The best easy Turkey Noodle Soup Recipe! Homemade from leftover turkey, it’s healthy & easy to make in the slow cooker, instant pot or stove.
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We’ve all been there… eating the exact same Thanksgiving meal 3 days in a row or trying to find a creative way to make a turkey sandwich that doesn’t suck.
Well, I have the best way to enjoy your holiday leftovers (or any time you have turkey leftovers) – this delicious Turkey Noodle Soup!
This soup recipe is so good because it uses leftover turkey, nutritious turkey or chicken broth, and lots of veggies.
If you need other ideas for your leftover turkey, try our Leftover Turkey Soup, Turkey Pot Pie Soup, or our Leftover Turkey Chili, and don’t forget to save your bones and scraps for the most flavorful Turkey Broth you will ever have!
(If you’re still searching for other Thanksgiving Recipes – check out these 50 Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes!)
Why this is the best Homemade Turkey Soup Recipe:
We absolutely love this delicious soup recipe because it’s:
- Cozy & Comforting: Leftover turkey, big pieces of carrots, lots of noodles, veggies, and delicious broth! This soup is the perfect comfort food.
- Easy to make: This recipe is done in under an hour. Other than chopping some veggies, it requires little to no effort!
- Loaded with veggies: We love sneaking veggies in soup to make them extra nutritious (like this Paleo Chicken Soup, Chicken Noodle Soup, or Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Soup)
- Budget-friendly: This recipe is made with basic affordable ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry/fridge and it uses up all those holiday turkey leftovers. No more lame turkey sandwiches or tossing turkey after a few days – this totally transforms it!
Turkey Noodle Soup Ingredients
To make this leftover turkey soup recipe you’ll need:
- cooked turkey
- celery, onion , carrots
- turkey broth or chicken broth
- egg noodles
- olive oil
- garlic
- rosemary, thyme, red pepper flakes, bay leaves
- salt & pepper
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded substitutions box.
How to make Turkey Noodle Soup
You can make this homemade turkey soup on the stove or in the crockpot or instant pot. Pictured below you’ll see step-by-step instructions for this turkey noodle soup Stovetop Method.
See below for instructions on how to make in the crockpot/instant pot:
- Chop the vegetables and the turkey. Then, heat olive oil in a large pot.
- Sauté onions and garlic for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add celery and carrots and sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add all remaining ingredients (except noodles) to the pot and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium and cover for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- After 20 minutes, add in egg noodles. Bring to a boil for 5-7 minutes until noodles are cooked completely.
Cozy up with the best way to eat leftover turkey you’ll ever have!
How to make Easy Turkey Noodle Soup in the Crockpot
Here is the slow cooker method for this homemade turkey soup. You can also make it on the stove or in the instant pot. See below for all cooking instructions:
- Combine all ingredients in the crockpot except for the noodles.
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
- 20 minutes before serving, turn your crockpot to high and add your noodles. You could also boil them separately on the stove if you’d prefer.
- After 15-20 minutes, your noodles should be perfectly cooked and your soup will be ready to enjoy!
How to make Instant Pot Turkey Noodle Soup
Here is the Instant Pot method for this homemade turkey soup. You can also make it on the stove or in the crockpot. See below for all cooking instructions:
- Chop the vegetables and the turkey. Set instant pot to saute for 10 minutes.
- Sauté onions and garlic until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add celery and carrots. Sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients (except for noodles) to the pot. Cover and set to sealing, High Pressure, for 8 minutes.
- While the soup cooks, cook your noodles in a separate pot according to the package.
- Once cooked, allow the soup to naturally release pressure for 10 minutes, then manually release remaining pressure.
- Add cooked noodles to the pot, stir and enjoy!
- *Note: do NOT add noodles to your instant pot when cooking! They will be overcooked and turn to mush. Cook the noodles separately.
Substitutions for this recipe for Turkey Noodle Soup
Rosemary: You can omit rosemary if you don’t like it. If you don’t have fresh rosemary you can sub with 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
Turkey: I use leftover cooked turkey in this recipe. It’s the perfect recipe for Thanksgiving leftovers. A mix of light and dark meat works best.
Carrots: Feel free to add more carrots or leave them out if you prefer.
Extra veggies: You could add chopped zucchini, kale, crushed tomatoes, or spinach to this recipe too!
Broth: Broth is the same thing as stock and can be used interchangeably. Vegetable, turkey broth, chicken broth, or beef broth would all work in this recipe.
