Easy and Gluten-Free Chicken and Dumpling Soup

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While you’re holed up at home with your loved ones, you may be craving 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 becomes 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 body while you’re stuck at home.

What is a Dumpling?

A dumpling is a savory piece of dough that can be enjoyed in various 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 baking powder, salt, butter (or vegan butter), and milk (or milk alternative). Mix it until you form a ball.

Then you form the dough into 20-25 even-sized balls as pictured below.

You’ll cook the dumplings in a covered pan for 15 minutes in a simmering broth.

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 peek at what’s happening 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 tenfold.

Please note this soup will feed 3-4 people. I usually double it so we can eat a hearty portion of it now, and then still have some leftovers for the next day.

Don’t have time to make soup from scratch? Read my article, Store-Bought Soups that are Gluten Free.