Turkey Soup

After you have enjoyed your delicious carved turkey, save those bones from the carcass to make a delicious turkey soup. Pair a big bowl of this Turkey Soup with a salad and boom…dinner is served! If you’re like us and have a full weekend of Thanksgiving family activities planned, it’s nice to have a simple, light meal ready to serve. Plus, after spending so much time getting Thanksgiving dinner prepared, who doesn’t like to take a break from the kitchen? Also, this soup is a light alternative to the heavy eating that the holiday season tends to bring.

This recipe calls for basic ingredients you probably already have on hand from preparing your Thanksgiving meal. The instructions are easy–throw it all in a pot and let it simmer away! We added Greek noodles called hilopites to the soup. Hilopites are a traditional square-shaped egg noodle found in most Greek/Mediterranean stores or if you’re feeling adventurous, you can make them yourself. We opted for the pre-made noodles, but perhaps homemade hilopites is a post for another time! If you cannot find hilopites, any small egg noodle will work just as well.  Also be prepared, this recipe makes a large amount of broth!

Try this simple recipe and take some extra time away from the kitchen and go enjoy your family this holiday season.

And if you make this Turkey Soup, we’d love to hear from you, so leave us a comment below! Stay up to date on our latest recipes by following us on Facebook, Instagram, and tagging #Hearthealthygreek if you post one of our recipes! And get them delivered right to your mailbox by subscribing to our mailing list!

Turkey Soup

Classic, super easy homemade soup recipe made with leftover turkey and packed with vegetables.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 4 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Main Dish, Soup

Cuisine American, Greek

Ingredients

  

Broth

• 6 quarts cold water
• 1 leftover turkey carcass
• 2 carrots roughly chopped
• 2 celery with the tops, chopped
• 1 onion

Soup

• 1 cup onion chopped
• 1 cup celery chopped
• 1 cup carrots chopped
• 1 cup hilopites (or egg noodle)
• 3 cloves garlic smashed
• 2-3 sprigs thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

 

Broth

• Remove any remaining meat from the turkey carcass to use in the soup once the broth is made. Break the carcass into smaller pieces so that it fits in a large pot.
• Fill the pot with cold water. Add the celery, carrots, onion, thyme and garlic to the pot. Bring the pot to an boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Make sure you use the lowest setting of simmer you have, you do not want the broth boiling, just the water slowly moving around.
• If any foam begins to form, just skim it off with a spoon.
• Add your salt and pepper to taste. Partially cover and and cook for 4 hours.
• If you haven't used the pasta strainer (see note 2) strain the turkey broth through a colander or sieve. Broth can be used immediately or let it cool and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Also you can freeze the broth to use later (see note .1)

Soup

• In a large soup pot,over medium heat, add chopped onion, celery, carrots and ½ cup turkey broth. Cook until softened about 10 minutes.
• Add turkey leftover meat from carcass and broth. The amount of broth depends on how many servings of soup you would like to have.
• If you wish you can add more salt and pepper.
• Bring to a boil and add hilopites (or egg noodle of your choice). The soup is ready once noodles have softened.

Notes

1. This recipe makes a large amount of turkey broth. You can freeze the broth for later use in stews, other kinds of soups, for sauteing vegetables and when making rice pilaf.
2. We like to use a large pasta pot with a strainer to make the broth. It makes it easier to remove the bones and vegetables once the broth has finished cooking, just lift out the strainer!

Keyword Carrots, Dairy Free, Dinner Ideas, Greek, Pasta, Soup, Turkey

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!