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Make this leftover turkey noodle soup with homemade stock for the best flavor! It’s simple, delicious and will fill your tummy while warming you from the inside.

One of the easiest leftover turkey recipes is definitely this turkey noodle soup. Don’t you think so?

Now my other favorite way to use up those leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner is making turkey cranberry panini. This toasted bread is delicious on its own but why not serve it alongside creamy soups?

Roasted mushroom soup or spicy Thai pumpkin soup are delicious options.

How to make turkey noodle soup with leftovers

It is very easy. Now after Thanksgiving, you will be left with a pretty good size of carcass and some bones. The best way to utilize those is to make stock out of them. I love making homemade turkey stock as it is completely hassle-free and perfect for so many recipes.

If you don’t want to make the stock yourself, then you can use chicken stock instead and just utilize the leftover meat. Because the meat is cooked, you will add it to the soup at the very end, together with cooked noodles.

So first you will have to make a decision whether you make the stock yourself or you buy it. After this it is pretty straightforward:

Vegetables: Peel the onion and carrots. Chop them together with celery. I like to chop them into small pieces as they cook faster. To get a better flavor, saute them first for about 7-10 minutes, stirring from time to time. When done, you just add the peppercorns, bay leaves and turkey stock. Give it a stir and cover with a lid. Bring it to a boil and after, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the veggies are cooked.

You can add salt before or after everything is cooked. Now store-bought stock can contain a lot more salt than the one you made yourself so you can taste it when it is simmering and add salt at that stage.

The cooking time may vary slightly so don’t panic. This will depend on the size of veggies.

Noodles: They need to be cooked separately. If you wanted to add them to the soup, they would suck quite a lot of the stock which would significantly reduce the amount of soup you would get.

Leftover turkey meat: If you decide to make the turkey stock yourself then you should already have all the meat stored in the fridge, which also means you don’t have to remove it from the carcass or bones.

All you have to do at this stage is to chop it into small pieces and set it aside for later.

Tip: Do this while the veggies are cooking to save time.

You see, making turkey noodle soup from leftovers is easy.

What are the best noodles for turkey soup?

I’d say there is no right or wrong when it comes to the choice of noodles. It is entirely up to you what you use so if you like Asian noodles use those. If you like Italian pasta, then go ahead and add that to your leftover turkey noodle soup.

The possibilities are endless. I like using Asian noodles but eating the soup can get messy especially with kids so I would recommend any small-shaped pasta. Or break spaghetti into smaller pieces before cooking them.

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