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Traditional Chicken Soup made even better by the fluffiest buttermilk dumplings flavoured with herbs and garlic. This recipe for an old fashioned chicken and dumpling soup is a must have for bitterly cold days and cozy dinners at home.
It’s no secret that chicken soup has healing powers and my herb and garlic dumplings bump the taste to the next level.
For more chicken soup recipes, check out my Slow Cooker Thai Chicken and Wild Rice Soup and Chicken Mulligatawny Soup.
Have you grown up eating this rich, stick to your bones chicken and dumpling soup? If not you are in for a treat. This recipe comes straight from my grandmother.
She is the one, who made it for us grandkids. The only change I introduced is the herbs and garlic in the dumplings to give them a bit more flavour.
As soon as this pot of soup was done simmering on the stove, the delicious aroma of dill, parsley, chicken and herb and garlic dumplings took me straight back to my childhood
This classic chicken dumpling soup recipe is known in Ukraine and Russia as “soup s galushkami”, which simply means “soup with galushki” (dumplings).
The recipe I am sharing today is made 100% from scratch, including the chicken stock. But you are not willing to go that far, the same great taste could be achieved using a good quality store bought chicken broth.
What is in chicken and dumpling soup?
As the name suggests the main players are chicken and fluffy homemade dumplings. The rest is up to you.
I love adding carrots, onions, celery, potatoes and herbs to mine. But don’t let my suggestion stop you. You can add any vegetables you love or the ones that need to be used up.
Veggies such as peas, beans, sweet potato or butternut squash will work well in place of a regular potato. Or add them in with the potato.
Let your imagination and taste guide you!
A quick word about dumplings, which really are wonderful in a soup. Dumplings make a brothy soup incredibly hearty, not only by adding another filling element, but by adding starch that thickens the whole soup.
And despite the simple ingredients that go into dumplings, they can be a wonderful burst of flavour. They do this by soaking up the flavourful broth, resulting in a very satisfying mouthful.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Every soup starts with a good stock and I often make my own but you can easily buy a ready made stock. Just look for the best quality you can afford since the taste of your soup depends on it.
- While your stock is being made, prepare your vegetables and mix the dumpling batter. Once your stock is made add chicken, potatoes and cook for 10 minutes, then add sautéed carrots, celery and and onions.
- The next part is the most exciting one. Start scooping the dumpling batter directly into the soup while it’s boiling.
- Using a small ice cream scoop with a trigger or two spoons is the easiest way to release the batter into the soup as it is quite sticky.
- Initially your dumplings should be no bigger than a golf ball. They will double in size when cooked. Make sure to cook the dumplings with the lid on as they need steam for a light and fluffy texture and to cook all the way through.
- Leftover or rotisserie chicken can be used instead of boneless skinless chicken breasts. Add them in at step 4 in the process, at the same point as strained broth and potatoes. Chicken thighs and legs can also be used in place of breasts.
Serving suggestions
Gotta love a dumpling soup. Eat this soup – even with nothing on the side – and hunger will stay away for a long, long time.
No need to get fancy thinking about what to serve on the side. Warm, crusty white bread is plenty!
Storage and leftovers
Let any leftover soup cool then place in an This is an affiliate link.airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
It’s worth noting that the dumplings won’t improve as they store. The dumpling dough will become softer as it sits in the broth, meaning the dumplings are more likely to fall apart after a day or two.
Warm leftovers up in a microwave or, even better, in a This is an affiliate link.saucepan over medium-high heat, until everything is hot all the way through.
More cold weather soup recipes
- Hearty Mulligatawny Soup
- Slow Cooker Thai Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
- Yellow Split Pea and Ham Soup
- Curried Cauliflower and Cheese Soup
- Chicken and Bean Soup
Chicken and Dumpling Soup
Ingredients
- 1½ litres / 6 cups This is an affiliate link.chicken stock, or water
- 2 chicken breasts , or equivalent amount of legs and thighs
- 2 This is an affiliate link.bay leaves
- 4 peppercorns
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsbp This is an affiliate link.olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 carrot
- 1/2 medium onion
- 1 celery stalk
- 1 tbsp fresh dill
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 medium potato
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
For the dumplings
- 125ml/1/2 cup buttermilk or kefir
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp This is an affiliate link.olive oil
- 100g/3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp garlic salt
- 1/2 tsp dried parsley, optional
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Add the water, bay leaves, peppercorns, salt and chicken breasts to a large soup pot and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes while removing the scum from the top.
