Homemade Chicken and Dumpling Soup

This winter, we all came down with a virus that left everyone sick and tired for a while. A friend of mine suggested making chicken soup and I knew just the one to make! Ever since my kids were young they have loved this soup. The flavor and texture of the dumplings in each bite of the chicken soup is divine. They are soft pillowy biscuits that steam in the last 15 minutes of making the soup. The dumpling dough is simple with flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, pepper, butter, and milk (I love them with a touch of rosemary if you like). You mix the dough, drop by spoonfuls right into the soup, cover with the lid and there the magic happens. When you lift the lid minutes later, the dumplings have cooked and thickened and flavored the broth even more while cooking, creating a truly amazing soup. Every bite is heaven!

I love using rotisserie chicken here for a quick prep. The broth is simple yet flavorful, carrots, celery, onion, thyme, and dill cook in the broth. Add the chicken, salt, pepper, parsley, the dumplings, and a short time later you have a classic soup and a family favorite.

Looking for more comfort food this season? Try our Chili and Cornbread Casserole or Chicken Fried Steak!

You will need the following ingredients:

• Olive oil
• Onion
• Carrots
• Celery
• Chicken stock or broth
• Water
• Dried thyme
• Dried dill
• Chopped or shredded cooked chicken
• Parsley
• Salt
• Coarsely ground black pepper
• Flour
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Butter
• Milk
• Fresh rosemary (optional)

I know what it’s like when you don’t have everything on hand and the last thing you want to do is run to the store and pick something up. Here are a few ideas to substitute items on the ingredients list if needed:

1. You could use water instead of chicken broth, but more salt would need to be added and I would add bouillon.
2. You could try using a premade biscuit dough in place of the homemade dumplings. I would flatten the biscuits a little a cut them into smaller pieces before placing them in the soup.
3. You could increase the water by a cup or so and cook raw chicken in the broth while the vegetables cook instead of using cooked chicken. Cover the pot in step 2 of the recipe and cook for 15-20 minutes with the vegetables. Make sure the chicken is 165 degrees Fahrenheit before removing to cut or shred then return the chicken to the pot.
4. Vegetable broth could be substituted for chicken broth if needed.
5. You could add additional vegetables you like including peas, broccoli, or potato.
6. The minced rosemary in the dumplings is a little flavor boost in the dumpling that complements the soup well. You can omit if you prefer.

Step 1. In a large 5-6 quart pot or Dutch oven, warm oil over medium-low heat. Add chopped onion, carrots, and celery, and cook for 10 minutes until onions look translucent and vegetables are more tender, stirring occasionally and watching the heat to make sure the vegetables don’t burn.

Step 2. Add chicken broth, water, dried thyme, and dill. Turn up heat to high and bring broth and vegetables to a boil. Turn heat to medium-low and let the broth simmer for 10-15 minutes while you make the dumplings. Add the cooked chicken, 1 tablespoon of parsley, salt, and pepper to the soup.

Step 3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper. Add the melted butter, milk, and rosemary (if using). Mix together with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined.

Step 4. Using a tablespoon, drop mounded tablespoons of equal size of the dumpling dough onto the soup. The dumplings will spread a little as they heat and may look like they are coming apart, but they solidify as they are cooking. Cover the pot with a lid and cook until the dumplings are firm, about 15 minutes.

• The dumplings seem to nearly double in size when cooking. Make sure your pot has at least a 5-6 quart capacity so the soup doesn’t boil over as the dumplings rise (ask me how I know, ha ha) and a lid is essential for cooking the dumplings.
• I love cooking this dish in my Lodge enameled Dutch oven. It’s a little more pricey than my other pots and pans but I have had mine for 20 years and use it still several times a week. It is a solid, long-lasting, well-made pan. Crock Pot sells a 5-quart Dutch oven pot that looks to be popular as well and is cheaper, though I can’t speak of its longevity.