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Why You’ll Love My Recipe
This Turkey Carcass Soup is the best way to use up your leftover roast turkey! It’s loaded with healthy vegetables, turkey meat, and homemade broth made right from the carcass. I also add wild rice to make this a hearty meal in a bowl!
If you want to make turkey soup from scratch, you’ll need some leftover turkey to get started! Use the leftovers from my Deconstructed Turkey and Stuffing With Vegetables in ONE Roaster or Thanksgiving Turkey recipes. And if you have a lot of extra turkey on hand, put it to good use in my Turkey Pot Pie!
Reader Review
My husband and I make this several times a month AND we do it year round! It’s one of our absolute favorite soups! Thank you so much for the recipe! We love to make corn muffins to go with this! ❤️
Karlynn’s Recipe Notes
- Skill Level: This soup is super easy to make – basically set it and forget it while the broth cooks!
- Total Time: It takes about 4 hours and 10 minutes from start to finish, but luckily, most of that is simmering time.
- Variations: Swap the wild rice for egg noodles for a fun twist, or add extra seasoning like paprika and cayenne for a little kick. Feel free to throw in extra vegetables like frozen peas, green beans, or corn, too! Serve your soup with my Simple Crostini Recipe and a Caesar salad for the perfect dinner.
- Tools For This Recipe: You will need a large lidded stock pot, a knife for chopping, a fine-mesh strainer, a soup pot, and a ladle for serving.
What You’ll Need for Ingredients
Turkey Carcass: The turkey carcass is used to make the homemade stock, and any meat you pull from it is saved and added back into the soup!
Vegetables: You’ll need onion, carrots, and celery for both the stock and the soup. The veggies in the stock help flavor the broth, while sautéed diced vegetables are added to the soup later on. Karlynn’s Tip: Feel free to add extra vegetables to the soup, like green beans, potatoes, or peas!
Wild Rice Mix: Using a hearty wild rice mix makes this turkey soup extra filling.
Seasonings: You’ll need peppercorns, salt, bay leaves, and parsley for the stock, then poultry seasoning for the soup. It adds a ton of flavor and enhances the broth! Karlynn’s Tip: Use store-bought poultry seasoning or make my Homemade Poultry Seasoning Recipe, and don’t be afraid to add any other seasonings you enjoy.
How To Make Turkey Carcass Soup
This is a quick overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients & complete step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Take your roast turkey, remove all the meat from the bones, and place it in a container.
- Break the turkey carcass apart at the joints, and remove the skin and fatty parts.
- Place the turkey carcass pieces in a large stock pot.
- Add the seasonings and vegetables, then cover the turkey with water up to the top of it.
- Simmer for 3-4 hours until the turkey bones break down, the meat falls off the bone, and the broth is nicely colored.
- Carefully remove the carcass from the stock pot and set aside. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer and return it to the pot.
- Choose a soup pot, add butter, and fry diced onions until soft
- Add diced celery and carrots, fry for 4-5 minutes, and add in the poultry seasoning.
- Add the turkey meat, broth, and rice, and simmer until the vegetables are soft and the rice is completely cooked.
- Serve and enjoy!
Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Turkey Carcass Soup
- Remove the Fat First: The key to making this turkey carcass soup in one day is removing the fat before you make the broth. A lot of recipes have you cool the broth and skim the fat off the top, but when I’m making soup, I want to eat it that day! Remove the skin and excess fat and clean up the bones before making the broth. This leaves you with just the right amount of flavor from the turkey fat without having to wait for the broth to cool.
- Prep the Turkey as You Go: As you’re removing the meat from the carcass, chop it into small pieces for the soup and measure out two cups as you go. It’ll save you a ton of time later!
- Make More Broth: If you want to make a larger batch of soup, you can add more water to the broth, but you’ll need to compensate for the diluted flavor. Add some store-bought chicken or turkey stock to bring the flavor back up. This is super helpful if you have a smaller turkey but want to make a big batch of soup!
Storage Instructions
Refrigerator: Store leftover turkey soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat individual servings in the microwave or warm the soup gently in a pot on the stove.
