When soup season is in full swing, it is the perfect time to make my Turkey and Veg Soup. Holidays are a great excuse to use up celery, carrots and leftover turkey or chicken. For added flavor, try my Slow Cooker Turkey Stock, it will make this soup feel effortless.
Homemade turkey soup is a great dish to let simmer on the stove on a Sunday afternoon, and allow the aromas to fill your home. This soup offers a warm comfort on a cold day; and is a great way to lift you up if you are feeling a little under the weather (don’t worry, it can be frozen too).
Jump to:
- Why You Will Love This Turkey Vegetable Soup
- Ingredients
- Substitutions and Variations
- How to Make Our Easy Turkey And Veg Soup
- More Recipes You Will Love
- How to Store Turkey Vegetable Soup
- What to Serve with Turkey and Veg Soup
- Top Tip
- Frequently Asked Questions About Turkey Vegetable Soup
- More Recipes You Will Love
- Turkey and Veg Soup Recipe
This was inspired by my Slow Cooker Turkey Stock recipe. If you have the time, I highly recommend following that recipe first to use as the broth, you won't be disappointed. And if you are looking for other soup recipes our Crockpot Split Pea and Bacon Soup, Instant Pot Pumpkin Soup and Roasted Butternut Squash Soup are all easy and delicious.
Why You Will Love This Turkey Vegetable Soup
- Easy: This soup comes together so quickly.
- Leftovers: You can clear out leftover (uncooked) vegetables and turkey (or grab a rotisserie chicken).
- Storability: You can store the soup for future meals in a pinch.
- Customizable: Add extra vegetables, such as potatoes, peas, spinach, or diced tomatoes.
Ingredients
Turkey, carrots, onion, celery and some basic seasonings bring this dish together quickly. Egg noodles add great body to the soup making it a more filling meal.
See the recipe card below for the exact quantities of each ingredient.
- Olive Oil: A simple start to sauté your veggies, but any neutral oil will work.
- Yellow Onion: A staple in a lot of my dishes, yellow onions are light in flavor.
- Kosher Salt: Less salty than table salt but you can use table salt just adjust the amount according to taste.
- Garlic Cloves: Fresh garlic is an easy flavor booster.
- Ground Pepper: Adds a nice punch of heat.
- Turkey Stock: I prefer to use my own Slow Cooker Turkey Stock but store bought will work.
- Carrots: Help to build out the soup and give added flavor.
- Leftover Turkey: An added protein and offers a heartier soup; rotisserie chicken or shredded/diced chicken breast work well too.
- Celery: Again, they will assist in building out the soup and flavor.
- Bay Leaves: Has a subtle flavor itself, but enhances bolder flavors.
- Egg Noodles: The addition of egg noodles makes this a more filling and satisfying dish.
For this recipe, you'll want to have on hand large stock pot, ladle, along with measuring cups and spoons.
Substitutions and Variations
The beauty about making soups, especially a leftover soup, is that you can play as you cook! There are so many ways you can make this recipe your own but using your favorite veggies, or just adding what you already have in the house.
- Add-ins or Vegetable Variations: Potatoes make a great addition or can be used instead of noodles; additionally, you can try parsnips, red or greens peppers, or spinach.
- Chicken: If you have leftover chicken breast, thighs or rotisserie, you can use that instead.
- Gluten Free: Substitute the egg noodles with a gluten free pasta. Cook noodles according to package instructions. Once cooked, rinse thoroughly under cold water to stop the cooking process. Place the noodles in your serving bowl and pour soup over and enjoy! We find our favorite pasta blend of corn, rice and quinoa flour holds up well with soup.
- Potatoes: This is another great way to make your soup gluten free, you can use potatoes instead of pasta noodles. Yukon golds offer a thin skin and have a buttery taste which great a great texture and flavor addition.
How to Make Our Easy Turkey And Veg Soup
Get that stock pot out of the cupboard and let’s get started. A little prep work is needed but you can peel and chop your veggies while the onions are on! Follow these four easy steps and you will be well on your way to pleasing family and friends with a warm bowl of soup to make them smile.
In a large stock pot heat oil and cook onions until soft over medium heat.
Add in garlic, salt and ground pepper and cook for 1 minute.
Pour stock, carrots, leftover turkey, celery and bay leaves into the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a rolling simmer and cook for about 10 minutes or until the carrots are your desired tenderness.
Meanwhile, cook egg noodles in a separate pot. Once the soup is ready you can place the noodles within the soup or directly into a bowl and ladle the soup over top.
