Slow Cooker Turkey and Dumplings

Slow Cooker Turkey and Dumplings has tender strips of turkey in a creamy, flavorful gravy – all topped with homemade dumplings. This satisfying comfort food meal is one that the entire family is sure to love.

Incredible comfort food made easy in the slow cooker

This time of year, we shop the Thanksgiving sales at the supermarket and stock our freezer with turkey – just so we can make this Slow Cooker Turkey and Dumplings whenever the craving strikes!

You can also make this recipe with leftover cooked turkey after Thanksgiving, but we think this dish is best made with boneless, skinless turkey breast or turkey cutlets that are cooked right in the slow cooker with some vegetables and broth.

Once the turkey is cooked through and tender, you’ll shred it, then make a creamy sauce from the cooking liquid. Finally, add strips of dumpling dough to the top and let it cook some more.

Spoon Slow Cooker Turkey and Dumplings into bowls for serving – and dig in! Kids and grownups alike will love this easy comfort food meal.

• Our recipe is 100% from-scratch, pure, and delicious comfort food! No canned soups or biscuits involved.
• This meal takes just thirty minutes of hands-on prep, then the slow cooker does the rest of the work.
• It’s a versatile recipe – make it with turkey or chicken, or even leftover already-cooked Thanksgiving turkey.

• Onions – We used yellow onions for this dish but any other type of onions you have on hand can be used.
• Celery
• Fresh Garlic – For the best flavor, always buy fresh garlic – not the jarred kind.
• Turkey – You have many choices here: Buy a boneless skinless turkey breast and cut into slices or (to make it super simple) buy already-sliced, uncooked turkey cutlets. You could also change this recipe completely and substitute boneless skinless chicken breasts. *See Additional Substitutions below.
• Turkey Stock – Make homemade or buy canned or boxed turkey stock. You can also substitute chicken stock. In addition to the two cups included in the recipe, consider keeping some extra stock on hand for reheating the leftovers or thinning out the gravy as needed.
• Bouquet Garni – This is a fancy French term for herbs tied together by the stems with butcher’s twine. We included fresh parsley, thyme, sage leaves, and dried bay leaves in our bouquet garni.
• Seasoning – Kosher salt, black pepper, and poultry seasoning
• Beurre Manie – This is a French term for mixing softened butter with flour to use as a thickener. It is cooked in the pot but not cooked in advance like a roux.
• Dumplings – A very simple biscuit dough is made from all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, poultry seasoning, cold vegetable shortening and whole milk.

If you have leftover, already-cooked Thanksgiving turkey to use up – substitute that for the uncooked turkey in the ingredients list.

General rule of thumb is after cooking, turkey weighs about 25 percent less than the starting (uncooked) weight. So – since this recipe calls for two pounds of uncooked turkey, swap in about 1 ½ pounds of cooked.

When using already-cooked turkey in this recipe, just adjust down the cooking time by about an hour.

1. Place onion, celery and garlic in slow cooker.
2. Pat turkey slices dry, then season and lay over the vegetables.
3. Add fresh herbs (tied together with butcher’s twine) and turkey stock.
4. Cook on high for three hours.
5. Remove herbs, shred turkey, then add thickener and heated cream.
6. Mix dumpling dough, pat flat, then cut into pieces. Add to slow cooker. (See Tips & Tricks below.)
7. Cover and continue cooking until the dumplings are cooked through and tender.
8. Serve immediately.

• Can I make Slow Cooker Turkey and Dumplings ahead of time?  As this dish sits after cooking, the dumplings will soak up more liquid making the mixture thick, so this dish is best served fresh.
• How do I store leftovers?   Store covered and refrigerated for up to three days.
• How do I reheat leftovers? We typically reheat individual portions in the microwave, but you can also reheat in a saucepan.
• Can I freeze?  No, we don’t recommend freezing this dish.

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