The best way to use up your leftover Thanksgiving turkey is with these super simple turkey and dumplings! Some basic veggies, stock, and a can of biscuits is all you need to transform your leftover turkey into something super comforting and delicious. Serve this with some easy no-knead bread for dunking, and dinner is served!
Besides turkey sandwiches, one of the best ways to ensure that leftover turkey stays moist (let it go, it's the right word to use here) is to use it in some sort of soup, broth, or gravy situation. I adore this turkey pot pie (another shortcut, with puff pastry crust!), but for an even quicker leftover use, turkey and dumplings with a can of biscuits of the dumplings is absolutely perfect.
Jump to:
- Ingredients and Ingredient Variations
- Save This for Later with AI
- How to Make Turkey and Dumplings with Biscuits
- How Much Stock Pro Tip
- Pro Tips and FAQs
- Chicken and Dumplings with Biscuits Variation
- Serving Suggestions
- Make Ahead and Leftover Storage
- More Recipes for Thanksgiving Leftovers
- Did You Try This One Yet?
- Recipe
Ingredients and Ingredient Variations
- Turkey: here's where we use up our leftovers to turn them into something new and delicious! I usually make a perfect roast turkey (just 4 ingredients!), or a 1-hour turkey breast, or smoked turkey. All three of those methods are really good in this turkey and dumplings!
- Chopped veggies make the base of this recipe AND are found in tons of other Thanksgiving recipes. I dice extra carrots, celery, and onions when I'm making stuffing to have them on hand for this recipe.
- Stock, broth, and turkey drippings make up the bulk of the soup! Feel free to use all boxed chicken stock or a combo of whatever you have, you'll need 6-8 cups for this recipe, which feeds a crowd!
- Canned Biscuits: a regular refrigerated can, nothing fussy. I cut the biscuits into thirds or quarters to make them more manageable. They puff up beautifully in the soup and thicken the broth a bit. You can also make this recipe with a can of crescent rolls for a slightly different, less puffy texture to the dumplings.
- Heavy Cream: optional but, like, not, you know? The cream at the end of this recipe with lots of black pepper is really, really yummy - don't skip it unless you prefer this recipe to be dairy free!
For full recipe instructions and ingredient list with quantities, see the recipe card below.
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How to Make Turkey and Dumplings with Biscuits
Step 1: Start with a large soup pot (at least 5 quarts, the wider the better) over medium heat. Add the oil, carrots, onions, and celery with a good pinch of salt and pepper.
Step 2: Sauté the veggies for 5-10 minutes, stirring as you go, until they are soft and translucent but not browning much at all.
Step 3: When the veggies are soft, sprinkle the flour into the pot and stir to coat the veggies in the flour - if the mixture seems very dry (pasty is fine!), add another drizzle of oil to the pot.
Step 4: When the veggies are coated in the flour, very slowly stream stock into the pot, stirring as you go, until the flour has incorporated into the stock. Let the mixture come a bubble and thicken slightly.
How Much Stock Pro Tip
**A note on how much stock to use: This makes a lot of gravy (hence the amount of flour), so start with 5-ish cups of stock and add more based on personal preference for how thick you'd like the turkey and dumplings to be. The trick is to stream it in slowly so that it incorporates into the flour without getting lumpy.
Step 5: Next, stir in the leftover turkey, the salt and pepper, and scatter the biscuit pieces (each biscuit cut into quarters) all over the top of the veggie and turkey mixture. They may stick together, but separate the chunks as best you can.
Step 6: Cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Let the dumplings (biscuit pieces!) steam for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice during this time to gently break up any dumplings that are trying to stick together.
Step 7: When the biscuits are puffy and cooked through, gently stir the cream into the mixture.
Step 8: Taste one more time for seasoning, add more salt and pepper to your preference, and omgomgomg lets.go.
Pro Tips and FAQs
They should be soft (they're in liquid, after all!), but not mushy or falling apart! Be sure the lid stays on for the majority of the dumpling cooking time to ensure the biscuits rise and get nice and fluffy.
I think so BUT I would thaw the biscuits first, otherwise it'll take a long time to steam them and they might get mushy.
Yep! This recipe freezes really well. If you want a "fresh-ish" version, you can make the turkey soup base (veggies, flour, stock, turkey) and freeze THAT, then steam the biscuit pieces in a pot right before serving.
