This post for my easy and gluten-free chicken and dumpling soup contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosures.
While you’re holed up at home with your loved ones, you may be craving a little comfort food.
On top of it all, we had a big snowstorm in Denver yesterday. The roads are covered in snow and baby, it’s cold outside!
Nothing says comfort food to me like a good chicken soup that warms me from the inside out. And when I add a few gluten-free dumplings into the broth, this soup become all the more filling and comforting.
Today I’m sharing my easy recipe for chicken and dumpling soup so you can comfort and nourish your bodies while you’re stuck at home.
What is a Dumpling?
A dumpling is a savory piece of dough that can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. In soup, it adds a wonderful texture and fills you up.
To make a gluten-free dumpling, combine your favorite 1:1 gluten-free flour blend with a little bit of baking powder, salt, butter (or vegan butter), and milk (or milk alternative). Mix it together until you form a ball.
Then you form the dough into 20-25 even-sized balls as pictured below.
You’ll cook the dumplings for 15 minutes in a simmering broth in a covered pan.
I always add the dumplings 15 minutes before dinnertime, this way they’re cooked up fresh on the spot.
How to Make a Fast Chicken Soup
To make your chicken soup broth, you’ll want to heat some oil in the bottom of a large stock pan. Then add your boneless chicken thighs, diced onions, cut up carrots, and sliced celery. Allow the ingredient to saute in the oil, turning the chicken once. Cook for about 10 minutes.
With your chicken still undercooked, add the chicken broth (or water with chicken bouillon flavor). You can use Not Chick’n Cubes for a vegan alternative that tastes great. Add a bay leaf if you have one in your pantry (ok to skip).
Allow the soup to simmer, covered, so the chicken thighs cook through, about 30 minutes.
Taste the soup and add salt and pepper as needed.
Remove the chicken from the broth and set it on a plate to cool. You’ll be able to shred it with a fork, or by hand, once it cools.
With your broth at a rolling boil or simmer, add the dumplings, cover the pan, and let the dumplings cook for 15 minutes without lifting the cover. It’s hard not to peak at what’s going on inside your pot, but trust me, your dumplings need the steam to cook up properly. Do not lift the lid.
Once the 15 minutes is up, lift the cover, add your shredded chicken, and dig in.
The Taste Test
My kids love when I make gluten-free chicken and dumpling soup. The broth is savory and bursting with flavor. The shredded chicken thighs are perfectly cooked. And the gluten-free dumplings add such a wonderful texture to the overall soup.
As someone who has been gluten free for a long time, I crave that doughy texture. These dumplings satisfy that craving ten-fold.
Please note this soup will feed 3-4 people. I usually double it so we can eat enjoy a hearty portion of it and still have some leftover for the next day.
Easy Gluten-Free Chicken and Dumpling Soup
Ingredients
Soup
- 1 tbsp avocado oil or vegetable oil of choice
- 1 pound boneless chicken thighs
- 1/2 cup onion
- 3/4 cup sliced celery stalks
- 3/4 cup sliced carrots
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Dumplings
- 1 cup 1:1 gluten-free flour blend if your blend doesn't include xanthan gum, add 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1.5 tsp butter or vegan butter
- 1/2 cup milk or milk alternative
Instructions
- In a large stock pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken thighs, onion, celery and carrots and saute for 4 minutes. Flip chicken and saute for another 4 minutes.
- Add broth and bay leave to the mixture, bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook broth for about 30 minutes (longer okay).
- While the chicken broth is simmering, prepare your dumplings. In a medium sized bowl, combine your gluten-free flour blend*, baking powder, salt, and cold butter. Using your fork, mash the butter into the flour. Add milk and continue to mix dough until it holds together well. When the dough is stiff, use your hands to finish mixing it.
- Form dumplings into 20-25 evenly shaped balls and set aside.
- About 15 minutes before serving, use a slotted spoon to remove chicken so it cools on a plate. Once cooled, you can shred it. Add dumplings to simmering broth, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Do not remove cover during this 15 minutes as the dumplings require the steam to fully cook.
- Shred chicken (once cooled) and add it to the broth after dumplings have cooked through. Serve immediately.
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