Pasta: We have only tried this recipe with egg noodles. I wouldn’t recommend substituting smaller kinds of pasta like Pastina, but I think elbows, fusilli, or rotini would all work. I haven’t tried making this with gluten-free pasta, but I would worry that it could easily turn very mushy. I’d boil your gluten-free noodles on the side instead of cooking them all in one pot.
Storing and Reheating Leftover Turkey Soup
If you plan to store or meal prep this recipe, COOK YOUR NOODLES SEPARATELY. I know we all love a one-pot meal, but the noodles will get soggy if left in the soup for an extended period of time.
How to Store: You can store this soup in the fridge or freezer. We like these containers for freezing soup– code CLEANEATINGCOUPLE works to save $$ on them.
Fridge: This soup will last up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The noodles will absorb some of the broth if cooked together. To avoid this, cook the noodles separately.
Freezer: This soup freezes great and can last up to 3 months in the freezer! I don’t recommend freezing with the noodles though as they can get mushy. When you are ready to eat, defrost overnight in the refrigerator. You can also heat in the microwave or on the stove directly from frozen. We have more tips on how to freeze soup!
Reheating: You can reheat it in the crockpot, microwave, or on the stove. Add your cooked noodles once the turkey noodle soup is heated.
Can you freeze homemade turkey noodle soup?
Yes, this soup freezes great and can last up to 3 months in the freezer! I don’t recommend freezing with the noodles though as they can get mushy.
When you are ready to eat, defrost overnight in the refrigerator. You can also heat in the microwave or on the stove directly from frozen.
How long does turkey noodle soup last in the fridge?
This homemade turkey soup will last 4 days in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer.
Can you reheat turkey soup?
Yes, you can reheat turkey soup. Turkey soup is great when reheated on the stove or in the oven!
Turkey Noodle Soup FAQ
You can, but it actually isn’t necessary for this recipe because they cook directly in the pot! However, if you are planning on storing or meal prepping this recipe, I do recommend cooking and storing the noodles separately so they don’t get mushy.
We wouldn’t recommend thickening this soup. It is delicious as is and the soup naturally will thicken on its own as the pasta cooks.
Yes, you can make turkey soup with leftover chicken instead of turkey!
Every turkey noodle soup recipe is different but this turkey noodle soup has under 300 calories.
Other healthy soup recipes:
We love healthy soup recipes. You can get our free Healthy Soup Ebook here or check out these Easy Healthy Soup Recipes. Here are some other healthy soup recipes you may like:
Turkey Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup celery chopped finely
- 1 cup onion chopped finely
- 1.5 cups carrots sliced in small circles
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic minced
- 4 cups cooked turkey chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- 4 bay leaves
- 8 cups turkey or chicken broth LOW or NO sodium
- 3.5 cups egg noodles about 8oz
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions
- Chop vegetables + turkey.
- In a large pot, heat olive oil.
- Sauté onions + garlic until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add celery + carrots. Sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients to the pan except for noodles. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- After 20 minutes, add in noodles. Bring to a boil for 5-7 minutes until noodles are cooked completely.
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Chop vegetables + turkey.
- Set instant pot to saute, 10 minutes.
- Sauté onions and garlic until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add celery and carrots. Sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients to the pot except for noodles. Cover and set to sealing, High Pressure, for 8 minutes.
- While the soup cooks, cook your noodles in a separate pot according to package
- Once cooked, allow the soup to naturally release pressure for 10 minutes, then manually release remaining pressure.
- Add cooked noodles to the pot, stir and enjoy!
- *Note: do NOT add noodles to your instant pot. They will be over cooked and turn to mush. Cook the noodles separately.
Crockpot Instructions
- In your crockpot combine all ingredients except for egg noodles.
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
- 20 minutes before you’re ready to serve – turn your crockpot to high and add in your noodles. You can also boil them separately on the stove if you’d prefer.
- After 15-20 minutes your noodles should be perfectly cooked and your soup will be ready to enjoy!
Kate says
So good! My family finished the whole pot in one meal! Making round 2 tomorrow!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So happy you liked it!
Lisa Hernandez says
Al I can say is DELICIOUS!! I had a whole turkey breast left over From Thanksgiving and I decided to make this Turkey noodle soup! It’s so so good. Thanks so much for giving my leftover turkey life. Will make this soup with all kinds of meats!!! Yummy!!!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So happy you enjoyed it!
Lynne says
So good!! The best pot of soup I ever made!! Thank you! P.S. stored it in my “Souper Cubes” !!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Woo! We love Souper Cubes!
Sonya J says
I used this as a guide, made 1/2 batch and used poultry seasoning instead of thyme. Just water sautéed the veg (no oil) and used fettuccini noodles instead of egg noodles.
It was delicious!! Thank you so much for sharing this!