Grandma's Chicken 'n' Dumpling Soup

5.00 (24)
⏱ 205 mins 🍽 10-12 serving(s) 🌶 chinese 🏷 Stocks

This cherished family recipe yields a hearty and warming chicken and dumpling soup. It involves simmering a whole chicken to create a flavourful broth, which is then enriched with cream soups, fresh vegetables, and seasonings. Light, fluffy dumplings are dropped into the gently boiling soup to cook until perfectly tender. The process requires a bit of time but results in a deeply satisfying meal ideal for sharing. It makes a generous quantity, perfect for feeding a crowd or for enjoying leftovers.

Grandma's Chicken 'n' Dumpling Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 (3 lb) chicken, cut up
  • 2 1/4 quarts cold water
  • 5 chicken bouillon cubes
  • 6 peppercorns
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
  • 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
  • 1 cup fresh peas or 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 cup chopped peeled potato
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt, to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 cups flour
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 tablespoons butter or 2 tablespoons margarine, melted
  • 3/4-1 cup milk
  • snipped fresh parsley, optional

Method

  1. Put the chicken, cold water, bouillon cubes, peppercorns, and cloves into a large 8 quart Dutch oven or soup pot.
  2. Place the lid on the pot and bring the contents to a boil, then skim off any fat from the surface.
  3. Lower the heat, cover the pot again, and let it simmer for 1-1/2 hours until the chicken is tender.
  4. Pour the broth through a strainer and transfer the strained liquid back into the kettle.
  5. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the bones and cut the meat into bite sized pieces.
  6. Add the chicken pieces back to the kettle along with the cans of soup, all the chopped vegetables, and the seasonings, then bring it back to a boil.
  7. Reduce the heat, cover the pot, and allow the soup to simmer for 1 hour.
  8. Take the lid off the pot and turn the heat up to achieve a gentle boil.
  9. Take out and discard the bay leaf.
  10. To prepare the dumplings, mix the flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together in a medium bowl.
  11. Add the beaten egg, melted butter, and sufficient milk to form a moist but stiff batter.
  12. Drop teaspoonfuls of the dumpling batter directly into the gently boiling soup.
  13. Cover the pot tightly and cook without lifting the lid for 18-20 minutes.
  14. If you like, sprinkle some freshly snipped parsley over the top before serving.
  15. The recipe indicates it makes 10-12 servings, though with larger portions it may serve 6-8 people.
  16. You may wish to use slightly less seasoned salt because of the salt already present in the canned soups.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sodium708600 mg

Recipe details

CategoryStocks
Cuisinechinese
AuthorMargo59