Freezer: Turkey soup can be frozen for up to 3 months following USDA food safety guidelines. Let the soup cool completely before transferring it to a freezer-safe container, leaving a little room for expansion. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating!
More Delicious Soup Recipes
Soups are some of the coziest meals you can make year-round, so if you want a warm hug in a bowl any day of the week, try one of these Soup Recipes next:
- Swap out the wild rice for noodles and make my comforting Turkey Noodle Soup this fall!
- This hearty, rich, and satisfying Ham & Potato Soup is bound to bring a smile to everyone’s face around the table.
- My quick and easy Chicken Corn Soup is a delicious option for lunch or dinner any day of the week!
There you have it, folks! This turkey soup is the perfect way to turn your leftover turkey into a nutritious, filling meal that the whole family will love.
Don’t toss that turkey carcass after your next holiday dinner! Make this big pot of soup instead, and let me know how it turned out in the comments below.
Happy Cooking!
Karlynn
How to Make Turkey Carcass Soup
Ingredients
Turkey Stock Ingredients
- 1 turkey carcass, cleaned of skin, fat and meat
- 1 large white or yellow onion, peeled and quartered
- 2 carrots
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 5 peppercorns
- 3 bay leaves
- 2-3 sprigs fresh parlsey, or 2 tsp dry
- water to top
Turkey Soup Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup diced white onion
- 4-5 large carrots, diced large
- 3-4 stalks celery, diced large
- 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
- 2 cups diced turkey meat
- 8-10 cups turkey stock
- 1 cup wild rice mix
Instructions
- Break the turkey carcass apart at the joints where you can, in order to be able to fit it into the soup pot. Remove all the skin and fatty parts as well.
- Place the turkey pieces into a large lidded stock pot. Add the onion, the carrots and the celery stalks ( if you have the leafy tops those are amazing for flavour, add them in!) .
- Add in the salt, peppercorns, bay leaves,,fresh parsley, and then cover the turkey with water, just to the top of it.
- Simmer, covered, for 3-4 hours until the turkey bones are starting to break down, the meat is falling off the bone, and the broth is looking cloudy.
- Remove the carcass from the soup pot carefully and set aside. Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer then place in another pot.
Turkey Soup Ingredients
- Chose the soup pot that you want to use, then add in the butter. Fry the onions until soft, then add in the celery and carrots. Fry for another 4-5 minutes, then add in the poultry seasoning. Fry for 1 minute.
- Add in the turkey meat, the broth and the rice, Stir. Bring to a low simmer and cook until the rice is done and the vegetables are soft.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
- If you want to reduce the stock, after you strain it you can return it to the same pot and boil it until it’s reduced. This will make it stronger tasting.
- I have estimated that you will have around 8-10 cups of broth when you are done cooking to use in your soup. If you made more than that, simply store the extra in a container and freeze for later!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Elena Lowe says
I have made this soup twice now, so delicious, first time added egg noodles instead of rice, second time, small pasta and sweet potato. Will be experimenting with different herbs, this soup is so versatile. Will never throw any meat bones again. Thanks.
Dan says
Happy New Year!
Will using a brined turkey carcass for soup or stock be to high in sodium?
Thanks,
Dan
Serena Poloni says
The soup was amazing. So much flavour and not salty at all. It was my first time and it turned out great.
I did substituted rice for minestrone noodles. I was very proud. Thanks for the recipe.
Kelsey says
I was so excited for this soup, but I wish I had read the reviews about the salt before making it. My stock produced 8 cups worth, but it was way too salty. The soup is almost inedible – probably needed about half the amount of salt.
Ang says
so I read the instructions wrong lol .. first time making soup with carcass l.. I threw the veggies in with the carcass… now what??? it’s simmering for the next 3-4 hrs. did I mess it up? any help would be appreciated lol
Sue says
, it will make a great broth and the recipe states you put in discard and add new ones when you discard turkey carcass bones new Vegetables when 2nd step after discarding bones
Karl says
I have been making soup from Turkey carcasses for well over 30 years! It’s never exactly the same. That being said get more veggies and after you’ve strained the soup add them to the broth. They’ll only add more color and flavor to the broth, also if you have access to Sage or Thyme, or Rosemary add sprigs to the stock pot as well, and if you have the time let it simmer for hours. The longer you cook it the more you’ll rend from the bones. Another trick is to save all your onion, garlic, carrot, and celery scraps in the freezer and use them while cooking the carcass, saves time and money.
