How to Make Turkey Soup From the Thanksgiving Carcass

The best part of Thanksgiving might be the Friday after, when the bones go into a pot. To make turkey soup from the carcass, you simmer the picked-over frame with an onion, carrots, celery and water for 3 to 4 hours, strain it, and then build a quick soup on that broth with leftover turkey meat, fresh vegetables and egg noodles. The broth is mostly hands-off; the soup itself takes about 30 minutes. You get 8 big bowls, each with about 337 calories and 32 g of protein.

One timing note before you start: the carcass counts as cooked poultry leftovers, so make the broth within 3 to 4 days of the holiday, or freeze the carcass and make it later.

What you need

Makes: 8 bowls (about 2 cups each) · Prep: 20 minutes · Cook: 3 1/2 hours, mostly hands-off · Per bowl: 337 calories, 32 g protein

For the turkey carcass broth

• 1 turkey carcass from a 12 to 16 lb roast turkey, broken into pieces to fit the pot
• 1 onion, quartered (no need to peel)
• 2 carrots, cut into chunks
• 2 celery stalks, cut into chunks
• 2 bay leaves and 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 16 cups (4 quarts) cold water

For the soup

• 1 tbsp (13.5 g) olive oil
• 1 large onion (150 g), diced
• 3 medium carrots (180 g), sliced
• 3 celery stalks (120 g), sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 10 cups (2.4 L) turkey carcass broth
• 4 cups (560 g) shredded leftover turkey meat
• 6 oz (170 g) dry wide egg noodles
• 3 cups (90 g) baby spinach
• 1 tbsp lemon juice, plus salt and pepper to taste

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How to make turkey soup from the carcass

1. Pull any large pieces of meat off the carcass and refrigerate them for the soup. Put the bones, the quartered onion, carrot and celery chunks, bay leaves and peppercorns in a large stockpot and cover with the cold water.
2. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn it down to the lowest simmer, with just a few bubbles breaking the surface. Skim off any foam in the first 15 minutes.
3. Simmer uncovered for 3 to 4 hours, until the broth tastes rich and the bones fall apart when you poke them. Add a little hot water if the bones poke out.
4. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl and discard the bones and vegetables. You should have about 12 cups. Skim the fat off the top, or chill the broth so the fat sets and lift it off.
5. Heat the olive oil in a clean pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion, sliced carrots and celery and cook for 8 minutes, until the onion softens. Stir in the garlic and thyme for 1 minute.
6. Pour in 10 cups of the broth, bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, until the carrots are just tender. Stir in the shredded turkey and heat through for 5 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, cook the egg noodles in a separate pot of salted water until just tender and drain them.
8. Stir the spinach and lemon juice into the soup until the spinach wilts. Season with salt and pepper. Divide the noodles among bowls and ladle the soup over them.

Per bowl (1/8 of the pot): 337 calories, 32 g protein, 30 g carbs, 9 g fat, 2 g fiber. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values. USDA has no entry for homemade turkey stock, so the broth is counted as home-prepared chicken stock, the closest match. Garlic, thyme, lemon and salt are not counted.

Tips for a richer turkey carcass broth

• Start with cold water. It pulls more flavor from the bones as it heats and gives a clearer broth.
• Keep it at a lazy simmer. A hard boil churns the fat into the liquid and makes the broth cloudy and greasy.
• Use the scraps. Wing tips, the neck and any bits left on the platter all go in the pot. Leave out anything with heavy stuffing or gravy on it; it muddies the flavor.
• Taste before you salt. If the turkey was brined, the broth may already be salty. Add salt at the end, to the finished soup.
• Too thin? Simmer the strained broth uncovered for another 20 to 30 minutes to concentrate it before you build the soup.

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Leftover turkey soup: noodles, rice or neither?

Wide egg noodles are the classic, and they’re what this recipe uses. Cook them in a separate pot. If they go straight into the soup, they drink up the broth overnight and you open the fridge to a pot of soft, swollen noodles with very little liquid left.

Version	Calories per bowl	Protein per bowl	Best for
With 6 oz egg noodles (as written)	337	32 g	The classic, cozy bowl
No noodles, extra vegetables	256	29 g	A lighter lunch, or freezing

Rice works too. Cook it separately for the same reason as the noodles, and add it bowl by bowl. If you skip the starch entirely, double the carrots and add a diced zucchini or a cup of green beans for body. Want more ideas for a high-protein pot of soup? Our high protein soup recipes run from 19 to 41 g per bowl.

Storing and freezing turkey soup

Cool the soup quickly: divide it into shallow containers and get it into the fridge within 2 hours. FoodSafety.gov’s cold storage chart gives 3 to 4 days in the fridge for soups and stews with meat added, and 2 to 3 months in the freezer. The plain strained broth follows the same timing. Freezer times are about quality, since food kept frozen at 0°F (-18°C) stays safe indefinitely.

• Freeze the soup without noodles. Noodles turn mushy after thawing. Cook a fresh batch when you reheat.
• Freeze broth in portions. 2-cup containers or zip-top bags frozen flat are handy for cooking grains, gravies and quick soups through the winter.
• Not ready to make broth yet? Wrap the carcass well and freeze it; make the broth whenever you have an afternoon at home.
• Reheat on the stove until it simmers, or in the microwave until steaming hot all the way through.

If you like stocking the freezer with soups, our freezer meal prep guide shows how to label, portion and rotate what you make.

Easy variations

• Turkey and wild rice: swap the noodles for 1 cup of wild rice blend, cooked separately, and add a handful of sliced mushrooms with the vegetables.
• Lemony white bean: skip the noodles, add a drained can of white beans and an extra squeeze of lemon.
• Tex-Mex turkey soup: add cumin, a can of diced tomatoes and a can of black beans, then top with cilantro and avocado. If you like that direction, try our easy turkey chili too.
• Slow cooker broth: the carcass and broth vegetables can simmer in a large slow cooker on low overnight instead of on the stove, if your carcass fits.

Still planning the big meal? Our healthy Thanksgiving sides can all be made ahead, and if you want a few more bowls in rotation this winter, browse our hearty and healthy soups.

Turkey carcass soup FAQ

How long should you simmer a turkey carcass for soup?

Three to four hours at a gentle simmer. After about 2 hours the broth is drinkable but thin; by hour 3 it tastes like turkey. Much past 4 hours, it doesn’t get noticeably better.

Can I use a smoked or deep-fried turkey carcass?

Yes. A smoked carcass makes a deep, smoky broth that’s great with beans and greens. A fried turkey works too, but skim the fat carefully, because there will be more of it.

Why is my turkey broth cloudy?

It boiled too hard. Cloudiness doesn’t hurt the flavor, but next time keep it at a bare simmer and skim early. Straining through a strainer lined with a damp paper towel helps clear it.

Sources

• USDA FoodData Central per-100 g values via getfoodfacts.com: turkey, meat only, roasted (FDC 171481), stock, chicken, home-prepared (FDC 172884), egg noodles, dry (FDC 169731), carrots (FDC 170393), celery (FDC 169988), onions (FDC 170000), spinach (FDC 168462), olive oil (FDC 171413).
• FoodSafety.gov, Cold Food Storage Chart.