Do you have some leftover turkey from your holiday celebrations? This homemade turkey noodle soup is made without a carcass or bones for an easy, healthy dinner that’s ready in about 30 minutes!
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If you love easy soup recipes as much as we do, be sure to try this kid-favorite chicken and stars soup, a pot of Crock Pot vegetable soup, and this easy taco soup, too!
Made this today! Mmmmmm Mmmmm good ! I did add more broth the recipe was spot on made with left over turkey from thanksgiving!
– Penny
What to Know Before You Get Started
- If you don’t have any leftover turkey available, but you’re excited to make this dish — no problem! Cook a turkey, turkey breast, or turkey tenderloin and use the leftovers here. You can also substitute with 3-4 cups of cooked, shredded chicken. Use the meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken, leftover chicken from a previous meal, store-bought pulled chicken, or you can boil and shred your own chicken at home. You’ll need a total of about 2 lbs. of uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs to equal about 4 cups cooked. You might even try leftover pulled pork or store-bought pulled pork.
- The USDA recommends using cooked turkey within 3 to 4 days when it’s stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Tightly wrapped, leftover turkey can be frozen for 3 to 4 months. Save those leftovers and pull them out of the freezer whenever you crave a cozy bowl of soup!
- Use homemade stock or homemade broth if available, or a high-quality store-bought brand. Start with a low-sodium variety so that your soup isn’t too salty.
- This is a fairly thick pot of soup. If you prefer more broth in your bowl, just add extra broth (or water) at the end to thin the soup to the desired consistency.
- From different types of noodles to other herbs and extra veggies, there are a number of ways to adapt this versatile recipe to suit your tastes and to take advantage of what you’ve got in the kitchen. See my notes at the bottom of the post for possible recipe variations and substitutions.
How to Make this Turkey Noodle Soup Recipe
This easy leftover turkey soup comes together quickly on the stove top. You’ll find detailed instructions in the recipe card below, but here’s the overview:
- Sauté the veggies in olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven.
- Add the broth, condensed soup, turkey, and poultry seasoning.
- Bring to a boil.
- Stir in the uncooked egg noodles.
- Simmer for 7-9 minutes, or until the noodles are tender. Don’t overcook the noodles or they will become mushy in your soup. Add them to the pot just before you’re ready to serve. They will continue to soften as they sit in the hot broth.
- Taste and season as you go. The total amount of salt necessary will vary depending on the saltiness of your broth, and on personal preference. Add extra salt for more flavor, and feel free to increase the other herbs and seasonings as well.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with herbs such as fresh parsley or fresh thyme. A splash of apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice at the end gives each bowl a bright touch.
Serving Suggestions
Serve the homemade turkey noodle soup recipe with a winter salad with orange vinaigrette, a basket of cranberry muffins, a loaf of crusty no-knead Dutch oven bread, Aunt Bee’s 3-ingredient biscuit recipe, or a skillet of Southern cornbread.
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Make Ahead: If you’d like to prepare a batch of the soup in advance, I recommend making the soup up until the step where you add the noodles (do not add the noodles). Cool the broth and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.
- When ready to serve, bring the soup to a simmer, add the noodles, and follow the rest of the recipe.
- Storage: Leftover soup will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month; however, cooked noodles may be mushy when frozen and reheated.
- How to Reheat: Warm leftovers in a covered saucepan over low heat, just until heated through. Do not overcook or the noodles will become mushy. You can also reheat individual portions in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. Add extra broth to thin the soup, as needed.
Loved it. I added a bit of garlic for a little more tang….but fantastic!
– Wes
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Turkey Noodle Soup
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
This easy turkey noodle soup recipe is made without a carcass for an easy, healthy dinner that's ready in about 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 medium carrots, peeled diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or stock
- 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup (I use Campbell's Healthy Request)
- 3-4 cups diced, cooked turkey (or substitute with an equal amount of cooked, diced chicken)
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 2 cups uncooked dry medium egg noodles
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- Optional garnish: chopped fresh parsley; squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onion, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender (about 10 minutes).
