Learn the best method for making turkey broth that gels beautifully and stores well in the freezer.
One of the best ways to maximize leftover turkey and other scrap ingredients is to cook up a batch of stock using leftover bones. This stock recipe is made on the stovetop, but we have also shared directions for how to make turkey bone broth made in the Instant Pot. You can use this stock in so many healthy soup recipes for extra flavor!
Turkey broth is one of the most underrated kitchen basics because it transforms what looks like scraps into a nutrient dense powerhouse. Slow simmering bones that you would otherwise toss, along with aromatics and vegetable scraps extracts flavor and creates a broth that is rich, concentrated, and incredibly versatile.
This is the kind of recipe that feels both old-school and smart: less waste, more value, and better quality dishes down the line. With options for stovetop, slow cooker or Instant pot, it's easy to make no matter how much time you have.
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Reasons you'll ♡ this recipe
- Nutrient-dense, hydrating and incredibly rich flavor.
- You can store it away in your freezer to use later in soup or rice
- Requires minimal prep work - just toss all ingredients in a stock pot and simmer!
Ingredient notes
- Turkey carcass - you will need 1-2 lbs turkey bones for this recipe. They don't need to be cleaned off, you can include skin, cartilage, and scraps
- Veggies - celery, carrot onion and garlic add depth of flavor and added nutrients
- Scrap veggies - if you have saved any veggie scraps and herbs leftover from your turkey dinner or saved in the freezer, this is a great chance to use them!
- Sea salt - to season your stock; you can leave this out or add at the end to taste if you'd prefer
Turkey Broth Step by step directions
1. Combine - in a large stock pot (8-12 quarts), add all ingredients including turkey bones, sea salt, celery, carrot, onion, leftover veggie scraps such as carrot peels, celery leaves, and leftover herbs from turkey dinner prep. Cover with water.
TIP- you can separate into two smaller pots if you don't have a large enough one.
2. Simmer - simmer for 2 hours- leave the lid ajar so it doesn't over-reduce. Add more water as needed to keep ingredients covered.
Slow cooker & Instant Pot
You can prepare turkey stock in a 6 quart slow cooker or 8 quart Instant Pot:
- slow cooker- cook on low for 8 hours
- Instant Pot- cook on high pressure for 30 minutes with a full natural pressure release (allow for up to 1 hour to naturally release)
3. Strain & portion - cool until safe to handle, then pour through a colander, collecting the turkey stock in a large bowl or a jar. Toss all veggie solids in the compost.
Homemade Turkey Broth FAQ
Absolutely! You can stash them in the fridge or freezer until you're ready to make it.
Yes! It's full of vitamins and minerals from the turkey, veggies and herbs. It's great to support your immune system, which is why stock or broth are traditionally offered when you're sick.
If you want collagen-rich bone broth, check out this Leftover Turkey Bone Broth (Instant Pot) recipe! In order to extract collagen from the joints and bones of the turkey, you must either simmer it for an incredibly long amount of time, or you can use a pressure cooker.
Turkey stock may be kept refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
How to use turkey Stock
- Cooking liquid - works great as a cooking liquid for rice (see How to Cook Rice) or quinoa (see How to Cook Perfect, Fluffy Quinoa) to add extra flavor
- Soups - homemade turkey stock tastes better than store bought and makes the perfect base for this Leftover Turkey Soup or this Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Freezer meals - turkey stock works well in any recipe that calls for chicken stock. Ex: these Instant Pot Chipotle Lime Chicken Breasts and this Instant Pot Honey Sesame Chicken
Storage
- Fridge - store in an airtight 2 quart jar for up to 5 days in the fridge.
- Freezer - freeze for up to 3 months.
Note - For storing, I used 2 quart mason jars. If you'd prefer, I also like these re-usable Bernardin Plastic Freezer Jars
Tips for Freezing In Jars
Here are a few tips for freezing black beans in mason jars to avoid the jars breaking:
- Make sure to select canning jars; repurposed pasta sauce or food jars are not designed to withstand dramatic temperature shifts and can break.
- Avoid jars that have 'shoulders' and taper in at the top, as they are more prone to breaking
- Leave an inch from the top of the jar empty to account for expansion when freezing
- Leave the lids ajar until the beans are frozen solid- at this point, you can secure them!
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