Creamy Chicken and Dumpling Soup will be your go-to comfort meal. It’s easy to whip up, nourishing and will impress the family. A classic meal to add to your recipe box.

Why Make This Creamy Chicken and Dumpling Soup

The original chicken and dumpling recipe dates back to before the great depression! You can imagine how far along the recipe has come. I haven’t had chicken and dumplings until earlier this fall at a restaurant. It was a healthy version and I HAD to recreate it.

This soup is so much easier than you can imagine, don’t be intimidated. This is a cozy, nourishing soup that is filling thanks to the homemade dumplings. You can make it gluten free, dairy free and easily customize it to your liking. Also consider my Chicken Tomato Soup for another nourishing, filling soup.

Ingredients Needed

Shredded Chicken. I typically make my own with 2-3 chicken breasts. You can also use rotisserie chicken. If you have leftover shredded chicken, use it to make my Enchilada Casserole.

All Purpose Flour. This is the base to make the dumplings. You can also use it to thicken the soup instead of using corn starch.

Seasonings. You will need onion, garlic powder, salt, pepper, dried basil, dried oregano, dried thyme, dried parsley.

Carrots. Fresh is best to add some good texture.

Celery. Fresh is best to add some good texture.

Recipe Variations

Shredded Chicken. Use homemade or rotisserie chicken. You can also use cubed chicken breasts or thighs. Cook them before hand to ensure the recipe works out the same.

All Purpose Flour. To make this gluten free, use an all purpose gluten free flour.

Milk. Really any milk of choice will work (whole milk, heavy cream, 2% milk). You can make this dairy free by using unsweetened almond or oat milk.

Cornstarch. You can use arrow root or use all purpose flour. Use the same measurements for each one.

Butter. I like to use salted butter. Be sure to pop some butter in the freezer to help with the “cold butter” shredding process. Plant based butter will also work.

Steps To Make This Recipe

Step One. In a large 6-8 quart pot, melt the butter and add in the chopped onions, diced carrots and celery. Cook and stir until the onion is soft and translucent and fragrant. Add in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the soup seasonings and flour or cornstarch. Sauté on low for 4 minutes (Photo 2).

Step Two. Add the broth and shredded chicken in, bring to a simmer with the lid on and simmer while you make the dumplings. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt, and dumpling seasonings whisk well. Using a large holed cheese grater, grate the cold butter into the flour mixture and stir to coat the butter. I use frozen butter for this part, but just cold out of the fridge will work as well (Photo 4). *the cold butter helps to ensure the dough can keep its shape to form balls (dumplings).

Step Three. Pour in the milk and stir until a ball forms with the dough. You can knead it a few times in the bowl if needed.

Step Four. Pull off one inch or smaller pieces of the dough, roll them gently into a ball and plop into the soup. Cover with a lid and allow to simmer for another 15-20 minutes, until the dumplings are floating at the top of the soup and cooked through (Photo 6).

Step Five. Once the soup is finished simmering and the flavors have combined, serve hot in bowls and top with chopped parsley and optional hot sauce (I prefer Cholula or Franks on this soup!)

Recipe FAQs

Recipe Tips

Consistency of dumpling dough. When making the dumpling dough, aim for a relatively thick, drop-biscuit-like consistency. You don’t want the dough to be too runny or too dry. Add more liquid or flour as needed to achieve the right texture.

Don’t over mix dumpling dough. Mix the dumpling dough just until the ingredients come together well. Over mixing can make the dumplings tough and lumpy.

Cook dumplings with the lid on. Keep the lid on the pot while the dumplings are cooking to trap steam and heat, which helps them cook through properly.

Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Everyone has a different flavor pallet, if your soup needs a little extra salt or garlic be sure to add it! I love to add in hot sauce to this soup so I tend to keep it a little less salty so I can add lots of hot sauce.

Recipe Pairings

This recipe is great on it’s own, but it is also wonderful with my Mediterranean Black Bean Salad, Roasted Red pepper Salad or Air Fryer Garlic Bread.

Other Soup Recipes To Try

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