Chicken and Vegetable Dumpling Soup
Surprisingly easy to make at home, this chicken dumpling soup (loaded with veggies!) is hearty, wholesome and so incredibly delicious!
I don’t know why, but for many years of my life, the thought of plopping homemade dumplings into a from-scratch chicken/veggie soup was always super intimidating.
Like, why even go there when you have chicken noodle soup and chicken pot pie and chicken noodle stew and other chickeny, vegetabley favorites? Know what I mean?

It wasn’t until I tried my Aunt Marilyn’s amazing chicken dumpling soup (loaded with veggies) that I kind of got it. A) it was actually embarrassingly easy to make emphasizing all the lost years of my life I had lived in intimidation and B) it’s pretty much one of the best soups ever.
My family can attest to that. They go crazy over this soup. It’s easily one of their favorite meals of all time, and I’m sitting over here thrilled that I can fulfill all of their wildest winter soup dreams with minimal effort.
This recipe is a huge favorite for many of you, too.
Here’s a quick comment from the thread below: I just wanted to let you know that…my family of 5 all loved it, including my picky 8-year-old who claims to not like any soup that doesn’t come out of a can! I was nervous about the dumplings, I’ve never made anything like that before, but they came out great! Thanks for once again saving dinner in my house!
How to Make Homemade Dumplings
I’m including a few tips to help you if you’ve also been in the intimidated-by-homemade-dumplings camp.
The dumplings are made from a soft one-bowl batter. Similar to muffins, you don’t want to overmix the batter or the dumplings might be kind of dense and heavy.
The recipe has always used 1 cup flour for the dumplings, but I’ve added a note below to add another 1/4 cup flour to the dumpling dough if you want sturdier dumplings.
Comfort Food is Rustic
I use my small cookie scoop {aff. link} to drop the dumplings into the hot soup. The best piece of advice I can give for chicken dumpling soup is to LET GO OF PERFECTION.
The dumplings are going to be rustic looking. Not uniform in size or shape. And quite honestly, just a little bit homely in appearance.
That’s the comfort and joy of dumpling soup. It’s meant to be a down home comfort food that pleases the soul and the tummy without giving a flip about what an Iron Chef would say about it.
Let the Dumplings Fully Cook
As the dumplings are dropped into the simmering soup, they’ll immediately start puffing up and expanding. That’s ok! Just work as fast as you can; all will be well in the end.
The biggest key to success in this recipe is to put a lid on the soup while the dumplings cook, and let the dumplings cook for the full amount of time. Try to summon all your self control and don’t lift the lid while the dumplings cook!
I’m kind of against soggy foods in general, but when the dumplings in this soup are fully cooked, they are incredibly yummy. Soft on the outside and fluffy on the inside.
Using a wider pot vs. a tall, narrow pot will increase the surface area for the dumplings, so keep that in mind, too.
If this soup has been a long standing favorite of yours, I haven’t changed anything fundamental in the recipe below – just added a few recipe notes.
But if you haven’t made this soup yet, what better time than mid-January for us northern hemispherers, huh? Chicken dumpling soup was meant to be winter’s soup.
Chicken and Vegetable Dumpling Soup
Ingredients
Soup:
- 1-2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 cup diced celery, about 2-3 stalks
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced yellow or white onion
- 1 teaspoon salt, I use coarse, kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 8 cups chicken broth, I use low-sodium
- 1 to 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 3-4 cups cooked chicken (see note)
- ½ cup water + 1/4 cup all-purpose flour to thicken
- ½ cup frozen peas
Dumplings:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, use 1 1/4 cups flour for sturdier dumplings
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme or sage
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the celery, carrots, onions, salt, pepper and thyme. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring often, until the vegetables start to soften. Add the chicken broth and chicken (if using uncooked chicken). Bring to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes until the chicken is just cooked through and/or veggies are tender. Remove the chicken to a plate and cut into small pieces.
- In a small bowl (or blender), combine the 1/2 cup water and 1/4 cup flour until smooth. Whisking vigorously, slowly add the flour mixture into the hot broth and stir until well combined. Stir in the frozen peas and cooked chicken and bring the soup back to a simmer.
- For the dumplings, in a medium bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. Add the sour cream, milk and oil. Stir just until combined (don’t overmix).
