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–+ servings
small white bowl full of chicken and dumplings garnished with fresh parsley
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5 from 26 votes

Comforting Chicken and Dumpling Soup

Chicken and Dumplings is such a perfect comforting meal. This will become a treasured recipe that you come back to over and over.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Servings: 6
Author: Lisa Longley

Ingredients

For Soup

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • 2 large carrots diced
  • 2 celery stalks diced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 teaspoons dried parsley
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 4 cups chicken broth (907 grams)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 cups cooked chicken cubed, see note (300 grams)
  • 1 cup heavy cream (227 grams)

For Dumplings

  • 1 cup all purpose flour (120 grams)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup skim milk (113.5 grams)

Instructions

  • Melt the butter over medium heat in a large pot or dutch oven.
    3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • Add the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic. Season with parsley, basil, salt, and pepper, and cook until soft, about 5 to 7 minutes.
    1 small yellow onion, 2 large carrots, 2 celery stalks, 2 garlic cloves, 2 teaspoons dried parsley, 2 teaspoons dried basil, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • Whisk in the flour until fully combined. Slowly add the chicken broth. I like to whisk in about 2 tablespoons at a time to start, whisking it into the butter and flour mixture until fully combined before adding more. You can add it more quickly at the end. This process should take about a minute.
    2 tablespoons all purpose flour, 4 cups chicken broth
  • Add the bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes. You should see bubbles that are about the size of peas.
    2 bay leaves
  • While the soup is cooking, make the dumpling batter. Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
    1 cup all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut in cold butter.
    1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • Gently mix in milk until just combined and there are no more streaks of flour.
    1/2 cup skim milk
  • Make sure you still see your soup bubbling before gently dropping about a tablespoon of the dough at a time into the soup. Boil until just cooked through over medium heat, about 4 minutes uncovered.
  • Finally, gently stir in the cooked chicken and heavy cream, stirring to combine and cooking for about 1 minute more until combined. Remove bay leaves and serve.
    2 cups cooked chicken, 1 cup heavy cream

Video

Notes

I like to keep frozen cooked chicken in my freezer for recipes like this. Alternatively, you could use a store-bought rotisserie chicken. For quick cooking of chicken, use the stove top. Place the chicken in enough water to cover it and simmer it for 4 to 10 minutes. Make sure it registers 165 degrees with an instant read thermometer.