This Turkey Carcass Soup Is The Perfect Post-Thanksgiving Meal (2024)

Here at Delish, we aim for nothing to go to waste. While we’ve got plenty of recipes to use up our Thanksgiving roast turkey meat, getting rid of the carcass can be a bit of a pain. Enter: Turkey carcass soup. It’s my favorite meal to get rid of the rest of that leftover turkey, and is oh so light and comforting after the big meal. The most important element is a turkey carcass, something you most likely already have! Don't worry if it isn't picked clean—just slice off as much turkey as you can (and use that to make an epic Thanksgiving sandwich)—and let the rest simmer with the soup.

What Is Turkey Carcass Soup?

What exactly is a turkey carcass? The carcass is what's left of the turkey after you're done with it, but no need to throw it away! The bones and remaining meat will make a rich and flavorful stock, perfect for a warming, cozy turkey soup. It might just be my favorite way to rework Thanksgiving leftovers.

How To Make Turkey Carcass Soup

Ingredients

• The Stock: Conventional wisdom dictates that to make a great meat stock, you must always add veggies. Not true. I found that simmering the carcass—and the carcass alone—produced a clean, meaty stock that actually tasted of turkey. Add the veggies and herbs later when you are making the soup. As for the turkey carcass, just use the bones and remaining meat left from your roast turkey.
• The Soup: Carrots, celery, a bay leaf, and fresh time all help to bulk up the soup and add that extra flavor and texture to our turkey broth. Save some of that leftover turkey meat from the carcass—we’ll add that in shredded to the soup as well. To turn this into turkey-noodle-soup vibes, I chose to add some egg noodles for more texture and a heartier bite.

Step-By-Step Instructions

To start, we’ll create the broth by adding the turkey carcass to a large pot covered with cold water. Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer. Again, bucking conventional wisdom, I assumed that a long simmer for the carcass was necessary to extract flavor and gelatin, which helps provide the stock with richness (again, false). Two hours was perfect for a delicious, flavorful stock.

After 2 hours, remove the turkey carcass (reserving any excess turkey meat if you want to add it to your soup, like me), and strain and reserve the stock. Transfer it back to the pot, and bring to a simmer. You should have about 6 cups of stock at this point.

Now, we can add in our veggies, herbs, and shredded turkey (if using). You’ll only need to cook until the vegetables are just tender, which should take around 12 minutes.

Once tender, add in the egg noodles, and cook according to the package instructions. Season with some salt and pepper to taste, then top with fresh dill when you’re ready to serve.

Full ingredients and instructions can be found in the recipe below.

What To Serve With Turkey Carcass Soup

Looking for what to pair it with? Even MORE Thanksgiving leftovers, of course! Serve this soup with (or on top of) mashed potatoes, alongside some Thanksgiving rolls, or with some green bean casserole.

Storage

If you manage to have any soup leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.