Make the best use of your leftover holiday Turkey with my easy homemade turkey bone broth recipe! You can use a slow cooker/crockpot or a deep pot on your stove top to make magic. Let's get into it!
My festive Thanksgiving appetizer board is the pregame to Turkey Day and this wholesome bone broth is the after party.
Jump to:
- ❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
- What You'll Need for this Recipe
- Substitutions & Variations
- How to Make Turkey Bone Broth on the Stovetop
- Pro Tip #1
- How to Make Slow Cooker Bone Broth from Turkey Bones
- Pro Tip #2
- Pro Tip #3
- Uses
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Bone Broth good for PCOS?
- More Favorite Turkey Recipes
- 📖 Recipe
Featured Reader Review
★★★★★
"This turkey broth is about to become a main fixture in my recipes! I used it as a base for my after-Thanksgiving turkey pot pie and it was so flavorful!"
-Marcus
❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Hands-Off - Literally just throw the ingredients into your crockpot or a regular pot and let the heat do the work. There are very few steps in this slow-cooked bone broth recipe.
Customizable - Use the bones from smoked turkey, Cajun turkey, or whatever kind of turkey your family loves for the holidays, and add different herbs and spices to create the flavor you prefer.
Versatile - Add bone broth to a variety of recipes, like sauces, soups, and stewed dishes.
👉🏾 Save the bones from making buttermilk-brined turkey, baked turkey wings, or roasting turkey breast for Thanksgiving. And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my sweet potato gingerbread muffins using leftover holiday sweet potatoes!
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Turkey Carcass - with as much meat removed as possible. You really only need the bones for this recipe, but everything gets strained out, so don't worry if you can't get it picked completely clean.
Apple Cider Vinegar acidity breaks down the collagen in turkey bones to help make it more available in the broth (citation).
Aromatics like garlic, onion, and bay leaf to taste for a homemade healthy broth that adds flavor to any soup or stew recipe! You can truly make this bone broth your own, but I don't recommend you skip the bay leaf--you'll notice when it's missing.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Citrus Peels - I use orange peels because I typically have them on hand, but you can use lemon, lime, or even grapefruit peels to add subtle citrus flavor notes and brightness to your broth.
Herbs and Spices - Use thyme, rosemary, cilantro, and/or whatever other herbs suit your flavor. Making bone broth after Thanksgiving is great because we tend to have more variety on hand after cooking for a crowd!
Protein Source - This recipe is for making bone broth with turkey bones, but you can use the bones from whichever animal protein you served at Thanksgiving dinner, including ham and chicken.
How to Make Turkey Bone Broth on the Stovetop
- Step One: Add all your ingredients to a deep stock pot and cover with cold water.
- Step Two: Turn on the heat and bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer for at least six hours.
Pro Tip #1
Let the pot of ingredients sit for at least 30 minutes before turning on the heat to give the live ingredients in the ACV time to jumpstart the breakdown process.
- Step Three: Cool then strain the broth into airtight containers, such as mason jars to store or follow freezing instructions below.
How to Make Slow Cooker Bone Broth from Turkey Bones
- Step One: Add all your ingredients to the crock of your slow cooker and cover with cold water.
- Step Two: Turn heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil then reduce to low and simmer for at least six hours.
Pro Tip #2
Let the ingredients sit in the crock for at least 30 minutes before turning the crockpot on to give the live ingredients in the ACV time to jumpstart the breakdown process.
- Step Three: Cool then strain the broth into airtight containers, such as mason jars, to store or follow the freezing instructions below.
Pro Tip #3
Freeze your bone broth from scratch in silicone molds or souper cubes for easy reheating and portioning!
Uses
You can sip this bone broth from scratch all by itself for a flavorful and nourishing boost of protein, collagen, and other nutrients (Health)!
Use it anywhere you'd use chicken broth, like making homemade turkey gravy, Soul Food mac and cheese, homemade yellow rice, or seafood cornbread dressing. My family loves it in our stewed okra and tomatoes, Nigerian jollof rice, and efo elegusi.
I also use turkey broth for braised dishes like collard greens with smoked turkey, sticky short ribs, and harissa lamb meatballs.
Add homemade bone broth to your favorite soup recipes, including pumpkin sausage soup, chicken and andouille gumbo, and curried lentil chicken soup.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on your preference. Both methods are easy, but I would say that making bone broth on the stovetop requires slightly more monitoring.
With a whole turkey carcass, it might be necessary to break the bones a bit to fit everything in one pot, depending on the size. However, you don't have to break the bones for the purpose of making the broth. I haven't noticed a difference in the quality of the broth when I break the bones versus when I don't.
Texture-wise, bone broth should be liquid when warmed but have a jiggly, jelly-like texture when refrigerated--this is a sign of high collagen content. The color of your bone broth will vary depending on how the original turkey was cooked and seasoned and what you add to it, typically ranging from a deeper brown to a golden yellow color.
Store this homemade turkey bone broth in an airtight container and refrigerate. It will keep for up to five days.
Bone broth freezes really well! Store in airtight, freezer-safe containers for up to 12 months. I recommend freezing in portions in Souper Cubes for easy reheating, then transferring the cubes to a freezer-safe container.
Is Bone Broth good for PCOS?
Bone broth is nutrient-dense and believed to be beneficial for women with PCOS overall. It's rich in protein and collagen, which helps balance blood sugar levels, and calcium, which supports balanced hormones and liver detoxification (FloLiving).
Additionally, bone broth provides nutrients like glycine and glutamine that support gut health and reduce inflammation (NIH National Library of Medicine).
Check out all my PCOS recipes for more hormone-healthy meal ideas!
More Favorite Turkey Recipes
Looking for more recipes like this? Try these:
Now you're all set to extend the life of your leftovers by making turkey bone broth using Thanksgiving turkey. And sharing is caring, so be sure to pin this healthy holiday bone broth recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Leftover Turkey Bone Broth on Stovetop or Slow Cooker
Equipment
- 1 deep stock pot or slow cooker/crockpot
- mason jars or other airtight food storage containers
Ingredients
- 1 turkey carcass
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 orange peels only
- ½ onion cut into chunks
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- cold water
Instructions
- Remove as much meat as possible from bones of turkey carcass.1 turkey carcass
- Add turkey carcass, apple cider vinegar, orange peels, onion, garlic cloves, crushed red pepper, and bay leaf to a deep stock pot or the crock of a slow cooker.1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 orange, ½ onion, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tsp crushed red pepper, 1 bay leaf
- Cover ingredients with cold water by about two inches and let sit for 30 minutes to allow the apple cider vinegar enzymes and cultures to jumpstart the breakdown process of the bones.cold water
- Turn heat on high and bring liquid to a boil then reduce heat to low, loosely cover, and simmer for at least six hours.
- Cool broth then strain into airtight food storage containers, such as mason jars.
Krysten says
I made this turkey bone broth the other day and it was a game-changer! The rich, savory broth made from the turkey bones infused a deep, hearty flavor into my homemade soup, turning a simple dish into a comforting masterpiece that was both nourishing and delicious. I'm sick right now so it was perfect for soothing my throat!
Marta says
I made this turkey bone broth with the bones from our Thanksgiving turkey and it was absolutely delicious. I’ll be using this recipe in the future!
Marcus Avery Christon says
This turkey broth is about to become a main fixture in my recipes! I used it as a base for my after-Thanksgiving turkey pot pie and it was so flavorful!