Hint: Noodles are a great addition to any soup but they can absorb too much (if not all) of the broth. We prefer to serve the soup overtop of the cooked noodles. It also makes for a better way to freeze the soup, as cooked noodles do not hold their shape well after thawing.
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How to Store Turkey Vegetable Soup
This dish is great to make in a large batch to store for future enjoyment.
- Refrigerator: Once cooled, place in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.
- Freezer: Store in freezer safe containers and freeze for up to three months (again, consider not adding the noodles directly into the soup if you think you might freeze the soup).
- Reheating: Simply bring to room temperature and microwave on medium power, or heat up in a pot on the stove.
- Make Ahead: The great thing about soup is that it can be made in advance and reheated when ready to serve (again, consider not adding the noodles directly into the soup if you do not plan to eat it right away). If you want to prep the soup in advance, you can chop all the vegetables 2-3 days in advance, and store them in air tight containers in the fridge.
What to Serve with Turkey and Veg Soup
Soup is such a versatile dish. It can be served as a first course, on its own as a lighter fair, or with cheesy garlic bread for a full meal.
Top Tip
The key to any good soup is allowing your onions time to sweat out before adding your other vegetables. Onions need to soften before adding other veg and garlic to ensure that those ingredients don’t burn.
Frequently Asked Questions About Turkey Vegetable Soup
Do you have questions about making our Turkey and Veg Soup? Here are some frequently asked questions and helpful tips.
Simmering a fresh broth with a turkey carcass is the best way to intensify your stock before you have even prepped your soup. Using a stock pot or slow cooker, add carcass and water, paired with herbs and spices like peppercorns, salt, bay leaves, garlic, onions, fresh herbs, celery and carrots. The longer you simmer, the more intense the flavor will be.
The short answer is yes. You can add raw turkey to your soup as you are cooking it, but it is very important to allow the turkey to cook to an internal temperature of165F. It can be easier to roast it in the oven first for a more even cook, then let it rest for 10 minutes and chop it to smaller pieces before adding it to the soup.
Making a cornstarch slurry will is a quick and easy way to thicken most soups; and it is a gluten free option. Depending on the type, you can also thicken them by pureeing all or some of the soup, or by adding mashed potatoes. Alternatively, if it is a recipe that can have less broth added, that may help as well.
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Turkey and Veg Soup Recipe
Equipment
- Large Stock Pot
- Spatula
- Ladle
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
Ingredients
- 1-2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, medium chopped small
- 4 cloves garlic
- ½ tablespoon kosher salt
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 6 cups homemade turkey stock or store-bought
- 3-4 carrots peeled and chopped (about 3.5 cups)
- 3 cups leftover turkey chopped
- 3 celery ribs chopped (2 cups)
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 8- ounce egg noodles dry measured
Instructions
- In a large stock pot heat oil and cook onions until soft over medium heat.
- Add in garlic, salt and ground pepper and cook for 1 minute.
- Pour stock, carrots, leftover turkey, celery and bay leaves into the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a rolling simmer and cook for about 10 minutes or until the carrots are your desired tenderness.
- Meanwhile, cook egg noodles in a separate pot. Once the soup is ready you can place the noodles within the soup or directly into a bowl and ladle the soup over top.
Notes
- For the richest flavor, we recommend using our homemade Slow Cooker Turkey Stock as a base for this soup recipe.
- If you don’t have egg noodles on hand, you can substitute any other type of short pasta, barley, or rice. Additionally, any grain or noodle can be omitted.
- We highly recommend cooking noodles separately. Cooking them in the soup will cause them to absorb too much liquid and become soggy.
Nutrition
We would be so grateful for you to leave us a rating and review on any recipes you try. If you make any alterations, let us know how they turned out.
Rick says
Love turkey soup. Too bad we don’t cook turkey more often. Can’t wait for my next pot of soup.
Eva Filer says
Haha, that is true! You can try it with rotisserie chicken if that helps!
Eva Filer says
Homemade soup is one of the most comforting things I think you can make, and this turkey and vegetable soup recipe is a perfect way to warm up on a cool day. Great to use up leftover turkey (or rotisserie chicken), and has so much flavor.
Amy says
love this soup recipe, perfect way to use up my leftover turkey or chicken. I always love to add in spinach or green peas!
Eva Filer says
Those are great add-ins! Thank you for sharing. We are happy you enjoy the recipe!