Put that leftover turkey to good use in this comforting, healthy Instant Pot Turkey Soup. Filled with fresh herbs and flavor!
Its just not Thanksgiving without a batch of Instant Pot turkey soup! Super easy to make, filled with fresh herbs and veggies and a fantastic way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers.
As much as I love a decadent Thanksgiving or Christmas feast, I willingly admit that I look forward to leftovers (hello, turkey noodle soup!) even more. Turkey (or chicken) corn chowder, scrumptious turkey cranberry wrap sandwich and snack-worthy baked mashed potato bites make for effortless meals in the days following the holiday.
This turkey noodle soup (Instant Pot and stovetop instructions included) is full of all of the flavors of Thanksgiving – think sage and thyme – and comes together with VERY little effort.
Turkey soup is the perfect way to use up leftover turkey after the holidays. And making it in the instant pot means you can have a hearty delicious soup ready in under an hour! I’ve rounded up the top instant pot turkey soup recipes to help you make the best turkey soup easily at home.
Why Make Turkey Soup in the Instant Pot?
There are a few key benefits to using an instant pot or other electric pressure cooker to make turkey soup:
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It’s Fast – Pressure cooking cuts down the cooking time significantly compared to making it on the stovetop. You can have turkey soup ready start to finish in 30-50 minutes depending on the recipe.
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Maximizes Flavor – The pressurized environment helps extract more flavor from the turkey bones and vegetables in less time
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Uses Leftovers Efficiently – An instant pot is the perfect way to transform your leftover turkey from Thanksgiving or Christmas into a new comforting meal.
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Minimum Effort – With an electric pressure cooker, you simply load in the ingredients, set the time, and let it work its magic No need to constantly monitor and stir a soup pot on the stove.
Top-Rated Instant Pot Turkey Soup Recipes
After researching many top recipes, I’ve summarized the most highly rated and recommended instant pot turkey soup recipes to try:
1. Best Instant Pot Turkey Soup by Two Cooks in the Kitchen
- Total time: 30 minutes
- Ratings: 5/5 stars with over 200 reviews
This is one of the highest rated and most popular instant pot turkey soups. It has a basic flavorful broth with onions, carrots, celery and optional parsnips. Many reviewers rave about how easy it is and how good it tastes. It’s a classic comforting turkey soup.
2. Instant Pot Leftover Turkey Soup by What Great Grandma Ate
- Total time: 30 minutes
- Ratings: 4.8/5 stars with over 350 reviews
This turkey soup loaded with veggies like carrots, celery, potatoes, spinach and beans. It’s designed to use up all your thanksgiving leftovers. People love how it transforms leftovers into such a tasty, hearty soup so quickly.
3. Instant Pot Turkey Soup with Pasta by AllRecipes
- Total time: 50 minutes
- Ratings: 4.8/5 stars, 7 reviews
This recipe uses turkey broth as the base and includes pasta, carrots, parsnips and celery for an easy turkey noodle soup. The reviewers say it’s their new favorite holiday soup and better than post-thanksgiving sandwiches.
4. Instant Pot Turkey and Wild Rice Soup by 365 Days of Slow Cooking and Pressure Cooking
- Total time: 30 minutes
- Ratings: 5/5 stars, over 100 reviews
With wild rice, mushrooms and spinach, this soup has great texture and earthy flavor. People love this unique spin on turkey soup. The wild rice makes it filling enough for a meal.
5. Instant Pot Turkey Posole by Paint the Kitchen Red
- Total time: 35 minutes
- Ratings: 5/5 stars, 50+ reviews
This southwest-style turkey posole has bold spicy flavor from green chiles, jalapeno, cumin and chili powder. The hominy and chopped cabbage provide nice texture. It’s an adventurous twist on turkey soup that people find delicious and warming.
Tips for the Best Instant Pot Turkey Soup
From my research, here are some top tips for making sure your instant pot turkey soup turns out tasty:
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Use turkey bones/carcass – This adds lots of extra flavor. You can supplement with turkey meat as needed.
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Sauté aromatics first – Cook onions, carrots, celery etc. for a few minutes before adding broth.
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Add broth for flavor – Chicken or turkey broth gives a boost over water. Use reduced sodium broth and season to taste.
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Cook at high pressure 10-15 mins – This extracts maximum flavor in minimum time. Quick release pressure after.
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Shred and add back turkey meat – Takes only a minute but makes the soup more hearty.
