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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
I love you recipes, they are wonderful. How can I just print the recipe ?
Hi Kathleen! Thank you for your sweet compliment! If you scroll towards the bottom of the recipe you will find a printable version highlighted in light orange color. I hope this helps!
Made this soup tonight it was so delicious, I had a problem with the dumplings tho… mine turned out kind of dry inside.. I cut them pretty small and cooked them for 15 minuets longer and they still didn’t cook through :/
Hi Lilian, the dough is normally supposed to be very soft. It’s difficult to say without being there, but maybe the proportions of wet to dry ingredients were off when making the dumplings?
Does this soup freeze well. I make homemade meals for my daughter at college and she loves homemade soup.
Hi Kori, I honestly have not tried freezing this soup so I’m not sure.
Omg this came out so delicious even when I substituted the dumplings for regular pasta. Favorite soup recipe from you by far!! Thank you Natasha!!
Thank you Zory! I’m so happy you enjoyed this! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Do you have a Babka or Paska bred recipe that can be made in a bread machine?
Hi Kathleen, I honestly have not tried that so I can’t say for sure. I think it’s worth experimenting though!
Delicious recipe! I recommend cutting the dumplings into nickel to quarter sized pieces. I made mine larger and had to boil for more than 20 minutes. I will definitely make this again, thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome Sharon! Thanks for sharing your helpful review with other readers!
The dough a way too dry and after cook the dough so hard after i find out the mix dough ingredients too hard I already add 1/2 cup milk is still not good totally screw up my good turkey broth
Hi Dorothy, the dough is normally supposed to be very soft. It’s difficult to say without being there, but maybe the proportions of wet to dry ingredients were off when making the dumplings?
This soup is so simple with so much flavor! For some crazy reason I couldn’t find my salt so I used a little bit of tomatoe/chicken boullion to taste. What did it for me was the flavor of the dumplings! The sugar and sourcream really made them stand out. Very delicious. Thank you!
You’re welcome Nicole! I’m glad to hear how much you enjoy the recipe. Thanks for sharing your excellent review with other readers!
Question – can you use rotisserie chicken instead of chicken breast? If I do that should I increase the amount of broth and decrease the water?
Hi Emily, I think that should still work without changing anything else in the recipe.
So, this is the 2nd time I’ve made it, first time with chicken, and this time with ground turkey. I didn’t have chicken. I know, who doesn’t HAVE chicken?! Apparently, this lady. I made it to a T each time and it’s perfect. The flavor is wholesome, the spices are perfect, the dumplings are addicting! Thank you so much, this is a staple!
🙂 I’m so glad you love the recipe! Thank you for sharing that it works well with ground turkey!! 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I loved the soup, and your directions are so easy to follow! My hubby loved it as well. Only one question- the dough would not cook for me inside. I boiled them for about 30 minutes and still no luck. Can that be because I cut them too thick or possibly didn’t mix the dough well enough? Help!! Lol
Hi Anna, after 30 minutes they should definitely be cooked through – the ingredients cook quickly once they hit boiling water. I suspect maybe they were cut too large if they looked undercooked inside.
I can’t believe I found this soup! This was my childhood FAVOURITE! And now my children’s favourite. Especially my adult daughter! I do the dough a little looser and flick spoonfuls straight from the bowl into boiling water. Once they are cooked, I transfer them into the soup so that the stock stays clear. Family FAV!!
Awesome! I’m so glad to hear how much everyone loves this recipe! Thanks for sharing your excellent review!
I had a friend, who has since passed away, who was of totally Hungarian descent. She told me that was the way her Hungarian grandma made her dumplings – flicking them off a spoon into the boiling water. I love eastern European food so much, I’m almost surprised that my DNA wasn’t a match to that area of the world! Can’t wait to try this soup. There’s a Polish restaurant nearby that has a yummy chicken and dumpling soup.
This soup looks really good. Just wondering if it could be frozen and reheated and not turn to mush?
Jackie, I never tried freezing it but imagine it would still be fine.
Natasha, this soup is soooooo good. Has great flavor, texture , enough ingredients to fill a hungry tummy. This soup has become my son’s very favorite dish. Period. I asked him what he would like me to cook for his birthday party, he sure asked for “chicken dumpling soup”, and I made it just for him. He ate it for breakfast, lunch and dinner that day. Lol. I also wanted to leave you a note to tell you thank you for explaining so clearly and beautiful pictures to go along with it, makes cooking so much easier and enjoyable. Such great help to me and my husband. We now stopped searching pinterest for ideas, and go right to your site. go straight to your site.
Olga, I’m so happy to hear that my blog is a blessing to your family. Thank you so much for sharing that with me 😀.
soooo….
i made it the second time . the first time was abwhile ago and i didnt comment. but this time i wanted to)
so comforting, flavorful, classic russian soup) definitely childhood reminder)
Blessings, Natasha
I’m so happy you liked it! Thank you for sharing your great review 🙂
Delicious !
I just finished to cook the soup.
I like the dumpling and it’s really easy to make it.
I used vegetable broth and I add crushed pepper in my soup.
Thank you !!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Thank you so much for your great recipes! I’ve always looked online for new things to cook, but after finding out about your website i have stopped my search and been only using your website ever since! Love how nicely you explain every detail, and the pictures are such a great help. I LOVE IT.
Regarding this soup, which was delicious by the way, i had to add more water because when i poured 6cups of chicken broth and 6 cups of water there was not enough space for all the ingredients…I’m not sure, maybe I just used a little more of what i needed but thought I’ll let you know.
Hi Sofie! thank you for that awesome feedback. It really means alot to me 🙂
I made your dumpling recipe to go along with my own soup. My family really liked them. I also enjoyed them but the texture wasn’t what I expected. They didn’t have as much body as they looked like they would. It might be because I usually make spaetzle and they have a chewiness that I was expecting in your recipe. As I said, they were good, but just didn’t have the consistency I look for in dumplings. Thank you for sharing your recipes. P.S. My 8 year old grandson ate three bowls.
I’m so glad to hear your family liked it! I’m curious to hear more about the dumplings you’re referring to!
I just cannot skip this and not to say Natasha thank you for the recipe. This soup is so amazing! I dreamed about it but couldnt think of how to make dough for damplings. Thank you!!! You blog is so helpful!
I’m so happy you loved it! Thanks Tanya 🙂
I love making this soup. My kids ask me to make it for them. Thats just music to my ears. Thank you for the great recipe.
That is awesome!! thank you for sharing that with me 🙂