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Creamy Chicken and Dumpling Soup

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
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Creamy Chicken and Dumpling Soup

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This creamy Chicken and Dumpling Soup recipe is the ultimate comfort food! Fluffy, homemade dumplings in the most flavorful creamy chicken soup. Did I mention there’s bacon too? And the most perfect sour cream dumplings? This is truly the ultimate chicken and dumpling soup recipe!

This is my second recipe for So Much Food Soup Week! It’s the most indulgent comfort food ever and is so perfect for these chilly evenings. A bowl of creamy chicken and dumpling soup feels like being wrapped in a warm, cozy blanket. As soon as fall hits, this recipe is an absolute winner and it’s made even easier by using shredded rotisserie chicken. I love an easy one-pot soup that’s full of flavor and creamy chicken and dumpling soup is a must this year!

Homemade Chicken and Dumpling Soup

If you are looking for an easy, creamy chicken and dumpling soup recipe, you found it! Today I’m sharing all my tips and tricks on how to make your chicken and dumpling soup from scratch with minimal effort.

Don’t be intimidated when I say it’s from scratch–this is one of the easiest soup recipes to make! The homemade dumplings come together in one bowl, mixed by hand, in under 5 minutes. Sour cream dumplings are so perfectly tender and easy to make, you’ll wonder why you’ve never made them before!

While this recipe is homemade, I do love to use store bought shredded rotisserie chicken to make my life that much easier. You can also poach your own chicken and shred it, but I find that rotisserie chicken is so flavorful and easy.

Creamy Chicken and Dumpling Soup

Types of Dumplings for Chicken and Dumpling Soup

You may have had chicken and dumpling soup before! If you have, you’ve liked encountered a couple of different dumpling types.

For my creamy chicken and dumpling soup, I make homemade sour cream and chive drop biscuits. Drop biscuits are simply mixed by hand and dropped by the scoopful into the soup. I may be biased, but these are the best kind of dumpling! They’re tender, easy to make, and don’t require any special equipment or ingredients.

If you’ve ever been to Cracker Barrel, their chicken and dumplings feature rolled dumplings. They’re flat and dense and similar to a really thick noodle. These are my least favorite dumplings!

Finally, some folks use canned biscuits cut into pieces for their chicken and dumpling soup. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this method, I just really love sour cream drop biscuits! I urge you to give mine a shot and you will be so impressed by how simple they are to make!

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

Comforting – There’s nothing quite as comforting as a bowl of chicken soup, but we’ve made it even better! This creamy chicken and dumpling soup recipe is so flavorful and rich without being too heavy. It’s the soup we turn to over and over again for cool nights!

One Pot – Save for the mixing bowl you’ll need for the dumplings, this soup is entirely made in one pot! I love any dinner that saves me from tons of clean up. You’re going to love how easy this recipe for chicken and dumpling soup is!

Customizable – This is a great recipe for using up extra veggies you may have! The classics here are carrot, onion, leek, and celery but you could also add peas, potatoes, sweet potato, parsnip, etc.

Creamy Chicken and Dumpling Soup

How to Make Creamy Chicken and Dumpling Soup

You don’t need any fancy equipment to make creamy chicken and dumpling soup, but as with all soups I recommend investing in a nice dutch oven! It’s my go-to for so much of my cooking, and soups especially.

Tools Needed

Ingredients and Substitutions

  • Chicken. I love using shredded rotisserie chicken here, but you can always poach or roast your own. You will need 3 cups of shredded chicken, however you get there is up to you!
  • Bacon. Bacon makes everything better! I use a bit of the rendered bacon fat to boost the flavor of the dumplings. You could skip the bacon, but it’s part of what makes this chicken and dumpling soup recipe so good.
  • Veggies. I stick to pretty classic veggies here and use onion, leek, carrot, and celery. You could skip the leek, but I love the flavor and texture it adds.
  • All-Purpose Flour. You’ll need some flour to thicken the soup as well as make the dumplings.
  • Spices. Dried sage and thyme give the soup tons of flavor.
  • Dairy. You’ll need butter for the soup, sour cream and milk for the dumplings, and heavy cream to make the soup extra creamy.
  • Chicken stock. I always have a store of homemade chicken stock in my freezer which is best, but you can definitely use store bought too.
  • Chives. I love the subtle onion flavor that chives give the dumplings. You could use dried chives, but I always opt for fresh.
  • Baking powder. Baking powder is the leavening agent in our dumplings to make sure they’re super plump and fluffy.

The Process

  • Render the bacon. Cook the bacon low and slow until it’s crispy and releases a bunch of its fat. I always save the bacon fat for the dumplings to add extra flavor. Once the bacon is crispy, remove it from the pot with a slotted spoon and transfer the bacon fat to a small heat-proof bowl.
  • Mix the dumplings. Combine all the remaining dumpling ingredients in the bowl with the bacon fat and mix with a rubber spatula until everything is well mixed. The dough should be thick. Cover and set aside.
  • Saute the veggies. Add the butter to the pot and let it melt over medium-high heat. Add the onion, leek, carrot, and celery and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are getting soft. Add the flour, and stir to really work the flour in. Cook, stirring often, for 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken broth, a bit at a time, while stirring constantly. You don’t want any clumps of flour. Bring to a simmer.
  • Add the chicken and cream. Once the soup is simmering, add the shredded chicken, crispy bacon, and cream. Season the soup base to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer.
  • Add the dumplings. Using a large cookie scoop, scoop the dumplings and drop them on top of the soup, leaving a little room between each one. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes. Once the dumplings are puffy and cooked through, ladle the chicken and dumpling soup into bowls. Top with more chives and serve hot!

