Turkey Soup
A homestyle soup made with leftover roast turkey and homemade stock, leftover creamy gravy, a fair amount of nutritious vegetables, hearty noodles, and fragrant fresh herbs. It's an excellent way to use up leftover turkey from the holidays.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups chopped carrots (3 large)
- 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 medium)
- 1 1/4 cups chopped celery (3 ribs)
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic (3 cloves)
- 8 cups homemade turkey stock* or store-bought chicken broth
- 2 tsp each minced thyme, rosemary and sage (or 3/4 tsp dried of each)
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg (optional)
- 2 cups (5 oz) dry rotini pasta or medium egg noodles
- Salt and black pepper
- 3 cups leftover cooked turkey, shredded or chopped into bite size pieces
- 3/4 cup leftover turkey gravy or 1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
- 1 1/4 cups frozen petite corn (I use white)
- 3 Tbsp chopped parsley (or 1 tbsp dried)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add carrot, onion and celery and saute 8 to 10 minutes to nearly soften. Add garlic and saute 1 minute longer.
- Pour in turkey stock, add thyme, rosemary, sage and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat just below medium. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.
- Add pasta and cook until tender. Cook time will vary based on type of pasta or noodle used, about 6 to 12 minutes.
- Stir in cooked turkey, corn, and gravy and warm through.
- Stir in parsley. If desired you can additionally season the soup with some lemon zest or a spritz of lemon juice for bright zesty flavor.
Notes
Soup recipe makes about 12 cups.
Homemade Turkey Stock
- *For this recipe I use homemade turkey stock from the leftover turkey carcass (the leftover bones) which you'll need to make in advance before making the soup. It will give the soup the absolute best flavor.
- To make it simply break the carcass down into portions and fit in to a 6 to 8 quart slow cooker (if it was an extra large turkey you can use half), also include some of the browned skin if there was some left.
- Add 3 peeled carrots in chunks, 2 celery ribs in chunks, 1 small onion halved, cover with warm water and season lightly with salt. Cover with lid and cook on low for 12 to 15 hours. Strain through a fine sieve and use amount listed in soup or cool slightly and refrigerate to use later (don't be alarmed if it's gelatinized, it melts upon reheating).
- It can also be made on the stove in a large pot, just simmer for a few hours checking the water level as it simmers.