Description
This hearty turkey soup with sweet potato dumplings combines tender shredded turkey simmered in a spiced broth with fluffy, comforting sweet potato dumplings. It's a perfect warm meal for cooler days that balances savory flavors with a touch of sweetness from the dumplings.
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 and let sit about 30 minutes to reach room temperature.
- Sear the turkey: Heat butter and olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat until sizzling. Add turkey tenderloins and brown 2-3 minutes per side until golden sear forms. Remove turkey and set aside on a clean plate.
- Sauté vegetables: Add celery, carrots, and onion to the pot. Stir and scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon to lift browned bits. Cook 4-5 minutes until softened, then add garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add herbs and spices: Place thyme sprigs, bay leaves, oregano, smoked paprika, and Jamaican allspice into the pot. Stir continuously for 1 minute to lightly toast the spices.
- Simmer the turkey: Return turkey to the pot and pour in the turkey or chicken stock to cover. Stir to combine, ensuring turkey is submerged. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 45-50 minutes.
- Shred the turkey: Remove turkey from pot onto a cutting board. Use two forks to shred the meat. Return shredded turkey to the pot and stir. Leave pot uncovered.
- Prepare dumpling dough: In a large bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, and baking powder. Add melted butter, buttermilk, and mashed sweet potato. Stir until just combined. Let rest 1-2 minutes to activate baking powder and allow dough to become fluffy.
- Add peas and form dumplings: Stir frozen peas into the soup. Using a spoon or scooper, drop 2-3 tablespoons of dumpling dough evenly over the hot soup surface. Spoon broth over dumplings to moisten.
- Cook dumplings: Cover pot and simmer for 10-15 minutes until dumplings are cooked through and fluffy.
- Serve: Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Ladle soup with dumplings into bowls and season with freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve immediately and enjoy.
Notes
- Read the full blog post for additional tips and tricks for perfect flavor and texture.
- To make the recipe gluten-free, substitute all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend.
- Be careful not to overmix the dumpling dough to keep dumplings light and fluffy.
- Use fresh thyme sprigs to infuse subtle herbaceous notes, but remove before serving.
- Allowing the turkey to reach room temperature before searing helps achieve an even golden crust.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl (about 1.5 cups)
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 650 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 30 g
- Cholesterol: 90 mg
