Name: Turkey and Dumplings
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 TBSP oil; 4 cups mix of chopped celery, carrots, and onions; 1-2 TBSP Poultry Seasoning OR Italian Seasonings plus sage; bay leaf; 4 cups of chopped leftover turkey; 2-3 quarts chicken or turkey broth; 3-4 cups fresh water; 1 1/3 all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1/2 cup whole milk; 1/4 cup oil (I use light olive oil)

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Whenever we have leftover turkey I love to make this hearty and delicious recipe for Turkey Dumpling Soup. It’s similar to my FAVORITE Old Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings Recipe and our whole family loves it. It’s the perfect recipe to get the most out of your leftover turkey

One perfect bowl of Turkey Dumpling Soup.

LEFTOVER TURKEY RECIPES

This recipe starts with your LEFTOVER TURKEY from Thanksgiving Dinner and turns it into an old-fashioned soup your grandma probably made! If you make a GIANT turkey for Thanksgiving or even just an Air Fryer Turkey Breast you’ll have enough leftovers to make Turkey Dumpling Soup.

If you’ve got a favorite turkey soup recipe and you JUST need dumplings head on over to my Homemade Dumplings post. It’s an easy recipe that’s a great way to make any soup dumpling soup!

My OTHER favorite way to use leftovers is this EASY Turkey Pot Pie Recipe with a Puff Pastry Crust. It’s simple to make and you can use ANY veggies you have on hand. Or just frozen veggies work too.

OLD FASHIONED TURKEY AND DUMPLING SOUP

I call this recipe “old-fashioned” because you make the dumplings from scratch. No Bisquick mix. No chopped canned biscuits parading as dumplings.

These are REAL dumplings. Big, soft, fluffy dumplings steamed on top of a savory soup are the coziest of comfort food. And once you’ve had real dumplings you’ll never go back!

What You Need:

leftover turkey meat or even rotisserie chicken
turkey broth OR chicken stock or broth
carrots
celery
onion
Poultry or Italian seasoning+sage OR use fresh herbs
bay leaf
salt
black pepper
flour
oil
milk
baking powder

What kind of broth do I need?

You can use homemade turkey stock or homemade broth if you have it. You can also use store-bought chicken broth. Even bouillon cubes would work if it’s all you have. You just need something brothy to build this soup.

How To Make Old Fashioned Dumplings

I think we tend to use mixes or canned biscuits because there is a tendency to fail when making dumplings. But if you follow these tips you’ll have better luck making them. There are photos in the recipe card as well!

choose a pot for your soup that has a fairly tight-fitting lid
measure carefully 2/3 cup of all-purpose flour and 1 tsp baking powder to 1/4 cup milk with 2 TBSP oil-if you add too much liquid they will dissolve in the hot soup, if you add too much dry ingredients you’ll end up with hard, tough, dry dumplings
mix the dry ingredients first and add the liquid only when you’re about to out them in the soup
mix lightly, toss the liquid with the dry ingredients, and stir with a fork just until the dough comes together in a rough ball
don’t keep mixing, don’t press the dough together, just stop right there
use a fork to take pieces of the dough and drop in the simmering broth
cover tightly with a lid and let them cook generally for 10 about minutes
do not open the lid until the minimum time has passed, gently use a fork to gently open a dumpling, it should be soft and soupy on the outside, and the inside should be cooked through

To Store Leftovers

Any leftover soup can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.

Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipes:

Yield: 8 servings

Turkey and Dumplings

Whenever we have leftover turkey I love to make this hearty and delicious recipe for Turkey and Dumplings. It's similar to my FAVORITE Old Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings Recipe and our whole family loves it.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

Turkey Soup

1 TBSP oil
4 cups mix of chopped celery, carrots, and onions
1-2 TBSP Poultry Seasoning OR Italian Seasonings plus sage
bay leaf
4 cups of chopped leftover turkey
2-3 quarts chicken or turkey broth
3-4 cups fresh water

dumpling recipe

1 1/3 all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup oil (I use light olive oil)

Instructions

in a large pot with a lid saute the vegetables in the oil over medium heat
stir often, after 5 minutes add the turkey, and 1 TBSP Italian seasoning, and the bay leaf
cook and stir another minute or two
then add most of the chicken broth and 2 or so cups of water, add as much broth and water to make the soup as thick or thin as you like
let the soup simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, taste and add more Italian Seasoning, and salt and pepper as desired, you can add ANY other spices you like to your soup right here
mix up the dumplings: stir the four and baking powder together in a mixing bowl
mix the milk and oil together
stir the liquid into the dry mixture with a fork
stir only until the dough comes together, do not knead or press together just let it be loose
drop the dough into 8 or so dumplings into the simmering soup
sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired
cover and cook for 10 minutes, be sure not to let it simmer over
check for doneness by opening one dumpling with a fork and see if it's cooked through
it will be soft and soupy on the outside and cooked through and no longer doughy on the inside
if it's not cooked through put it back in the soup, cover, and simmer another minute or two

Notes

The amounts of vegetables, turkey, and broth are completely flexible--use what you have and like for your family