This hearty Turkey Noodle Soup recipe is warm, comforting, and simple to make. It’s the perfect lunch on a cold day, or pair it with a sandwich or fresh bread to enjoy it for dinner. Our turkey soup recipe is an easy, but tasty, way to use up leftover turkey from your holiday dinners.
There are so many great ways to use leftover turkey that don’t taste like leftovers. You could try anything from Chicken Pot Pie with Turkey to Leftover Turkey in Gravy, or replace the protein in our Chicken Bacon Avocado Sandwich!
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Turkey Soup Recipe
Everyone loves a tasty, easy-to-make soup, ESPECIALLY directly following the holidays when you have spent more than enough time cooking. We love this Turkey Soup recipe because it’s:
- Simple to make – lets you have plenty of time to visit with your holiday guests. This recipe is a breeze to make, but your guests won’t be able to tell
- Repurpose Leftovers – the perfect way to repurpose turkey without having another heavy meal or tasting like a leftover
- Customizable – add your favorite vegetables or pasta, or use rice or GF pasta to make it gluten-free
Ingredients
This hearty soup is not only satisfying and filling, it’s nutritious as well! With lean protein and plenty of vegetables, it’s so easy to throw together with what you have on hand.
- Turkey – You’ll be amazed at how much meat you can get from the carcass
- Vegetables – Potatoes, carrots, celery, onion
- Olive Oil – to sauté the vegetables
- Turkey Stock – you can also use chicken broth or vegetable broth
- Pasta – I used egg noodles, but you can use any small-cut pasta
- Garlic – us fresh garlic for the best flavor
- Salt, Pepper, Parsley, Bay Leaves – Help to season and create a savory broth
Substitutions
Swap the egg noodles for any small pasta (rotini, orzo, elbows, Israeli couscous), or use rice or gluten-free pasta to make this a GF soup. You can add fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano) or even 1 tsp of turmeric to create a broth to your preferred taste.
Add extra veggies, whatever you have on hand (mushrooms, corn, broccoli, peas), to stretch the recipe even more to feed a crowd or to make this a complete meal.
How to Make Turkey Noodle Soup
- Chop – Slice the carrots into rounds and the potatoes into bite-size wedges, and dice the celery and onion.
- Sauté – In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onions, carrots, and celery and sauté until softened and golden.
- Boil Potatoes– Add broth, water, potatoes, bay leaf, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a boil and continue cooking at a medium boil for 10 minutes
- Add Pasta & Turkey – Add the noodles and turkey and simmer on the stove-top for 5 minutes or until pasta and potatoes are tender, being careful not to overcook. Press in 1 garlic clove and stir in parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Garnish – Remove from heat and discard the bay leaves. Garnish with more parsley if desired.
Pro Tip:
Like most soups, if time allows, let the soup rest for a while after cooking. This allows the ingredients to really infuse into the broth, enhancing the flavor. This step is optional- the soup is delicious right off the stovetop.
What to Serve with Turkey Noodle Soup
Like our hearty Chicken Noodle Soup, this soup is easily a meal in itself, but it also pairs wonderfully with:
- Crusty Bread
- A Fall salad, such as our Beet Salad
- A warm Grilled Cheese sandwich
- Soft Dinner Rolls
- Focaccia Bread
Make-Ahead
This recipe tastes even better the next day after all of the flavors have melded. It freezes well for up to 3 months, so you can enjoy warm turkey soup months after the holidays without having to labor over cooking a full turkey.
- To Refrigerate: Make sure to cool completely before storing it in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Freezing: If planning to freeze, I recommend omitting the pasta. Allow the soup to cool to room temperature, portion it into an airtight container, and freeze for up to 3 months. Be sure to leave some room on top to allow for expansion when freezing.
- To Reheat: If reheating from frozen, allow the soup to defrost overnight in the refrigerator. Once thawed, use the stovetop, microwave, or crockpot to reheat until hot. Add more broth if needed, as it does evaporate while reheating. If you omitted the pasta before storing the soup, you can add your pasta as the recipe describes while reheating.
Instead of eating turkey sandwiches for days after your holiday meal, this recipe is such a tasty way to use the extras without feeling like you are having the same meal day after day.
More Leftover Recipes
If you love this leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Noodle Soup, then you won’t want to miss these other great recipes that taste great the next day!
- Mashed Potato Pancakes
- Turkey Broth
- Chicken Fried Rice
- Egg Salad
- Chicken Patties
- Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Cobb Salad
Turkey Noodle Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium carrots, thinly sliced into circles
- 2 large sticks of celery, finely diced
- 1 small/medium onion, finely diced
- 8 cups turkey stock, or chicken or vegetable
- 4 cups water
- 4 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 Tbsp parsley
- 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups egg noodle pasta, or use 3/4 cup small pasta
- 3 cups leftover turkey meat, white and/or dark meat
- 1 garlic clove, pressed or grated
Instructions
- Set a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add 2 Tbsp olive oil. Once oil is hot, add onions, carrots, and celery and sauté until softened and golden, stirring frequently, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add broth, water, potatoes, bay leaf, 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Bring to a boil and continue cooking at a medium boil for 10 minutes.
- Add pasta and turkey and cook for 5 minutes or until pasta and potatoes are tender. The saltiness of the turkey meat and stock will determine how much salt to add so season with more salt and pepper to taste.
- Press in 1 garlic clove and stir in parsley then immediately remove from heat.
- Discard the bay leaves and serve garnished with more parsley if desired.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
I made this and it was delicious! I will definitely make it again. I wonder if it would be tastey with cabbage instead of potatoes? I bet it would yummy with whatever vegetables. 🤤
Hi Terry, I haven’t tried it that way but I think it would be great with changing up the vegetables if you prefer cabbage.
