This classic Chicken and Dumpling Soup recipe features creamy broth, succulent chicken, sweet carrots, and light, fluffy dumplings. It will satisfy your longing for a good home-cooked meal.
My family loves this recipe; I feel great about its wholesome ingredients. It’s comfort food at its best, like biscuits and gravy, loaded potato soup, and beef tips and gravy.
Table of contents
Fluffy Dumplings are the Best
Sometimes, life calls for a healthy bowl of hot chicken soup. There is just something very comforting about chicken and dumplings. This tasty soup is just what the doctor ordered, with plenty of fresh veggies, roasted chicken, and soft, fluffy dumplings.
This recipe calls for already-roasted rotisserie chicken, found at almost any local grocery or warehouse store.
Ingredients Needed
- Butter: salted or unsalted
- Vegetables: onion, celery, carrots, garlic, and frozen peas
- Seasonings: dried parsley, poultry seasoning, bay leaf, salt and black pepper
- All-purpose flour
- Chicken broth: preferably low-sodium
- Chicken: cooked and diced
- Baking powder: so the dumplings rise
- Granulated sugar: for just a touch of sweetness in the dumplings
- Milk: 2% or whole
How to make Chicken and Dumpling Soup
First, make the stew. Cook the fresh vegetables in a little butter on the stovetop over medium heat, Reduce the heat and add the garlic, parsley, and poultry seasoning. Cook for a minute. Sprinkle with flour and cook for a couple of minutes.
Stir in the chicken stock and bay leaf and bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer until the vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaf. Season with salt and black pepper. Add the cooked chicken and frozen peas.
Then, Mix the dumplings and drop them in the simmering stew. Cover and simmer. Garnish with fresh herbs and serve.
Preparation Tips
- Use a Dutch oven or heavy stockpot with a tight-fitting or heavy lid.
- The bay leaf should be removed from the soup before eating. Its sharp edges could pose a choking hazard. I find it easier to remove it before making the dumplings.
- If you’re looking for an easy way to add chicken to this recipe, using shredded rotisserie chicken can be a great option. Ready-cooked rotisserie chickens are available in almost every local grocery store, warehouse store, and even Walmart and Target.
- While cooking the dumplings, keep the heat down to a low simmer so as not to scorch the soup.
Store Some for Later
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat your food, you can either use the stovetop on low heat or microwave it with reduced power.
To freeze, first cool completely, then spoon into a freezer-safe storage container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat over low heat on the stovetop or in the microwave at reduced power.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not with fluffy dumplings. The baking powder starts to react as soon as it is mixed with milk.
As tempting as it may be, do not lift the lid while the dumplings are cooking, as the air in the pot must remain hot and steamy to cook the dumplings properly. If the dumplings do not puff up quite enough upon the completed time, quickly cover the pot and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.
Chicken and Dumpling Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 large onion chopped
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- 2 large carrots sliced in 1/4 inch rounds
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1/2 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 6 cups low sodium chicken broth or stock
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups cooked chicken cut in small cubes
- 1 cup frozen peas
Dumpling Recipe
- 1 cup flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup milk 2% or whole
Instructions
- Melt butter over medium heat in a Dutch oven or stockpot. Add onion, celery, and carrots and cook until fragrant, approximately 4-5 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add garlic, parsley, and poultry seasoning; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Sprinkle in 1 1/2 tablespoon flour; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in chicken stock and bay leaf; simmer for 25 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add chicken and frozen peas and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter. When crumbly, add milk and stir just until combined. Drop by small spoonfuls into simmering soup. Cover and cook for 15 minutes without removing the lid.
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Don’t forget to remove the bay leaf, as they have sharp edges.Â
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat your food, you can either use the stovetop on low heat or microwave it with reduced power.
- To freeze, first cool completely, then spoon into a freezer-safe storage container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat over low heat on the stovetop or in the microwave at reduced power.
Nutrition
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https://www.smalltownwoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Beth-1.pdf
Amie
This was delicious! My friends and I all loved it.
Allyssa Potkanowicz
Could I substitute something for the milk in the dumplings? My mom is lactose intolerant 🙃
Madison
Can you make the soup 2 days in advance
And just do the dumplings right before serving?
Beth Pierce
Yes, you can!
Sarah
Can the leftovers be frozen?
Beth Pierce
Yes you can but completely thaw the soup in the fridge before reheating. Reheat on the stovetop over low heat or in the microwave at a reduced power.
Angela Wenrich
Thank you for the recipe! I am a horrible cook so I need guidance (directions) when it comes to cooking. Followed this easy recipe to a T and it was perfect. My family and I absolutely loved it. Very hearty and delicious! The foot notes were also a big help. Thank you so much for the recipe will be making again for sure!
Beth Pierce
Thanks so much Angela. So glad that you and your family liked it! It is a good time of the year for chicken and dumpling!
Anita Bowles
I made this with leftover turkey after Thanksgiving. It is incredibly tasty. Thank you for the recipe and the thorough explanation. It is a great warm winter soup.
Beth Pierce
Thanks Anita! So glad that you liked the soup!!
Cheryl A Porter
The ingredients list differing amounts of flour as the instructions.
4-1/2 T flour in soup. Instructions say 1-1/2 T flour.
Dumplings ingredients say 3 cups flour. Instructions say 1 cup flour.
Beth Pierce
I just checked it and it says 1 1/2 tablespoons in the soup portion and 1 cup in the dumpling portion in both the ingredients and the instructions. Please take another look. I also had my daughter look at it in case my old eyes were playing tricks on me.
Debbie Chasteen
You are correct, the measurements are for 2x recipe.
Christina Piccoli
I forgot to give my last comment stars. This is a definite 5 stars!
Christina Piccoli
The only bad thing about this soup is that there isn’t enough. Making double next time. It’s flavorful, comforting, warm, and filling without being too heavy. It’s near perfect.
Beth Pierce
Thanks so much Christina! So glad that you liked it!!
Sibyl Peterson
This is the most requested meal in my house right now. My two kids BEG for me to make this at least once a week. It is so simple and yet so delicious! I substitute buttermilk for the milk in the biscuits which gives them a heartier but oh so yummy flavor. Even doubling this recipe there is never leftovers!
Beth Pierce
Thanks so much Sibyl! So glad that you and kids like it! We love it too!
Eat real food
Started what ended up being 1 gallon of broth yesterday with a pasture raised chicken from a local farm – used the whole chicken (feet and all), and then used 6 cups of the that and about half the meat to make the this soup.
It was soup-er easy! Just strain the broth into a bowl like always, and pick out the chicken meat and dump in 2 cups of it. Followed the rest of the recipe and it was so rich and flavorful!
Maxine
It was very good and quite easy to make, definitely well make again.
Beth Pierce
Thanks Maxine! So glad that you like it!
Danielle
This recipe is killer!!! I had to share it with friends and family because I’m not sure I want to share the pot of soup I made… Lol. My new favorite soup! Thank you for sharing this deliciousness!
Beth Pierce
Thanks so much much Danielle! So glad that you liked it! 😉
Jess
One of my favorite meals in a soup version. Perfect for those chilly nights!
Charla
Wonderful! I’m here freezing my butt off and could do with a bowl of your chicken and dumpling soup.
Valerie
I love chicken and dumpling soup! Yours sounds super easy to make and your dumplings look terrific.