A little birdie told me January is National Soup Month. Soup is the one dish that I seriously eat all year round. I don’t care what the temperature is. I. Love. Soup! For me, soup is an instant mood lifter!
Around Thanksgiving, most of the grocery stores had turkeys on sale. I scored a 21-pound turkey for just over $6. Now, what was I going to do with that much bird? I roasted it.**
And then grew tired of eating it very quickly. Some of it was sliced and frozen for sandwiches and wraps, some of it was chopped for turkey salad, and some of it was saved for soup. Turkey Noodle Soup to be exact.
So, I gathered my ingredients and got to work. You can use a little or as much as you like. I use dried herbs for this soup because I always have them on hand. You can adjust the seasonings as much as you need to fit your taste preference.
When I make any type of broth-based soup I rarely measure the ingredients. This is such an easy soup to throw together. The use of a pressure cooker would make it even better, but I prefer to cook it on the stovetop and have the house smelling like love.
Food is my love language. So here is my super easy, kid-approved Turkey Noodle Soup recipe.
Ingredients
- Turkey – cooked and chopped into bite sized pieces (you can also substitute chicken and make Chicken Noodle Soup)
- Wide Egg Noodles
- Onions – chopped
- Green Bell Pepper – chopped
- Celery – chopped
- Carrots – I use baby carrots and cut them in half
- Garlic Cloves – minced
- Chicken Broth – more than you think you will need. I tend to use about 60 ounces. You can also use turkey or vegetable broth.
- Onion Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Oregano
- Parsley
- Thyme
- 1 Bay Leaf
- Kosher Salt
- Pepper
- Crushed Red Pepper – just a pinch
- Olive Oil
Directions
- Heat your stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Sauté onions, bell pepper, celery, and carrots for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add garlic cloves, bay leaf, and all seasonings. I like to start with 1 teaspoon of each. You can always add more, but you can’t take it out if you add too much.
- Sauté the mixture for another two minutes. If it starts to stick to the pot, add a little more olive oil a teaspoon at a time.
- Add the turkey to the pot and continue to stir.
- Slowly add the chicken broth.
- Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- You may then add your egg noodles to the pot OR you can do what I do and cook them separately. I like to cook mine separately because if you are not eating all of the soup immediately, the noodles will soak up a large portion of the broth. If you are eating it all, add the noodles (as much or as little as you like) directly to the pot.
- If you are cooking them separately, follow the instruction on the package to cook the noodles. After they have cooked, add them directly to a bowl and ladle the soup mixture over them.
Enjoy!
**To roast the turkey, I followed Ayesha Curry’s recipe for Jamaican Jerk Turkey, adjusting for the size of the turkey. This added a delicious spin on the flavor of the soup!
This recipe is great comfort food and is also great to help combat the sniffles. This will be enjoyed by kids of all ages! If you try it, be sure to let me know how you like it!
