Use up leftover turkey and stuffing to make this delicious Turkey and Stuffing Dumpling Soup for lunch or dinner. First you make a homemade turkey stock that simmers on the stove top for about an hour. Then you make fluffy stuffing dumplings that are dropped into the piping hot stock. This soup recipe is made with fresh ingredients and some pantry staples. I guarantee you’ll be going back for seconds and thirds.
Do you struggle to use up your leftovers after the holidays? If you love homemade soups this recipe for Turkey and Stuffing Dumpling Soup. I always encourage friends to save the carcass regardless if they know if they are going to make turkey soup. After Thanksgiving or really any holiday feast I have extra turkey and stuffing. This soup is perfect way to use up all the leftovers! Or at least most of them.
You might be thinking… 90 minutes? I have to be in the kitchen that long? No, not really–the water just needs to boil down to create a flavorful turkey stock. I started making this at 10 am after breakfast and by lunch time we had a comforting lunch waiting for us. Plus, who doesn’t love the smell of turkey soup simmering on the stove top?
I just did a rough chop to my veggies and let them boil down with the turkey carcass. They absorbed all the turkey flavors, which were deliciuos. The dumplings aren’t your traditional dumplings. Some will fall apart others will remain whole. This isn’t a pretty meal, but its delicious and at the end of the day that is what counts by my standards. When I made this everyone in our home was asking for seconds. I had to fend them off from the last two bowls (pictured above) so I could photograph the recipe. So if you made a turkey this holiday season and still have that carcass give my recipe for Turkey & Stuffing Dumpling Soup a try.
Table of contents
Ingredients
- Turkey – You will want both the turkey carcass and diced turkey for the soup.
- Vegetables – Fresh carrots, celery, and onions flavor the stock and act as the veggies in the soup.
- Garlic – A few cloves help flavor the stock.
- Eggs – This is needed for the stuffing dumplings to help bind them together.
- Flour – This is what is needed to help bind the stuffing and egg together.
- Stuffing – Leftover stuffing is needed to make the stuffing dumplings. It doesn’t matter if the stuffing is dried out. It will moisten up as you mix the egg in.
- Herbs – Lots of fresh parsley and chives are needed for this recipe.
Directions
- In a large soup pot, boil 1 turkey carcass with 12 cups of water, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, fresh parsley, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then cook on medium heat with lid on for 1 hour.
- Remove turkey carcass from the soup pot, skim to make sure no bones are left behind. Remove the bunch of parsley from the pot as well and discard.
- Bring the broth and vegetables up to a boil.
The dumplings aren’t your traditional dumplings. Some will fall apart and others will remain whole. This isn’t a pretty meal, but its delicious and at the end of the day that is what counts by my standards.
To make the stuffing dumplings; Combine flour, stuffing, two eggs beaten, and chives. Mix well until all the ingredients are blended well together. The dumplings will be sticky.
Reduce the heat to medium. Make small golf ball like size balls and begin to carefully drop the dumplings into the soup pot. Repeat until you’ve used half the batter.
Carefully stir the soup. Once the first batch of dumplings are done proceed to finish dropping in the remainder of the stuffing dumpling mixture. Cook for 10 minutes. Add the 2 cups of cooked leftover turkey. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 additional minutes.
Add the 2 cups of cooked leftover turkey. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 additional minutes. Ladle soup into bowls. Top with additional chives if desired.
FAQs
If you find that you need to add more flavor to your turkey soup, you can add poultry seasoning or additional fresh herbs like thyme and rosemary.
You can keep the cooked turkey carcass in the refrigerator 3-4 days before you need to boil it down to make turkey stock.
If you are boiling or cooking stock you should always cover it. That way it keeps the heat in the pot helping to cook it faster.
Tips & Tricks
Here are a few of my favorite tips and tricks I’ve found helpful when making turkey soup with dumplings.
- Stock – If you don’t have a carcass or maybe you don’t feel like making your own stock you can use boxed turkey stock or a chicken broth. Just boil the vegetables for 15-20 minutes until tender then follow stuffing dumpling recipe.
- Dumplings – I find it’s best to use a cookie scoop to scoop the dumpling mixture. It’s extremely sticky and best if you use the scoop.
- Mixing – Once the dumplings are in the broth do not stir and mix the soup a lot.
- Turkey – I like to add the turkey in at the end so it doesn’t become dried out.
Leftover Turkey Soup Recipes
If you love this recipe for turkey soup with dumplings you’ll love my turkey vegetable soup and other leftover turkey recipes.
If you love dumplings you might also like my Chicken and Dumplings recipe or my Italian Style Chicken & Herbed Dumpling Soup. Still looking for more leftover recipes? Check out my leftover recipes roundup!
