This Homemade Chicken and Dumpling soup is a flavorful, comforting soup, perfect for a rainy day or when sickness hits at home. The dumplings are like drop biscuits, they are easy to make and come together in a few minutes before cooking in the soup. My favorite thing about this soup is the delicious, thickened broth that results from the dumplings cooking in the soup. This has been a family favorite for years.
What we love about this Chicken and Dumpling Soup
This winter, we all came down with a virus that left everyone sick and tired for a while. A friend of mine suggested making chicken soup and I knew just the one to make! Ever since my kids were young they have loved this soup. The flavor and texture of the dumplings in each bite of the chicken soup is divine. They are soft pillowy biscuits that steam in the last 15 minutes of making the soup. The dumpling dough is simple with flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, pepper, butter, and milk (I love them with a touch of rosemary if you like). You mix the dough, drop by spoonfuls right into the soup, cover with the lid and there the magic happens. When you lift the lid minutes later, the dumplings have cooked and thickened and flavored the broth even more while cooking, creating a truly amazing soup. Every bite is heaven!
I love using rotisserie chicken here for a quick prep. The broth is simple yet flavorful, carrots, celery, onion, thyme, and dill cook in the broth. Add the chicken, salt, pepper, parsley, the dumplings, and a short time later you have a classic soup and a family favorite.
Looking for more comfort food this season? Try our Chili and Cornbread Casserole or Chicken Fried Steak!
What you need to make this Chicken and Dumpling Soup Recipe
You will need the following ingredients:
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Carrots
- Celery
- Chicken stock or broth
- Water
- Dried thyme
- Dried dill
- Chopped or shredded cooked chicken
- Parsley
- Salt
- Coarsely ground black pepper
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Butter
- Milk
- Fresh rosemary (optional)
Homemade Chicken and Dumpling Soup Substitutions
I know what it’s like when you don’t have everything on hand and the last thing you want to do is run to the store and pick something up. Here are a few ideas to substitute items on the ingredients list if needed:
- You could use water instead of chicken broth, but more salt would need to be added and I would add bouillon.
- You could try using a premade biscuit dough in place of the homemade dumplings. I would flatten the biscuits a little a cut them into smaller pieces before placing them in the soup.
- You could increase the water by a cup or so and cook raw chicken in the broth while the vegetables cook instead of using cooked chicken. Cover the pot in step 2 of the recipe and cook for 15-20 minutes with the vegetables. Make sure the chicken is 165 degrees Fahrenheit before removing to cut or shred then return the chicken to the pot.
- Vegetable broth could be substituted for chicken broth if needed.
- You could add additional vegetables you like including peas, broccoli, or potato.
- The minced rosemary in the dumplings is a little flavor boost in the dumpling that complements the soup well. You can omit if you prefer.
Step-by-step Instructions for this Easy Chicken Soup with Dumplings
Step 1. In a large 5-6 quart pot or Dutch oven, warm oil over medium-low heat. Add chopped onion, carrots, and celery, and cook for 10 minutes until onions look translucent and vegetables are more tender, stirring occasionally and watching the heat to make sure the vegetables don’t burn.
Step 2. Add chicken broth, water, dried thyme, and dill. Turn up heat to high and bring broth and vegetables to a boil. Turn heat to medium-low and let the broth simmer for 10-15 minutes while you make the dumplings. Add the cooked chicken, 1 tablespoon of parsley, salt, and pepper to the soup.
Step 3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper. Add the melted butter, milk, and rosemary (if using). Mix together with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined.
Step 4. Using a tablespoon, drop mounded tablespoons of equal size of the dumpling dough onto the soup. The dumplings will spread a little as they heat and may look like they are coming apart, but they solidify as they are cooking. Cover the pot with a lid and cook until the dumplings are firm, about 15 minutes.
Tips
- The dumplings seem to nearly double in size when cooking. Make sure your pot has at least a 5-6 quart capacity so the soup doesn’t boil over as the dumplings rise (ask me how I know, ha ha) and a lid is essential for cooking the dumplings.
