Creamy Pumpkin Gnocchi Soup (with Leftover Turkey)
Leftover turkey got you down? Put it to delicious use in this creamy pumpkin gnocchi soup with leftover turkey that will become your new favorite post-Thanksgiving tradition. This soup brings together the comforting flavors of pumpkin, the hearty addition of gnocchi, and bites of turkey to create a dish that is both crave-worthy and wastes no leftovers.
How to Customize this Dish
I want to encourage you to be as creative as you want in utilizing this recipe or any of mine. Adjust and use what you have and like. These are things that I normally do when it comes to making this type of soup.
- Switch from leftovers turkey to rotisserie chicken.
- Switch from homemade pumpkin gnocchi to the store bought pumpkin gnocchi version or even just potatoes gnocchi.
- Switch the kale in this recipe for spinach. To be honest, I used kale as I developed this recipe because that’s what we have in our little garden. If you are not a fan of kale, don’t use it.
Tips on How to Get a Soft Pillowy Texture Pumpkin Gnocchi
- Get the most moisture out of the pumpkin pure’e. I used a canned pumpkin so it comes with a lot of moisture. I lined 2 -3 layers of paper towel on the top of the strainer and let the paper towel strained and absorb moisture as seen in the video in the recipe card.
- Adding cream cheese to enhance both the flavor and light texture.
- Keep it frozen until it’s time to put them in the pot. They stayed in shaped better and won’t end up sticking to your hands by the time you are throwing them in a pot. This means if you are making it at the same time of making this soup, make sure to freeze them on the baking sheet (line with parchment paper for easy handling) or a plate so that they don’t stick together. Then work on getting your leftover turkey and the vegetables ready.
Important Tips for This Recipe
- If you decide you make this pumpkin gnocchi from scratch and making it this soup right after, I’m repeating the same instruction that I just did in the last paragraph lol! Keep it frozen until it’s time to put them in the pot. They stayed in shaped better and won’t end up sticking to your hands by the time you are throwing them in a pot. This means if you are making it at the same time of making this soup, make sure to freeze them on the baking sheet or a plate so that they don’t stick together. Then work on getting your leftover turkey and the vegetables ready.
- You can usally tell if the gnocchi is cooked and that you are ready to move on to the next step is first, the gnocchi will float to the top (2-4 minutes). But for this soup and the amount of moisture it has, I found that the optimum time is 10 minutes as we are cooking a whole pound of gnocchi at the same time. It’s better to be safe than eating an undercooked or a raw dough!
Similar Holiday Recipes
If after all you still have more Thanksgiving leftovers, consider making easy brunch from them. This includes curry puff with leftover turkey and turkey cranberry pinwheels. However, if you want to find more Thai recipes using pumpkins or butternut squash, think about chicken red curry with pumpkin or butternut squash. They will not disappoint you!
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Creamy Pumpkin Gnocchi Soup (with Leftover Turkey)
Leftover turkey got you down? Put it to delicious use in this creamy, pumpkin gnocchi soup with leftover turkey that will become your new favorite post-Thanksgiving tradition. This soup brings together the comforting flavors of pumpkin, the hearty addition of gnocchi, and bites of turkey to create a dish that is both crave-worthy and wastes no leftovers.
Equipment
Ingredients
For the homemade pumpkin gnocchi dough (or get store bought version)
- 1 cup pumpkin purée or butternut squash purée
- 1 1/4 cup flour and more for dusting
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup cream cheese or ricotta
For the gnocchi soup
- 1 lb gnocchi or about 2cups
- 1 cup heavy cream or half and half
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 2 carrots
- 3 celery
- 4 -5 cups kale or spinach
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour or corn starch for gluten free
- 5-6 cloves garlic
- 1 large onion chopped
- Salt to taste
- Cracks of pepper
- 1 stick butter
- 2 cups turkey white and dark meat or rotisserie chicken
Instructions
Make Homemade Pumpkin Gnocchi Dough
- Line the strainer with a few layers of paper towel. Add a cup of pumpkin and let it strain for about 5 minutes. Lift up the paper towel and gently squeeze the water about. Stop with you notice that the paper towel is breaking.
- On kneading mat or in a bowl, combine flour, egg, pumpkin puree and cream cheese together. Make sure to dust the mat with flour. Add as much as flour as you need to make the dough comes together but use as little flour as possible. Too much flour means, heavy dough and no pillowy texture. Gently mix and knead the dough to combine.
- Once the dough comes together, cut the dough into 4 equal parts and roll each part into a shape of a rope.
- Cut each of the dough rope into small pieces (about half an inch long). Roll the dough into circle, make dents to create the pumpkin lines then insert the pumpkin seeds or rosemary leaf on the top to create a stem. Or simply make a dent with a fork or don't make any patterns at all 🙂
Line the gnocchi dough on a big plate or a baking sheet and put it in freezer while preparing other ingredients for the soup.
Make the Gnocchi Soup
- Use medium heat. In a pot, melt butter and stir fry diced onion, celery, and garlic until fragrant. (about 2 – 3 minutes)
- Make a roux by adding corn starch or flour and stir to coat the vegetables.
- Add the chicken stock and bring it to boil. Add the gnocchi dough and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add the heavy cream or half and half followed by the leftovers turkey. Stir in the vegetables. Keep cooking for another 2-3 minutes or until the carrots becomes a little bit soft then add salt and pepper to taste. (Make sure to give it a taste before adding salt as each brand of chicken stock comes with a different amount of sodium..) Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1.5cupCalories: 668kcalCarbohydrates: 70gProtein: 16gFat: 37gSaturated Fat: 22gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 128mgSodium: 754mgPotassium: 587mgFiber: 6gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 12184IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 132mgIron: 6mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