- Drop teaspoon-sized amounts (the dumplings should be fairly small, they’ll expand while cooking) of dumpling dough into the boiling soup, covering the entire surface of the soup. I use a #60 small cookie scoop. Cover the pot and simmer the soup and dumplings for 12-15 minutes. Do not lift the lid of the pot while the dumplings cook! Add time if the dumplings haven’t cooked all the way (or if they are bigger in size than teaspoon-sized portions).
- When the dumplings have cooked fully, remove the lid and gently stir the dumplings to break them apart, if needed. Serve.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from my Aunt Marilyn
Recipe originally posted February 2010; updated with new pictures, recipe updates commentary
This truly is the best chicken and dumpling soup recipe. My kids gobble it up!
Thanks, Abigail!
Have you ever used whole wheat flour?
I usually use all-purpose flour for the dumplings, but if I remember right, a lot of people in the comments have used whole wheat flour or 50% white/50% wheat.
soup sounds wonderful. how does it freeze with dumplings in?
It’s not the best freezing soup because the dumplings get pretty soft, but I know many have still frozen it and enjoyed it.
How many people will this recipe serve? My son and his wife have 7 children and I bring them dinner every other Sunday. This one sounds like a recipe all of them would love.
The yield is right above the recipe title – serves 6. 🙂
By chance did you previously have this recipe posted to use vinegar in the dumplings instead of sour cream? I have been scouring the internet for days searching for my go to recipe and the pictures and instructions look so similar to this but the one I used never called for sour cream..
No, this recipe hasn’t ever called for vinegar in the dumplings. Sorry!
1C milk + 1T vinegar will make a “buttermilk” substitute. I have replaced regular milk with buttermilk in dumpling and biscuit recipes, and they have both turned out great.
Dear Mel,
What a delicious soup! I am not sure I have the dumplings right though. Before I dropped them by the teaspoon into the boiling soup, the dough was very loose and wet. After cooking for the whole time, the dumplings were very soft – so tasty! – but not fluffy. Is this how they are supposed to be, or do you think making my dough a little stiffer before dropping them into the soup would be a good idea? Many thanks for your input on this, but really I want to say thank you for all you do to help us make great meals for our family!
Thanks, Sherry! About the dumplings, the dough is on the wetter side, but if the dumplings aren’t fluffy, I’d try adding another couple tablespoons flour to the dough and see if that helps!
Great thanks so much! You are terrific!
A probably ridiculous question…if I’m using leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, about how much cooked turkey do I need? Came home with turkey from my mom’s yesterday and trying to figure out if I have enough to make this tomorrow! 🙂 THANKS!
Good question (and great idea for this soup!); I’d probably use about 3-4 cups.
Thanks! I used what I had – I probably needed a little more – but it was a huge hit with my family. You know a recipe is a keeper when your kid asks you mid-bowl “can you make this again tomorrow?”. 🙂 Thanks for the YUM!
I made this soup tonight…it made the house smell so good. I used a rotisserie chicken from Sam’s club. The dumplings were beautifully cooked and just the right size. My family raved about this soup and we will be making it again!
This is one my favorite recipes on your site and I make it all the time as written. Delicious. To mix things up, yesterday I used the soup as a base for pheasant pot pie, substituting pheasant that my daughter shot for the chicken, and a pie crust for the dumplings to mix things up. It was amazing. Thanks!
Hands down for this recipe!!! Was browsing around looking for yummy soups for my little 12 month old when i came across your recipe. It’s really good, my kids and i loved it. The only thing i’ll have to skip or use less thyme, it was a bit strong maybe because we’re not used to it. Thanks for sharing!!!
Most dumpling recipes call for butter, why do you use sour cream instead of butter or margarine ?
It’s just how I’ve always made them for this recipe…they are tasty
Oh, wow. This was so good. I have some thyme haters in my family so I subbed sage for thyme and it was tasty. Today was fast Sunday for us. When my sweet husband asked what was for dinner I saw a flash of disappointment cross his face when I told him. He’s not a fan of soups, but he is considerate of my feelings so he tried to sound grateful. Then he tried it and he couldn’t stop eating it and raving about it. All my kids loved it. I had surprise dinner company show up and they all loved it, too. This is my new go-to take-in meal. So satisfying and delicious! Thanks so much!
