Chicken and Cheese Dumpling Soup

Indulge your cold weather cravings this season with a warm bowl of homemade Chicken and Cheese Dumpling Soup. The dumplings are amazing!

Make your own bowl of hearty chicken soup from scratch! This soup is one of the most loved in my family. Not only is this soup warm and delicious, but it’s also easy to make. The dumplings are soft and cheesy, the broth is very flavorful, and you can’t stop at just one bowl.

It was almost two years ago that I first tasted this Chicken and Cheese Dumpling Soup. I found this recipe by accident while browsing a site with Ukrainian dishes, and decided to give it a try. After adding some more ingredients and adjusting the recipe to my taste, my whole family agreed it was a winner, and I’ve been making it ever since.

Let’s discuss the main ingredients and learn how to make this comforting goodness.

Main Ingredients

For the Soup:

• Chicken. I like using a chicken leg quarter because it makes excellent broth. That said, you can use any part of the chicken, even the chicken breast.
• Potatoes. Any kind of potato will work here.
• Carrot + Onion + Olive Oil. We’ll fry these ingredients together to add flavor and color to the soup.
• Seasonings. Salt, pepper, and bay leaves.
• Herbs. Fresh parsley and dill. You can just use one of these, if preferred.

For the Dumplings:

• Cheese. You can use shredded Gouda, Cheddar, Jarlsberg, Monterey Jack, Provolone, or Swiss cheese.
• Egg.
• Flour.
• Salt.

How to Make Chicken Dumpling Soup

1. Place the chicken leg into a 3 qt. pot and add about 2 ½ quarts of water. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low.

2. In the meantime, sauté the onion and carrot in olive oil for 5-7 minutes, or just until soft. Set aside.

3. Prepare the dumpling mixture. In a medium bowl, mix together the cheese, egg, and salt. Add water and stir well. Sift the flour on top and stir until well combined.

4. To the pot with the chicken, add the potatoes, the onion-carrot mixture, salt, pepper, and bay leaves. Cover with a lid and cook just until the potatoes turn soft (about 10 minutes).

5. Remove the chicken leg from the soup and shred the meat off the bone into small pieces with the help of two forks. Return the chicken to the soup.

6. Dip a clean spoon into the hot soup and scoop out some of the dumpling mixture (about one tablespoon). Dip the spoon back into the soup and the dumpling will separate easily. Repeat this process until you run out of the mixture.

7. Cook for 2 more minutes, add the fresh herbs, and turn off the heat. Let it rest for 10 minutes and then serve.

Helpful Tips

Use chicken legs. Chicken soup is better when made with darker meat. Chicken legs (thighs, drumsticks) become tender and soft in the soup — and the bones make better broth. Chicken breast doesn’t tenderize and stays firm in the soup.

Herbs are a must. Adding lots of fresh parsley and dill at the end makes a big flavor impact and adds extra health benefits, so don’t skip it. You can also add chives and/or cilantro.

Make the dumplings fast. When you start adding the dumplings to the soup, try to work fast and don’t get distracted by other tasks. Doing so will ensure that all of the dumplings are cooked evenly.

Season to taste. Adjust the amount of salt and pepper to suit your tastes. You can also add some of your favorite soup seasonings.

Turmeric – a secret helper. If you want to give your soup a beautiful yellow color, add 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder. It won’t change the flavor of the soup, but the broth will become golden. I actually add turmeric to most of my soups.

How to Store and Reheat

The soup can be made and refrigerated for 3 to 4 days. If the soup looks a bit too thick to you, add a splash of water when reheating.

How to Customize

Add lemon. You can add some lemon juice for extra zing, and serve it with a few lemon slices.

Add cream. If you enjoy creamy soups, you can add about ⅓ cup of heavy cream at the end of cooking.

Add other vegetables. Add spinach, kale, parsnips, sliced carrots, peas, or even beans.

More Yummy Soup Recipes

During the cold months, we all crave soups more than ever. I hope these recipes will keep you full and warm.

• Hearty Beef Barley Soup
• Red Lentil Soup with Bacon
• Ultimate Mushroom Soup
• Chicken Lemon Soup
• Easy Puréed Bean Soup

If you’ve tried this recipe or any other recipe on Cooktoria, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you take some photos of it, share them with me on Pinterest. I check every single one!

Video Tutorial