With Chicken and Dumplings Soup simmering on your stovetop, you can’t help but feel cozy. This recipe starts with a classic chicken soup: chicken stock, mirepoix, and herbs—with a generous splash of heavy cream. Dollops of buttermilk dumplings cook until light and fluffy. The ultimate, creamy comfort food.
Why KJ Loves
Chicken and Dumplings Soup
Chicken and Dumplings Soup is the ultimate bowl of comfort. I absolutely love how this soup just makes you happy – the dumplings are fluffy, the chicken soup is creamy and decadent and each spoonful is pure bliss. Dunk in some crunchy baguettes for the ultimate meal!
Stay In and Cozy Up
This is a great meal for a cold-weather/sweatpants kind of evening. But it’s also a wonderful option for a cozy dinner party. After all, we’re starting with mirepoix.
Umm, what’s mirepoix?
Even if you’re not familiar with the term, you’ve probably made it before. It’s a recipe base made of diced aromatic veggies—usually onions, celery, and carrots. They’re cooked slowly in butter or oil to bring out the delicious flavors.
Making Chicken and Dumplings Soup
The Creamy Soup Base
You’ll start by simmering the chicken in chicken stock with onions, carrots, celery, and herbs until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the soup, shred it, and add it back in.
What comes next is where this soup starts to be anything but ordinary: CREAM.
It’s “soup-er” important that you don’t boil the chicken soup once the cream is added. Boiling it will make the cream separate, and we don’t want that. We’re going for a smooth, creamy broth.
Fool-Proof Homemade Dumplings
Homemade dumplings are surprisingly easy to make—and totally worth several minutes of extra effort.
Even if they’re not perfect, they’ll get plopped into a pot of creamy chicken soup that’s loaded with flavor. 🍲
You can’t go wrong.
All you need are a few simple ingredients:
- Flour
- Buttermilk
- Heavy Cream
- Baking Powder
- Salt
Gently mix the ingredients together until just combined, then dollop small spoonfuls into the soup!
That’s it!
When the dumplings are added to the soup, they start to puff up and look all sorts of delicious. It’s tempting to take a peek, but you have to leave them alone to cook! The dumplings get cloudy and fluffy, and the soup thickens into pure decadence.
Chicken and Dumplings FAQs
What is the secret to good dumplings?
A little love…and also, don’t overmix the dough! You’ll want to stir until just combined so the dough isn’t overworked.
Why do my dumplings fall apart when I cook them?
Make sure you don’t boil the soup. If it’s boiling, the dumplings may fall apart (plus the cream will separate!).
Do you cook dumplings with lid on or lid off?
You’ll start with the lid on—and don’t take it off for the first 10 minutes! Hard, I know. But the dumplings need a hot, steamy environment to cook properly. After 10 minutes, you’ll remove the lid, turn the dumplings, and let the soup simmer for a little longer.
How do you thicken chicken and dumplings soup?
Some recipes use cornstarch. But we’re going for good ‘ol cream here. It serves multiple purposes—both thickening the soup and adding a delicious, creamy twist to a classic recipe.
Serving Chicken and Dumplings Soup
Top it off.
Sprinkle some fresh thyme on top to add a touch of brightness.
What side dish goes with chicken and dumplings?
Bread (bring on the carbs!)
Veggies (#balance)
—
This recipe is chicken-and-dumplings soup for the soul—it will warm you through and through. Simmer a batch for a weeknight dinner, holiday party, or to serve to family and friends. It will quickly become a family favorite!
Watch the Recipe Video Here:
Chicken and Dumplings Soup
(9 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)
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- Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
With Chicken and Dumplings Soup simmering on your stovetop, you can’t help but feel cozy. This recipe starts with a classic chicken soup: chicken stock, mirepoix, and herbs—with a generous splash of heavy cream. Dollops of buttermilk dumplings cook until light and fluffy. The ultimate, creamy comfort food.
Ingredients
For the soup:
- (2) 32 oz containers chicken stock – 64 oz total
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins, or boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch rounds
- 2 large celery stalks, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup heavy cream
For the dumplings:
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Topping Ideas:
- Chunky bread for dunking
- Fresh thyme leaves
- Buttery crackers
Instructions
For the soup:
- In a large pot, bring the chicken stock to a boil over medium-high heat. Add in the chicken, onion, celery, carrot, thyme, oregano, rosemary and salt and let boil for 20-30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the soup and reduce the heat to low. Shred the chicken with two forks and add back into the soup.
- Pour the heavy cream into the soup and stir to combine. Allow it to come to a simmer, but do not allow it to boil (keep on low heat).
For the dumplings:
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Pour in the buttermilk and heavy cream and use a rubber spatula to stir and fold the ingredients into each other until a dough forms. It may look a little dry at first, but it will come together.
- Use a spoon to dollop rough tablespoon-sized dumplings into the simmering chicken soup. After all the dumplings have been added, cover the pot with a lid and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, carefully rotate and turn over all of the dumplings and allow the soup to simmer for another 10 minutes, or until the dumplings are cooked through and the soup has thickened. Serve with chunky bread, top with fresh thyme leaves if desired and enjoy!
Notes
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs can be used if dark meat is preferred. If you are looking to save time, you could even use shredded rotisserie chicken.
- Baby carrots are also my favorite life-hack for soups! They easily all cut into the same size rounds that perfectly fit on a spoon. Use about a cup of cut baby carrots.
- Be careful to not allow the soup to boil after the cream has been added – this will cause the cream to curdle and separate making it look like cottage cheese. It can simmer, but not boil.
- Leftovers of this soup are scrumptious! Why is soup always better the next day?
- Nutritional information for this recipe is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Soups & Stews
- Method: Stovetop
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 460
- Sugar: 4.5g
- Fat: 20.8g
- Carbohydrates: 28.9g
- Fiber: 2.3g
- Protein: 38.3g
- Cholesterol: 143mg
Keywords: Chicken and Dumplings Soup
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Hi, I’m KJ!
Here you’ll find simple, delicious recipes for the home cook. I strive to make wholesome meals with easy-to-find ingredients that you feel comfortable making in your own kitchen—but I won’t shy away from a few indulgences! (I see you: butter, bacon, cookies!)