So glad to hear a happy ending on fast Sunday! 🙂
Love this recipe! I am a college student and I enjoy making relatively healthy comfort food. It also gave me 4 meals worth of leftovers, which was great! The dumplings were super yummy and I loved the consistency of the broth – it tasted creamy, but has no cream or butter…wow! The flour thickener really gives this a good (albeit not heavy) consistency. Very cool. I loved the thyme flavor, but also added tarragon, which I always use in my chicken pot pie recipe and totally recommend doing if you like the flavor! Overall, great recipe!
This has become a family favorite! The last time I made it, I doubled the soup and ladled out half to freeze before adding the dumplings. We just reheated the frozen soup tonight, whipped up a quick batch of dumpling batter and it was perfect! An easy Sunday dinner! I add an extra 1/4 cup of flour to the dumpling batter. If I don’t, they sink and come out dense and heavy.
Fantastic idea to freeze half of the soup!
Mel, this was so tasty. I must have done something wrong though. The majority of my dumplings melted! It seemed like they were there after the 15 min cook time, but then when I mixed them in and served the soup, the soup was almost like a gravy and there were only a few dumplings existing. The only thing I think I did differently was substitute greek yogurt for the sour cream. Any ideas?
Try adding a bit more flour or reducing the yogurt/sour cream next time for a sturdier dumpling. That should help!
Absolutely fantastic !!!
I just wanted to let you know that this was another hit from Mel! My family of 5 all loved it, including my picky 8-year-old who claims to not like any soup that doesn’t come out of a can! I was nervous about the dumplings, I’ve never made anything like that before, but they came out great! Thanks for once again saving dinner in my house!
Confused! I’d like to make this for dinner tonight, but I’m not following the chicken section. If I have raw chicken, I throw 3 breasts in right with the veggies in there and let it cook for 10-15 min? Do I pull it out and dice it then and put it back in?
Dina – I hope this worked out for you. Yes, you put the raw chicken breasts in with the veggies and chicken broth and once cooked through dice it up and put it back in. Did you end up making it?
No, I thought I’d wait until tomorrow night. Looking forward to it–thanks!
Hi
The dumplings were Amazing! I had no chicken and I subbed a cup of milk for one of the cups of water, which made it more chowder like. It was delicious. I threw in mushrooms and green beans to, to make up for my lack of chicken. So good! Best dumplings ever!
Just FYI, this meal works great frozen if you cook it up until you add the dough. Either make the dough the day of preparing or freeze the dough separately. I have used Grands biscuits (shhhhh, don’t tell) to plop into my meal to save on time and to be able to use it as a freezer meal. I have not frozen Mel’s dough though. You would still be saving huge amounts of time of an evening to just have to make the dough. I made this meal tonight with a few variations that I will not share, because Mel’s meals are perfect just the way they are written 😉
You are too funny, Beth! I love it when people share variations; don’t be shy! 🙂
I was getting on here to ask you a question when I ran across my own comment. Getting ready to make this into freezer meals again and now wish I had added my variations since I didn’t save them on CopyMeThat at the time. I assume I made it for the slow cooker as that is my goal now. I just cook the chicken all day in the crock pot, turn it up to high and add biscuit dough at the end. I am a weirdo and assume no one has tried freezing your biscuit dough and adding it to the crock pot later. I guess I will try it myself and let you know how it goes so I remember again in 3 years when I make it again!
I’m the one who asked on FB about a nondairy substitute, and just wanted to let you know it worked great and was a huge hit! I did a half recipe, so I used1/2 cup almond milk plus 1/2 tbsp vinegar (in place of milk and sour cream, like you suggested) and the oil in a measuring cup and added it slowly until the right consistency. I had some left. The recipe was delicious, and even my soup-averse 5- and 2.5-year-olds liked it! Next time I’ll do a full recipe of the dumplings with the half-recipe soup because they’re the best part! 🙂
Oh my gosh, this soup is amazing! Definitely one of the best things I’ve made in a while and it was even toddler approved! WIN!
Awesome soup! Flavor was great, I left out the 1 1/2 tsp salt and it was perfect!
I made this tonight. It was very good. I have had trouble with dumplings in the past. I didn’t have sour cream so I put 1/2 of milk and then a bit more until it was a this biscuit consistency. I also used boneless skinless thighs and roasted them for 30 minutes before adding to boiling broth. It hit the spot on a cold rainy night. Even though I live in Florida, this winter has been a tad cold for us too.
