Turkey Noodle Soup With Spaghetti Squash for Full GAPS

This turkey noodle soup uses soft spaghetti squash strands in place of grain noodles. Cooked turkey, carrots, celery, and onion simmer in homemade chicken meat stock, with parsley stirred through the broth. The squash goes in near the end so it warms through without spending the whole cooking time in the pot.

It is a Full GAPS meal built around ingredients you have already prepared. Start with cooked turkey, finished meat stock, and baked squash, then bring them together in one soup pot. The preparation time below begins with those ingredients ready.

Making a GAPS Thanksgiving was fun for our family. It wasn’t a traditional meal, but we enjoyed the food and the time together. After a roast dinner, a soup like this gives the cooked turkey another place at the table. Having the meat ready leaves just the vegetables to chop and the soup to simmer.

Start With Cooked Turkey And Squash

• 1 tablespoon homemade ghee, or the same amount of coconut oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 2 carrots, sliced
• Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
• 6 cups homemade chicken meat stock
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 3 cups shredded cooked turkey
• 3 cups baked spaghetti squash, scraped into strands

Measure the turkey after cooking and shredding it. Remove bones and any firm pieces before it goes into the soup. Meat from garlic and celery roast turkey is one way to prepare that ingredient. You need three cooked cups for this batch, not three cups of raw meat.

The squash is also measured after cooking. Follow the linked baked spaghetti squash preparation, scrape the flesh into strands, and measure three cups. Its total yield varies, so do not assume that half a raw squash will always give you the required amount.

Dice the onion and celery into fairly even pieces, and slice the carrots. They get a short stovetop start before the stock goes in. The onion should begin softening at that point, while the carrots and celery continue cooking in the simmering broth.

Use the quarter cup of parsley in the pot. It seasons the stock during the twenty-minute simmer rather than being reserved only as a garnish. More fresh parsley at serving is optional if you enjoy it, but the measured amount belongs in the soup.

If chilled meat stock has gelled or developed a firm fat layer, warm it enough to stir the liquid and fat together before measuring. This recipe uses six cups of the finished stock. Making a new batch of stock is a separate preparation and is not included in the soup’s cooking time.

Full GAPS Ingredients And Swaps

This version uses homemade meat stock. Dr. Natasha’s 2020 book recommends meat stock rather than long-cooked bone broth for at least the first year on GAPS, and for some people several years. Use the linked chicken meat stock preparation for the liquid here.

Ghee is the cooking fat in the main recipe. Coconut oil is an equal-amount alternative: use one tablespoon in place of the tablespoon of ghee. For a dairy-free bowl, also keep the cooked turkey and any serving finish free of butter, ghee, cream, or other milk ingredients.

The recipe has no egg or nut ingredient. It does contain chicken meat stock even though turkey is the meat in the bowl. If you have cooked chicken instead of turkey, use the same three-cup cooked, shredded amount and keep the rest of the method unchanged.

Serve this vegetable-and-squash soup on Full GAPS. For earlier Intro meals, choose the soft vegetables cooked in meat stock described in the Stage 1 guide, with fibrous parts removed. The spaghetti squash strands and sautéed vegetables here make this a different preparation. No-Plant GAPS excludes this vegetable-based soup.

How To Make Turkey Noodle Soup

Allow about five minutes for preparation when the stock, turkey, and squash are already made. The timed stovetop stages add to 35 minutes: five minutes for the vegetables, twenty minutes with the stock and meat, and ten minutes after adding the squash. That is about forty minutes overall, with extra heating time if needed to bring cold ingredients to a simmer.

1. Prepare the ingredients. Dice the onion and celery, slice the carrots, and chop the parsley. Measure six cups of finished meat stock, three cups of shredded cooked turkey, and three cups of cooked squash strands.
2. Start the vegetables. Melt the tablespoon of ghee or coconut oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrots. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about five minutes, stirring, until the onion is soft.
3. Simmer with the turkey. Add the parsley, meat stock, and cooked turkey. Bring to a simmer and cook for twenty minutes.
4. Add the squash. Stir in the three cups of cooked spaghetti squash. Simmer for ten more minutes, stirring gently so the strands move through the broth without being mashed.
5. Taste and serve. Adjust the salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls, dividing the meat, vegetables, strands, and stock between the four servings. Add more fresh parsley or a little extra ghee if desired.

