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This turkey pho bone broth is one of my favorite ways to use up leftover Thanksgiving turkey. It’s cozy, light, and full of that warm pho aroma we all love.
It’s also incredibly easy — just set it in the slow cooker and let it gently simmer away. The whole house smells amazing, and you end up with a clean, flavorful broth that tastes restaurant-level good with almost no effort.
Why this recipe works
This recipe uses simple aromatics and slow, gentle heat to pull out deep flavor from leftover turkey bones. Everything stays straightforward and accessible—nothing fancy or hard to find—so you get that warm pho aroma with very little effort
Key Ingredient Notes
- Leftover turkey or chicken: Use the carcass plus any leftover meat. Birds roasted with lighter, savory seasoning (herbs, citrus, or soy-based marinades) make the cleanest pho-style broth. Butter-heavy turkeys aren’t ideal because they make the broth taste greasy instead of light and clear.
- Onion, ginger, and garlic: These three build the base flavor for the broth. Onion adds natural sweetness, ginger brings warmth and aroma, and whole garlic cloves melt into the broth for depth. No need to peel the ginger—just scrub it clean.
- Star anise: One of the core pho spices that gives the broth its signature aroma. Four pods keep the flavor fragrant but balanced.
- Cinnamon stick: Adds gentle sweetness and warmth. Using a whole stick keeps the broth smooth and clean.
- Fennel seeds: A small amount rounds out the star anise with a light, sweet aroma. If you can’t find fennel seeds, use ½ teaspoon anise seed or ½–1 teaspoon coriander seeds.
- Dried shiitake mushrooms: They add natural umami and deepen the broth, especially when using leftover turkey. You don’t need to rehydrate them. Just add them to the broth.
- Pho seasonings (salt, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice): These four balance the broth at the end. Adjust to your taste—fish sauce adds savory depth, sugar rounds out the aromatics, and lime juice brightens everything up.
- Rice noodles: Use flat pho-style rice noodles if you can find them, but any rice noodle shape works. Just cook them separately so they stay tender.
Cooking notes for the best bone broth turkey pho
Making a clean and flavorful turkey pho at home is actually much simpler than most people think. But to make a great bowl — the kind that tastes light, clear, and full of depth — there are a few good-to-know tips that can really help. This section walks you through the most common issues people run into with turkey bone broth and what I learned from testing this recipe many times in my own kitchen.
How to keep your turkey bone broth clear
Cloudy broth is the number-one struggle when making turkey pho. The key is gentle heat. A slow cooker on LOW keeps everything at a soft simmer so the broth stays clear and flavorful without turning cloudy.
How to build deeper pho flavor with leftover turkey
A lot of homemade turkey pho tastes plain because the aromatics aren’t toasted long enough. Dry-roasting the onion, ginger, and garlic brings out their aroma and gives the broth a warm golden color. Slow-cooking the turkey carcass for 7–8 hours deepens the flavor, and seasoning at the end keeps everything bright and balanced.
How to keep leftover turkey meat tender
Leftover turkey dries out easily, and simmering it again in broth makes the texture even worse. In early tests, I tried reheating the meat in the pot — every time it turned stringy or fell apart.
The best method is simple: add the shredded turkey directly into the serving bowl. The hot broth warms it through gently, and the meat stays soft and tender. This also keeps your turkey pho broth clean.
How to prevent mushy noodles and soggy vegetables
Rice noodles and vegetables absorb broth fast. If you leave them sitting in the pot, they turn soggy and fall apart. I tried combining them early on for convenience, and the noodles became mush before serving.
Cook the noodles separately and add them to each bowl right before ladling the broth over. Baby bok choy only needs a quick dip — I simmer it for one minute so it stays bright and crisp.
How to store leftover turkey pho without losing texture
Store the broth, noodles, and toppings separately. Keeping everything apart prevents mushy noodles and helps the broth chill cleanly. Warm the broth first, then add the cooked noodles right before serving.
How to serve this turkey pho
You can enjoy this turkey pho noodle bowl just as it is — cozy, flavorful, and easy to love with a little sriracha or hoisin on the side. But if you want more texture and contrast, here are some simple sides that pair really well with it.
- Crispy sides: Crispy bites are always a fun match for a steamy bowl of turkey pho. Try serving it with rice paper chive dumplings, rice paper egg rolls, or juicy chicken wontons for a little extra crunch on the table.
- Refreshing pickles: A small plate of pickles adds brightness and cuts through the richness of the turkey bone broth. Pickled garlic, Asian pickled cucumbers, or sweet-and-tangy pickled daikon all work beautifully here.
