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Curl up with a cozy bowl of something truly delicious when you enjoy this Leftover Turkey and Dumpling Soup. A medley of veggies and herbs enhances all of your favorite Thanksgiving leftovers, which are mixed in a creamy soup with pillowy homemade dumplings.
Turkey and Dumpling Soup
It’s soup season! Now that the weather is officially cold and the leaves are changing, it’s time to cuddle up with all of your favorite homemade soups. Now, if it just so happens to be the week after Thanksgiving, I know just the soup to make. Use your leftovers deliciously and indulge in a homemade soup all at the same time! This recipe really checks all the right boxes.
As much as I love all the leftover turkey in this soup, I’m torn on what my actual favorite part of the soup is. Is it the turkey? Or is it the thick, creamy, decadent broth? No, maybe it’s the medley of delicious herbs, or possibly the tender veggies. With all of these mouthwatering elements, I just can’t pinpoint what actually makes this soup the best ever. I guess it’s all of it!
Oh – and I haven’t even mentioned the homemade dumplings yet! Don’t worry, they’re super easy to make with minimal ingredients and they come together in no time. Plus, the way that these dumplings form the softest little pillows in this creamy Thanksgiving soup is drool-worthy.
Ingredients
For the soup, you’ll need:
- Butter – Unsalted is best!
- Onion – I use a white onion, but yellow also works.
- Garlic – You can use fresh or pre-minced.
- Dried herbs – Thyme, sage, and parsley come together beautifully in this recipe.
- Salt – Just a pinch.
- Black pepper – Freshly ground black pepper yields the best flavor.
- Flour – All-purpose flour is what you need to help create the best consistency.
- Broth – You can use homemade chicken stock or leftover turkey broth from Thanksgiving.
- Veggies – Carrots, celery, and yellow potatoes are what’s called for.
- Turkey – Shredded leftover turkey is perfect for this soup!
- Heavy cream – This is the BEST for making the broth nice and decadent!
How do I know if the dumplings are fully cooked?
Feel free to test one out just to make sure! At the end of the cooking time, remove a dumpling from the pot and halve it with a knife. If it’s not cooked yet, just pop it back into the pot and continue cooking the soup.
How long will this soup stay fresh?
In an airtight container in the fridge, this soup will stay fresh for up to 5 days. To reheat, the microwave works just fine, but the stove top is even better. If you choose to use the microwave, reheat the soup in 30 second increments, stirring every so often to help evenly distribute the heat.
Can this be frozen?
I would freeze the soup and the dumplings separately then warm them up on the stovetop together.
Cozy up with more of my favorite homemade soups!
Nourishing Pumpkin Wild Rice Soup
Leftover Turkey and Stuffing Dumpling Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter
- ½ white onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 6 cups (1420 ml) chicken broth or leftover turkey broth
- 1 cup (128 g) chopped carrots
- 3 stalks of celery, chopped
- 2 cups (420 g) yellow potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 cups (199 g) shredded turkey
- 1 cup (237 ml) heavy cream
For the dumplings:
- 1 ¾ cup (219 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups (400 g) leftover stuffing
- 1 ½ cup (355 ml) buttermilk
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat then add the onion and let it cook until it comes translucent.
- Add the garlic, thyme, sage, parsley, salt and pepper and stir and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Add the flour and whisk until it starts to thicken and brown, about 3 minutes.
- Gradually pour in the chicken broth and whisk again until it starts to thicken, about 5 minutes.
- Add the carrots, celery and potatoes to the pan, reduce the heat to low medium and let it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the potatoes become slightly tender.
- In the meantime, make the dumplings by whisking the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl.
- Stir in the stuffing, pour in the buttermilk and stir just until combined.
- Once the soup is ready, stir in the heavy cream and turkey then scoop 1 to 2-inch balls of the dumpling mixture into the soup. (You should get about 15 dumplings.)
- Cover the pan once again and let it cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until the dumplings are fully cooked through.
- To test if the dumplings are cooked through, remove one from the pan, cut it open and see if there is any doughy part in the center.
- Let the soup cool for 15-20 minutes before serving with freshly minced parsley for garnish if desired.
Amazing as always! Loved this for the day after thanksgiving!! Thank you Julie ❣️