In Step 2, the onion starts losing its raw stiffness and becomes more translucent. The carrots and celery do not need to be completely tender before you add the stock. They have another half hour of simmering ahead of them. Stir through the bottom of the pot so the small amount of cooking fat coats the vegetables.

At Step 3, keep the broth at a steady simmer. Small bubbles should rise through the liquid without the whole surface churning hard. The cooked turkey separates into fibers as you stir, and the parsley softens into small green flecks. This is a reheating and simmering step for cooked meat, not a short method for cooking raw turkey.

Step 4 happens after that twenty-minute simmer. The squash is already tender from baking, so it only needs its final ten minutes in the soup. Fold it through gently. It will be softer than wheat noodles and may separate into shorter strands, especially if stirred roughly.

Before serving, check that the carrots and celery are tender and the turkey is hot throughout. Taste some broth as well as a piece of vegetable before adding more salt. Homemade stock varies in how much salt it already contains, and the cooked turkey brings its own seasoning.

Turkey Noodle Soup Recipe

Serving And Storing The Soup

This batch serves four. Ladle from the bottom as well as the surface so each bowl gets turkey and vegetables along with the stock. The spaghetti squash strands can settle through the pot, so give it a gentle stir before filling the next bowl.

If you want an olive-oil finish, add it to your bowl after cooking. Keep it out of the initial hot-pan step. The soup is complete without an extra finishing fat, and a dairy-free serving should not receive the optional ghee.

Refrigerate leftovers in covered, meal-size containers and label them with the date. Warm the portion you need in a saucepan, stirring gently so the middle heats through. The squash will be softer after reheating. A hard boil and vigorous stirring can break the strands down further.

Keep track of when the turkey was originally cooked as well as when you made the soup. Using cooked meat in a new dish does not make an older leftover freshly cooked again. Start with turkey that has been kept refrigerated and use it while it is still suitable for another meal.

For a different cooked-turkey soup, turkey vegetable soup with meat stock uses beets, green vegetables, and a different stock-to-meat balance. Chicken tetrazzini soup with spaghetti squash takes the squash in a creamier direction with its own mushroom, coconut-milk, and seasoning amounts. Follow those separate recipes when you want those flavors.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Use Chicken Instead Of Turkey?

Yes. Use three cups of cooked, shredded chicken in place of the cooked turkey. Keep the six cups of chicken meat stock and the rest of the ingredient amounts unchanged.

Does The Squash Go In Raw?

No. Bake it first, scrape the flesh into strands, and measure three cooked cups. It joins the soup for the final ten minutes.

Why Does The Soup Use Chicken Stock With Turkey?

Homemade chicken meat stock is the prepared stock used in this version. It provides the liquid while the cooked turkey brings turkey flavor. Make and measure the stock separately before starting the soup.

Can I Make It Without Ghee?

Use one tablespoon of coconut oil instead. To keep the finished soup dairy-free, choose cooked meat without dairy ingredients and leave the optional ghee finish off the bowls.

Can I Double It?

Use the doubled card amounts and a pot with enough room for the stock, meat, squash, and vegetables. Keep the same sequence and tenderness checks. A larger cold batch may take longer to reach a simmer.

Recommended Equipment

A roomy stainless steel stockpot gives you space to stir the squash through the meat and vegetables. The Le Creuset Classic Stainless Steel 10-quart Stockpot is one option. An 8-quart Cuisinart stainless steel stockpot also gives this batch room.

Have a board, knife, measuring cups and spoons, stirring spoon, and ladle ready. Preparing the squash and turkey beforehand is what keeps this a straightforward soup-pot meal.

More Soups For Your Meal Plan

The planned Soups & Stews Cookbook and Soup & Stew Recipe Card Deck will bring more soup ingredients and directions together for meal planning. Watch the WFLI shop for their release when you want a few more ways to use homemade meat stock.