Slow Cooker Turkey and Dumplings
This Slow Cooker Turkey and Dumplings is the best way to use your leftover turkey! Tender chunks of turkey and veggies in a creamy soup are combined with soft, fluffy dumplings for the ultimate comfort food.
The holidays are approaching, and that means tons of turkey. It also means tons of leftovers. We love getting creative with leftovers, making dishes like turkey and stuffing turnovers or turkey cranberry sliders. We even replace the chicken with turkey in our copycat KFC chicken pot pie.
Now, we’ve used turkey in another classic comfort food dish – chicken and dumplings. Using turkey in place of chicken and Bisquick for the dumplings, this dish is easy to make, loaded with classic flavor, and always so satisfying.
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Hearty and Filling: This dish is loaded with turkey, veggies, and soft, fluffy dumplings in a creamy soup.
- Simple Ingredients: All you need are some kitchen basics like leftover turkey, veggies, and canned soups.
- So Easy: This is a simple crockpot meal, so all you have to do is set it and forget it!
- Great for Leftovers: This soup is great for using up your turkey leftovers, from holiday birds to year-round dishes like crockpot cranberry turkey breast or oven roasted turkey breast.
- Versatile: It’s easy to customize this recipe with other flavors to make it your own.
- Great for Meal Prep: This soup can be frozen for up to three months without the dumplings, making it perfect for meal prep.
Key Ingredients
We’ve made this list to help you save time on your next trip to the grocery store. You can find the full amounts needed in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Turkey: Leftover turkey takes the place of chicken in this dumpling soup.
- Cream Soups: A combination of cream of chicken and celery soups gives this dish the perfect texture and creaminess.
- Poultry Seasoning: Poultry seasoning works with the rest of the ingredients to deliver the perfect flavor for this soup.
- Bisquick: Bisquick makes it easy to make delicious dumplings with the perfect texture.
Variations
- Turkey: Both white meat and dark meat turkey work very well in this recipe.
- Veggies: Try adding other vegetables like mushrooms, green beans, corn, potatoes, or any of your other favorites.
- Add Heat: Add some red pepper flakes for a spicy version.
- Herbed Dumplings: Add thyme, rosemary, or both to the dumpling mix.
- Cheesy Dumplings: Add 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese to the dumpling dough.
- Chicken Broth: Simmer your turkey bones with onions and garlic to make a homemade turkey stock for the soup.
- Pot Pie Soup: Add more cream and thicken the soup with a roux to create a turkey pot pie soup.
How to Make Slow Cooker Turkey and Dumplings
This is a quick overview of the steps needed to make this recipe. You can find the full instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Combine all the ingredients except the dumpling ingredients and frozen peas in the slow cooker, and cook until the veggies are tender and the broth is creamy.
- Combine the dumpling ingredients, then drop spoonfuls of the dough onto the soup during the last hour of cooking.
- Stir in the frozen peas about 30 minutes before serving, slightly mixing the dumplings into the soup, as well.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Your dumpling dough should be thick and spoonable, not runny.
- Spoon your dough onto the top of the soup. Don’t mix it in. It should steam as the soup cooks.
- Be gentle when stirring in the peas. You want to distribute the peas evenly without breaking up the dumplings.
- Mix your dumpling batter until just combined. Overmixing will lead to tough dumplings.
Slow Cooker Turkey and Dumplings FAQs
Do you have questions about this recipe? Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions.
Yes, they can. By spooning the dumpling batter on top of your soup in the last hour of cooking, the dumplings steam to perfection, creating light, fluffy, delicious dumplings.
In general, you should add your dumpling dough to the slow cooker about an hour before the soup is finished.
Dumpling batter should be thick and spoonable, so it retains its shape. Thin batter won’t create a nice dumpling.
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📖Recipe
Want to make this recipe? Print the recipe card below, or pin this recipe, so you can find it later.
Slow Cooker Turkey and Dumplings
Equipment
- large mixing bowl
- 6 quart or larger slow cooker
Ingredients
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 carrots peeled and sliced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups cooked turkey shredded or cubed
- 10.5 ounces cream of chicken soup
- 10.5 ounces cream of celery soup
- 4 cups chicken broth or turkey broth
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup frozen peas optional
- 2 cups Bisquick or any baking mix
- ⅔ cup milk plus 1–2 tablespoons more if needed for soft dough
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley optional
- Fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- To the slow cooker add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic.
- Stir in turkey, cream of chicken soup, cream of celery soup, chicken broth, poultry seasoning, salt, and black pepper. Mix well to combine.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6–7 hours or HIGH for 3–4 hours, until vegetables are tender and the broth is creamy.
- About 30 minutes before serving, stir in frozen peas (if using).
- In a bowl, mix Bisquick, milk, and parsley until a soft dough forms.
- Drop spoonfuls of dough on top of the hot soup. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 additional hour, or until dumplings are puffed and cooked through.
- Gently stir once to mix the dumplings slightly into the soup, garnish with fresh parsley, and serve warm.
Notes
- Don’t stir the dumplings after adding: Keep the lid closed so they steam properly.
- Use leftover turkey: Light or dark meat both work, or a mix for extra flavor.
- Dough texture: It should be thick and spoonable, not runny. Add a splash of milk if too dry.
- Check doneness: Dumplings are ready when a toothpick inserted into one comes out clean.
Disclaimer
Any nutritional data I provide is an approximation and actual dietary information can vary based on ingredients and proportion sizes.
