This Creamy Turkey and Dumplings Soup recipe is a great way to use up leftover turkey and herbs from Thanksgiving. Made with juicy turkey, veggies, and homemade tender dumplings.
This turkey and dumplings recipe is pure comfort food, in my opinion. It’s hearty, full of vegetables, and easy to make.
I am using the standard vegetables of onion, celery, carrots, and potatoes, but feel free to toss in some corn and peas as well.
And the best part of the creamy turkey soup…..the dumplings. The dumplings are basically drop biscuits, and they cook up so light and fluffy. Don’t worry, they are easy to make, I promise!
Some other great ways we love to use up Thanksgiving leftovers are: Turkey Tetrazzini, put it in a pot pie, or these Green Chile Turkey Quesadillas.
Why You’ll Love This Creamy Turkey Soup Recipe
- Super easy
- Family friendly
- Delicious
- Comforting
- Comes together in just 45 minutes
- Great way to use up leftover turkey
Ingredients for This Turkey Soup Dumpling Recipe
Chicken stock or broth: You can make your own stock using the leftover turkey carcass or you can use broth or stock from the store.
Leftover turkey: Use both the white and dark meat if you have it. It will provide more flavor that way. Also, a great substitute is rotisserie chicken. And if you don’t have either of those, you can boil some chicken pieces in broth and substitute with that. Just don’t forget to use that broth you cooked the chicken in!
Vegetables: Usually, after Thanksgiving, there is extra celery, onions, possibly carrots, and potatoes that need to be used up. You may even have other vegetables to use, so feel free to add them to the creamy turkey soup as well!
Fresh herbs or poultry seasoning: Some people like to cook with fresh herbs and some with poultry seasoning, so I will include the amounts for both, and you decide which to use.
Milk or half and half: This adds a nice touch to make it a little more luxurious. However, feel free to leave it out if you prefer.
Dumplings: I am making from scratch dumplings, and I PROMISE they are not hard to make. But if you would rather, you can use a can of biscuits. Cut each biscuit into fourths and drop it into the soup. Cover and cook according to the recipe. There is also an option to use leftover stuffing to make dumplings.
How to make Turkey and Dumplings Soup
Step 1: Prepare the vegetables
Start by sauteing the carrots, celery, potatoes, and onions in a large stockpot over medium heat. Cook until the onions have softened, then add garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds – 1 minute.
Step 2: Add flour
Mix in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Then, pour in the broth and milk. Add the turkey, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Bring turkey and dumplings soup to a simmer.
Step 3: Prepare the dumplings
Combine the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Then, pour in the milk and add the egg. Mix until combined and there aren’t any dry clumps.
Step 4: Add dumplings
Add the dumplings by the spoonful to the creamy turkey soup. Add a lid and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
No! It’s not required to use leftover turkey, but if you are looking for a great way to use up some leftovers from Thanksgiving, this turkey soup dumpling recipe is great.
This turkey and dumplings recipe can also be made with leftover cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken.
This turkey soup dumpling recipe will last 4-5 days in the fridge. Just make sure to let it cool down before storing in an airtight container. After 4-5 days, the turkey and dumplings will begin to lose texture and start to go bad.
What to Serve with This Turkey Soup Dumpling Recipe
- A simple side salad
- Any leftover sides you may have from Thanksgiving
- And I’m pretty sure I don’t have to remind you about the leftover desserts, lol!
More Great Soup Recipes:
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Creamy Turkey Dumpling Soup
Ingredients
SOUP:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 large celery ribs, diced
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup (35g) all purpose flour
- 10 cups (2.3 liters) chicken broth/stock
- 1 cup (235ml) milk or half and half
- 4 cups (400g) chopped cooked turkey meat
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
DUMPLINGS:
- 2 cups (300g) all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon poultry seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
- ¾ cup (180ml) milk
- 1 large egg
Instructions
SOUP:
- In a large stockpot melt the butter over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, potatoes, and onion. Cook until onion is softened. Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir in broth, turkey, milk, and poultry seasoning. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Bring soup to a simmer.
DUMPLINGS:
- In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Stir in the milk and egg just until combined and there isn't any dry flour.
- Drop batter by 2 tablespoonfuls on top of the soup. Cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer for 15 minutes. Don't peek.
Notes
- To replace poultry seasoning: Use your leftover herbs such as thyme, rosemary, sage, and parsley. Finely chop and add 1-2 tablespoons to your soup. Use 1/2-1 teaspoon in the dumplings.
- To make stuffing dumplings: Whisk together 2 large eggs with 1/3 cup of flour. Crumble 2 cups of leftover stuffing over egg mixture. Stir to combine. Use more flour if it is too sticky or add a little water 1 tablespoon at a time if it’s too dry to form into balls. Use about 2 tablespoons of stuffing mixture to make dumplings. Drop on top of simmer soup, cover, and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Don’t peek!
- Canned biscuit dumplings: You can replace the dumplings with canned biscuits. Cut each biscuit into fourths and drop into the simmering soup. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. No peeking!
- Nutrition Facts: Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the information shown is just an estimate. Nutrition information caluculated using whole milk.
So delightful on a blustery cold night in the Rockies. Used homemade turkey broth and made the dumplings. I don’t always have success with dumplings, but these turned out great. Thanks much for sharing.
It’s hard to beat soup on a cold day! Thanks, so glad you liked it!
Making this for the second time. Loved it the first time flawless recipe.
Thank you VERY much!!
This soup is yum-o!!! I’m so glad I found it and made it. I did the stuffing dumplings! Oh my, those are dangerous! I left out the cream (this time, it was so good without it) but I added 1 can of green bean with the juice, and I had a small fresh zucchini that I need to use, so diced it, and I added in. I also only used 8 cups of chicken broth, but I also added in my leftover turkey gravy to the soup. I will definitely make this again! Thank you for a delicious leftover recipe!
Thank you so much for your wonderful comment and for sharing all your changes!!
Very savory, creamy, satisfying and easy to make. I forgot the egg! But couldn’t tell. I addd about a cup of crumbled dressing to dumpling recipe and used 1 cup coconut milk.
Thank you very much! So glad you liked it! And thanks for sharing!!
Made this today(day after Thanksgiving) it’s very delicious. I added corn and green beans.
Thank you very much!! I am so glad you liked it!!
Is 10 cups of broth correct along with a cup of half and half? It was pretty thin and soupy.
I am so sorry I didn’t reply to your comment sooner!! Yes, that is correct. This is not a thick soup.
Do you use a whole can of biscuits?
This recipe doesn’t use canned biscuits. If you are looking to replace the homemade dumplings with canned biscuits I would use the whole can and cut each biscuit into 1/4ths.
I used vegetable broth, and it turned out delicious!
Thank you! I am so glad you liked it!
So flippin delicious! I put left over canned mushroom soup in ot and the grave!!!
By the way I love dense dumplings!! So thank u for that!!!!
Thank you so much!! I am so glad you liked the soup!
Just made this and it turned out great! I cheated of course and used the premade biscuits but was great still.
Hey, nothing wrong with cheating!! So glad you liked it!
These dumplings look absolutely amazing!
Thank you Danielle!
I love a good dumpling soup! This looks amazing, can’t wait to try it!
Me too! Thanks Julie!
I never know what to do with all the leftover turkey. This is SUCH a great idea! Can’t wait to give this a shot this year!
Thanks Megan, I hope you like it!
How much turkey do you put in the recipe? I can’t seem to find it mentioned in the ingredients. Thanks.
Thank you so much for catching that Mary! I fixed the recipe card.