Turkey & Stuffing Dumpling Soup

Turkey – As mentioned, almost any leftover turkey should be fine to use here. Use white or dark meat, or a combination. You can either chop the turkey or shred it, both options work just as well. For reference, I used leftover turkey from my herb-roasted turkey here.

Stuffing/Dressing – Most basic stuffings or dressings are ok to use here. I used leftovers from my sausage and sage stuffing. If you’re using homemade stuffings that are a bit thicker and rustic like mine was, give it a rough chop. Again, I don’t recommend rice or seafood-based dressings here, but if you use one and love it, please let me know in the comments.

Vegetables – I like the standard mirepoix mix here for soup, so onion, carrots, and celery with some garlic for flavor. If you have other vegetables leftover though, some good additions include peas, corn, and green beans.

Herbs – I like to include some fresh thyme and parsley here. Sage also works well, but I use that in my homemade turkey stock, so I don’t add more here. If you’re using chicken stock instead, some fresh sage would add nice flavor.

Stock – I love using homemade turkey stock here, but if you don’t have any made for this recipe, you have a few options. If you saved the turkey carcass and any other bones, you could make a quick stock for this soup, or you can just use a low-sodium chicken stock or vegetable broth.

Flour & Eggs – Unlike regular drop dumplings made with flour, baking powder, salt, and milk, these dumplings are made from already cooked stuffing. Using a bit of egg and flour helps to bind the chopped-up stuffing and helps give them a similar texture to drop dumplings.

In a large stockpot or Dutch-oven set over medium-high heat, add some olive oil and diced onion with a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, then add in your chopped celery and carrots with another pinch of salt and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for another 6-8 minutes until the vegetables are slightly softened and the onions are a bit translucent but not browning.

Now add in the minced garlic and thyme leaves and continue stirring and sautéing another 1-2 minutes. Pour in the turkey stock and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, cover and lower to a simmer. Allow the soup to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors can meld and the vegetables finish softening, about 15-20 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, make the dumplings. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and then add in the salt, pepper, and flour. Stir everything together and then add in the stuffing. Gently fold everything together or go in with your hands and make sure everything is thoroughly combined without overworking the mixture.

Before adding the dumplings, give the soup a quick taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Turn the heat back up to medium for a stronger simmer on the soup. Using a 1-1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop out balls of the stuffing dumplings and drop into the soup. Alternatively, grab some stuffing with your hands and roll into shaggy balls slightly smaller than golf balls. Cover the soup again and cook another 3-4 minutes at a strong simmer until the dumplings are floating and no longer eggy.

Remove the cover and stir in the turkey and chopped parsley, flipping the dumplings over. Lower the heat to a simmer again and continue cooking for another 5 minutes, until the turkey is heated through.

Ladle into bowls and serve hot. Top with additional fresh thyme or parsley if desired.

No Turkey – As mentioned earlier, if you don’t have enough leftover turkey for this soup, you can substitute chicken. While you can always cook up some chicken, the easiest method here is to buy a rotisserie chicken and shred some of the meat. Again, you can choose white, dark, or a combination of white and dark meat.

Vegetables – The classic mirepoix of onion, carrot, and celery works well as a base in most soup recipes. You’re also likely to have these vegetables leftover from lots of Thanksgiving cooking. If you have other leftover or frozen vegetables, this soup also tastes good with things like green beans, corn, peas, potatoes, and mushrooms.

No Stuffing – If you don’t have leftover stuffing or the right kind for this recipe, you have two options. You can grab a small box or bag of stovetop type stuffing and make that the day before, or you can make regular drop dumplings.

This isn’t a specific recipe, but a basic dumpling recipe is like 1 cup flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ½ cup milk, and optionally 2 tablespoons of butter or lard. Mix it together, let it rest 10-15 minutes, then spoon roughly 1 tablespoon dumplings to the soup while it is at a low boil. Cover and cook them for about 12-15 minutes.

Creamy Dumpling Soup – For a creamy style of turkey and dumplings, simply add 1 cup of heavy cream. After you add the turkey in the recipe, pour in the heavy cream in the final 1-3 minutes of cooking, just until it’s warmed enough to serve.

Dutch-Oven – Most people that make soup at home probably already own a large stockpot. Whether you have one or not though, I do recommend this 6-quart Dutch-oven as an alternative. They tend to be a little wider, making them easier to work with, and the enamel coated cast iron tends to provide more even heating.

Cookie Scoops – While you can make the dumplings by hand or with two spoons, I find a set of cookie scoops does the job more efficiently and cleanly. Besides making evenly sized cookies, you can use these scoops for plenty of other uses as well.

❄️ Storing Turkey Dumpling Soup

Once the turkey and stuffing dumpling soup has cooled completely, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. The important thing to remember here is that how long you can keep this dumpling soup also depends on how old the leftover turkey and stuffing are.

Once cooked, turkey can be stored for 4-5 days and most stuffings around 3-4 days. Depending on how old your leftovers are before you make this soup will determine how long you can refrigerate any leftovers.

If you need to store it longer than a few days, you can also store this soup in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To reheat the soup, you can microwave a bowl of it or pour it into a pot and heat it on the stove. If you’re reheating more than a single serving, then I recommend heating it on the stovetop. If reheating from frozen, I recommend thawing overnight in the refrigerator first. The texture of the dumplings may not be as good after freezing and thawing, however.