Spring Chicken and Dumplings
A fresh spring twist on a classic Chicken and Dumplings. This version is full of seasonal spring vegetables like asparagus, leeks and peas as well as light and fluffy dumplings speckled with fresh chives, dill and parsley. This one pot wonder is comforting, nourishing and full of flavor!
This vibrant spring soup might seem involved, but I assure you it’s simple to make and full of so much flavor!
How to Make Spring Chicken and Dumplings:
Start with the Soup Base
Making a good soup is all about layering and building flavor as you go. To start, sauté onion, leek and garlic in a bit of olive oil. You just want to sweat them until they’re soft and translucent. Note: browned veggies = brown broth and thats not what were going for here.
The next “layer” is ground coriander, fennel and fresh thyme. These spice work wonders in this soup and add so much depth!
Next, add in the chicken stock and raw chicken. Bring the soup to a simmer, cover and simmer on low just until the chicken is cooked through and falling off the bone.
Pro Tip: A rapid boil will jostle around the chicken resulting in a murky broth and evaporation. Aim for the lowest possible simmer for clear, brothy soup!
Next…Light and Fluffy Herb Dumplings
Making dumplings is a lot like making biscuits. Start with cold ingredients. Whisk together the dry ingredients, then cut in the butter until it resembles coarse, grainy sand. Next, drizzle in the wet ingredients and chopped herbs. Gently mix everything together until just combined.
Pro Tip: Avoid over-mixing as it can lead to dense chewy dumplings. The dough should look a little shaggy and sticky.
Put it all Together
Add the veggies to the simmering broth then dollop in the dumpling dough right on top. Cover and cook until the dumplings are cooked through and double in size.
To serve, finish with more chopped herbs and lots of freshly cracked black pepper!
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the Soup: chicken stock, onion, leek, garlic, fresh thyme, ground fennel and coriander, chicken, spring veggies: asparagus, frozen peas, zucchini or any others that you like.
For the Dumplings: all-purpose flour (gluten-free flour works too) baking soda and powder, egg, buttermilk or regular milk, butter, fresh dill, chives and parsley.
Check Out More Delicious Soups:
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Spring Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
Soup
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 large leek white and light green parts only, roughly chopped and washed well
- 4 cloves garlic minced or grated
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground fennel
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 2 lbs bone-in, skin on chicken breast legs and thighs also work–feel free to use a combination of both
- 1 bunch asparagus cut into 2-inch pieces, woody ends discarded,
- 1/2 c frozen peas
- 1 zucchini diced
Dumplings
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 cup cold buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 4 tbsp cold unsalted butter diced
- 1/2 c chopped dill, parsley and chive roughly equal parts of each
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add chicken breast and chicken broth to the pot then bring to boil; reduce the heat to a low simmer, cover and continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through, about 30-40 minutes. Remove the chicken and let cool before shredding into bite-size pieces, discarding bones and skin.
- While the chicken is cooking make the dumpling dough. Note: dumpling dough is very similar to biscuit dough. It can be made in a food processor, stand mixer or by hand. I'm going to walk you through the by hand version but if you prefer you can absolutley use a food processor or stand mixer.
- In a small bowl whisk together the egg and buttermilk, set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and a few turns of freshly cracked black pepper. Next, add the butter to the flour and using either your fingers or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into dough until it resembles coarse sand.
- Pour the buttermilk mixture it into the flour mixture. Add in the chopped herbs and then fold everything together until just combined. The dough will be shaggy and sticky. Place the dumpling dough in the refridgerator, covered until you're ready to make the dumplings.
- Add the shredded chicken back into the pot with the broth then add in the peas, asparagus and zucchini. Taste and season with more salt or pepper as needed. Bring the soup back up to a simmer then with two spoons or a small cookie scoop drop heaping spoonfuls of dough ( about the size of a golf ball) into the broth.
- Cover and simmer until the dumplings are cooked through and doubled in size, about 12 minutes. Serve with extra chopped parsley, chives and dill and lots of cracked black pepper.
Notes
- Chicken: Breasts, legs and thighs are all suitable for this recipe. You can even use a rotisserie chicken if you want to save some time.
- Vegetables: I wrote the recipe to include leeks, asparagus, frozen peas and zucchini. That being said you can certainly add any seasonal veggies you like such as carrots, fava beans, kale, broccoli, fennel, snap peas potatoes etc.
- Dumplings bloat! It’s best to separate the dumplings and veggies from the soup, then store them separately. Everything will keep for 3 – 4 days in the fridge. Reheat in a sauce pan on the stove top or in the microwave.