If you make this Turkey & Stuffing Dumpling Soup, I would be honored and love for you to take the time to leave a star rating and comment! I spend hours developing and testing these recipes, and always love to hear feedback and user experience!
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Turkey & Stuffing Dumpling Soup
Equipment
- Stove Top
Ingredients
- 1 turkey carcass about a 7lb breast
- 12 cups water
- 1 onion peeled and sliced
- 1 cup carrots chopped
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 bunch fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups leftover cooked turkey chopped
For the dumplings:
- ⅓ cup flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon chives minced + extra for garnish
- 2 cups leftover stuffing
Instructions
To Make the Turkey Stock
- In a large soup pot, boil 1 (7lb) turkey carcass with 12 cups of water, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, fresh parsley, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then cook on medium heat for 1 hour.
- Remove turkey carcass from the soup pot, skim to make sure no bones are left behind. Remove the bunch of parsley from the pot as well and discard.
- Bring the broth and vegetables up to a boil.
To Make the Stuffing Dumplings
- Combine flour, stuffing, two eggs beaten, and chives. Mix well until all the ingredients are blended well together. The dumplings will be sticky.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Make small golf ball like size dumplings and begin to carefully drop the dumplings into the soup pot. Repeat until you've used half the batter.
- Carefully stir the soup. Once the first batch of dumplings are done proceed to finish dropping in the remainder of the stuffing dumpling mixture. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Add the 2 cups of cooked leftover turkey. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 additional minutes.
- Ladle soup into bowls. Top with additional chives if desired.
Notes
- Stock – If you don’t have a carcass or maybe you don’t feel like making your own stock you can use boxed turkey stock or a chicken broth. Just boil the vegetables for 15-20 minutes until tender then follow stuffing dumpling recipe.
- Dumplings – I find it’s best to use a cookie scoop to scoop the dumpling mixture. It’s extremely sticky and best if you use the scoop.
- Mixing – Once the dumplings are in the broth do not stir and mix the soup a lot.
- Turkey – I like to add the turkey in at the end so it doesn’t become dried out.
Nutrition
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Melissa U
This recipe made our week after thanksgiving. I had made a simple soup, but the stuffing dumplings just put it over the edge. It’s a crowd pleaser!
Katie
Melissa, thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review. I couldn’t agree more–the stuffing dumplings make the soup!
Sonya
I just got done making this, thank you for a wonderful recipe. Great way to use up leftovers! The dumplings were a great addition!
Katie
Hi Sonya, thank you for taking the time to leave a comment! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Cassie B
Oh ya, I’m making this tonight!
I see that the ingredient listing includes a bunch of parsley but there is no mention of it in the directions, I see chives instead. Can you use one for the other, both or which ingredient is the preferred one for the recipe. Thanks 🙂
Katie
Hi Cassie, sorry for the delayed response. You add in the bunch of parsley in the stock during the first step. Hope that helps.
Mae
If I could attach a photo I will, I made this but the vegan version. I had leftover vegan friendly (made with veg broth) stuffing and used egg replacers and veggie broth and used vegan sausage. Threw in carrots and spinach (the veggie on hand) and the dumplings did not fall apart! I did add a dash of baking powder to do this effect and it worked. Lovely recipe and thank you for sharing?
Katie
Mae, thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I’m so glad your vegan version worked out! Thank you for sharing!
Christina
Sounds great I was wondering if stuffing dumplings existed. I wonder if it freezes well? I make turkey and stuffing at least once a month. I always freezes my soups into family and individual size amounts. Thanks.
Katie
Oh yes they do! I’m gonna be honest, I can’t imagine that this soup will freeze well. I feel like the delicate stuffing dumplings might not hold up in the defrosting reheating process. This is a good soup to eat right then once it’s made. You can reheat but the “dumplings” will definitely start to fall apart. Hope that helps!
Cindy
I couldn’t wait to cook a turkey so I could make this soup. It turned out so great! I’ve tried making chicken soup before and it tasted like grease water. This soup is so flavorful. Thank you for the recipe! I will definitely be making it again!
Katie
Cindy, I’m so glad you loved this recipe. I didn’t make this soup recipe this year, and my husband was disappointed! Guess I’ll be cooking a turkey for Christmas (along with the usual ham)!
Nutmeg Nanny
This is brilliant! I need this soup so badly, my mouth is watering like crazy!
Katie
Thanks Brandy! It was so good!
danielle
Genius! And delish – I would totally gobble this up (the gobble pun wasn’t intended but kind of works 🙂
Christine (CookTheStory)
Stuffing dumplings…genius.
Beth@mealsalone.com
Hi Katie. This looks like an absolutely delicious recipe. I really love hearty soups. I think I will make this. 🙂
Katie
Beth–its a great way to use up leftovers!