Easy Leftover Turkey Noodle Soup — 😋💛🍁 Have leftover Thanksgiving turkey? Make this turkey and noodle soup! It’s an EASY, flexible recipe that tastes like Grandma’s homemade chicken noodle soup, but with turkey!
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Easy Turkey and Noodle Soup Using Leftovers
This homemade turkey soup is perfect for using up your leftover Thanksgiving turkey, be it roast turkey or slow cooker turkey breast. You know you have some. (Or maybe you have a ton like I did.)
Most years I plan for enough turkey for second helpings on the big day and plenty of leftovers on the days following, but this year I way overbought and had tons of leftover turkey. Turkey soup to the rescue!
This turkey noodle soup is hearty, comforting, and full of rich flavors.
I used white breast meat because that’s what I had, but adding some dark is okay too. I added sage, rosemary, and thyme, which make the soup taste like Thanksgiving all over again. For my family who all love Thanksgiving, that’s a very good thing and they savored the soup!
Ingredients in Turkey Noodle Soup
To make this homemade turkey soup using leftovers, you’ll need:
- Olive oil
- Carrots
- Vidalia onion
- Garlic
- Turkey or chicken broth – I recommend buying low-sodium broth, that way there’s no chance of your soup turning out too salty
- Fresh herbs
- Dried oregano
- Salt and pepper
- Wide egg noodles
- Cooked turkey
- Water
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Turkey Noodle Soup
To make this turkey soup with noodles, follow these straightforward steps:
- First sauté the carrots, celery, and onion in an oiled Dutch oven until softened.
- Then, add the garlic and cook for another minute or so.
- Add the broth and herbs (both fresh and dried) and bring to a boil.
- Let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes before adding in the noodles.
- Once the noodles have softened, add in the shredded turkey and let the soup simmer until the turkey is heated through.
Tip for Extra Flavorful Soup
If you have leftover cooking juices from your turkey, you can use that in place of some of the broth. The cooking juices are full of flavor, so you definitely don’t want them to go to waste!
Recipe FAQs
I prefer using wide egg noodles, but you can use any noodle or pasta you like. If using a traditional pasta (i.e. no eggs added), I suggest using a short, sturdy kind such as bow tie, penne, or elbows.
Technically yes, but you’d need to simmer the soup for longer in order to let the dried herbs soften and release their flavor. Also, you’d need to adjust the amount of herbs you add in (dried herbs are more potent than fresh). If you have fresh herbs leftover from your Thanksgiving feast, I highly recommend using those instead of dried.
If you don’t have leftover turkey to shred, you can certainly use shredded chicken. Or just make my Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, which this recipe is derived from. There’s a 1-minute video in that recipe post that shows exactly how I make it.
Finally, if the overall liquid level is lower than you’d like at any time while making the soup and you prefer more broth, adding a cup or two of water or extra broth to this homemade turkey soup is okay. The noodles soak up a lot of water and continue to do so for a few hours as the soup cools, so adding more liquid may be necessary.
This was fantastic!!! We had leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. When I opened my email this morning this recipe was in my inbox. I got really busy all day & when my husband got home from work, he asked if I was making anything for dinner. I told him, but later on remembered this email. I had everything on hand (except the spices, I had to use dried). I told my husband, I take that back, I got this recipe & I’m going to give it a try. He asked if it would take long & I said nope, 30 minutes. Well, this was so quick, easy & tasted fantastic. Thanks so much for the recipe! — Mindy A.
Sides to Serve With Turkey Soup
Recipe Video Tutorial
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30-Minute Leftover Turkey Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup carrots, peeled and sliced thin (about 1 1/2 large carrots)
- 1 cup celery, sliced thin (about 2 stalks)
- 1 cup sweet Vidalia or yellow onion, peeled and diced small (about 1 medium onion)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 64 ounces 8 cups low-sodium turkey or chicken broth*
- 2 teaspoons fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
- 1 to 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped to taste
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 12 ounces wide egg noodles, or your favorite noodles or pasta
- about 1 to 2 cups water, optional and as necessary**
- 2 to 3 cups shredded cooked turkey, white or dark meat, chicken may be substituted
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- To a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add the oil, carrots, celery, onion, and sauté over medium-high heat for about 7 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften. Stir intermittently.
- Add the garlic and sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the broth, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, pepper, and bring to a boil. Allow mixture to boil gently for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are fork-tender.
- Add the noodles and check the liquid level. Notes – If it’s low (depending on pot size, etc.), add 1 to 2 cups water or as necessary, and boil mixture for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until noodles are soft and cooked through.
- Add the turkey (if you like meatier soup or have a lot on hand, add 3 cups) and boil 1 to 2 minutes, or until turkey is warmed through.
- Taste soup and add salt to taste. I added about 1 tablespoon but this will vary based on how salty the broth used is, how salty the turkey is, how much water you added, and personal preference.