Chicken and Dumplings with Biscuits Variation
I designed this recipe as a use-up for leftover turkey, but it's really yummy with chicken, too! For the recipe below, use 1 small rotisserie chicken, picked from the bones and shredded, or 2-3 cups of leftover shredded or diced cooked chicken - any kind you like!
Serving Suggestions
I love this as a standalone meal, but it's really nice with some bread (shortcut focaccia omg) for dunking or a side salad with lemon vinaigrette OR a kale salad that can be made in advance.
If you're into fun soup toppings, fresh herbs, lemon wedges, and fancy olive oil for drizzling are great on top of this soup.
Make Ahead and Leftover Storage
This soup is great made in advance and kept on the stove all day, or in the fridge for a few days - just reheat it on the stovetop before serving.
Leftovers are yummy microwaved to reheat as well, although the dumplings may get a little bit mushy. If the soup gets too thick in the fridge, add a bit of stock or milk to thin it back out when you reheat.
I hope you try this soon, and love it as much as we do! It's the perfect gateway to cozy soups all season long.
More Recipes for Thanksgiving Leftovers
Recipe
Easy Turkey and Dumplings (with canned biscuits!)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup chopped carrots (2-3 medium carrots)
- 1 cup chopped onion (about ½ large onion)
- 1 cup chopped celery (2-3 stalks)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 6-8 cups turkey or chicken stock, turkey drippings, broth, or a combo (see note below)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2-3 cups leftover shredded turkey
- 12 ounces canned biscuts (biscuits separated and cut into 3-4 pieces each)
- ¼ cup heavy cream (optional)
Instructions
- Add the oil, veggies, and salt and pepper to a large soup pot over medium heat (no need to preheat unless you're just super organized, it's not that serious). Sauté the veggies until translucent and soft, stirring as you go, for 5-10 minutes.
- When the veggies are cooked, sprinkle the flour over them and stir to coat the veggies in the flour. If the pan seems very dry, drizzle in some more oil.
- Very slowly drizzle in about 5 cups of stock, stirring as you go to incorporate the stock with the flour. It should bubble and thicken.
- When the veggie mixture comes to a bubble, reduce the heat to low and add the shredded turkey. Stir to combine, and sprinkle the biscuit pieces evenly over the top of the soup.
- Cover the soup with a lid (biscuit pieces floating on top at this point) and let the dumplings cook for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice during this time to be sure the biscuit pieces don't stick together and the soup doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Stir in the cream and taste for seasoning; add more salt and pepper to your preference. If the soup is too thick, add more stock, ½ cup at a time, until the soup is as brothy as you'd like. Ladle into bowls, and enjoy!
Bobby says
Such a great way to use up that Thanksgiving turkey. The whole family loved it!
Skylar says
Ahhh, an easy leftover recipe. Just what I needed after the hours of cooking around Thanksgiving. This turkey with dumplings was super comforting!
Adele says
This turned out so delicious and am so glad to have used the leftover turkey this way. Adding the biscuit dough is such a cool idea, the combination of veggies, cream, turkey and dumplings was just perfect.
Liz says
Perfect for Thanksgiving leftovers!!! Plus, the ease of using canned biscuits for dumplings was a huge bonus. This was delicious!!!
Celia says
As usual we had a ton of turkey leftover from Thanksgiving. This turkey soup was delicious!
Genevieve says
You can never go wrong with Turkey and Dumplings, the easiest turkey recipe and scrumptious for using for leftover turkey. Can't wait to make this.
Emily says
Yum!!! I love chicken and dumplings and don’t like regular Turkey soup so this morning I had the idea “can I make a Turkey and dumplings soup?” Came across this easy recipe and made it tonight- such a perfect use of leftovers. I even added some gravy to the broth!
Teresa says
I made this today with my leftover turkey. Let's say my kids said they liked the turkey better in this recipe! ha! 😉
Sandie says
I cooked this turkey and dumplings the other day, and it turned out warm, creamy, and super simple—those canned biscuits made everything so quick.
Marie says
This turkey and dumplings recipe is the coziest way to use leftover Thanksgiving turkey. It is simple, hearty, and perfect with warm bread for dipping.