I’m so excited to share my Chicken and Dumplings Soup recipe with you! This is a cozy, creamy soup with tender chicken, soft vegetables, and light fluffy dumplings. It is classic comfort food that feeds a family and warms you from the inside out.
Level: Easy
Total Time: 1 hour
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: American
Chicken and dumplings is a simple, old fashioned dish that feels like a hug in a bowl. The base is a rich creamy chicken soup with carrots, celery, and onions. Then we top the soup with raw dumpling dough. The dumplings steam right on the soup and puff up into soft pillows. The trick to great chicken and dumplings is building a flavorful broth first and then steaming the dumplings gently so they cook through but do not fall apart.
I like to sear the chicken first for extra flavor. That little bit of browning gives the broth a savory depth that really makes the whole pot taste homemade. If you prefer, you can use leftover cooked chicken or store bought rotisserie chicken and skip the searing step.
How to Make Chicken and Dumplings Soup
This is the short version of what we will do:
• Brown the chicken briefly to add flavor.
• Sauté onions, carrots, and celery in the same pot.
• Make a light roux with butter and flour to thicken the broth.
• Add chicken broth and simmer so the flavors come together.
• Stir in cream and peas.
• Add the raw dumpling dough on top and steam gently until the dumplings are cooked.
• Finish with fresh parsley and serve.
Ingredients
Soup
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 pounds bone in skinless chicken breasts or thighs, or 1.25 pounds boneless chicken breast or 3 cups cooked chicken
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce, optional
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 4 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 chicken bouillon cube, optional
• 1 1/2 cups half and half
• 3/4 cup frozen peas
Seasonings
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon each dried basil, parsley, thyme, rosemary, mustard powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground sage
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Dumplings
• 2 cups cake flour or all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3/4 cup cold sour cream
• 1/4 cup cold milk
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
Garnish
• Chopped fresh parsley
Directions
- Sear the chicken: Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium high. Add the chicken and cook about 3 minutes per side until lightly browned. The inside will still be mostly raw. Remove the chicken and let it rest 10 minutes. Dice or shred and set aside. Discard bones if used.
- Make the flavor base: In the same pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Use a spatula to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add onion, carrots, and celery and cook about 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the garlic, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce if using, and the seasoning mix. Cook 1 more minute.
- Thicken the broth: Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir for 2 minutes to cook the raw flour taste. Slowly add the chicken broth in small splashes while stirring to avoid lumps. Scrape the bottom of the pot so no browned bits stick. If using, add the bouillon cube.
- Add cream and peas: Slowly stir in the half and half in small splashes until smooth. Add frozen peas. Bring the soup to a gentle simmer. Keep it at a low simmer while you make the dumplings.
- Make the dumpling dough: In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, garlic powder, and sugar. Add the cold sour cream, cold milk, and melted butter. Fold gently until a soft dough forms. Do not overmix.
- Add chicken back and drop dumplings: Stir the diced or shredded chicken and any juices back into the soup. Reduce heat to low. Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to drop mounds of dumpling dough evenly over the surface of the soup. Spoon a little broth over each dumpling. Cover the pot tightly.
- Steam the dumplings: Bring the pot up to a gentle simmer then set a timer for 15 minutes. Do not lift the lid during this time. After 15 minutes check a dumpling with a toothpick. If it comes out clean in the center, they are done. If not, cover and simmer a few more minutes.
- Finish and serve: Sprinkle chopped parsley over the soup and serve hot.
Process Details
• Why sear the chicken: Browning adds flavor from the caramelized bits that stick to the pot. Those bits are very tasty when scraped into the soup.
• Roux step explained: Adding flour to the butter and cooking it briefly creates a roux. This thickens the broth and gives it a silky texture. Cook the flour for a couple minutes so it stops tasting raw.
• Gentle simmer is key: Dumplings steam rather than boil. A hard boil can make them tough or cause them to break apart. Keep the heat low and do not lift the lid while they cook.
• Dough texture: The dumpling dough should be soft and slightly sticky. Overmixing makes the dumplings dense.
Tips for Success
• Use a timer for the dumplings so you do not overcook them.
• If you want extra broth flavor use bone in chicken or add a small chicken bouillon cube. Remove bones before adding dumplings.
• Leftover cooked chicken works great and saves time. Add it near the dumpling step so it warms through.
• To keep sodium lower, use low sodium broth and skip the bouillon cube. Adjust salt at the end.
• If you prefer biscuit style dumplings, you can use store bought biscuit dough cut into pieces and cook the same way.
Serving Ideas
• Serve with a simple green salad or steamed green beans for a balanced meal.
• Offer crusty bread or warm biscuits for dipping.
• Leftovers spooned over mashed potatoes make a comforting second meal.
Storage & Freezing
• Refrigerator: Cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container up to 3 days. The dumplings soften over time. Reheat gently on the stove.
• Freezing: Soup freezes well but dumplings change texture after freezing. For best results, freeze the broth and vegetables separately and make fresh dumplings when you reheat. If you freeze the whole soup, eat within 2 to 3 months and expect a softer dumpling texture after thawing.
Nutrition Info (Approximate per Serving)
• Calories: ~650 kcal
• Protein: ~29 g
• Carbohydrates: ~50 g
• Fat: ~38 g
• Saturated Fat: ~20 g
• Sodium: varies by broth and added salt
These are estimates and will change based on exact ingredients and portions.
I love this Chicken and Dumplings Soup because it is classic, forgiving, and full of warm flavors. The seared chicken, savory broth, and light dumplings combine into a comforting meal that families ask for again and again. It is a great recipe to make when you want something simple to feed a crowd and something that warms you on a cool night. I hope you enjoy making it and that it becomes one of your go to comfort meals.