I made this tonight and it was a huge hit with my family! Thank you so much! I will definitely be using recipe a lot!
You’re welcome Randi! I’m happy to hear your family enjoys the recipe as much as mine does. Thanks for sharing your great review!
I’ve been looking for a turkey/chicken noodle soup without having to do the whole carcass thing, and this is it!! Did exact except used butter instead of oil….perfect broth! Thanks!
You’re welcome Angela! I’m glad to hear you love the recipe. Thanks for sharing your great review!
Wonderful soup – we absolutely loved
it, was also very easy to make.. thank You so much for posting your recipes Natasha….
You’re welcome Diana! I’m glad to hear the recipe is such a success. Thanks for sharing your fantastic review!
I made this today, used 5 chicken quarters (perfect!), diced the potatoes and carrot (skin on), about 10 cups of broth I made, no extra water, and I will say, as well as my wife and family, this is 10 stars! The potatoes and spaghetti, excellent combination. Perfect, and thank you for the recipe, Natasha!
My pleasure Lee! I’m glad to hear how much everyone enjoys the recipe! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review with other readers!
I really like this combination with the potatoes and the broken pasta, that trick I learned from another of your recipes. Although we have turkeys here, it is not often I get one, so I am going to use chicken quarters and make the broth as well, should be perfect, I will be making this this week for sure and will comment on results after that (I am sure it will be 10 stars as well.)
Please do Lee! 🙂
I just made this soup. It looks delicious but it’s SO salty! What did I do??? 😢😢
Hi Courtney, I tend to underseason my recipes to leave room for more if desired so I am wondering if maybe regular chicken broth was used instead of reduced sodium which would require less than 1 Tbsp sea salt added to the recipe, or if there was a different proportion of liquid used than what was called for or turkey meat that was too salty? I hope that helps!
Just made this soup tonight for dinner. It was delicious! Felt so proud that it came out so well. I used wide noodles, so I added more that the recipe calls for.
We will surely be making this again. It’s a keeper. My daughters will love how easy it is when I pass this recipe along to them. Thank you
Diane, you are very welcome and thank you for such a wonderful review 😁.
I love this recipe. Healthy and oh so flavorful! ! Thank you for having it available.
Thank you so much for that awesome review! I’m so happy you loved it 🙂
Hi Natasha! I wanted to let you know that I’ve made this soup (since Thanksgiving 2015) at least 5 times!! Amy family loves it. I’ve made it with chicken as well and added some other veggies or not. It’s yummy! Thank you for sharing your yummy recipes.
Jamie, I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review! 😃
just made it last night yum, yum
easy because you most likely have all the ingredients already. husband asked for seconds and i sure enjoyed it too 🙂
I’m so happy you both loved it! 🙂
Amazing! I have a cold since yesterday, and I wanted soup. I had turkey leftovers frozen from this past thanksgiving; and here we go! I tried your recipe, it tastes great. I am eating a bowl as I’m typing 🙂
Thank you so much Natasha. you are awesome! 🙂
Im so glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks foe the great review! 🙂
This recipe is wonderful! My first time making leftover soup. Highly suggest this recipe for those who are hesitant in trying.
I’m so happy you loved it! Thanks Deb for the awesome review 🙂
I have a bunch a raw turkey wings I want to use in this recipe. Should I add them in raw or cook them first? if raw, at what point should I add them in??
Thanks!
You’ll want to boil the turkey wings in water to create your own stock. I’d probably boil 30 minutes to soften up the meat and give it a chance to release flavor. Simply Recipes has a good method for making turkey soup with raw turkey. I hope that helps! 🙂 http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/moms_turkey_soup/
So do you put sauteed onions and celery at the very end or it doesnt really matter?
It’s better toward the end. If you boil it too long, it will lose it’s flavor.
This soup looks so savory and comforting. I just love your pictures; they really want me to take a bite, or in this case just dive in with a spoon.
I absolutely love soups and make them a few times a week. With homemade bread, it’s just amazing.
It’s the best kind of comfort food especially with homemade bread. You’re making me hungry!
This was perfect for day after…our turkey was so big and today I made this soup….my grandson is sick and didn’t want to eat, but devoured a big bowl of this soup…chicken soup is well known as “Jewish Penicillin” and I imagine likewise for turkey soup. Your recipes always come with guaranteed delicious results….and this one is no different….MMMMMM! I added a sprinkle of dill weed, too. Thank you for inspiration and deliciousness!
Dill would make it even better! I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup and your Grandson too. I hope he recovers quickly!
Nice twist on the classic chicken noodle soup! It looks easy enough for me to make it. That’s my kind of recipe. 😉
Enjoy it! It really is a very easy soup. My son helped throw things in the pot as well. 🙂
This will be so nice tomorrow after tonights Thanksgiving feast! Thanks for sharing. It totally looks like a soup my mom would make too.
No kidding! I’m in for some much needed gut rest. lol
That’s so funny you posted this recipe today. I just posted crock pot chicken noodle soup too. Love these kind of soups. We were all raised on them.:)
I know it! This soup reminds me of my mom’s cooking and sitting at the kitchen table over a bowl of soup with the steam puffing up onto my face. It’s one of those soups 🙂
I made this soup today with the turkey carcass and instead of noodles i put in some wild rice. It was super duper good for a cool winter evening.
Sounds so nice right now! Your comment makes me glad I got a second turkey for an upcoming Christmas party! I’ll be doing this! 🙂