Turkey Soup with Sweet Potato Dumplings

This turkey soup with sweet potato dumplings is giving the coziest of vibes. Delicious, hearty pieces of turkey with aromatics and veggies in rich, savory broth. Made complete with pillowy-soft and flavorful sweet potato dumplings!

Good soup! That’s what we’re talking about here, y’all. I know I’m not alone when I say that a good soup recipe can cure anything. Okay, not everything but it does hit the soul just right. I love a solid, cozy soup just about any time of the year but especially during the colder months. And soups with dumplings? They’re my most favorite- it’s the fluffy, flavorful clouds on top for me!

Turkey Soup With Sweet Potato Dumplings

I love the combination of flavors within this dish. Hearty, filling turkey meets with rich and flavorful broth chock-full with veggies; and topped with the most tender and delicious sweet potato dumplings. There’s such depth in the turkey soup because it’s loaded with flavorful spices and herbs. Have you ever had dumplings before? These sweet potato dumplings are plump, fluffy, and moist.

Swoon-city. Yup, I’m officially declaring this soup to be my favorite one yet! Going out on a limb but something tells me that you’re gonna love it, too.

…& check out other *cozy af* soups like my zuppa toscana, this hearty beef chili, my roasted butternut squash soup, as well as this chicken and dumplings.

What You’ll Need For This Soup Recipe

(Note: the full ingredients list, including measurements, is provided in the recipe card directly below.)

• Turkey tenderloins: I use turkey breast tenderloins for this turkey soup recipe. They look just like chicken breasts! Peep my notes, below, if you want to use turkey scraps (ex: like from a leftover roasted turkey).
• Salt/pepper: Basics to season the turkey before frying in the pot.
• Butter + olive oil: To pan fry the seasoned turkey breast tenderloins.
• Mirepoix: A classic aromatic base with chopped onion, celery, and carrots.
• Garlic: Everything is better with garlic, including soups!
• Herbs: Fresh sprigs of thyme and bay leaves, so much added flavor.
• Seasonings: Dried oregano, smoked paprika, and allspice. These additional spices really amp up the flavors and transcend this soup a bit further.
• Turkey stock: I use turkey stock to give this soup big, bold turkey flavor. However, feel free to use chicken stock as a replacement!
• Frozen peas: Signature soup ingredient and gives the turkey soup more color.
• For the sweet potato dumplings: flour, cornmeal, baking powder, butter, buttermilk, and mashed sweet potato/purée.

Using Leftover Turkey (Or Chicken) Scraps

>> Have leftover roasted turkey or chicken scraps that you want to use? Let’s do it!

This turkey soup with sweet potato dumplings recipe is even more of a breeze with those leftover boneless/skinless scraps that you want to use up. Maybe from a Thanksgiving turkey or a grocery store rotisserie chicken?

Here’s how you’ll execute this version // ⇢ For this, skip the browning. Heat the butter/oil, and sauté the mirepoix/garlic, as noted in step #3. Proceed thru step #5 by adding in the turkey/chicken scraps and then simmer for only 20-25 minutes before following along with step #8 until complete. Boom.

Note: if using turkey/chicken scraps, use 1.5 to 2 pounds (almost equivalent to what’s noted in the written recipe) of scraps for the soup to be full.

How To Make This Turkey Soup With Sweet Potato Dumplings (Comes Together So Easily!)

(Note: please see the recipe card directly below for the complete written instructions.)

1. Season the turkey breasts with salt and pepper. Allow them to sit on the counter to reach room temperature before browning. When pan frying meats, you always want them to be at room temperature as opposed to stock-cold from the fridge. It will brown more evenly and better.
2. Heat up the butter/oil and then pan fry the turkey breasts until golden brown on both sides. At this stage, we’re not looking to cook the turkey completely as that will happen later on when simmering. After browning, remove the turkey and then set it aside onto a clean plate/vessel.
3. Add in the mirepoix: celery, carrots, and onion. Sauté the mixture until tender. Then add in the garlic and cook together until fragrant.
4. Toss in the herbs: fresh thyme and bay leaves, along with the seasonings. Stir together to lightly warm up and toast the spices.
5. Add the turkey back into the pot and pour in the turkey stock, making sure that the turkey is submerged under the liquid. Stir everything together and cover the pot. Let everything simmer for 45-50 minutes.
6. Remove the turkey from the pot and place onto a cutting board. Shred the turkey into pieces and then add the shredded turkey back into the pot. Next, stir in the frozen peas and mix everything together to combine.
7. Make the sweet potato dumplings and spoon them over the turkey soup. Cover and simmer the soup to allow the dumplings to cook through.
8. Time to serve it up! Ladle the turkey soup with sweet potato dumplings into bowls (removing the thyme sprigs/bay leaves) and garnish with a few cracks of black pepper, if desired. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes, Make-Ahead Tips, Ingredient Swaps & Alternate Variations

⇢ Here are a few tips, tricks, and noteworthy tidbits for you to have a good time making this turkey soup with sweet potato dumplings recipe!

• Let’s talk turkey parts: I use turkey tenderloins here for this recipe. They pan fry evenly and cook perfectly for this turkey soup. In addition, they’re also skinless/boneless. You could use other turkey parts if you’d like but be mindful of the cooking time and de-boning/skinning your poultry.
• Types of stock: Turkey stock is my go-to for this recipe because it really elevates the turkey flavor all up and through this soup. I’ve found cartons of turkey stock in Trader Joe’s and other local grocery stores. Additionally, you can also make homemade turkey stock, too! If this isn’t accessible to you, use chicken stock/broth as a substitute, the soup will still be amazing.
• Make-ahead soup: Prep this turkey soup up to 3 days in advance if you’d like. I recommend making the turkey soup (without the dumplings) and storing it in an airtight container in the fridge. When ready to prepare the complete soup (with dumplings), here’s what to do: ⇢ Place the soup into a dutch oven or stock pot and bring to a simmer. Prep the sweet potato dumpling mixture and spoon it on top of the soup. Cover the pot and allow the soup to simmer to cook the dumplings through, as noted in the recipe card.
• Ingredient swaps: If you want to use another type of protein, chicken breasts could very easily be substituted for turkey! For this, follow the exact same instructions in the recipe card but use boneless/skinless chicken breasts.
• Alternate variations: Wanna make this turkey soup with sweet potato dumplings but with no animal protein? We can do this, too! Swap out the turkey and replace with about 2 (15 oz) cans garbanzo beans aka chickpeas. Use vegetable broth if you would like to as well. // ⇢ For this, skip the browning. Heat the butter/oil, and sauté the mirepoix, as noted in step #3. Proceed thru step #5, adding in the chickpeas, and then simmer for only 20-25 minutes before following along with step #8 until complete. Yay!

How To Store This Soup (& Reheating)

>> Keep this turkey soup with sweet potato dumplings stored inside of an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Simply reheat on the stovetop (my preferred method) over low heat or in the microwave until warmed through. Note: dumplings tend to break down after some time. Thus, for best taste/texture, I suggest consuming this soup within the first 2 days.

A few of my favorite must-make recipes: this skillet lasagna, my brown stew chicken, for sure these lemon sweet rolls, and def this sweet potato pound cake.

Y’all, I hope you enjoy this turkey soup with sweet potato dumplings! Can’t wait to see all of your cozy recipe remakes. Until next time! ♡🤟🏾

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