Instant Pot Turkey Soup (Easy Turkey Carcass Soup)

A bowl of instant pot turkey soup with a spoonful lifted out of it.

Instant Pot Turkey Soup (Easy Turkey Carcass Soup)

This Instant Pot Turkey Soup is the perfect 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.

Course Main Course

Cuisine North American

Diet Gluten Free, Low Lactose

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 20

Total Time 40

Servings

Calories 194kcal

Author Emmeline Kemperyd

Equipment

Instant Pot* or other pressure cooker
Kitchen knife*
Chopping board*
Measuring spoons*
Measuring cups (metric or US)*

Ingredients

2 tablespoon butter
1 yellow onion chopped, or red onion/shallots
4 garlic cloves
3 carrots cut in ½ inch (1 cm) thick quarters
½ cup dry white wine
turkey bones from at least half a turkey
4 cups water
10 whole black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon fine table salt
3 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cups cooked turkey meat cut in bite-size pieces

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Instant Pot Version

Start the instant pot in sauté mode and add the butter. When the butter is melted, add chopped yellow onion. Crush the garlic cloves gently with the side of the knife, remove the peel, and add the garlic to the instant pot as well. Sauté on Medium or High/More, without the onion and garlic browning, for 5 minutes.
2 Tbsp butter, 1 yellow onion, 4 garlic cloves
Add carrots and sauté for 1 more minute.
3 carrots
Make sure the sauté setting is on "More" or "High" and pour in the white wine. Simmer for 1 minute.
½ cup dry white wine
Press "Cancel" to turn off the instant pot. Bring out your turkey bones, and crack them a bit if possible. Then add them to the instant pot together with water, whole peppercorns, bay leaves and salt. Mix as well as possible.
turkey bones, 4 cups water, 10 whole black peppercorns, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp fine table salt
Close the lid tightly and choose "Soup" mode if you have it. Set it to run for 7 minutes. If you don't have a soup setting, set it to pressure cook on High for 7 minutes instead.
When the pressure cooking cycle is done, let it sit and release pressure naturally for 10 minutes. Then do a quick release to release the last of the pressure.
Remove the turkey bones and bay leaves from the pot. Mix in lemon juice and the turkey meat in pieces. Close the lid and make sure the pressure cooker is set to "Keep Warm", then let it sit for 5 minutes to allow for the turkey meat to heat up.
2 cups cooked turkey meat, 3 Tbsp lemon juice
Taste test and adjust seasoning as needed, then serve on its own, or with a piece of bread.

Stove Top Version

Heat a large pot over medium heat and add the butter. When the butter is melted, add chopped yellow onion. Crush the garlic cloves gently with the side of the knife, remove the peel, and add the garlic to the pot as well. Sauté without the onion and garlic browning for 5 minutes, then add carrots and sauté 1 more minute.
2 Tbsp butter, 1 yellow onion, 4 garlic cloves, 3 carrots
Raise the heat to medium-high, pour in the white wine, and simmer 1 minute.
½ cup dry white wine
Bring out your turkey bones, and crack them a bit if possible. Then add them to the pot together with water, whole peppercorns, bay leaves and salt. Mix as well as possible, then close the lid and simmer for 45 minutes.
turkey bones, 4 cups water, 10 whole black peppercorns, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp fine table salt
Remove the turkey bones and bay leaves from the pot. Mix in lemon juice and the turkey meat in pieces. Close the lid and let it sit for 5 minutes on low heat to allow for the turkey meat to heat up.
Taste test and adjust seasoning as needed, then serve on its own, or with a piece of bread.

Video

Notes

Add even more flavor with turkey drippings. If you any, you can add them to the soup together with the turkey carcass.

You don't need to chop or remove the garlic cloves. They will fall apart in the soup while pressure cooking.

Keep the carrot pieces pretty large. If they're too small they can end up mushy.

Use as many bones as you have. They add amazing flavor!

Crack the bones a bit, if you can. This helps increase the flavor.

Release pressure naturally first. If you don't, liquid might come sputtering out the release valve.

Make it without the turkey carcass:

Use other turkey bones (drumsticks, etc.) or add turkey broth or chicken broth instead of water.

Make it with raw turkey:

Use bone-in pieces for maximum flavor. Sauté them with the onion, garlic and carrots for a minute before adding the wine. Then cook on Soup setting or manual Pressure Cooking setting on High for 10 minutes. Remove the turkey, take out the bones, and cut the meat in small pieces before adding back to the soup.

Another option is to use raw turkey meat cut in pieces. You will then need to add bones separately, or use turkey / chicken stock instead of water. Sauté as if using bone-in turkey, but 7 minutes cook time should be enough.

When using raw turkey, you need to make sure it cooks through, which means it needs to reach 165°F (74°C). This is easy to check using a meat thermometer.

Storing, Freezing & Reheating Instructions

Storing: Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Freezing: Store leftovers in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Reheating stove top: Reheat leftovers on the stove over medium heat, until warmed through.

Reheating in microwave: Reheat leftovers in the microwave starting with 1 minute and following with 30 second increments. Stir it each time you add more time.

Nutrition