You should make a turkey carcass soup if you don’t want to throw away any of the turkey. One of my favorite soups, this one is wonderful. You can freeze some of it without the potatoes.
| Prep Time: | 45 mins |
| Cook Time: | 2 hrs |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 45 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
Ingredients
- 1 turkey carcass
- 4 quarts water
- 1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
- 6 small potatoes, diced
- 4 large carrots, diced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 ½ cups shredded cabbage
- ½ cup uncooked barley
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 large bay leaf
- ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground paprika
- ¼ teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1 pinch dried thyme
Instructions
- Place turkey carcass into a large soup pot; pour in water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until the remaining meat falls off the bones, about 1 hour.
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- Remove turkey carcass from the pot. Remove and chop any remaining turkey meat. Discard carcass.
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- Strain broth through a fine mesh strainer into a clean soup pot. Add chopped turkey to the strained broth and bring to a boil.
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- Reduce heat and stir in tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, cabbage, barley, Worcestershire sauce, salt, parsley, basil, bay leaf, pepper, paprika, poultry seasoning, and thyme. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 1 more hour.
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- Remove bay leaf before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 133 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 28 g |
| Cholesterol | 2 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
| Saturated Fat | 0 g |
| Sodium | 439 mg |
| Sugars | 5 g |
| Fat | 1 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Family favorite
I decided to use this recipe as the picture looked the best and the reviews were impressive. Absolutely amazing flavor. The only thing I changed was adding turkey stock at the beginning when the bones are boiling, along with some pepper flakes and pepper, and I used rice instead of barley. I also added a dash or two more Worcestershire and some crushed garlic. Again, amazing recipe!!!
Made it at Christmas with most of carcass. Delicious! (no cabbage). Blended – thick and sumptuous. Making it again today (Feb) from frozen leftovers.
The soup line on the inside of the pot marks how much I made and shows how much has been eaten since 12/03/22. Delicious soup chock full of vegetables and herbs. I didn’t use barley or a substitute for it. I used onion powder instead of onions but forgot to add garlic. I love cooked carrots so I used 8 carrots and 6 celery stalks. My adult child is a picky vegetable eater with a high metabolism so I made a big pot of this. Just right for cold weather and the sniffles. Great recipe and easy to follow directions.
Doesn’t need the potatoes. This is the best!
Makes a nice base, leaving room for adding in your favorite herbs, spices and even various veggies and starches. It’s a nice basic recipe for what to do with that bird after the big meal is over.
This is now my new recipe for turkey soup. I let the carcass cook for about 2 hours. Makes a richer broth. Added the spices and then added more for more taste. Family loved it. Will make again with next turkey. Thanks for the recipe.
Good recipe but it seemed like it was a bit lacking in flavour. Not sure what to add to liven it up. Also wish that the nutritional information would tell you how big a serving size is. Recipe says 12 servings but how big is a serving? If it gave the calories per cup of soup it would be ideal for anyone tracking calories
Love this soup! I look forward making this every year after Thanksgiving! I did make a 2 small changes-less potatoes and more vegetables, and used quinoa instead of barley because my daughter can’t eat gluten.
I have made this soup twice now and I absolutely love it. I skip the cabbage. I love it with potatoes even though I can’t freeze it when I use them. That hasn’t been a problem so far because I love it so much that I’m willing to eat it every day until it’s gone without freezing!
While this is quite possibly the worst named recipe in the history of recipes, when I researched soup options to use leftover turkey after Thanksgiving this year, the reviews hooked me in. So I tried it. New.Favorite.Soup! Made only 2 alterations. Substituted chicken mix of chicken stock and chicken bone broth for water and quinoa for barley. Completely gobsmacked with the result! A super hearty and healthy recipe. 2nd time I made I browned chicken breast and threw in with the soup to cook for an hour and then shredded and added back. I am now on my 3rd batch in 5 weeks. Now part of my Sunday meal plan routine for healthy lunch each week. Try it!
This is Great! Fresh basil, sage, thyme, & 14 oz can diced tomatoes, no salt added), 1/4 c barley. That way I can add cooked pasta as needed. I also added Dr Axe (Ancient Nutrition) Tumeric Bone Broth, it adds so much flavor!
“How to make your family love the Thanksgiving leftover carcass in one step.” We absolutely loved this recipe and will definitely be making it again. I may need to buy a whole turkey again just to have it!
Best turkey soup I ever made. Don’t want to wait until I make another turkey to have it again.
This is the tastiest soup I have ever made. Shared some with the neighbor. He said the same thing. I used chicken broth for the water and added some cayenne and red pepper flakes, since we enjoy a little slice. I will definitely make it again. Maybe turkey again for Christmas. Thank you for sharing the recipe. Yummy ?? Maxine B, Corpus Christi, TX
Excellent soup! First time making it. May have been a little more liberal with the spices and didn’t use any barley. I’d absolutely make it again.
I make mine exactly the same way it’s always turned out fabulous the only difference is that I don’t serve it to others until it is set overnight in the fridge to let the flavors meld together.??
This is a delicious soup! Because I had such a big carcass (>20lb bird), I doubled the water and simmered the carcass for 2 hours on low. I removed half of the broth before adding the remaining ingredients for soup, following the directions precisely. Next time I will add more barley, 1/2 c isn’t enough. At least double, if not more. After trimming off all the meat for the soup, I placed the bones in another pot with the extra broth that I removed. I added a quartered large onion, large carrot chopped in big chunks, and 2 celery stalks halved with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning (+ 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar as noted in another post to pull the nutrients from the marrow) and let it simmer on low for another 3 hours. I then strained and pressure canned it for 25 min. The broth was wonderful too. This is a keeper!
Pretty good, and is a great way to use your leftover turkey. I feel like this can be tweaked a bit. It tastes a lot like a typical beef stew but with turkey.
This recipe was a great soup for my family
Absolutely love this recipe, have made numerous times. Have printed & passed out recipe to friends to make and enjoy!