TURKEY NOODLE SOUP is the perfect way to use up that leftover turkey from Thanksgiving! This soup is creamy comfort food at it’s best!
I’m curious, does anyone else be sure to make a GIANT turkey that you know will leave you with loads of leftovers?
I definitely do!
Leftover turkey is a lifesaver for me during the busy weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I keep out what I know we’ll be able to eat, shred the rest, and freeze it in 2 cup portions.You can use leftover turkey in just about any recipe that calls for shredded chicken and no one will likely even notice.
This turkey noodle soup is one of the recipes that we make every year. Creamy soup, loaded with turkey, veggies, and noodles…it doesn’t get better than this!
Ingredients for homemade turkey noodle soup:
The full turkey noodle soup recipe is down below in the recipe card. Keep reading for tips & tricks!
- Carrots
- Onion
- Celery
- Garlic
- Butter
- Flour
- Chicken Broth
- Turkey
- Evaporated Milk
- Egg Noodles
- Seasonings
You really just need basic ingredients for this turkey noodle soup recipe!
The vegetables and seasonings can all be changed to suit your own personal tastes.
Method:
- Saute the vegetables in butter.
- Stir in the flour to form a paste. Whisk in the broth and cook to thicken a bit.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until the noodles are tender.
This homemade turkey noodle soup is super simple, but the key to making it creamy is the roux.
If you’ve never made a roux, don’t be scared – it’s very easy. It’s just fat + flour + liquid.
The vegetables cook in the fat (butter) and then get a bit of flour sprinkled over. Cook that for 1 minute to form a paste and cook off the raw flour taste.
Slowly stir in the chicken broth and bring to a boil. The mixture will thicken a bit as it cooks.
If you used less chicken broth (or more fat + flour) here, you’d make a gravy, but we’re just making a creamy soup so the ratios are different, but the method is the same.
Can I freeze this recipe?
Soups that contain noodles don’t always tend to freeze well, unfortunately.
The noodles are likely to turn to mush.
I’d recommend halving this recipe if you won’t be able to finish it off, but do know that it will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days depending on how fresh your turkey is when you add it to the soup.
More soup recipes to try:
Turkey Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 carrots, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup flour
- 10 cups chicken broth
- 4 cups chopped leftover turkey
- 24 ounces frozen egg noodles
- 12 ounces canned evaporated milk
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon cracked pepper
Instructions
- Add the butter to a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery to the melted butter and cook, stirring often, until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook 1 more minute.
- Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir to form a paste. Cook for 1 minute.
- Gradually pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly, until mixture has thickened a bit, about 5 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pot and bring to a low boil. Simmer for 20 minutes or until noodles are tender.
- Serve hot.
Dr. G says
Fabulous! Great blend of flavors and definitely comfort food! You have to try this one! FYI, I did not have fresh parsley, so I did a tablespoon of dried parsley….so good!!
Karly says
Thank you for the review! So glad you enjoyed the soup. 🙂
LeeAnn Adams says
This was a great recipe. I sautéed the veggies with evoo and then added butter for the roux after the veggies softened. I always cook/brown the roux for at least 3 minutes to cook down the flour taste. It’s perfect every time! This soup was easy, creamy, and delicious! You should make it today?
Karly says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, LeeAnn! Thanks for the review! 🙂
Jayne says
Worst recipe ever. I wish I would have made the roux without the vegetables now I have a lumpy soup
Jayne says
I was able to salvage the soup and it turned out great! I might use a little less flour next time but that’s personal preference
Karly says
Hi Jayne! Sorry to hear you had issues. It’s pretty common in soup recipes to add the flour to the veggies. It should all work out as you add in the liquid. 😉
Jana says
I used this as a base recipe and added chicken base (1/2 cup) ,onion powder, garlic powder, more basil, dried parsley. I used gf (Bob’s 1-1) and gf noodles. It definitely thickened as it boiled. Used a bit more butter/ flour in the roux. Omitted salt due to the chicken base.
Tracey says
I am new to this blog, and I love it so far! I have a question about the soup…can I use either gluten free all purpose flour to thicken it or corn starch instead of regular flour? We have a couple people with celiac. Thanks in advance!
Karly says
Hi Tracey! So glad you’re enjoying the recipes! Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of experience working with gluten-free flours. If you have one you like that you’ve used to make a roux before, that will work well here. Alternately, corn starch should work well. I’d just whisk together 1/4 cup of cornstarch with the evaporated milk and then add that in as directed, skipping over the flour/thickening part of the recipe. Hope that helps!
Carmen Rocha says
Made this soup for the first time this evening but it didn’t come out thick and creamy at all, the soup was really good.