Turkey and Drop Biscuit Dumplings (Instant Pot or Stovetop)

This yummy recipe for Turkey and Drop Biscuit Dumplings is a great way to use up leftovers from Thanksgiving and can be made in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop!

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Turkey Day is just around the corner, y’all! Are you planning on making a turkey or are you going to someone’s house and bringing a supporting dish? I’ll be doing the latter, but have an amazing recipe for a Slow Cooker Turkey Breast that I made for the blog last year  – I highly recommend that recipe if you are just feeding 6 or so! I actually made it again this year for Ryan and me so that I could test some recipes for Thanksgiving leftovers. Stellar recipes for what to do with leftover turkey are always in high demand, so I’m focusing on that category this year. First up, these Turkey and Drop Biscuit Dumplings!

This is a great recipe for reducing food waste because it utilizes bones from a leftover turkey carcass, vegetable trimmings and pieces you may have leftover from making dressing/stuffing, and leftover cooked turkey meat. It’s basically a big bowl of comfort – which you may need if you were on your feet all day on Thanksgiving in the kitchen. You have the option to make it in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop, and the leftovers are SO good they will keep for the entire Thanksgiving weekend. We can all do a happy dance for that! Let’s make some dumplins’!

Ingredients for Turkey and Drop Biscuit Dumplings

• Turkey – you’ll need 4 cups of shredded, cooked turkey breast (or a combo of light and dark meat), as well as a turkey carcass (bones from the cooked turkey breast) if you’d like to make your own stock for these dumplings. It’s so easy to make some turkey bone broth for the dumplings in an Instant Pot, but you have the option to use store-bought broth or stock as well.
• Vegetables – a combination of carrots, celery, and leeks provide a good dose of aromatic flavor and color to the “stew” part of this recipe that the dumplings are cooked in. If you plan to make the turkey bone broth as well, we will use the scraps from these veggies in the bone broth – this minimizes food waste and helps you get more bang for your buck!
• Wet ingredients – water + apple cider vinegar for the bone broth (or substitute with pre-made stock or broth), white wine for the stew, and low-fat buttermilk + butter for the drop biscuit dumplings.
• Dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
• Herbs & seasonings – fresh thyme and rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper for a comforting, traditional dumpling flavor.

Ingredient amounts/instructions listed in the recipe below.

How to Make Turkey and Drop Biscuit Dumplings

• Make a bone broth – this step is optional, but highly recommended! You can make a delicious and nutritious turkey bone broth in an Instant Pot in about 1 1/2 hours that is perfect for using in this dumpling recipe. But of course, you can use pre-made broth or stock as well!
• Saute your aromatics – this will make the carrot, celery, and leeks fragrant and tender. You can do this with the “saute” mode of the Instant Pot or in a large, heavy-bottomed pot (like a Dutch oven) on the stovetop.
• Add herbs and spices – once the aromatics are translucent, add fresh herbs, garlic, salt, and pepper. You will stir all of this in for about 30 seconds until it becomes fragrant, being very careful not to let anything burn on the bottom of the pot.
• Add flour to thicken – adding the flour to coat all of the veggies and stirring it around for about a minute will cook out any starchy flavor. Be careful to stir continuously and not let the flour burn on the pot – reduce the heat as needed for this step.
• Deglaze the pan – at this point, white wine, water, or stock add to the hot pot of veggies will help us to scrape up any brown bits that may be sticking to the bottom or sides of the pot. Stir/scrape continuously with a wooden spoon as you add the deglazing liquid.
• Add your liquid and turkey – once everything in the pot is tender, fragrant, and loosened up, we will add the rest of the cooking liquid and the shredded turkey.
• Simmer – bring everything to a low simmer to thicken the liquid and cook for 4-5 minutes.
• Make and add the drop biscuit topping – it’s a good idea to make your dumpling mixture as everything is being cooked in the process above so that it’s fresh and ready to go.
• Cook the dumplings through – once the drop biscuit batter is made, you will use a cookie dough scoop or large spoon to drop mounds of it into the turkey mixture. The dumplings will steam for several minutes until they are set and cooked through.
• Serve and enjoy!

Complete instructions are found in the recipe below. 

Possible Recipe Variations

• Vary the veggies – feel free to swap out onion or shallot for the leeks, add mushrooms, or frozen peas if you like! Traditional chicken and dumplings typically use carrot, celery, and onion.
• Substitute chicken for turkey – you can make this all year round with either shredded cooked chicken or turkey.
• Add Parmesan and herbs to the dumpling mixture – add 1/2 cup of freshly-grated Parmesan and 2 teaspoons of freshly chopped thyme and rosemary to the flour mixture of the dumplings for more flavor if you like.
• Make it gluten-free – you can omit the flour in the “stew” portion of this recipe and thicken the mixture instead with a cornstarch slurry. Whisk 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water, and add whisk this into the pot after you have added the broth and turkey before everything comes to a simmer. You can use an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend in the drop biscuit recipe, although the dumplings may be a bit softer.