Anthony says
Do you cover while simmering?
Julie Peterson says
OMG – thank you for the tip of not using too much water. The soup is delicious. I have always gotten watery soup so have refrained from making. This is so good.
Deborah says
Can I can the leftover soup?
Vicky says
Great recipe except for salt. I know better but it’s a lot of water and I thought it would be okay. Next time I’ll just add 1-2 tsp to broth and add more later if needed. After straining, I added yellow split peas and cooked another hour before adding to vegetables. Also squeezed in lemon to cut down on salty taste. Cooked rice separately.
Pete says
Why add all those delicious vegetables, boil them with the bones, then throw them away?!
Can I just throw all the ingredients in a stock pot, simmer them for 4 hours, pull out the bones and wala, soup!
Leslie Clark says
You throw them out (compost them) because they are mushy after simmering in the stock for so long. Their role is to help flavour the stock (and they’ll add some extra nutrition too).
Derek says
I made my first turkey carcass soup a couple of years back using this recipe, and it was fabulous. The only issue I has was that bits of backbone kept showing up in the finished product. I know I’m misinterpreting an instruction here and that’s where I’m looking for help. How do I filter out any small remaining bones in the finished soup? I know I can strain it through a cheesecloth, but that strains out the meat as well as the bones… Any advice will be appreciated (as I’m about to try it again with this year’s turkey remnants…). 🙂
Sheryl says
Mine turned out way too fatty. So, it’s a no from me. I’ve got to wait overnight and let fat rise to the top I guess.
Karlynn Johnston says
If you remove the fat like instructed, it definitely won’t be too fatty! There’s no added fat other than what you don’t clean off the bones.
Martha says
I added 1 tablespoon of salt and it was too salty. I recommend salting to taste after making stock.
Cindy says
I made this recipe for the first time tonight, and it was so flavorful and delicious! I’m asking myself who I never made soup using the turkey carcass before. Didn’t feel like we were eating leftovers. It felt like a whole new meal. Will definitely make this soup again! Thank you!
Karlynn Johnston says
SO glad you liked it and found a new favorite!
Yasmin Carlson says
Great recipe! Turned out great. I made it in two steps though. I refrigerated the finished stock overnight to let the fat solidify. Makes it easy to skim off. Also, I replaced the rice with pasta.
Denise says
OMG!! Delicious 👍👍👍👍👍
Jen Tackett says
Made this tonight and it was delicious! I’m not a soup maker by nature but this recipe was easy to follow and the only ingredient I had to buy was bay leaves. I substituted cauliflower rice to lower the carbs and my hubby (a reputed cauliflower hater) didn’t even notice lol the only thing I’ll do differently next time is to chop the carrots thinner so they’re a bit more tender. Loved it!
Nan says
Made this today from our Thanksgiving turkey carcass. It was delicious. My husband — who used to run the turkey dinner at church and make soup after — said it’s probably the best turkey soup he’s ever had. I didn’t have all of the ingredients, so I went to the store. I don’t like substitutes when copying someone’s recipe. Again, it was delicious. Thank you for the recipe!
marion boley says
have mine cooking right now! can’t wait to try it… already is smelling good thanks for sharing! think i’ll make some bread to eat with it! whoo hoo
Allison says
Can I use jasmine rice instead???
Germaine says
Marlene,
First of all, you need to understand the recipe titles, in it.
1. Ingredients:Turkey stock
ingredients
2. Turkey soup ingredients
3. Instructions (=For the
Turkey stock part)
4. Turkey soup ingredients
(=Instructions for the
Turkey soup ingredients)
So Marlene, your answer is in the Number 3:Instructions (=For the Turkey stock part)
That is where you add the large onion, the 2 carrots and the 2 celery stalks.
I hope this helps.
Karen says
I have been making turkey soup from the Thanksgiving turkey carcass for 40+ years. This recipe is by far THE most flavorful and delicious. I am definitely passing this down to my children and grandchildren! Thank you Karlynn!
