Tips for a Great Noodle Soup
- To add to broth, freeze vegetable scraps such as carrot tops and onion ends. Leave the skins on the onions for extra color.
- Break apart your large turkey carcass so it will fit in the pot.
- Reduce the water or add a spoonful of bouillon (I prefer Better Than Bouillon turkey or chicken) if you are using a smaller carcass.
- If preferred, a small amount of boxed broth or broth without sodium can be substituted for part of the water to give the dish a richer flavor.
- The turkey should be added towards the end and heated through, rather than raw, to prevent drying out because it has already been cooked.
- Leftover gravy can be added to the soup. Another way to thicken it is to add one or two scoops of leftover mashed potatoes.
- If there are leftovers, we cook the noodles separately because they shouldn’t be kept in the soup.
Yes, turkey noodle soup can be frozen. Since the noodles can get mushy in the broth, it’s best to freeze this soup without them. In a Dutch oven, thaw the broth by heating it straight from frozen, then stir in the cooked noodles.
This is a whole meal in a bowl. Add some dinner rolls, a loaf of crusty bread, and a tossed salad to extend the meal.
How to Make Homemade Broth
I love homemade turkey broth for soup!
SIMMER: Preparing homemade broth is simple. Simply combine the ingredients (as directed in the recipe below) with water in a large soup pot, then simmer for approximately four hours. It can also be cooked in a slow cooker. If you have any extra bones lying around that you haven’t used (such as the back or neck if the turkey was spatchcocked),
STRAIN: Remove the bones and vegetables from the broth by straining it through cheesecloth to capture any small particles. They’ll be too mushy for soup.
SKIM: Use a spoon to remove the fat from the top of the broth after letting it settle so that it separates (or use a gravy separator) After tasting the broth, return it to the pot and simmer it uncovered for a little while to reduce its flavor. I usually reduce it to about 8 cups.
Ingredients for Turkey Noodle Soup
Broth: For this recipe, either homemade or store-bought broth will work. Below I’ve included my fave recipe for homemade turkey broth. Of course, you can use boxed or canned chicken broth. For the best flavor, I enjoy using the turkey carcass from our leftover Thanksgiving turkey to make homemade broth.
Carrots, celery, and onions combined with herbs are the veggies I use to add flavor to the bones. If you have any leftover vegetable scraps from cooking the turkey dinner (such as empty corn cobs, green bean or onion ends, etc. ) add them in! When preparing the broth, leave the onion skin on since it contributes color.
Soup: Add the soup vegetables after the broth has been strained and reduced in heat. The vegetables used to make the broth will be soft and can be thrown away, even though I usually eat them as snacks!
I use dried egg noodles, but you can use any kind of pasta. If you have time, try this soup with homemade egg noodles. My recommendation would be to cook the noodles in a separate pot from the broth and then add them to each bowl.
For this from-scratch soup, there will be two steps.
- Use a leftover turkey carcass to make the broth (or use store-bought broth).
- Make the soup using homemade turkey broth.
