Turkey carcass soup is a delicious way to use the leftover bones from holiday turkey.
Made with fresh vegetables, leftover turkey, and wild rice, this recipe is healthy and flavorful. First, a homemade turkey stock is simmered on the stove, then used to create the delectable soup.
Delicious Turkey Soup Recipe
This soup is a delicious way to enjoy your leftover turkey and use up that carcass. The recipe is created in two steps. First, the flavorful broth is made using the turkey carcass. Next, the turkey soup is used to create a delicious healthy soup using leftover turkey meat.
- This tasty soup is incredibly flavorful with a variety of fresh healthy vegetables.
- The turkey carcass can be used to make turkey broth in advance. You can cook it on the stove top, in an instant pot or slow cooker. The broth can be frozen. Then prep this delicious soup when you’re ready!
- Using canned tomatoes is a time-saver while adding a few inexpensive vegetables makes this soup taste homemade and fresh!
- This soup is budget-friendly using up every last scrap from roasted thanksgiving turkey.
I love this soup recipe because it’s loaded with healthy vegetables! It’s a great meal to serve after the holidays when you want to get back on track with eating healthier.
Recipe Ingredients
TURKEY CARCASS: The leftover bones from a roasted turkey are used for flavor. You might have to break the carcass into smaller pieces in order to fit into your pot. Be careful as the bones can be sharp!
VEGETABLES: This soup is piled high with veggies including carrots, celery, potatoes, canned tomatoes and onion.
RICE: This adds nice texture to the soup! I recommend using Lundberg wild rice, but brown or white rice should also work.
SEASONINGS: It’s a flavorful soup all thanks to the homemade turkey broth, Worcestershire sauce, poultry seasoning, parsley, salt and pepper.
VARIATIONS: If you’re short on time, chicken broth can be used in replacement of the homemade turkey bone broth.
How To Make Turkey Carcass Soup
Everything is cooked in one pot. First, the bone broth is cooked and strained. Next, all other ingredients are added to make this great soup.
- Place turkey carcass and water to a large pot. Boil 1-2 hours. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer and discard the bones.
- Add broth and all other ingredients to the pot according to the full recipe instructions below.
- Bring to boil, then let simmer over medium heat until veggies are tender.
- Serve with crackers or warm crusty bread and enjoy!
Leftover turkey soup can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. It can also be frozen for up to 6 months using mason jars or silicone freezing tray.
To thaw, defrost the soup in the fridge overnight, then add to a soup pot to reheat leftovers. The soup can also be reheated in the microwave.
How To Make Turkey Soup From Frozen Carcass
The soup is made the same way using a frozen carcass. You can add the frozen turkey bones straight to the pot and fill with water. Boil for 1-2 hours and strain through a fine-mesh strainer to create turkey broth. Follow the other steps in the recipe card below to create the soup.
Recipe Tips
- Break The Turkey Carcass Into Smaller Pieces: The bones will be too big for most pots. It’s easier to break the weaker pieces off in order to make them fit. Be careful during this step – the bones are sharp!
- Use the Skin, Bones, Unwanted Turkey Meat: Save all pieces of the turkey you aren’t serving at the dinner table. These are perfect for making the turkey bone broth. Break any large pieces of meat into bite-size pieces.
- Make Extra Broth For Future Recipes: Any extra bone broth can be added to an ice cube tray and frozen. Add the cubes to a freezer bag for later use in soups and stews.
- Store Broth In Mason Jars: I love to use 8 qt mason jars to store extra broth in the fridge. They’re cheap and affordable.
- Make Broth The Day Before Soup: This soup is a 2-step process. I ended up making the bone broth the day before, storing it in the fridge, and making the soup for dinner the following night.
A turkey carcass can be wrapped in a large plastic bag, sealed tightly and stored in the freezer up to 6 months. There’s no need to defrost as the frozen carcass can be added straight to the pot of water!
Leftover Turkey Recipes
These recipes are a great way to use up turkey leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner!
- Leftover Turkey Pot Pie has a creamy, gravy-like filling that’s loaded with vegetables and inside a flaky pie crust.
- Turkey Stew is the perfect light and healthy soup using leftover roast turkey.
- Turkey Carcass Soup with carrots, tomatoes and wild rice.
- How To Roast a Turkey with easy instructions.
- Turkey Leftover Casserole is the easiest dump-and-bake recipe using up holiday leftovers.
- Turkey Broth is a great way to use up the leftover turkey bones to make a homemade broth without making a soup.
Did you love this turkey soup? Be sure to leave a rating below!
Leftover Turkey Carcass Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 turkey carcass - broken into smaller pieces to fit pot
- water - enough to fill the pot ¾ full
- 1 28 oz canned diced tomatoes - drained
- 3 cups chopped turkey meat
- 2 cups chopped potatoes
- 4 carrots - peeled and chopped
- 3 celery stalks - chopped
- ½ yellow onion - diced
- 1 cup wild rice - uncooked
- 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp poultry seasoning
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- ½ tsp salt and pepper - ½ tsp each
Instructions
How To Make Turkey Broth:
- Add the turkey carcass to a large stock pot along with any leftover turkey bones and unwanted turkey pieces. Pour enough water to fill the pot ¾ full. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat, then reduce to let simmer over low heat for 1-2 hours. The longer you simmer, the deeper the flavor an nutrition of the broth.
- Once broth is done, remove carcass and pour broth into a bowl through a fine mesh strainer. Discard bones and unwanted pieces. Meat on bones can be saved for the soup.
- Pour 10 cups of turkey bone broth into a big pot. Extra broth can be saved in the fridge or frozen for future recipes.
Turkey Carcass Soup:
- Add all other ingredients to the soup pot: diced tomatoes, turkey meat, potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, and uncooked wild rice.
- Add in all the seasonings: worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, poultry seasoning, dried parsley, salt and pepper.
- Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to let it simmer until all vegetables are tender when poked with a fork. This will take 15-20 minutes. Discard the bay leaf.
- Use a soup ladle to pour soup into bowls. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition
Please note these nutritional values provided above are just an estimate. Actual numbers will vary based on brands and ingredients you choose, and your preferred portion sizes.