Instant Pot Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Tortellini Soup. Pressure cook the turkey carcass to make leftover bone broth, the base of this tortellini soup.
Save the bones! My favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner isn’t on Thanksgiving. It’s the leftovers - specifically, soup made with the leftover bones. I have fond memories of my dad’s jumbo granite ware pot, full of turkey carcass and vegetables, simmering on the stove the day after Thanksgiving.
Now, I love that memory, but I use my Instant Pot to make my big batch of turkey broth. The pile of bones makes enough broth for my traditional day-after-thanksgiving turkey carcass soup, and a second batch of soup a few days later.
This year’s second soup is turkey tortellini. I wish I had a recipe passed down by an Italian grandmother…but I’m mainly making it because I like saying “turkey tortellini”.1 Even with the funny name, this soup was a winner. And, as always, a reminder that homemade broth is the backbone of a great soup.
Save the bones, make the soup, and thank me later!
Recipe: Instant Pot Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Tortellini Soup (from the bones)
Inspired by: Turkey Tortellini Soup with Greens - Southern Living
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Instant Pot Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Tortellini Soup (from the bones)
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 2 quarts of soup 1x
Description
Instant Pot Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Tortellini Soup. Pressure cook the turkey carcass to make leftover bone broth, the base of this tortellini soup.
Ingredients
Turkey Bone Broth (Makes about 16 cups of broth)
- Bones and clinging meat from a roast turkey (a 12- to 14- pound turkey)
- 1 medium onion, peeled and halved
- 1 stalk celery, broken into pieces
- 1 carrot, scrubbed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 12 cups of water (or to cover, or to the max fill line of the PC)
Turkey Tortellini Soup
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 stalk celery, cut crosswise into thin slices
- 1 carrot, peeled, halved, and cut into thin rounds
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 8 cups turkey bone broth (from above)
- 2 cups shredded leftover turkey (optional)
- 9- to 12-ounces cheese tortellini (fresh, frozen, or dried)
- A handful of baby spinach (about 2 cups)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- Shaved parmesan for garnish
Instructions
- Pressure cook the broth for 60 minutes with a Natural Release: Break up the turkey carcass so it fits below the max fill line of an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker – ⅔rds of the way up the pot. Add the onion, celery, carrot, bay leaves, and salt to the pressure cooker pot, then add water to cover by 1 inch, or to the max fill line on the pressure cooker. (About 12 cups of water). Lock the lid and cook at high pressure for 60 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric PC, or 50 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally – about 30 minutes. (It takes a long time for all that water to cool off. If you’re in a hurry, let the pressure come down for at least 20 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure.) Scoop the bones and vegetables out of the pot with a slotted spoon and discard. Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer and discard the solids. Reserve 8 cups of broth for the soup, and refrigerate or freeze the rest for another use.
- Sauté the aromatics: Wipe out the inner pot. Melt the butter over Sauté mode (medium heat in a stovetop PC). Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic, and sprinkle with the ½ teaspoon of salt. Sauté until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. Pour in the diced tomatoes and sauté, stirring often, until the tomatoes just barely start to brown, about 5 minutes.
- Simmer the soup to cook the tortellini: Pour in the broth, adjust Sauté mode to high (medium-high heat in a stovetop PC), cover the pot, and bring the broth to a boil. Add the shredded turkey, tortellini, and baby spinach, adjust Sauté mode to low (medium-low heat in a stovetop PC), and simmer according to the tortellini package instructions (usually 5 minutes for frozen, 7 minutes for fresh, 10 minutes for dried). Stir in the teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper.
- Serve: Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle some shaved parmesan on top, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
- Make the broth ahead: After step 1, the broth can be refrigerated for a couple of days, or frozen for up to 3 months. When you’re ready, continue with step 2, “Sauté the aromatics.”
- Extra broth: I freeze the extra broth in 2-cup containers for use in other recipes.
- 8-Quart Instant Pot: Add 4 quarts of water (or to the max fill line), and maybe throw in a couple of extra onions. You’ll have plenty for two batches of soup.
Tools
- 6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot 6-Quart Pressure Cooker, but for this recipe an 8-Quart Instant Pot is convenient.
- Flat edged wooden spoon
- Fine Mesh Strainer
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Sunday Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Italian-American
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
Pressure Cooker Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Carcass Soup
Instant Pot Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Carcass Southwestern Soup
Pressure Cooker Day-After-Thanksgiving Vegetable Turkey Soup (From the Carcass)
My other Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Recipes
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- I can grow old, but I won’t grow up. Repeatedly saying “Turkey Tortellini” makes my inner 8-year-old giggle. ↩
Rodney Schmidt
Great recipe! Made the turkey stock in the morning using the frozen carcass from Thanksgiving. Made the soup in a Dutch oven this evening. Easy recipe and great flavor. Makes a lot of soup. Now I have a bunch of great soup and turkey broth in my freezer 🙂
Mike Vrobel
Thanks!