Homemade turkey stock is easy, nutritious, hydrating, and the perfect way to save money by making your own stock at home if you’ve roasted turkey for Thanksgiving.

Every year since I can remember my mom’s had a big stockpot on the stove right after the holiday meal. You get the most out of your Thanksgiving turkey (or turkey or chicken any other day of the year) when you use the leftover bones & skin (the entire carcass) to make homemade stock.

This leftover turkey stock is so good that I was featured on Good Morning America for it! Click play on the video below to learn how to quickly turn your leftover turkey into a glorious stock:

Just like homemade chicken stock and homemade veggie stock, making homemade stock utilizes your food to the fullest (no waste here!) and gives you a super delicious and nutritious base for your soups and sauces.

You can do it in a Crockpot (aka slow cooker) or big stockpot on your stove.

I prefer the Crockpot so I can quickly put it together and leave it overnight, but do what works for you.

Making your own stock gives you the satisfaction of making your soup absolutely from scratch with tons of nutrients that haven’t been compromised. Your stock will be full of collagen and calcium from the bones (who knew?!) and other nutrients from both the turkey and veggies – so eat up and feel good about it.

Homemade bone broths like chicken and turkey stock are super flexible and almost impossible to mess up. Just throw all of the ingredients in a big pot and let it simmer.

Homemade Turkey Stock Ingredients

• 1 cooked turkey (or chicken) carcass, including all bones and skin leftover (discard giblets bag)
• 1 large white or yellow onion, quartered
• 4-5 celery stalks
• 2-3 large carrots, washed but not peeled, greens trimmed away
• optional: a few garlic cloves
• optional herbs: 4-5 thyme springs + 2 rosemary springs + 6 thyme sprigs leftover from Thanksgiving cooking (or a handful of any fresh herbs you have, or 2 teaspoons dried thyme)
• optional: a bay leaf
• sea salt
• whole black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (you can leave this out, but it helps pull the collagen protein from the bones so I recommend it)
• Enough filtered water to fill the pot

Homemade Turkey Stock Tips

• When you grocery shop for the feast, be sure to have an extra white or yellow onion, 3-5 celery stalks, 2-3 carrots and a few garlic cloves (or a small head of garlic) for your stock.
• Save any onion, celery and carrot scraps as you prepare your meal to add to your stock. If you use green onions or shallots, add those scraps, too.
• Reserve a few bay leaves and handfuls of fresh herbs to add to the pot. Thyme, rosemary, and parsley (use the stems!) are really nice in turkey stock. Dill is also great if you have any on hand. Use 1-2 handfuls of fresh herbs total, or 1-3 teaspoons total dried herbs if you don’t have fresh.
• Use whole black peppercorns if you can as they yield a wonderful flavor and the little bits won’t go through the strainer. Pick some up in the bulk herb section for a really inexpensive price if you need to.
• Have some apple cider vinegar on hand—it’s not traditional but the acid will help get even more collagen and minerals from the bones. Don’t skip it! Distilled white vinegar also works but has a strong flavor, so I use apple cider vinegar and can’t even taste it.
• If you cook stuffing inside the bird, be sure to remove it all before making broth as the starch from the bread will make your stock gummy. You can rinse out the inside with water if needed to remove all stuffing.
• You can also use 3-4 turkey or chicken legs in place of the carcass if you haven’t cooked a full bird.
• You might have to cut your turkey carcass in half to fit it into the pot, just get as many bones in the pot as possible.
• I prefer to make this in a slow-cooker overnight to allow for a long simmer. If you don’t have a slow-cooker, you can for sure do it in a large pot on the stove; let it simmer at least 5-6 hours if that’s the case. In a 6-quart pot, this recipe will yield about 4 quarts of stock. The yield will vary depending on the size of your pot.

CrockPot, Instant Pot, or Stove Top Methods

You can make homemade turkey stock any of the three methods.

I recommend the CrockPot (aka slow cooker) for ease and efficiency.

The Instant Pot will require more work the night of, and after a big meal no one wants to keep cooking. The stove top works if you don’t have a slow cooker, just be mindful of leaving the stove on. I find it easiest to throw all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and let it simmer for overnight into the next evening.

Enjoy!

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