Are you ready to make these Turkey and Drop Biscuit Dumplings? I’m so excited for you to try this recipe. Once you get the chance to make it, please let me know how it turns out for you! Leave a comment and rate the recipe below. This will help me with the creation of future recipes! I’d also love to feature your creation in my monthly newsletter, so you can upload a photo to Instagram or Twitter with the tag @sweetcayenne5 to be featured!

Turkey and Drop Biscuit Dumplings

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: drop biscuit dumplings, instant pot turkey and dumplings, turkey and dumplings

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Servings: 7 servings

Author: Whitney Reist | Sweet Cayenne

Ingredients

For the broth (optional):

• Bones from a cooked bone-in turkey breast
• Trimmings from 1-2 leeks
• Trimmings from 3 carrots
• Trimmings from 3 celery stalks
• 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
• 2 whole bay leaves
• 1 small sprig of fresh rosemary
• 5-6 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 whole garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• Water

For the stew:

• 1 teaspoon butter
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 ¼ cup small-diced carrots (about 3 medium carrots)
• 1 ¼ cup small-diced leeks (about 1 large or 2 small leeks)
• 1 ¼ cup small-diced celery (about 3 stalks)
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
• ½ teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
• ¼ cup flour
• ½ cup white wine
• 5 cups turkey bone broth (from recipe above; or substitute with chicken or turkey stock)
• 4 cups shredded cooked turkey meat
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the drop biscuits:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 cup all-purpose and 1 cup white whole wheat)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup cold low-fat buttermilk

Instructions

For the broth (optional):

• Place the bones of the turkey breast in the Instant Pot insert. Add the vegetable trimmings. Fill up to 1 inch below the max fill line with water. Add the peppercorns, bay leaves, fresh herbs, garlic, and cider vinegar. Place the lid on the Instant Pot and set to “sealing.” Cook on high pressure for 45 minutes and allow for a 30-minute natural pressure release.
• Carefully move the knob to “venting” and release any remainder of steam in the Instant Pot. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer. Season to taste with salt. Cool completely before storing in the refrigerator. Remove 5 cups of broth for the dumpling stew. Chill the remainder and store in the fridge for when you reheat dumpling leftovers.

For the stew:

• Set the Instant Pot on “saute” mode. Add the butter and olive oil. Once the butter is melted, add the carrots, leeks, and celery. Saute until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes, being careful not to let anything burn on the bottom of the pot. Add the garlic, thyme, and rosemary, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the flour and stir to coat the vegetables. Add the wine to deglaze, scraping up any bits on the bottom and sides of the pot. Add the broth and shredded turkey, stirring until the mixture comes to a simmer, about 4 minutes. Press “cancel” on the Instant Pot to turn off the heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the pot insert from the Instant Pot while you make the dumplings to ensure that nothing sticks to the bottom and the sides.
• For the dumplings:
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Melt the butter, and after cooling for 2-3 minutes, add it to the buttermilk. Let it stand in the buttermilk for 2-3 minutes. Stir the mixture together until the butter forms clumps in the buttermilk. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and use a rubber spatula to stir it into the flour until just combined. Use a small cookie dough scoop to scoop the drop biscuits into the turkey mixture in the Instant Pot insert. You should have 18-20 dumplings total.
• Return the insert to the Instant Pot and place the lid on top. Set the knob to “sealing.” Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes. Carefully quick release the pressure manually, allowing all the steam to escape. Ladle the stew and dumplings into bowls and serve warm!
• Reheat leftovers and add extra turkey broth as needed to get the desired consistency you like as you reheat.
• Note: if for some reason you get “burn” notice on the Instant Pot, no worries! Just release the pressure, remove the lid, and turn the Instant Pot to “saute” mode. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook the dumplings, carefully stirring often with a rubber spatula, for 5 minutes. Ladle into bowls and serve.

Stovetop instructions:

• Place a large pot over medium heat. Add the butter and olive oil. Once the butter is melted, add the carrots, leeks, and celery. Saute for 5-6 minutes until softened and translucent. Add the garlic, thyme, and rosemary, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the flour and stir to coat the vegetables. Add the wine to deglaze, scraping up any bits on the bottom and sides of the pot. Add the broth and shredded turkey, stirring until the mixture comes to a simmer, about 4-5 minutes.
• Use a small cookie dough scoop to scoop the drop biscuits into the turkey mixture. You should have 18-20 dumplings total. Place the lid on the pot and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Remove lid and serve.

Notes

Note: if for some reason you get “burn” notice on the Instant Pot, no worries! Just release the pressure, remove the lid, and turn the Instant Pot to “saute” mode. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook the dumplings, carefully stirring often, for 5 minutes. Ladle into bowls and serve.

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