- Make any necessary seasoning adjustments (i.e. more salt, pepper, herbs, etc.) and serve immediately.
- Soup will keep airtight in the fridge for 5 to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Recipes to Make with Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey:
ALL OF MY THANKSGIVING RECIPES!
Turkey Tetrazzini — Wondering what to do with your leftover Thanksgiving turkey? This rich casserole features al dente spaghetti, a decadent cream sauce, tender vegetables, cheese, and of course your extra turkey!
Easy Turkey Pot Pie — Wondering what to do with that leftover turkey from the holidays? Make this easy turkey pot pie recipe! It’s hearty, creamy, comforting, perfect for chilly weather, and EASY to make!
Hawaiian Roll Turkey and Cheese Sliders — Juicy turkey, Swiss cheese, and cranberry sauce all nestled in soft Hawaiian rolls that are brushed with butter and topped with poppy seeds for the BEST turkey sliders!
Turkey Wild Rice Soup — Take advantage of leftover holiday turkey, and make this rich, creamy, and very hearty soup! Made with an array of vegetables, seasonings and herbs, and of course plenty of wild rice and turkey! EASY, ready in an hour, and made in one pot!
Thanksgiving Leftovers Turkey Crescent Rolls — Looking for a recipe to use a variety of your Thanksgiving leftovers? These stuffed crescent rolls are QUICK and EASY to make using leftovers from your Thanksgiving dinner including turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy!
Thanksgiving Crunchwrap Supreme — Not sure what to do with all of those Thanksgiving leftovers? Turn them into Thanksgiving Crunchwraps! A soft flour tortilla and crunchy corn tostada base is piled high with your favorite Thanksgiving leftovers including turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and more before sealing them, toasting, and dunking them in gravy.
Reposted November 29, 2019 and November 27, 2020
Can someone help me understand the nutrition information- do I divide all numbers listed by 6 as the serving size? I’m confused.
The stats listed are for very large bowls of soup. For a more modest bowl, you could halve that value, i.e. that the entire huge pot of soup makes 12 bowls.
It’s a broth-based soup so it’s not particularly “high” in calories. If you use less pasta, even less.
Stats are provided as a courtesy and are computer generated. For true exact numbers, add up all the ingredients you use, divide by the number of bowls you yield from it, after you make it.
great
Just made this soup – used unsalted vegetable stock – garlic powder, oregano and ground black pepper – no other herbs – used turkey, wide noodles and minced onion, celery and carrots – no added salt – came out soooo yum
great
Great way to use all the leftover herbs and spices that go bad so fast after thanksgiving. Yummy soup – needed A LOT of salt to bring it up to taste.
great!
This came out amazing! Can I freeze leftovers?
This came out amazing! Can I freeze leftovers?
Tasty but oh so easy!
I dont have a big enough pot! Can I make this in a crockpot? How long would you suggest for this? I really need to I vest in a good Dutch oven or big stockpot! Thanks!
Crockpot, yes, it’s possible but I never do it because for a 30 minute soup, a CP just seems like more work than it’s worth.
Try halving the recipe and making it in the regular pot you have. That’s my suggestion. Or as you said, buy a bigger pot.
This came out amazing! Can I freeze leftovers?
yes
a grest soup, thank you, I’d been in the mood for the chicken version since my go-to-market is always out of it, so with this I;ll just make it myself, chicken or turkey
This was fantastic!!! We had leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. When I opened my email this morning this recipe was in my inbox. I got really busy all day & when my husband got home from work, he asked if I was making anything for dinner. I told him, but later on remembered this email. I had everything on hand (except the spices, I had to use dried). I told my husband, I take that back, I got this recipe & I’m going to give it a try. He asked if it would take long & I said nope, 30 minutes. Well, this was so quick, easy & tasted fantastic. Thanks so much for the recipe!
This was fantastic!!! We had leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. When I opened my email this morning this recipe was in my inbox. I got really busy all day & when my husband got home from work, he asked if I was making anything for dinner. I told him, but later on remembered this email. I had everything on hand (except the spices, I had to use dried). I told my husband, I take that back, I got this recipe & I’m going to give it a try. He asked if it would take long & I said nope, 30 minutes. Well, this was so quick, easy & tasted fantastic. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this totally came in handy! The reason I sent this email out early this morning was for this very reason and I was hoping it would help someone out there and your comment is so great for me to read! Thank you for taking the time to comment and really glad this was fantastic!
can you use ground ginger in place of fresh ginger? i just don’t have any fresh ginger
Oh my, that looks delicious. I really like chicken/turkey noodle soup.
Thanks!
Yum–great idea for extra turkey!! Happy Thanksgiving and have a wonderful week. Mexico sounds great right now–it is raining here with temps hovering in the mid 30’s?……but that does make great soup weather!
Thanks Paula! Just got here yesterday and I’m already in love! Happy Thanksgiving!