This is a FANTASTIC soup!!! We can’t make it enough now that we’ve found the recipe. As we like more broth, I double the broth, water, & thickener. Also, added some noodles before I dropped the dumplings in…it’s a HIT!! Thank you for sharing!
I halved the thyme in this. I also used rotisserie chicken instead of bothering to cook chicken. I used chicken bouillon for flavor and I sprinkled in some Parmesan cheese to kick up the flavor and added some bottled minced garlic. I didn’t make a mix of flour and water to thicken, just tossed in some tiny noodles to the boiling mixture. It turned out great. Flavor was awesome.
Yum! Great for a snowy night. Another great recipe, Mel, and I really appreciate a chicken & dumplings recipe that doesn’t use any cream of yuck (condensed soup…ugh…). I tried it in the crockpot and it worked fairly well. Here’s timing for others: I threw frozen chicken breasts, broth, carrots, spices, etc, for 4-5 hours on high. Pulled out the chicken and shredded it, then added the flour mixture and peas until it was hot and bubbly. Throw in the dumplings an hour before serving. I wish I had reduced the liquids some in the dumplings, probably down to 1/4 cup of each and work your way up from there if they don’t mix up right. I used the recipe as written and they weren’t quite as intact or chewy as I wish they’d been. Just a recommendation. We’ll be giving it another whirl soon. Very tasty!
I just made this soup and it was absolutely delicious; my family and I really enjoyed it. I always come to your site in search of yummy recipes to try. Thank you for your recipes and helping me feel like a domestic goddess.
This soup was great! I made it last night and we loved the flavor! I liked that it wasn’t salty but didn’t taste bland. The Thyme and Sage really added a lot to the recipe. I also LOVED the dumplings – they were so soft and a perfect addition to the rest of the soup. The only thing I would do differently next time is try to drop smaller balls of dough into the soup since I felt like there weren’t enough dumplings at the end. I had a lot of leftover dough since I was following the directions not to layer the dumplings, so I think maybe mine were just too big 🙂 It did take about an hour from the time I started prepping to when we were actually eating, but this soup was definitely worth it! Thanks for sharing a great recipe!
I made this for my in-laws a few weeks ago and my FIL (who does not like soup) loved this and had two bowls. Delicious!
This soup is heaven; the perfect comfort food. Even my dumpling-disliking husband devoured it. I didn’t have any sour cream, so I substituted half the amount of buttermilk, and it worked great. Thanks for the yummy recipe! It (and your split-pea barley ham soup) will be gracing my table very often this winter.
Wow! I tried this recipe last week and it was delicious!! I’ve been on a soup kick lately but this one has been my favorite! So many textures and favors! Yum yum yum! Thank you for the recipe, I’m going to make it again tonight 🙂
In terms of blogs, I’m definitely a “lurker,” but I think it only fair to let everyone know how wonderful this recipe turned out. My little girl wanted chicken soup for her birthday, and because all of the other recipes I’ve tried from your site have been winners, I felt confident turning to you, once again, for this special occasion. Easy to make but absolutely delicious, this soup made my birthday girl feel special. The dumplings were especially tender and delectable. I even sneaked another bowl for breakfast this morning before we headed out to church. Don’t tell my kids. (I made them eat Cherrios.)
My husband usually just says “this is good” if he likes a meal. I made this for dinner last night and my husband cheered, it was so good!!!! Thank you!!!!
Hi Melanie!
I’ve been on here so many times after I discovered you a few months ago! So many fabulous recipes! I am eager to try this one- the Chicken and Veg dumplings..but have a quick question… When you mix the 1/4 flour and cold water, is the flour taken from the dumpling mixture? So, then, when making the dumplings, it is actually 3/4 c flour and not the whole 1 cup?
Thanks!
Holly
Thanks, Holly! Glad you are enjoying the recipes. In answer to your question, no, don’t take the 1/4 cup flour from the dumpling ingredients – it is an additional 1/4 cup flour so you should still use the full 1 cup flour for the dumplings. Hope that helps!
Made this just now. I was never a dumpling fan growing up but these are super yummy! Again, and again, thanks for your recipes. Your site is my go-to for the age old question, “What’s for dinner?” 🙂
Shayla – I don’t think you necessarily did anything wrong. Perhaps during the first stage more liquid evaporated while it simmered and it turned it to the thicker side. When I’ve made it, I would say it is in the middle of a brothy soup and a thick stew – a little of both – so it sounds like perhaps it turned out just like it should. Glad you liked the flavors – hopefully you can fine tune it so it is exactly how you like it!