- I love cooking this dish in my Lodge enameled Dutch oven. It’s a little more pricey than my other pots and pans but I have had mine for 20 years and use it still several times a week. It is a solid, long-lasting, well-made pan. Crock Pot sells a 5-quart Dutch oven pot that looks to be popular as well and is cheaper, though I can’t speak of its longevity.
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Frequently Asked Questions
| How to store and reheat Chicken and Dumpling Soup? |
| Soup can be safely stored in the fridge, covered for 3-4 days, or kept in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for 2-3 months. It tastes great the second day but will need to be thinned with additional broth or water To reheat, warm in a pot over the stove until heated through, or microwave individual servings in bowls until warm. |
| What should I serve with Homemade Chicken and Dumpling Soup? |
| This soup is a meal in itself with the heartiness of the dumplings and chicken and the nutrition of the vegetables. You can serve it with bread and/or crackers to dip in the soup or grilled cheese. A simple salad and fruit could also accompany. Additionally, we love to have soup night and make another soup or two for variety and yummy leftovers the next day. |
Homemade Chicken and Dumpling Soup
6
servings30
minutes50
minutes1
hour20
minutesIngredients
Chicken Soup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 large carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
8 cups chicken stock or broth (2 quarts)
2 cups water
¾ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon dried dill
3 ½ cups chopped or shredded cooked chicken (rotisserie works great)
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley, divided
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
Dumplings2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
6 tablespoons butter, melted
¾ cups milk
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary (optional)
Directions
- In a large 5-6 quart pot or Dutch oven, warm oil over medium-low heat. Add chopped onion, carrots, and celery, and cook for 10 minutes until onions look translucent and vegetables are more tender, stirring occasionally and watching the heat to make sure the vegetables don’t burn.
- Add chicken broth, water, dried thyme, and dill. Turn up heat to high and bring broth and vegetables to a boil. Turn heat to medium-low and let the broth simmer for 10-15 minutes while you make the dumplings.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper. Add the melted butter, milk, and rosemary (if using). Mix together with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined.
- Add the cooked chicken, 1 tablespoon of parsley, salt, and pepper to the soup. Using a tablespoon, drop mounded tablespoons of equal size of the dumpling dough onto the soup. The dumplings will spread a little as they heat and may look like they are coming apart, but they solidify as they are cooking.
- Cover the pot with a lid and cook until the dumplings are firm, about 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle the soup with chopped parsley to garnish if desired. Scoop soup into individual serving bowls and serve warm.
Notes
- The chicken stock naturally thickens as you cook the dumplings, so you don’t need any flour or cream to thicken the soup.
- 10 cups may seem like a lot of liquid with this recipe, but the dumplings absorb some of the liquid and the dumplings nearly double in size when cooking. 10 cups is the perfect amount to have enough soup with the dumplings, otherwise it seems a little short.
- The dumplings will spread a little as they heat and may look like they are coming apart, but they solidify as they are cooking.
Wow. This looks incredible. Can’t wait to try it.
Thank you so much! This soup is a family favorite and we love how the dumplings help thicken and flavor the soup. Let me know if you try it!
Love Dumpling soup, can I add frozen veggies to this soup? Thanks!
Yes, absolutely! While I haven’t used frozen vegetables with this recipe, I have bought frozen mire poix from my local grocery store (chopped onion, carrot and celery) and have used them with soups before. Since the frozen vegetables are already partially cooked, they won’t need to cook as long. Just skip step one in the recipe and toss them in with the broth to bring to a boil. They may release more liquid in to the broth, but that is not a problem at all with this recipe. Hope you enjoy it! Let me know how it goes!
Loved this! So tasty and so comforting
I am so happy to hear that you loved the recipe! I love how comforting this soup is too, and it really tastes so good. Thanks so much for trying the recipe Andrea, and for taking the time to leave a review!
Perfect for the fall and winter months!
Thank you! It really is great comfort food when its cold outside or when you are sick. Thanks for the great feedback!
It went from heat to rain here in Florida, and I need some comfort food. This was the ticket for our rainy weekend dinner. The dumplings were a hit. And the daughters beat me to the leftovers the next day. YUM!!!
I love hearing that! This really is the best comforting soup when it’s cold or people are sick at home. I am so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback!