Creamy Chicken and Dumpling Soup with Herbs (+Video)

This creamy chicken and dumpling soup is an elevated take on my family's Southern classic version. It features tender chicken and light, fluffy herbed dumplings in a rich, savory broth with carrots, celery, and herbs. It's everything I love about my Mom's easy chicken and dumplings, with a few extra touches that make it a bit heartier and the perfect fall soup to warm you up all season.

I grew up eating chicken and dumplings, and this is the version I make when I want it a little more elevated than the weeknight one. A quick sauté of soffritto plus a few savory herbs, and fresh chives folded into the dumplings, adds even more delicious flavor to an already tasty fall soup.

The dumplings release just enough starch as they steam to make the broth naturally luxuriously creamy, no added milk or cream needed, though I'll show you how to make it even richer if you like. New to making drop dumplings? It's incredibly easy (even easier than making pancakes). And I walk you through it in my short how-to video below.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Naturally creamy soup base, no added cream. The dumplings release starch as they steam to give the broth a rich, velvety, creamy body. No need to add heavy cream or milk to the soup base.
• Added vegetables. Sweet carrots, celery, and onion make it even more flavorful and filling than my Mom's classic version (which is already filling!).
• Fluffy herbed dumplings. Fresh chives (or parsley) added to the dumpling batter for extra flavor (with a fun green-colored dumpling variation below).
• Whole bone-in chicken for the deepest flavor and juicy, never-dry meat, and it makes its own rich broth as it simmers.
• Extra chicken-y flavor (optional). Simmer the chicken in homemade broth instead of plain water for double the chicken flavor. Plain water is more affordable and still delicious, though.
• No broth on hand? Make it in 30 minutes. Use the same chicken's wings, back, and leg tips to make a fast homemade broth for that upgrade, no store-bought needed.
• A short how-to video to walk you through the dumplings if you've never made them.
• Make-ahead and freezer-friendly. Prep the soup base ahead and add fresh dumplings to cook when you're ready to eat.

Types of Dumplings for Chicken and Dumplings

Ask ten Southern cooks how they make their dumplings, and you'll get several answers. I grew up eating both drop and rolled dumplings and love each for different reasons. Both make delicious chicken and dumplings, but they give you a very different texture and a very different soup. Here is how the three most common styles compare.

This recipe uses my Mom's classic drop dumplings but with added, finely minced fresh chives. They're the easiest to make (no rolling, no cutting) and they steam up soft and pillowy while thickening the soup into something rich and creamy. If you love the thicker, chewier style, use rolled dumplings instead and expect a heartier, more stew-like bowl.

Chicken and Dumpling Soup Ingredients

For this chicken dumpling soup, I start with my Mom's basic recipe and add mirepoix, herbs, and an optional quick homemade broth to cook the chicken in to get even more chicken flavor into every bowl. Save time and skip the homemade broth if you like, using water or store-bought broth instead. Here's what goes into each part:

For the Chicken Soup Base

• Whole chicken or bone-in chicken pieces. A whole bone-in chicken makes the richest, most flavorful broth as it simmers and keeps the meat juicy.
• Chicken broth or water. Homemade or store-bought broth gives extra chickeny flavor, but water works just as well since the chicken makes its own broth as it cooks.
• Extra virgin olive oil for sautéing the vegetables.
• Onion, carrot, and celery, diced, for even more flavor and a savory base.
• Rubbed sage (optional but recommended), which pairs beautifully with chicken.
• McCormick's Poultry seasoning or other dried herbs like thyme or rosemary (optional but recommended).
• A small dried bay leaf (optional), added near the end so it doesn't overpower the soup, but perfumes it a little. Omit it if you don't already have bay leaves on hand.
• Salt and black pepper, to taste.
• Fresh parsley, chopped, to taste (optional but recommended) for color and freshness.

For the Herbed Chive Dumplings

• All-purpose flour (substitute 00 flour, cake flour, or whole wheat flour)
• Baking powder, for light, fluffy dumplings that rise as they steam
• Salt
• Whole milk, heated until warm
• Unsalted butter, melted
• Finely chopped fresh chives, for a subtle savory bite (sub parsley, or omit them if desired)

Full ingredient measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Optional 30-Minute Pressure Cooker Chicken Broth

Cooking the chicken in homemade broth instead of water gives this soup a deeper, double-chicken flavor. Doing things like this exposes the genuine cooking nerd in me:) It's totally optional, and plain water works perfectly if you're short on time. But if you have a pressure cooker, you can make a quick broth in about 30 minutes using parts trimmed from the same chicken. Here's how:

What You Need

• Two chicken wings, back, and leg tips, cut from the whole chicken you are using for the soup.
• Water, enough to cover, or about 8 ½ cups (or a little over 2 quarts)
• Leftover vegetable ends and peels, like celery tips, onion skins, and carrot peels (or use 1 carrot, 1 onion, and ½ rib of celery).

How to Make It

1. Add the chicken parts (reserving the remaining whole chicken for later), vegetable scraps, and water to the pressure cooker.
2. Lock the lid and bring it to high pressure and cook for 30 minutes at the lowest flame/heat level that still allows it to maintain high pressure. Allow for a natural release, or if short on time, do a quick release.
3. Strain out the solids and use the broth to cook the chicken in for the soup base above.

Best Herbs and Seasoning for Chicken and Dumplings

Seasoning for chicken and dumplings varies widely from cook to cook, and a big part of what makes this version special is the herbs, both in the soup and in the dumplings themselves. Here is how I like to season each part, plus a few easy swaps.

Seasoning the Soup

• Sage and poultry seasoning are my go-to. These warm, savory herbs pair beautifully with chicken and give the soup real depth and more Fall flavor.
• Thyme or rosemary work wonderfully in place of, or alongside, the poultry seasoning.
• A small bay leaf adds a subtle background note. Add it near the end of simmering, not early on, or it can overpower everything else.
• Fresh parsley stirred in at the end brings color and a fresh, clean finish.
• Salt and black pepper to taste, seasoned in stages as the soup simmers so the flavor builds.

Seasoning the Dumplings

• Fresh chives are the star here, flecked right into the dough for a subtle savory bite and pretty green specks.
• Fresh parsley makes a great swap if you don't have chives, but use only about 1 to 2 tablespoons instead of the 3 to 4 tablespoons of chives called for.
• A little freshly grated nutmeg (a few quick passes on a Microplane) is common in German-style dumplings and works beautifully here too.
• Prefer them plain? If you are a dumpling purist, leave the herbs out altogether. They'll still be soft, fluffy, and delicious.

Variations

This soup is wonderful as written, but here are a few fun ways to change it up.

Make It Even Creamier

The dumplings already make this soup rich and creamy on their own, but if you want it super extra duper creamy, stir a ¼ cup of heavy cream or whole milk into the broth right before adding the dumplings. Once the dairy is in, keep the soup at a gentle simmer and do not let it boil hard, which can cause it to separate.

Fluffy Green Dumplings

For a fun twist perfect for Mardi Gras, St. Patrick's Day or Halloween, turn the dumplings green. Instead of stirring chopped chives into the dough, puree them with the milk first, then warm that green milk with the melted butter before stirring it into the flour.

For a deeper green hue, puree in 1 cup fresh baby spinach with the chives, or swap the chives out for spinach to lose the onion notes. The classic white dumpling flecked with chives is still my go-to, but these are a cute, playful change for a holiday table.

Make-Ahead, Storing, and Freezing

• Make ahead. Prepare the chicken soup base ahead of time and refrigerate it. When you are ready to eat, bring it back to a simmer, stir in the chicken, mix up the dumpling dough, and steam the dumplings for 15 minutes.
• Refrigerate. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
• Freeze the base, not the dumplings. The soup base freezes beautifully, but cooked dumplings turn grainy and mushy once frozen and thawed. Freeze the base for up to 3 months, which keeps it from overcooking.
• Reheat. If frozen, first thaw overnight in the fridge. Then warm gently on the stovetop until heated through to 165°F. Leftovers often thicken as they sit, so add a little extra broth or water to loosen the soup if needed.
• Fresh dumplings for leftovers. I usually whip up a new batch of dumplings when we eat the leftover soup the next day. It steams up just as delicious, and a little thicker.

Chicken Dumpling Soup FAQs

More Easy Chicken Recipes

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