I made this for dinner tonight to celebrate the first day of Fall and it was delicious! And wonderful and vibrant flavor although it was a bit too salty for me. But that is an easy thing to change up next time around. (Because there will definitely be a next time.) My biggest question comes from looking at your picture and reading the word “soup.” This turned out a lot more like a stew for us – it was quite thick. I noticed that it was getting thick before I even added the dumplings. Your picture makes it seem like it should be more “soupy.” Is this the case? Did I boil it too long in the beginning? Don’t get me wrong, we loved the stew quality, but I just wanted to make sure I didn’t do something “wrong.”
how will i know when the dumplings are done? i’ve made them in the past and i think i always over cook them because i never know when they are done!
Catherine – the dumplings should be moist but still firm to the touch (not overly mushy). If you need to pull one out and cut into it to make sure it has cooked through that might help.
I checked your site for a chicken and dumplings recipe — figured it would be even better than mine. I’m going to make it right now — sounds yummy!
I’ll add leeks — really adds to the flavor.
When it comes to cooking the dumplings, I divide the soup into two wide pots and put them both on the stove and fill them with dumplings. It’s an evil genius plan — double the dumplings. YUMMMMMMM.
Tried this recipe tonight and the pot is empty. Loved it! I’m trying the vanilla pudding cinnamon rolls tomorrow. I LOVE your recipe site. I tell everyone about it. Thanks!
Another awesome recipe! The only thing I did different was to add all the vegetables (except the peas) and seasoning to the pot of broth after removing the chicken, covered it, and simmered until tender. Not only using less oil but less dishes to wash! I also used yogurt instead of sour cream, as that was all I had, and it still turned out great!
Mel, I just wanted to say that I haven’t made a recipe of yours that wasn’t amazing! Keep up the good work!
These recipes are so enticing. I tried this one first and made the dumplings with whole wheat, and added some red potatoes too. Their was a lot of dumpling mix left so I think I will try to make less next time. Over all tasty recipe indeed. Tonight I’m making the squash and tomato one.
Mel, I am adding this to my site, everyone keeps asking me for the recipe. Just made it tonight and it was fantastic. Thanks a bunch.
I followed this recipe exactly and it was DELICIOUS! Thanks for another great one, Mel 🙂
Thanks, Christina!
We made this soup from our leftover Christmas turkey . . . . DELICIOUS!!! I just knew you’d have the perfect dumpling recipe! Thanks for always having my next meal right at the click of my mouse!
Anne – great idea to use leftover turkey in this! So glad you loved it.
I am a huge fan of your Aunt Marilyn and her pasta salad that changed my life. So this was my #1 meal in my December Mealathon….(I am going to rename this with every review) you know what I mean. I changed it a little……..I didnt start with the whole chicken. I sauted the veggies, then added 6 cups stock, 2 cups water, did the flour mixture (which I am so doing every time I make any chicken soup) then added some unseasoned rotisserie chicken that I shredded up. My grocery store sells rotisserie chicken breasts (just the breasts) and they have changed my world. They arent flavored and I sub them into so many recipes. So I shredded the chicken and threw that in, and then did the dumplings. I never know if I am making them right and I felt like some might have been cooked more then others. I loved the flavor of the soup, I just think I need to work on my dumpling skills. I would love to have someone who is a professional chicken dumpling soup maker show me their tricks. Maybe I will see if there is a You Tube video, lol 🙂 Anyway this was a great soup, it was super easy and quick to throw together and I will be making this again for sure.
Juliann – thanks for the smile. If you stumble upon a professional chicken dumpling soup maker, let me know! Thanks for including your variations – glad you loved it!
Mel — Once again, you don’t disappoint! I made this for dinner this evening and it was de-lish. Your little doughy pillows of goodness renewed my love for all things dumplings, so thank you! Most definitely a keeper!
Lisa – I feel a measure of success whenever anyone renews their love for dumplings, so thanks for making my day!
MaryAnn – I think you needed to keep cooking the dumplings longer. The first time I made this (and I’ve made it many times – my entire family loves this soup!) the dumplings weren’t fully cooked and so I cooked for 5 more minutes and they were just right.
Thanks, Mel, for one of my family’s favorite meals. The ultimate comfort food!