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Here’s an easy and hearty chicken and dumpling soup that will win you over. It calls for very simple, healthy ingredients and will make you think of your Mom. The dumplings are soft and satisfying. This soup is quick to make and if you’re really pressed for time, it will still turn out delicious if you sub the dumplings with pasta, but the dumplings really aren’t very difficult to make. Craving – satisfied :).
Ingredients for Dumpling Soup Base:
2 sticks of celery, finely diced
1 small/medium onion, finely diced
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 large carrots, thinly sliced
6 cups reduced sodium chicken broth + 6 cups water
1 Tbsp salt, or to taste (I used sea salt)
3-4 medium potatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs), peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast (1 large chicken breast), diced
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp Chopped Dill and/or 2 Tbsp Chopped Parsley (I used both)
Ingredients for the Dumplings:
2 cups flour, sifted
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp sour cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) melted Butter
How to Make Chicken and Dumpling Soup:
1. In a 5 Qt soup pot, over medium heat, add 3 Tbsp olive oil and saute 2 sticks diced celery and small finely diced onion until softened (5 min). Add thinly sliced carrots and continue to cook until onions and celery are golden (3-4 min).
2. Into the same pot, pour in 6 cups chicken broth and 6 cups water along with 1 Tbsp salt and all of your chopped potatoes. Bring to a boil then cook 10 minutes, or until potatoes are nearly done.
3. Meanwhile, make your dumplings: Sift 2 cups flour, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp sugar into a medium bowl. P.S. I measured 2 cups flour before sifting – scoop it into the measuring cup, then scrape off the top for an accurate measurement. Make a well in the center and add 2 eggs with 1 Tbsp sour cream. Fold together with a spatula. Your dough will look like scraps of cloth. Pour in 6 Tbsp melted butter and stir/ knead with spatula until butter is well incorporated and dough is uniform in texture and color. It should be very soft but won’t stick to your hands.
4. Transfer dough to a smooth cutting board. Separate your dough into two pieces, roll each piece into a long slim log and cut thin slices from each log. Don’t cut them too big since they expand in the soup. You want them to be small and bite-sized. The dough should not stick to the knife or cutting board because of all the butter in it.
5. After boiling potatoes about 10 minutes, keep the pot at a boil and add 2 bay leaves, diced chicken and prepared dumplings. Continue boiling over medium/low heat another 10 minutes or until dumplings are tender and chicken is cooked through.
6. Season to taste – I added about 1/2 tsp more of salt. Stir in your fresh dill or parsley (or both) and remove from heat.
Chicken and Dumpling Soup

Ingredients
- 2 sticks of celery, finely diced
- 1 small/medium onion, finely diced
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 large carrots, thinly sliced
- 6 cups reduced sodium chicken broth + 6 cups water
- 1 Tbsp salt, or to taste (I used sea salt)
- 3-4 medium potatoes, about 1 1/2 lbs, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, 1 large chicken breast, diced
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 Tbsp Chopped Dill and/or 2 Tbsp Chopped Parsley, I used both
Instructions
- In a 5 Qt soup pot, over medium heat, add 3 Tbsp olive oil and saute 2 sticks diced celery and small finely diced onion until softened (5 min). Add thinly sliced carrots and continue to cook until onions and celery are golden (3-4 min).
- Into the same pot, pour in 6 cups chicken broth and 6 cups water along with 1 Tbsp salt and all of your chopped potatoes. Bring to a boil then cook 10 minutes, or until potatoes are nearly done.
- Meanwhile, make your dumplings: Sift 2 cups flour, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp sugar into a medium bowl. P.S. I measured 2 cups flour before sifting - scoop it into the measuring cup, then scrape off the top for an accurate measurement. Make a well in the center and add 2 eggs with 1 Tbsp sour cream. Fold together with a spatula. Your dough will look like scraps of cloth. Pour in 6 Tbsp melted butter and stir/ knead with spatula until butter is well incorporated and dough is uniform in texture and color. It should be very soft but won't stick to your hands.
- Transfer dough to a smooth cutting board. Separate your dough into two pieces, roll each piece into a long slim log and cut thin slices from each log. Don't cut them too big since they expand in the soup. You want them to be small and bite-sized. The dough should not stick to the knife or cutting board because of all the butter in it.
- After boiling potatoes about 10 minutes, keep the pot at a boil and add 2 bay leaves, diced chicken and prepared dumplings. Continue boiling over medium/low heat another 10 minutes or until dumplings are tender and chicken is cooked through.
- Season to taste - I added about 1/2 tsp more of salt. Stir in your fresh dill or parsley (or both) and remove from heat.
Natasha this soup is not only delish, but also picky husband approved! Lol mine doesn’t like any additives in soups such as rice or pasta/noodles but he loved the dumplings. He said it reminded him of something his mom used to make from similar dumplings boiled in milk. They called it “затирка” or “затерка” (Russian). Must be a Belorussian thing because I’ve never heard of it.
Thank you for the great review Nata :). I just love when food bring back great memories from our childhood.
Natasha, great recipe! We all loved this soup! Thank you for your recipes!
Luda, thank you for the great review and you are welcome :).
Hello Natasha! Thank you for your recipes i enjoy baking and cooking from your website!!! i have a question regarding dumplings……my are kind of dry inside is that normal? When cooking they all floated to the surface… i don’t know maybe i did something wrong…. Thanks again
P.S. Super exited for you on having a little girl!!!!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoy the blog. 🙂 Did you cut them large or small? They do have slightly have that kind of texture from the butter and it helps to cook them a little longer.
