Chicken Soup with Dumplings (Printable)
Tender chicken and vegetables meld with fluffy dumplings in a savory, satisfying broth.
# What You Need:
→ Soup
01 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
02 - 1 medium onion, diced
03 - 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
04 - 2 celery stalks, sliced
05 - 3 garlic cloves, minced
06 - 2.2 pounds bone-in, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
07 - 2 bay leaves
08 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme
09 - 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
10 - 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
11 - 10 cups low-sodium chicken broth
12 - 1 cup frozen peas
13 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
→ Dumplings
14 - 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
15 - 2 teaspoons baking powder
16 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
17 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
18 - 3/4 cup whole milk
19 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)
# How to Make It:
01 - Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add diced onion, sliced carrots, and celery. Sauté for 5 to 6 minutes until softened. Add minced garlic and cook for an additional minute.
02 - Add bone-in chicken, bay leaves, dried thyme, salt, and black pepper to the pot. Pour in low-sodium chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes until chicken is fully cooked.
03 - Remove the chicken from the pot and shred the meat using two forks, discarding bones. Return shredded chicken to the soup.
04 - Stir in frozen peas and chopped fresh parsley. Bring the soup back to a gentle simmer.
05 - In a bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in melted butter, whole milk, and optional parsley until just combined, being careful not to overmix.
06 - Drop tablespoon-sized mounds of dumpling batter onto the surface of the simmering soup, spacing them evenly. Cover the pot tightly and simmer, without removing the lid, for 15 minutes until dumplings are puffed and cooked through.
07 - Adjust seasoning if needed and remove bay leaves. Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with additional parsley, and serve hot.
# Expert Suggestions:
01 -
- The dumplings cook right in the broth and become pillowy-soft, like edible clouds that somehow taste like butter and home.
- It's a one-pot dinner that feels fancy enough for company but casual enough to eat in your kitchen shoes.
- You can have it ready in just over an hour, which means lunch tomorrow or dinner tonight without the stress.
02 -
- Don't peek while the dumplings cook—every time you lift that lid, heat escapes and they deflate a little, becoming denser instead of fluffy.
- If your dough feels too thick, a splash more milk helps, but add it slowly because you can't take it back once it's in.
03 -
- Homemade broth will give you a richer, more complex depth than store-bought, but good low-sodium broth is honest and reliable.
- The dumplings are best eaten the day they're made, but the soup itself freezes beautifully for up to three months if you skip the dumplings and add fresh ones later.