Thanksgiving Leftovers Turkey Spaghetti
It’s not turkey noodle soup. Not at all. It’s an ancient family tradition. Totally different. Ok so it is basically just turkey noodle soup, but it is a Thanksgiving tradition in my family, and I absolutely love it.
I don’t know about your family, but one of the most unbreakable thanksgiving traditions for mine was actually a leftover. Not sure when it started, but not a year went by without a batch of turkey spaghetti. It’s an incredibly simple thing to make, and it uses one of the most underappreciated thanksgiving leftovers - the turkey bones. Yep, the carcass of that big bird you roasted the day before is the key to this comfort food, and I love how it so efficiently uses what would normally be just thrown away.
So this year, join me for some laid-back leftovers that you can enjoy without changing out of your jammies. Goodness knows you deserve a break after all that cooking and socializing, so let me show you how my family made my favorite thanksgiving leftover that uses up, literally, the scraps of your turkey, with almost no effort at all.
It all starts by making a turkey bone broth. You don’t have to, but my family would actually start the process the night of Thanksgiving. The reason being, you’re probably going to carve the rest of the meat off of your turkey, so it’s the simplest thing to just toss the bones, as you go, into the largest pot you have.
You may notice my turkey carcass is raw. that’s because we had a little girl just a few weeks ago, so we stayed home for Thanksgiving, and enjoyed a tiny Thanksgiving for two, so I carved our turkey and just cooked a breast for our lunch this year. Whether your bones are roasted or raw, it won’t make a difference, just toss them in a huge pot and add some veggies for flavor.
Celery, carrots, and onions work great, and you probably have a few extra laying around from everything you cooked for the big day.
That said, i’ve mentioned it before, but it’s worth bringing up again - everyone should try to keep a stash of broth vegetables in your freezer. I called a broth bowl, even though it’s actually a broth baggie now, but it’s essentially a collection of veggie scraps like onion skins, carrot sticks, celery ends, and those tiny garlic cloves that are too small to bother peeling, that I collect as I chop and cook things throughout the week. They don’t have to be pretty to flavor a broth, and even the stems of herbs have a ton of flavor, so toss them in the freezer to keep until the next time you make a broth for free aromatics and less kitchen waste.
After that, add a few peppercorns, if you have them, and your favorite seasonings. I used fennel and coriander, but it’s most important to just use what you already have. The last thing you want to do is buy something special for this recipe. The whole point is to use up what you already have in the pantry, so resist the urge to make it fancier than necessary.
Toss in a handful of salt as well. Don’t worry about getting the saltiness just right, you just want to get things started. You can do a final seasoning later.
Cover everything with water and bring it to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cover. Again, my family would start this the night of Thanksgiving and let it simmer all night until the morning, but it’s perfectly fine to start the next day, just make sure it has at least a couple hours to simmer.
Once it’s done, strain the broth and measure out about 8 cups. You can use more if you like yours a bit soupier, but my family always made this dish to be more saucy than soupy with the noodles absorbing almost all the liquid. It’s not a hard rule, but I do like it that way.
If you started with a raw turkey like I did, you can pull meat off of the bones. It always surprises me how much meat you can get off of a carcass when you simmer it, but if you already cleaned your bones well, just chop up some leftover turkey to add in at the end.
Set the turkey meat and broth aside while you brown a chopped onion. I used butter, but feel free to use any fat you like. Once the onions are glassy and lightly browned, add the broth and some chopped raw veggies, like celery and carrots. again, this recipe is all about using up leftovers, so use what you already have. Mushrooms are delicious, parsnips are great, whatever you happen to have in the fridge.
Bring the broth to a boil before adding spaghetti noodles and cooking until the pasta is done. You may need to add a splash more broth, depending on the pasta you use, so keep an eye on things as they cook. As soon as the noodles are done, add a handful of fresh parsley, or any fresh herb you happen to have like basil or chives, and taste for a final seasoning.
All done! You’re ready to enjoy a bowl of turkey spaghetti with little effort and a ton of reward. It’s a very easy to double and triple this recipe for a crowd since it will make a lot of broth, so it’s great if you have a group of people staying with you.
It’s such a simple dish, and surprisingly delicious and satisfying, a refreshing change from the complex and rich dishes you enjoyed the day before. It takes some time, but very little effort. You won’t even have to change out of your PJs, so enjoy some well-deserved lounging around with a warm bowl of my favorite family tradition.
KITCHENWARE USED IN THIS RECIPE
VINTAGE PYREX
Autumn Harvest from the 1970’s
Other Recipes in this Series
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Thanksgiving Leftovers Blackened Sweet Potato Casserole Pancakes
The perfect way to finish off the leftover sweet potato casserole.
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Thanksgiving Leftovers Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
The original leftover destroyer! I know it’s not technically Shepherd’s Pie, since we’re going to use Thanksgiving turkey, but what else can I call it? If you’re trying to empty that very full fridge, there’s no better dish!
