Chicken and Dumpling Soup

Classic chicken soup studded with big pieces of chicken, celery, carrots, and onions with homemade herb dumplings dropped in makes for the perfect bowl of comfort food.  This recipe originally post in January 2011.

Do you like chicken and dumplings?   To me it's the ultimate comfort food but since it's thick and creamy it ends up being pretty heavy.   So to combat that I love making this easy Chicken and Dumpling soup recipe.

It's been really cold lately so I've been planning to make chicken soup.   I wasn't sure what variety I was going to make I just knew that it was going to be the basic chicken soup base with chicken and vegetables and then I'd figure out the rest later on.

My husband wasn't feeling well and since he is the noodle maker in our house for chicken noodle soup I knew that was out.   I love making chicken and dumpling soup but I've had some trouble with the dumplings in the past.   Sometimes they are too big and doughy and other times they just fall apart when they hit the broth.

I finally found a recipe that sounded like it would work and when I made it for the first time back in 2011 they worked perfectly.  I'm happy to report that 10 years later even though I've tweaked the recipe to suite my needs this dumpling recipe is still my go to when I'm making soup.

For this recipe you will need:

• butter
• onion
• garlic cloves
• carrots
• celery
• thyme
• salt and pepper
• chicken broth
• cooked chicken
• flour
• baking powder
• butter
• milk
• assorted herbs (see my recommendations below)

To start this soup I like to melt a little butter in a stock pot or Dutch oven then add in the onion and saute it for a few minutes.  Then I toss in the garlic and heat it until it becomes fragrant.

After that I add in the carrots, celery, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook for about five minutes.  Then in goes the chicken broth and cooked chicken and everything simmers for a an hour or longer.

You don't add in the dumplings until 15-20 minutes before you are ready to eat the soup.   This is because the dumplings cook in the soup and if you add them in at the beginning they begin to break down into the soup. 

Making the dumplings is super easy.  You pretty much just mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.  Then you scoop them up by tablespoons and plop them into the soup.   Let them simmer in there for 15 minutes and your soup is ready to go!

This is definitely one of my most favorite soup recipes.  I have always found chicken soup to be the most comforting and having big, fluffy dumplings in the soup just makes it that much better. Try this soup the next time someone at your house is feeling under the weather or the next time it's cold outside.

Pro Tips and Substitutions:

• Add in extra vegetables like bell peppers, mushrooms, or potatoes to make this soup more hearty.
• Choose your own herbs to put in the dumplings.  Some herbs that would be great in the would be rosemary, thyme, parsley, oregano, or chives. 
• Want to make this vegetarian?   Simply use vegetable broth and take out the chicken.  You don't need to add in anything else but you could add tofu or meatless chick'n for added protein. 

If you’ve tried my Chicken and Dumpling Soup or any other recipe on Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. I love hearing from you! You can FOLLOW ME on:

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Chicken and Dumpling Soup

Yield: serve 8

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Classic chicken broth studded with big pieces of chicken, celery, carrots, and onions with homemade herb dumplings dropped in makes for the perfect bowl of comfort food. 

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Ingredients

For the soup:

• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 10 c. chicken broth
• 2 c. cooked chicken, chopped or shredded

For the dumplings:

• 2 c. flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
• ¾ c. milk, warm

Instructions

1. Heat the butter in a stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the onion and saute for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the garlic to the pot and cook for 1 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Add the carrots, celery, thyme, salt, and pepper. Saute the vegetables for 5 minutes or until they begin to soften.
4. Slowly pour in the chicken broth and chicken and mix well.
5. Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.
6. After an hour combine the flour, baking powder, salt, paprika, thyme, oregano, and pepper in a medium bowl to make the dumplings.
7. In another medium bowl combine the melted butter and milk. Slowly pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
8. Roll the dumpling dough into 1 inch balls. It should make between 25-30 dumplings.
9. Add the dumplings to the simmering soup and cook for 10-15 minutes.
10. Serve hot.

Note:  The soup can be frozen for up to 4 months in a freezer bag or an air tight container without the dumplings in it.  Thaw soup when ready to use then mix up a new batch of dumplings. 

Notes

A Hezzi-D original recipe

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 281Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 51mgSodium: 2232mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 15g