FAQs
The carcass alone gives the most flavor for turkey bone broth, so you don’t need extra meat on it. But if you want the pho bowl to feel more filling and substantial, adding some leftover turkey meat to the serving bowl makes the dish more satisfying.
You can use store-bought turkey bone broth to replace the chicken stock in the recipe, but not as a full substitute for the carcass. Without the bones, the soup won’t develop that pho-style depth and will taste plain. So for real turkey pho flavor, you still need the carcass.
Absolutely. Leftover roast chicken works the same way and gives you a lighter broth. You can also use roasted Cornish hens—you’ll just need a few to match the amount of bones used in this recipe.
Try these Asian bone broth recipes next!
If you enjoyed this cozy turkey bone broth pho bowl, here are a few more light and nourishing soups to try next.
- Brisket Pho — a deeply flavorful Vietnamese beef noodle soup.
- Chinese Chicken Soup — a clear, everyday chicken bone broth that’s soothing and easy to make.
- Instant Pot Chinese Herbal Bone Broth — a warming, nutrient-rich broth with gentle herbal notes.
Turkey bone broth pho recipe
Ingredients
- 4-5 lb. leftover cooked turkey or chicken with bones/carcass and meat
- 10 oz yellow onion 1 medium
- 2 oz. ginger root
- 1.8 oz garlic cloves 8 large
- 4 whole star anise pods
- 1 cinnamon stick 3.25 inch length
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 6 whole dry shiitake mushrooms
- 48 oz. chicken stock plus more to reach the 3-liter mark (add water if needed)
- 2.5 tsp coarse sea salt or to taste
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1.5 tbsp sugar
- Lime wedges
For serving:
- Pho noodles dry flat rice noodles
- Baby bok choy halved or quartered
- Bean sprouts optional
- Jalapeno optional
- gluten-free Hoisin sauce optional
- Sriracha sauce optional
Instructions
- Remove the meat from the cooked turkey or chicken. Shred it into bite-size strips and keep it in the fridge until serving.
- Peel and dice the onion into 1-inch chunks. Scrub the ginger clean, pat dry, and cut into 1-inch pieces (no need to peel). Peel the garlic cloves and leave them whole.
- Warm up the broiler for 5 minutes. Place the onion, ginger, and garlic on a sheet pan. Broil on the middle rack for 5–7 minutes, then rotate and broil the other side for another 5–7 minutes. They should smell fragrant and lightly charred.
- Press Sauté → Normal on your Instant Pot. Once it says “Hot,” add the star anise, cinnamon stick, and fennel seeds. Dry roast for about 5 minutes, tossing often, until fragrant. Press Cancel.
- Add the roasted onion, ginger, and garlic to the pot. Add the turkey or chicken carcass, shiitake, and pour in chicken stock until it reaches at least the 3-liter mark. You can top it off with water if needed.
- Press Slow Cook → Low for 7–8 hours, or High for 4–5 hours. Don’t open the lid during cooking.
- Cook the pho noodles in a separate pot according to package instructions. Do this when you’re close to serving.
- When the broth is done, strain out the carcass and aromatics. Keep the shiitake mushrooms and the clean broth.
- Return the broth and mushrooms to the pot. Press Sauté and taste the broth before seasoning. Add salt, fish sauce, sugar, and lime juice —start small and adjust to your taste.
- Add the bok choy and simmer for 1 minute. Press Cancel.
- To serve, add the cooked noodles to each bowl first. Then top with the shredded turkey or chicken and a handful of bean sprouts. Ladle the hot broth over everything and serve right away. If you like, add sliced jalapeño, a drizzle of hoisin, or a bit of sriracha with extra lime wedges on the side.
Notes
- The shredded turkey or chicken and bean sprouts are added directly to each bowl—not simmered in the turkey bone broth. This keeps the meat tender, the sprouts crisp, and the broth clear and clean.
- Storage & Reheat: Store the broth on its own and keep the noodles and toppings separate. Reheat the broth and add the noodles right before serving.
- Spice bags: If you have spice bags, add the roasted onion, ginger, garlic, and dry-toasted spices in separate bags so they’re easy to remove later. Don’t pack them too tightly so the aromatics have room to release their flavor.
- Best turkey to use: For a clean, pho-style turkey bone broth, use leftover turkey or chicken roasted with lighter, savory seasoning (herbs, citrus, soy-based marinades). These give you a clearer, more balanced broth.
- Avoid butter-heavy roasts: Turkeys coated with a lot of butter (on and under the skin, plus buttery drippings) aren’t ideal for pho. They tend to make the broth heavy and greasy instead of light and clear.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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