Susan says
The broth was very favourable but I also cut back on the salt. First recipe I have not had to add chicken stock to get more flavour. No wild rice on hand, so just cooked some regular rice separately and spooned the soup over it in the bowls. Delicious!
Mary McKinney says
Loved this! The wild rice rice was a great alternative to noodles.
Maria says
Absolutely delicious! So flavorful and hearty. Perfect meal for a cold winter’s night.
Julie Schaeffer says
WOW! I made this earlier this year and have never been more proud of anything, my stock was SO pretty! The soup was so incredibly good, my husband (not a big soup guy) loved it. My daughter in law had a bowl of leftovers said “it’s like eating Thansgiving in a bowl, but better” Anyway, I just finished my stock and soups getting started for my 2nd time with more times coming. Great recipe, thank you!
Christina Hunter says
Can the soup be cooked in a crockpot or will the rice overcook?
Michele says
Best Turkey soup recipe! My Turkey soup never tasted soooo good!
I added frozen green beans, peas & corn. I had extra stock & a Turkey breast carcass in the freezer so I will be making another batch.
Thank you for this recipe!
Marlene says
This sounds good.
I see nowhere that we are told what to do with the 2 celery, 2 carrots, & quarted large white onion that was used to make the stock?
please let me know your thoughts.
Thank you.
Germaine says
Marlene,
First of all, you need to understand the recipe titles, in it.
1. Ingredients:Turkey stock
ingredients
2. Turkey soup ingredients
3. Instructions (=For the
Turkey stock part)
4. Turkey soup ingredients
(=Instructions for the
Turkey soup ingredients)
So Marlene, your answer is in the Number 3:Instructions (=For the Turkey stock part)
That is where you add the large onion, the 2 carrots and the 2 celery stalks.
I hope this helps.
Elaine says
Hi Marlene, when I make chicken or turkey soup like this, I toss out the vegetables that I used to flavor the stock.
Mike T says
This was absolutely superb, the one change I would suggest — and I say this as someone who usually oversalts things and likes it — is that I’d suggest dialing the salt back by about a third because with 8 1/2 cups of broth it came out very, VERY salty.
Whitney says
i followed this recipe exactly and everyone loved it
i used potatoes instead of rice was the only “change”.this will be my soup recipe every year now
thank you
Christina says
This is the most easy and wonderful tasting soup ..I have always had concerns about the broth being rich enough. This came out splendid . I did not have poultry seasoning so used Italian.
This recipe is a KEEPER ..
Ellen Wilson says
Since turkey time is typically limited to a certain time of year (well, maybe Easter too), the same process can be used with the chickens from Costco, which usually render more flavor when including the skin when boiling the carcass. In addition to the recipe above, I use Better than Bullion to add more flavor if the broth is a little weak, and also add thyme and a bit of garlic to contribute to the richness in flavor. Just as a hint if you’re new to ‘kitchen sink’ soups, which I consider this carcass recipe, since it’s essentially made with ‘leftovers’, I choose the protein (chicken, pork, beef, turkey, etc.), and add either rice, pasta (there are so many!), or beans (lentils, pintos, mayocoba, etc.), in order to create a unique meal.
Elsa B Walton says
No grandma. I am self-taught and have an interest but little cooking talent. Every year I cover the turkey carcass with water and try to make turkey soup. Whether with turkey meat, noodles, or potatoes, the soup has always been tasteless and forgettable. Most recipes do not say how much stock is to be used in the soup recipe. The amount of liquid is left blank. This is the only recipe I’ve found that gives the amount of stock to be used for the soup. I began with 18 cups of stock and I boiled it down to the recommended 8 – 10 cups. Then I followed this simple soup recipe. With tomatoes and rice, It is flavorful and delicious. I am delighted and amazed. My husband loved it and ate two bowls. Hurray. Now I can look forward to making turkey soup!
Jen says
The stock was soooo delicious! A bit salty as others mentioned, but I loved it. That being said, would reduce or eliminate the poultry seasoning in the soup part of recipe. I enjoyed the flavor of the stock more than the flavor of the soup. Can’t wait to make more!