My family LOVED this soup. Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for a great review 🙂
Natasha, dear) you are a blessing for me!
Your recipes are never a fail!
I made this soup today and fed my 4 children after school. My oldest girl, who is 7, said that it is so oooo good) and went for seconds while I was feeding my 2 year son)
thanks, Natash!
What a beautiful scene! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. You must be an amazing Mama! Four children – that is such a blessing! :).
I actually meant 5 stars. But couldn’t correct it afterwards. Thank you for your kind words)
Thank you Vika 🙂
is celery a must? I cannot stand the taste of it! bleh!
You can omit the celery. That’s why I chop it up small so once it’s cooked, you can hardly tell it’s in there, but it will still be good without it.
Hi! I’d like to try this soup but for me it’s not clear how many grams is one stick butter and how many grams/ml is one cup (of flour, broth etc.). I’m kinda new for American measures so for me a bit confusing.
Cheers, great blog!
It might take a little research on google and doing conversions before it starts feeling natural. I know it’s tough when you’re switching over to a completely different way of measuring. It will definitely help to get a scale that goes between grams and oz. I have the one from OXO and I use it all the time. It’s a good investment. 1 stick of butter is 113 grams. Flour is usually measured by volume rather than weight (spoon your flour into a flat top measuring cup and scrape off the top to measure 1 cup of flour). 6 cups broth = 48 mL = about 1.5 Liters. I hope that helps!
Hi Natasha, this looks good! I have a question – does this re-heat well the next day? My oldest daughter likes taking soups to school in a thermos so I’m wondering if the dumplings make it okay to day 2 and 3? thanks!
They were still fine on day 2 and 3 :). I hope your daughter loves it! 🙂
Oh, that’s perfect! Thank you, will definitely be trying this very soon :))
Great soup recipe Thank you.
Hi Natasha! The soup looks so warm and nice for upcoming winter. And it reminds me of my grandmother making Galushki. But her version was without chicken (I guess they just didn’t have it in their village in 1920-1930 dreadful years), the dough was without butter and she poured an egg into the soup, like in Chinese corn soup.
Do you have original Galushki recipe? I miss my Grandma..
It sounds like the dough for pelmeni and that would be really delicious. I don’t have any other galushki recipes posted yet. My mom does the same thing with adding egg to the soup; it’s so good!
Thanks for another great recipe!!! I’m looking for a good chicken gnocchi soup please help ;)!!
Thank you for all your hard work!
Marianna, I think this soup would work well using gnocchi instead of dumplings. Is that the kind of soup you had in mind? Or are you asking about homemade gnocchi recipe?
I want to make the olive gardens chicken gnocchi soup at home and was wondering if u are planning to post a recipe for it anytime soon? Just wondering! Thank you for everything!
I haven’t tried their version but I think I’ll order it next time I’m there and take it for a spin! Thanks Marianna 🙂
I so glad you posted this, i always seem to mess this one up. I know..how right but Im glad you did. so there.
Well, thanks Tanya! 🙂 I hope your little people like it!
I’m a novice cook so not sure if this is a silly question but is it possible to substitute something for the sour cream and butter in the dumplings? My son has a dairy allergy. 🙁
You could just use flour, egg and water until you have a soft and still sticky dough. It’s basically like making pasta. You could always just add your son’s favorite pasta and it would still taste great 🙂
Nothing better this time of year, absolutely love this!
Thanks Matt! I agree; it’s just the coziest time of year 🙂
Just finished cooking. We are going to have the best lunch!!!
Yum! Enjoy it!! 🙂
This may be a silly question, but by adding 6 cups of water to the broth, does that not really dilute the flavor of the broth?
You will still be adding chicken and vegetables so the broth will have plenty of flavor. It’s not a silly question :). You can use all broth if you want to just adjust for salt 🙂
Warm and fuzzy childhood memories for sure! I’ve had this soup made by my Russian grandma and my Ukrainian grandma. Ukraine wins. 😉 Thank you for the recipe, Natasha. I didn’t have one and now really want to make it for my kiddos.
I’m guessing you’re Ukrainian? ;). Me too! I’m not sure if this is technically a Russian or Ukrainian dish or if it originated in yet another country, but I do know; it’s good, and that’s what’s important :). Thanks Julia!
I am actually Russian but my mom was born and raised in Ukraine and moved to Russia for university. My grandma lived in Lviv where I also spent a big chunk of my childhood. 🙂 We still have family in both countries.
You have quite a history and you ended up in a completely part of Europe. Sounds like an adventurous life! 🙂
This soup looks so warm and comforting! I just want to curl up by a fire and eat this soup!! Perfection, Natasha, perfection!
Fuzzy feelings, just fuzzy feelings 😉 Thanks Lindsey!
This soup looks very delicious and looks like comfort food:) Thanks Natasha:) May God Bless you and your family, and especially you, throughout your pregnancy!You are one beautiful preggo lady:)love your recipes.
Veronica, thank you so much for all your kind words :). Blessings to you and your family as well.
It almost looks like a gnocchi soup, Love it!
Gnocchi soup will be more like soup with клёцки since they have potatoes incorporated in them, but either one is yummy :).
We called it “kletski” with no potatoes too 🙂 I wonder if it’s a regional thing 🙂
By the way, those rustic looking baby potatoes are the cutest!
It could be? I’ve seen it both ways too. I’m assuming you meant the carrots? Those came out of my mom’s yard. 🙂 Aren’t they sweet? I wish I had left the tales on them!
Umm… Yeah, the carrots ll