by: House of Kerrs
Our days are turning consistently crisp & cool around here, so queue all the comfort foods, like homemade, hearty soups. I love that you really can’t make a bad batch, recipes don’t have to be exact to be delish, and they’re a great way to use up all the wilting veggies lingering in the fridge. We have lots to share with you as the cold weather months take over, but having just celebrated our Canadian Thanksgiving, this Turkey Zoodle Soup © is a great one to kick off the season & use up some of that leftover turkey.
About the Ingredients for Turkey Zoodle Soup ©…
Ingredients for a simple soup made with Thanksgiving turkey leftovers!
Zoodles
Zucchini noodles (spiralized zucchini) are great as an alternative in recipes calling for pasta or other carbs (such as in stir fries/casseroles…we even use em’ in baking). We love them more as an accent rather than a replacement & for this soup recipe you could certainly still add small pasta (like the fun turkey-shaped kind we did) at the end. We spiralized a large batch of farm fresh zucchini at the end of the Summer, divided up portions into large ziploc bags and put them in the freezer. This recipe uses both some of our frozen & some freshly-spiralized zucchini. When we run out or don’t have fresh on-hand, we’ve also used some of the great store-bought frozen zucchini noodles as well. You can’t go wrong with either of these options.
Soup Stock
We made this recipe before our Thanksgiving dinner, so we’ll be giving you instructions based on a store-bought broth, but modifying the recipe for your homemade turkey stock works great too. In fact, all you need to do is bring your homemade stock to a boil in a large pot, add about 1 + 1/2 cups leftover turkey & about 2 medium zucchini worth of zoodles (*optional, throw in some fresh chives if you have them*) for about 2-3 minutes at the end of your cook time. If you want to add small-shaped pasta, cook about 1 cup in a separate, small pot to “al dente”, drain & add to the soup at the end.
Make this Turkey Zoodle Soup with your homemade turkey stock or store bought broth – both recipes included, both delish!
Homemade Turkey Stock
If you’ve never made turkey stock before, here’s our easy-peasy method. After DadChef carves the big bird, I scoop up the big bones & turkey carcass and add them to a large stock pot pre-filled with at least 4 litres (= ~ 1 liquid gallon) of water, 1 chopped yellow onion, 4 carrots, 2 ribs of celery & two bay leaves. I cover the pot (*not air tight – let the lid stay a bit open on one side*) turn the heat to a medium-low temp & let the broth simmer for 3+ hours. Once done, I run the soup through a colander over a large bowl to separate & discard of the bones, then add the veggies/turkey remnants back to the broth. Let it cool before refrigerating (up to 3 days), or use right away for your soup recipe.
Turkey
Because we made this Turkey Zoodle Soup version before our Thanksgiving celebration, we used a package of pre-cooked turkey breast strips instead of leftover turkey. Obviously freshly roasted turkey would taste best, but the pre-cooked strips were delish too. Both roasted & pre-cooked turkey are already seasoned, so no need to add more salt/seasoning to the recipe beyond what’s suggested unless you want to get experimental (Thyme would work nicely, for instance).
Turkey Zoodle Soup for the soul – simple comfort food with seasonal flavours for cold weather months!
Print Recipe
Turkey Zoodle Soup © | La Cucina di Kerrs
A simple, seasonal soup to make with your Thanksgiving turkey leftovers & zucchini noodles!
Prep Time5 minutes mins
Cook Time15 minutes mins
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American, Canadian
Keyword: chives, soup recipes, turkey, turkey soup, zoodles, zucchini
Servings: 6 people
Author: House of Kerrs
Equipment
Large Stock Pot (or similar)
Ingredients
- 2.5 litres Low-sodium broth (*we used chicken flavour; substitute with homemade turkey stock, if desired*)
- 1.5 cups leftover turkey or pre-cooked turkey strips
- 2 medium spiralized zucchini (*fresh or frozen*)
- 4 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 medium Yellow Onion diced
- 1/4 cup fresh or dried chives
Instructions
Warm oil in pot on medium, add diced onion & chopped turkey and cook until onion turns translucent (about 3-4 minutes with lid on), stirring in between. (*If you'll be adding small shaped pasta, start boiling the water & cook about 1.5 cups of pasta to al dente*).
Turn temperature to high. Add broth/stock & chives. Bring mixture to a boil, then add spiralized zucchini (cook zucchini only 2-3 minutes). Turn stove off, let soup sit a few minutes then serve immediately (*If you opted for it, add your cooked pasta to the soup right before serving*). Serve with fresh bread or your favourite crackers. Buon appetito! Tag us @House_of_Kerrs on Instagram or comment below if you try!
Simple Turkey Zoodle Soup – ready in 15 minutes!
We hope you give this simple, seasonal soup with a zoodle spin a try with your own family & would love to know what you think! Also, inspire us & share how you’re incorporating zucchini noodles into your home-cooked meals! If you’re looking for more comfort foods for the season, try our:
© House of Kerrs
Potato Leek Soup – Lightened Up
Butternut Squash + Turkey Gnocchi
Keep well, eat well,
