With its thick broth and tender dumplings, a bowl of chicken and dumplings soup is the ultimate comfort meal. This classically flavored homestyle dish uses a not-so-classic recipe for the dumplings themselves. You’ll be amazed at how a simple ricotta gnocchi dough is transformed into the most perfect homemade dumplings. And for a quick shortcut to flavor, this version starts with a rotisserie chicken and boxed stock so it will hit your table in an hour flat (but if you prefer to use homemade stock, by all means, please do!).

chicken and dumplings soup in bowls and dutch oven

What is Chicken and Dumplings Soup?

Chicken and dumplings soup consists of pulled chicken meat and dumpling dough simmered in thickened chicken broth. A dumpling can either be made biscuit style which is dropped into broth in lumps, or rolled out like a thick noodle. 

Dumplings Dilemma

Let’s face it– dumplings can either be a hero or a zero. A perfect, soft, tender dumpling swimming in thick broth is the stuff of dreams. While its arch nemesis– the tough, chewy and dense dumpling– can ruin your dish in one fell swoop. The key to making this dish at home is selecting the right style of dumpling.

Although they can be just as delicious, the drop biscuit style can be fussier to make and harder to get right. Biscuit dough is easy to overwork, resulting in a tough or chewy dumpling. With biscuit dough, it is also hard to gauge whether your dumplings are fully cooked or still raw in the middle.

This recipe transforms an easy ricotta gnocchi dough into thick noodle-style dumplings. Why? Because the ricotta keeps the dumplings light as a feather, and the egg keeps them from falling apart. They are also rolled out into uniform strips, so they cook quickly and evenly. This style of dumpling also receives a healthy coating of flour when rolled out, which is perfect for thickening the broth.

These gnocchi dough dumplings are simple to make and cook up fluffy and tender every time. Although this recipe uses a unique dumpling dough alternative, the result tastes as classic as ever.

How to Make Chicken and Dumplings Soup?

Making Chicken and Dumplings Soup can be broken down into 4 easy steps.

  1. Prepare the broth. Even though this recipe calls for store-bought chicken broth, the flavor is enhanced by adding a sautéed onion, carrots & celery (also called a mirepoix in French cooking) with aromatics like garlic and bay leaf.
  2. Pull the chicken. Rotisserie chicken is perfect for this recipe because it adds so much additional flavor, while saving you time to focus on the all-important dumplings. Pull the meat off an entire rotisserie chicken, discarding the skin. If you like, save the carcass to make easy homemade chicken stock.
  3. Make the dumplings. Mix together ricotta cheese, flour, and an egg and pat it into a ball. Rest the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes while your stock is simmering. After it’s rested, roll the dough out onto a liberally floured surface and cut into strips. This is a very soft dough, so plan on using a liberal amount of flour for rolling and shaping. After each roll, turn the dough 45 degrees. If sticking, use a bench scraper or offset spatula to lift the dough and sprinkle more flour underneath. If the dough is sticking to the rolling pin (…you guessed it!), add more flour. Do not be concerned about over-flouring. The extra flour all over the noodles works as the thickening agent for the broth.
  4. Simmer. To the fortified broth, add the pulled chicken. Then carefully drop in the noodles, stirring to prevent sticking. Simmer for 5-8 minutes and serve it up!

More Cozy Recipes

Chicken and Dumplings Soup

Brooke Eliason
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Servings: 6 servings
Total Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Intermediate
With its thick broth and tender dumplings, a bowl of chicken and dumplings soup is the ultimate comfort meal.

Ingredients 

Homemade Dumplings

  • 1½ cups all purpose flour plus extra for dusting
  • 15 ounces full fat ricotta cheese
  • 1 large egg
  • kosher salt

Soup Base

  • 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion diced
  • 4 celery stalks thinly sliced
  • 4 medium carrots peeled and thinly sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves minced or grated
  • 2 quarts low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 rind of Parmigiano Reggiano*
  • ¼ teaspoon white pepper**
  • 1 bay leaf**
  • 1 rotisserie chicken or 4 cups pulled chicken
  • kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper

Instructions

Dumpling Dough

  • In a large bowl add the flour and make a well in the middle. Into the flour well, add the ricotta and make another well. Into the ricotta well, crack in the egg. Finally, add in a generous pinch of salt.
  • Using your fingers, break the egg yolk and gradually mix, slowly incorporating it into the ricotta. Once the ricotta is mostly incorporated, begin working in the flour.
  • Once the dough just comes together, pat it into a tight ball and wrap with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes while you begin working on the soup base.

Soup Base

  • Heat a large pot over medium heat and drizzle in the olive oil. Add in the onion, celery and carrot. Stir and add salt & pepper to taste. Sweat these over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until they become slightly soft and translucent. If the vegetables are browning, turn down the heat. Stir in the minced or grated garlic and cook for an additional minute.
  • Pour in the chicken stock, turn up the heat to high and bring to a boil with the lid on. If you are using low sodium chicken stock, salt along the way. If you are using regular chicken stock, be careful not to over salt. Either way- taste as you go and adjust seasoning as needed.
  • Once the pot has come to a boil, lower the heat to simmer. Add the Parmigiano Reggiano rind, bay leaf, and white pepper, and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened.
  • While the broth is simmering, pull the meat off a rotisserie chicken and set aside. The meat will come away from the bone most easily when the chicken is still warm from the store. This should yield about 4 cups of chicken meat.

Shaping The Dumplings

  • While the broth is simmering, make the dumplings. Sprinkle a generous handful of flour onto a clean, smooth surface. You may need up to 1/4 cup of flour while rolling out your dough so it's best to have it accessible. Unwrap the chilled dough onto the floured surface and pat into a disk. Cut the disk in half to make it easier to roll out.
  • Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 1/4" thick sheet. After each roll, turn the dough 45 degrees to prevent sticking. If sticking, use a bench scraper or offset spatula to lift the dough and sprinkle under more flour (do not be concerned about over-flouring).
  • Cut the dough into 1" wide strips using a pizza cutter or sharp knife. Then, cut the strips into 2" long rectangles by cutting in the perpendicular direction. Arrange the cut noodles on a liberally floured baking sheet. Be careful not to let the noodles touch or they will stick together.

Finishing Chicken And Dumplings

  • Once the simmering vegetables are tender, discard the Parm rind and bay leaf, and turn up the heat to bring the pot back to a rolling boil. Add in the pulled chicken and stir to combine.
  • To the boiling broth, carefully drop in your dumplings a few at a time, gently stirring between each addition. Once they are all in, reduce the heat back to a simmer, lid on, and cook for 5-8 minutes until cooked through and tender.
  • Serve up a big helping and top each bowl with copious amounts of cracked black pepper.

Equipment

  • 1 Rolling Pin
  • 1 large pot

Notes

*If you aren’t collecting your Parmigiano Reggiano cheese rinds for soups, start now! Save them in your freezer and add to soups and sauces for incredible flavor.
**Fresh or dried bay leaf and a bit of white pepper also enhance the flavor and richness of a broth. A little goes a long way, but if you don’t want to purchase these to use such a scant amount, feel free to omit.

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