🍲🐔 Chicken & Dumplings Soup
A cozy, old-fashioned comfort soup with tender chicken, creamy broth, vegetables, and soft, pillowy dumplings that cook right in the pot.
🛒 Ingredients:
🐔 Soup base:
- 2–3 cups cooked chicken (shredded or chopped)
- 1 tbsp butter or oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 2 celery stalks, sliced
- 2–3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup milk or half-and-half
- 2 tbsp flour (for thickening)
- 1 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp thyme (or poultry seasoning)
🥟 Dumplings:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp butter (melted)
- ½ cup milk
- Optional: ½ tsp parsley or garlic powder
👩🍳 Instructions:
1. Cook vegetables
In a large pot, melt butter.
Add onion, carrots, and celery.
Cook for 5–7 minutes until softened.
Add garlic and cook 30 seconds.
2. Make creamy broth
Sprinkle flour over vegetables and stir well.
Slowly pour in chicken broth while stirring to avoid lumps.
Add milk, salt, pepper, and thyme.
Bring to a gentle simmer.
3. Add chicken
Stir in cooked chicken.
Let soup simmer for 5–10 minutes so flavors blend.
4. Make dumpling dough
In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt.
Add melted butter and milk. Stir until a thick, sticky dough forms (don’t overmix).
5. Cook dumplings
Drop spoonfuls of dough directly into simmering soup.
Cover pot tightly and cook on low for 12–15 minutes.
Do NOT lift lid while cooking (helps dumplings steam properly).
6. Finish
Check dumplings—they should be fluffy and cooked through.
Adjust seasoning if needed.
🍽️ Serve with:
- Fresh parsley
- Crackers or biscuits
- Hot sauce (optional kick)
🔥 Flavor profile:
- 🐔 Rich, savory chicken broth
- 🥕 Soft, sweet vegetables
- 🥟 Light, fluffy dumplings
- 🧈 Creamy, comforting texture
🔄 Variations:
- 🌶️ Spicy chicken and dumplings (add chili flakes or hot sauce)
- 🧄 Garlic herb dumplings
- 🥦 Add peas, corn, or spinach
- 🧀 Cheesy dumplings version
- 🍗 Rotisserie chicken shortcut version
💡 Tips:
- Keep broth at a gentle simmer—not boiling
- Don’t overmix dumpling dough or they’ll get dense
- Keep lid closed while dumplings steam
- Soup thickens as it sits
If you want, I can also give you a slow cooker chicken & dumplings, biscuit-style dumpling version, or a lighter low-calorie version.