Description
This comforting Turkey Soup with Sweet Potato Dumplings is a hearty, flavorful dish perfect for cozy meals. Tender turkey breast is simmered with aromatic vegetables and spices, then topped with light and fluffy sweet potato dumplings for a deliciously satisfying experience.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Turkey Soup:
- 2 pounds turkey breast tenderloins
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 celery hearts, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 1 medium white onion, finely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 6–8 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon Jamaican allspice
- 8 cups (2 quarts) turkey or chicken stock/broth
- 1 cup frozen peas
For the Sweet Potato Dumplings:
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup fine yellow cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 3/4 cup whole buttermilk
- 1/4 cup mashed sweet potato or sweet potato puree
Instructions
- Season the Turkey: Place the turkey tenderloins into a large bowl and season generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover the bowl and let the turkey come to room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Brown the Turkey: Heat butter and olive oil in a large dutch oven or stock pot over medium-high heat. Once sizzling, add the seasoned turkey tenderloins and brown them for 3 minutes on each side to achieve a golden sear. Remove the turkey and set aside on a clean plate.
- Sauté Vegetables: Add chopped celery, carrots, and onion to the same pot. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom with a wooden utensil and sauté the vegetables until soft and tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add Herbs and Spices: Add fresh thyme sprigs, bay leaves, dried oregano, smoked paprika, and Jamaican allspice to the pot. Stir well and toast the spices gently for 1 minute while stirring continuously.
- Simmer the Soup: Return the turkey tenderloins to the pot and pour in the turkey or chicken stock to cover. Stir to combine, reduce heat to low, cover with a lid, and simmer for 50 minutes.
- Shred the Turkey: Remove the turkey from the pot and shred it with two forks on a cutting board. Return the shredded turkey to the pot and stir to combine. Keep the pot uncovered while preparing dumplings.
- Prepare Dumpling Dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cornmeal, and baking powder. Pour in melted salted butter, whole buttermilk, and mashed sweet potato. Stir gently until just combined, taking care not to overwork. Let the dough rest for 2 minutes to activate the baking powder and become fluffy.
- Add Peas and Drop Dumplings: Stir frozen peas into the soup. Using a spoon or spring-loaded scooper, drop 2–3 tablespoons of dumpling dough evenly over the surface of the hot soup. Spoon some broth over the tops to moisten.
- Cook the Dumplings: Cover the pot and simmer the soup for 15 minutes until dumplings are cooked through and fluffy.
- Serve: Uncover the pot, remove thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Ladle the turkey soup with sweet potato dumplings into bowls, season with freshly ground black pepper if desired, and serve immediately.
Notes
- Read the full blog post for additional tips and tricks to perfect this recipe.
- For a gluten-free version, substitute the all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend.
- Make sure not to overmix the dumpling dough to keep dumplings light and fluffy.
- You can adjust seasoning by adding more salt or spices according to taste.
- Use homemade turkey or chicken stock for richer flavor if available.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl (about 1 1/2 cups)
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 550 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 25 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