- While the chicken is being cooked, prepare the vegetables. Peel and cut the potatoes. Dice the onion and celery and slice the carrots.
- Then prepare the dumpling batter. In a medium bowl mix the buttermilk, egg, oil, flour, baking soda, garlic salt, pepper and dried parsley with a wire whisk. The batter will be sticky and have the consistency of a waffle batter.
- Take the chicken breasts out of the pot and shred them with two forks. Strain the broth through a fine thieve, then return it back to the pot together with shredded chicken. Add the potato and cook for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile saute the onion, carrot and celery in olive oil and butter over low heat for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and fresh herbs and cook for 30 seconds longer. Then add the sauteed vegetable mix to the soup pot.
- Lastly, take the dumpling batter and start scooping dumplings directly into the simmering soup with a spoon. (You might want to use two spoons for easy release or an ice cream scoop with trigger.) The dumplings should double in size and float to the top almost immediately. Cover with a lid and cook covered for 10 minutes.
Video
Notes
- Use the best quality stock or broth you can afford since it is vital for the taste of your soup.
- Using a small ice cream scoop with a trigger or two spoons for the dumplings is the easiest way to release the batter into the soup.
- Your dumplings should be no bigger than a golf ball as they are added to the soup. They will double in size when cooked. Cook the dumplings with the lid on as they need steam for a light and fluffy texture as well as to cook all the way through.
- Leftover or rotisserie chicken can be used if you have it. Add them into the soup at step 4 in the process, at the same point as strained broth and potatoes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made so many times, delicious and easy. My favourite chicken soup
I am so pleased you enjoy it, Lidia!
I made this with left over turkey. Delicious! Soup was a major hit.
Oh yes, such a good use of leftover turkey, Jessica!
Fantastic!!
So pleased you loved it, Shelby!
I’m confused by the flour part of the recipe. When I look up 100g it tells me it’s 1/2 cup. So is it 1/2 cup or 3/4 of a cup of flour? Thanks! I can’t wait to try this!
Hi Kristin, I don’t trust the online measure equivalents as they are hugely subjective. If you scoop the flour in the cup, you will get more as the flour gets compacted and if you spoon it in, you will get less, that is why weight measurements are more precise when it comes to baking. By the way, you are supposed to spoon the flour into a cup. Lucky for you this is not a cake and all you need a consistency of a waffle batter for the dumplings to work. 3/4 cup flour is what you will need.
I used can biscuits. Break into small pieces the size of a half dollar.
My mom used to make a similar soup all the time, but we called it ััะฟ ั ะบะปะตัะบะฐะผะธ. I guess the main difference from reading the above recipe is that the dumpling itself was only made with 4-ingredients: egg, water, flour and salt (slight variations with herbs and ground pepper were also sometimes in rotation).
This sounds delicious too and now I want some dumplings! ๐
I think it’s essentially the same idea but galushki is a Ukrainian name for dumplings and kletski is a Jewish one. We actually had both soups prepared by two different grandmas. The one that made kletski was from Lviv, very Jewish town at the time. ๐
The soup is delicious. But do you know that Lviv is actually a pretty big and extremely beautiful city in Ukraine. No wonder everybody wanted to live there.
I do know Lviv very well. My mother is from Lviv, so I spent a few years of my childhood there. I so glad you love this soup, Anna. ๐
I often make a really simple and delicious chicken soup but haven’t made dumplings. My mouth is watering so I think I will try them next time.
Heirloom recipes are the best and our grandmothers had to make everything from scratch. A hearty meal for a cold day.
There’s nothing more comforting than a big bowl of soup in Winter and this one sounds so tasty! I need to try those dumplings!
I absolutely love chicken soup and yours looks wonderful. I must try it with the dumplings some time ๐
This looks great and those dumplings look mouth watering!
Thanks, Mandy!