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Finish with fresh herbs and lemon – Brightens up the flavors. Parsley, thyme, rosemary all complement turkey well.
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To thicken, simmer briefly after – If the soup is thinner than you like after pressure cooking, you can simmer with the lid off for 5-10 minutes.
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Freeze in batches – Turkey soup freezes very well. Freeze in portions so you can enjoy the leftovers gradually.
Satisfy Your Craving for Turkey Soup
What’s to love about this turkey soup recipe:
▪️Use up leftovers: As much as I love a great turkey sandwich piled high with sausage stuffing, we all need a little variety. And there’s nothing better than a bowl of hot soup to warm you up! ▪️Tons of flavor! This soup is packed with fresh herbs, onions and garlic. ▪️Light & healthy: After a day or two of feasting, it’s time to stop the madness. This soup is low in calories and high in protein. Serve with a fall salad for an extra dose of veggies.
What you need for this Instant Pot Turkey Soup:
See recipe card below for full ingredients list & recipe directions.
These are the main ingredients needed for this recipe:
- Turkey: This recipe is ideal for using up leftover Thanksgiving turkey, but also works well with leftover or rotisserie chicken. I use a 50/50 mixture of light and dark meat.
- Noodles: Classic egg noodles are the traditional noodles for this type of soup, but feel free to swap out with other types of pasta. Fusilli (corkscrews), farfalle (bowties) and even elbow macaroni are all good options. Cook until the pasta is al dente.
- Broth: Homemade turkey broth is by far the preference for this recipe. Theres just something about the flavor of homemade turkey stock that just cant be replicated by store-bought chicken broth. That being said, this soup is still VERY good with chicken broth.
- Vegetables: Start off this soup with a standard mirepoix (onions, carrots and celery) plus garlic for great flavor.
- Herbs: I used a combination of fresh sage, thyme and rosemary because thats typically whats leftover in my fridge the day after Thanksgiving or Christmas. Dried thyme and rosemary would well if you dont have fresh, but I highly recommend sticking with fresh sage. Ive found it has significantly more flavor than store-bought dried sage.
- Other seasoning: Season with kosher salt and ground pepper. Be sure to taste the soup before serving and adjust the seasoning, if needed.
Instant Pot Turkey Noodle Soup – Easy Recipe for Leftover Turkey (or Chicken)
How to make Turkey Soup in Instant Pot?
Instant Pot Turkey Soup is delicious and fresh tasting using leftover turkey meat and rich turkey broth. Turn on the Sauté setting. When hot, add the oil, onion, carrots, celery, and bay leaf. Stir and cook until the vegetables just start to soften. Add the rosemary, sage, salt, pepper, turkey broth, and cubed turkey meat to the pot.
How do you cook a Turkey in an Instant Pot?
Swap the turkey with chicken for a homemade chicken soup if you like. SAUTE ONIONS: Press SAUTÉ mode on instant pot. When hot, add oil and onions. Sauté for 3 minutes until softened. Press CANCEL. COOK TURKEY SOUP: Add chopped vegetables, turkey, broth, bay leaf, parsley. Place cover on instant pot. Set to SEALING. Press PRESSURE OR MANUAL or SOUP.
Can you make Turkey Soup in a pressure cooker?
While you can certainly make this instant pot turkey soup recipe on the stove top, using a pressure cooker speeds things up considerably. The entire recipe takes about 30 minutes. And, if you follow a few tips, you will be sitting down to a deeply flavorful homemade turkey soup, loaded with veggies and whatever else you want to add.
Can I use leftover Turkey in Instant Pot?
This Instant Pot Turkey Soup is a great way to use up leftover turkey. A quick and easy meal that’s all done in 40 minutes, with simple ingredients and a citrusy flavor profile that’s a great change from your holiday flavors. Can I make this stove top instead? I don’t know about you, but I always end up with Thanksgiving leftovers.
Can you cook soup in Instant Pot?
Tip: Cook them separately on the stove while the soup is cooking in the instant pot if you are planning to freeze the soup or have leftovers. This way they won’t absorb all the broth. If serving the soup right away, you can cook them directly in the instant pot on the Sauté function after the soup is finished.
Can you use a pressure cooker to cook a Turkey?
Fresh veggies with some broth, a can of diced tomatoes, and pasta will recycle those turkey leftovers in no time, when you use your Instant Pot®. Turn on a 6- or 8-quart multi-functional pressure cooker (such as Instant Pot®) and select Saute function. Once pot is hot, add olive oil and heat until it shimmers, about 2 minutes.