- Add broth, soup, turkey, and poultry seasoning. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Stir in the noodles, reduce heat to low, and simmer at a low boil for about 7-9 minutes (or just until noodles are tender).
- Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in fresh parsley just before serving, if desired.
Notes
- Don’t overcook the noodlesor they will become mushy in your soup. Add them to the pot just before you’re ready to serve. They will continue to soften as they sit in the hot broth.
- This is a fairly thick pot of soup. If you prefer more broth in your bowl, just add extra broth (or water) at the end to thin the soup to the desired consistency.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cupCalories: 170.8kcalCarbohydrates: 14.2gProtein: 18.7gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.5gMonounsaturated Fat: 1.5gCholesterol: 55.1mgSodium: 550.5mgPotassium: 303.4mgFiber: 1.7gSugar: 2.1g
Turkey Noodle Soup Recipe Variations
- Swap out the cream of chicken soup and use another flavor of condensed soup, such as cream of celery soup or cream of mushroom soup.
- Egg noodles are a classic ingredient in turkey noodle soup; however, you can substitute with other pasta shapes. Try cut spaghetti or rotini, bowties, or ditalini. Just make sure that you follow the cooking instructions on your package of noodles so that they’re cooked al dente.
- Include extra vegetables, such as frozen cut green beans, peas, corn, or diced zucchini.
- Add more flavor to your turkey soup with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, or with extra herbs and spices such as rosemary, thyme, dill, oregano, chives, bay leaf, garlic powder, or a pinch of cayenne or red pepper flakes for heat.
- Have a leftover turkey carcass that you want to use? Make homemade turkey stock to use in this soup.
More Leftover Turkey Recipes to Try
Leftover Turkey Chili
1 hour hr 35 minutes mins
Leftover Turkey Rice Casserole
35 minutes mins
Leftover Turkey Soup with Wild Rice
1 hour hr 15 minutes mins
This recipe was originally published in December, 2013. It was updated in November, 2024.
I thought about adding turnips and potatoes, what do you think? Just add more broth?
Sounds great, Lisa! Yes — I would just add a bit more broth, to taste. Enjoy!
Delicious, but did add more broth.
If you use the frozen Reames noodles, it WILL NOT freeze well. Learn from my mistakes. Delicious otherwise though!
Do you think cream of mushroom soup would work just as well?
Hi, Julie! Yep, that should be fine!
May I use this recipe for a tool kit for our local food bank?
Absolutely! 🙂
Thank you!
Can you just add the pasta uncooked (the video seems to use it uncooked) since it’ll be baking in liquid for 25 minutes? I use regular lasagna noodles (not the oven-ready kind) in my lasagna and they cook beautifully from the liquid in the meat sauce. I was thinking that maybe you could do the same here? What do you think?
Hi, Lorraine! Yes, the recipe calls for uncooked noodles. 🙂
What else can be substituted for the can soup?
Hi, Karen! The condensed soup adds a bit of creaminess to the broth, thickens it slightly, and gives the soup extra flavor. You could add some flour to the vegetables to make a roux that will thicken the soup a little bit, add a splash of cream at the end, and season with extra salt, pepper, celery salt, or other spices and herbs that you like. Another alternative would be to make a homemade version of the condensed soup to use in this recipe, following instructions similar to these: https://www.apinchofhealthy.com/homemade-condensed-cream-of-chicken-soup/
Made this today! Mmmmmm Mmmmm good ! I did add more broth the recipe was spot on made with left over turkey from thanksgiving!
Thank you, Penny!
Loved it. I added a bit of garlic for a little more tang….but fantastic!
Thanks, Wes!
Just made this!! It’s terrific! I wasn’t sure about the cream of chicken soup,because I didn’t want a cream soup. But to my and my husband’s delight the consistency was perfect. We hope for some leftovers ,because we know the flavors will intensify. Thank you and bravo, once again Blair !!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you so much, Gina!