon dried
- ¼ – ¾ teaspoon Kosher salt , plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper , plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium-heat, melt butter. Add the carrots, celery, and onion. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until onions are softened. Add the water and broth to the pot. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes.
- Add the noodles, turkey, thyme, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Return a boil, and cook for an additional 10 to 12 minutes, or until the noodles are cooked. Ladle into bowls and serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: American, Christmas, Dinner, Freezer-Friendly, Freezer-Friendly, Nut-Free, One Pot, One Pot, Soups, Stovetop, Stovetop, Thanksgiving
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
We make this every year with our leftover turkey!! It’s so comforting & delicious!! And, it tastes better as leftovers!!
great easy recipe
Glad you enjoyed the leftover turkey soup :)
Easy recipe to follow. Delicious!
Glad you enjoyed the soup Joanna!
The best part of this recipe is it is quite easy and straightforward. Followed it exactly the first try and it came out great,used mini elbow pasta which absorbed some of the liquid, might use a bit less pasta next time or increase the liquid/broth.over all very nice recipe
Thanks for your review Mark! So glad it turned out good for you :)
Would like to use rice instead of the noodles. Any change to the recipe? (except maybe a little longer cook time) Thanks
I’d add an extra 1/2-1 cup water and then simmer 5-10 minutes longer. You could also use this recipe and swap for turkey: https://www.iheartnaptime.net/chicken-rice-soup/
Love this recipe! Great way to use leftovers. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for your review :)
We had leftover turkey from a meal we made as an early Thanksgiving, and I needed something to make to use it up. This was perfect!
Glad you found this recipe when you needed it, Jessica. How fun to celebrate early!
I’ve always used out leftover turkey for some kind of dish, but never thought of soup! It turned out quite delicious! The meal did not require a lot of time and the recipe was super simple to follow. I highly recommend trying this soup!
I am glad you found this recipe user friendly, Julia. I love soup as a quick and easy comfort food. Thanks for the recommendation!
This is one of my favorite soups to make after Thanksgiving! We always have leftover turkey & I look forward to making this! It’s delicious!
Thanks, Kristyn. So many great recipes this time of year. I look forward to making some of yours as well!
Easy to make and delicious! My Thanksgiving turkey kept giving!
I substituted white rice for the elbow pasta. I’m sure the pasta is good, but rice makes an excellent carb as well.
Sounds delicious! So glad you enjoyed the recipe :)
Yes I did and it looks yummy and will share with my granddaughter too. All the things we like and easy to make ahead if necessry
I hope you enjoy! :)
Best soup recipe a must try!!!!!!!!!
Thank you!!
Would have given it a 5, but I tweaked a few things that truly made it a 5. Great base recipe to start with. Have definitely saved it to use again in the future!
Try this soup recipe you can’t go wrong it’s good and easy to make. MY husband loved it it’s my go to chicken or turkey soup recipe.
The best and simplest recipe to follow!
This recipe was the inspiration needed to figure out a way to make a veggie-filled turkey soup for my family. Thank you for this recipe and the chance to change leftovers into something comforting on a cold day. :-)
My first time making soup. Came out amazing. Thank you for the easy to follow recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Simple and yummy!!!!
Great way to use up leftover turkey or chicken. I like to add a small splash of rice vinegar or white wine vinegar to brighten the flavor of soups.
Great idea, thanks for sharing! :)