Tips for Perfectly Tender Dumplings

Even if this is your first time making dumplings for chicken and dumpling soup, they are so easy to make! Follow my tips and you’ll be whipping up dumplings like a pro!

  • Mix the dry ingredients first. So that you get evenly mixed dumplings, whisk your flour, spices, salt, chives, and baking powder together in a mixing bowl.
  • Then mix the wet ingredients. Whisk the rest of the wet ingredients together in a small bowl with the bacon fat until smooth.
  • Fold the wet ingredients in to the dry. The trick to tender dumplings is to mix everything gentle. I use a rubber spatula to fold the wet ingredients into the dry until just mixed. Once no clumps of flour remain, your dumpling dough is ready to go!
  • Use a cookie scoop or small measuring cup. Using a pre-set measurement like a large cookie scoop or 1/4 cup measuring scoop ensures that your dumplings are even in size and that they cook evenly. You could always just drop them in the soup by the spoonful, but I find that a cookie scoop yields perfectly plump and even dumplings without getting your hands dirty.

If you have been wanting to learn how to make dumplings from scratch, creamy chicken and dumpling soup is definitely a great recipe to try since it’s so easy!

Chicken and Dumpling Soup

Storing and Reheating Chicken and Dumpling Soup

If you find that you have leftovers, you can definitely store and freeze creamy chicken and dumpling soup with one caveat!

The dumplings for chicken and dumpling soup are always best when made fresh. If you find that you have leftovers, remove the dumplings from the soup and store them separately in an airtight container. To reheat the dumplings, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake at 350 F for 5-7 minutes. Then, re-introduce them into the soup. This keeps the dumplings from getting soggy and falling apart.

Once you remove the dumplings, store the soup in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat on the stove in a soup pot and then add the reheated dumplings. To freeze, let the soup cool to room temperature and then store in a freezer-safe ziplock bag or souper cubes, and transfer to the freezer. Freeze for up to 3 months.

To defrost, transfer to the fridge to defrost and then reheat in a soup pot on the stove.

Creamy Chicken and Dumpling Soup

More Soup Recipes to Try Now

Albondigas Soup
Chicken Curry Noodle Soup
Instant Pot Matzo Ball Soup
Tomato-Bacon Bisque

This post contains affiliate links from which I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Affiliate links allow me to keep providing great recipes for free and I never recommend products that I don’t love and personally own.

Creamy Chicken and Dumpling Soup - Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipe Ideas
Main Dishes, Soups

Creamy Chicken and Dumpling Soup

This creamy Chicken and Dumpling Soup recipe is the ultimate comfort food! Fluffy, homemade dumplings in the most flavorful creamy chicken soup.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients

Dumplings

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons minced fresh chives
  • 2/3 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon whole milk
  • 3 tablespoons reserved bacon fat or melted butter

Soup

  • 4 strips bacon, diced
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced
  • 1 leek (white and light green parts only) sliced
  • 3 carrots, peeled and diced
  • 3 ribs celery, diced
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 4 cups chicken stock (homemade is best!)
  • 3 cups shredded, cooked chicken
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • kosher salt, to taste
  • freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Instructions

  • Place a 4 qt dutch oven over medium-low heat and add the bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is crispy and some of the fat has rendered. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a small place and transfer 3 tablespoons of bacon fat to a small heat-proof bowl.
  • In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and chives for the dumplings. Whisk until combined. Add the sour cream and milk to the small bowl with the bacon fat and whisk until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold the mixture together until no streaks of flour remain. Cover and set aside.
  • Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in the dutch oven over medium heat. Once the butter is hot and foamy, add the diced onion, carrot, leek, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes until the vegetables start to get soft. Add the sage and thyme and cook for 1 minute more. Sprinkle the flour on top of the veggies and stir to incorporate the flour into the veggies and butter. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes.
  • Add the chicken stock to the pot one cup at a time, stirring well between each addition. Bring to a simmer. Once the pot is simmering, add the shredded chicken, cream, and bacon back to the pot. Bring to a gentle simmer and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  • Using a cookie scoop, gently drop the dumplings into the soup, giving a little space between each. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15-17 minutes. The dumplings should be fluffy and plump. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with more chives, if desired.

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  1. I typically make enough dinner for leftovers. Is this a good dish the second night? I’m wondering how the dumplings hold up.

    • Yes! There’s a section in the blog post with recommendations in terms of storage and reheating. I recommend storing the soup and dumplings separately and heating them up separately to keep the dumplings from getting soggy.

  2. 5 stars
    Thank you! I’m soo sick and this is yay what I need. I haven’t tried it yet, but it looks amazing!!