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Naturally Colored Dumpling Wrappers (For Chinese New Year (春节)

Modified: by Kelly Leding · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

Jump to Recipe·5 from 2 reviews

Dumpling wrappers are incredibly easy and inexpensive to make at home And there's no better time than Spring Festival (春节 Lunar New Year) to make dumplings and potstickers that are a little bit extra special.

To celebrate my Sichuan family this year, I've made purple, pink, orange, and green dumpling wrappers and filled them with everything from chicken to pork and chives, and even delicious shrimp har gow dumpling fillings! They're also perfect for making extra lucky money bag dumplings (Beggar's Purses)!

Colored Chinese dumplings being pan-seared and steamed to make potstickers including purple dumplings, green, pink, and two-toned wrappers with half-purple and half gold and half gold and half white dumplings.
Homemade Chinese dumpling wrappers portioned on a sheet tray showing how to make dumpling dough with natural colors including green spinach, yellow turmeric, white original, purple cabbage, and pink beetroot for dumpling wrapper recipe.

What To Expect With This Dumpling Wrapper Recipe

This dumpling dough recipe includes 5 ways to color dumpling wrappers naturally using vegetables the way Mother Nature intended (without dyes or weird ingredients).

They make delicious (beautiful) potstickers as well if you like crispy-bottomed dumplings as much as we do.

I'll also show you how to make tie-dyed dumpling wrappers (aka Mardi Gras Dumplings) which are almost too pretty to eat. Plus, you'll learn how to customize how dark or how light you want the dumpling wrappers to be.

Instead of searching for 'dumpling wrappers near me' or ordering takeout or delivery, make your own Chinese dumplings with the whole family this year!

They cost a fraction of what you'll pay for takeout or delivery and taste just as good (or better with the right dumpling filling).

Jump to:
Homemade rozen meal prepped naturally colored dumplings including tie-dyed, gold, pink, purple, green, and white ready to steam as potstickers in a cast iron skillet showing how to make chinese dumplings.

Why We Love This Dumpling Wrapper Recipe

  • Each dumpling wrapper uses just 3 ingredients (water, a vegetable, and flour)
  • Makes the perfect potsticker dough recipe
  • Homemade dumpling wrappers have better texture than store-bought wrappers
  • Colored dumpling wrappers make a beautiful presentation
  • Perfect wrappers to hold your favorite dumpling filling recipe
  • Use the wrappers to make-ahead and freeze dumplings
  • You know exactly what's in this dumpling wrapper (no unnatural dyes or preservatives)
  • They're not just perfect for the Lunar New Year (use them holiday-themed dumplings like Christmas dumplings, Halloween dumplings, St. Patrick's Day, Mardi Gras, etc.
A collage of 8 photos showing the naturally dyed water to make naturally colored chinese dumplings, purple cabbage water and purple dough, pink beet water and pink dough, green spinach water and green dough, and intense yellow turmeric on a plate and yellow dough.

How To Naturally Color Dumpling Wrappers

For this dumpling recipe, you'll need a few colorful vegetables and one spice to make jewel-toned dumpling wrappers like your favorite dim sum restaurant.

Purple Dumpling Wrappers

Purple cabbage makes beautiful purple dumpling wrappers for Mardi Gras.

Purple cabbage water extracted in a prep bowl ready to use for making homemade purple Chinese dumpling dough with natural food coloring.
Purple Chinese dumpling dough made with natural purple cabbage coloring for homemade dumpling wrapper recipe.

Pink Dumpling Wrappers

Beets make pretty pink dumpling wrappers perfect for Valentine's Day

Beetroot in water with small prep bowl of red beetroot water to use for making pink Chinese dumpling dough with natural food coloring.
Pink Chinese dumpling dough made with natural beetroot coloring for homemade dumpling wrapper recipe.

Green Dumpling Wrappers

Spinach is most often used to make green dumpling wrappers, but cilantro, parsley, and also cucumber peels are also widely used in China.

Green spinach water in prep bowl ready to use for making naturally colored green Chinese dumpling dough.
Green Chinese dumpling dough made with natural spinach coloring for homemade dumpling wrappers recipe.

Bright Yellow Dumpling Wrappers

Turmeric makes a beautifully bright yellow-orange dumpling wrapper, but comes with a turmeric flavor as well.

Turmeric powder on a plate for making naturally colored yellow Chinese dumpling dough.
Bright yellow Chinese dumpling dough made with turmeric for naturally colored homemade dumpling wrappers recipe.

If you don't like the taste of turmeric (which can be strong), you can use carrots as a substitute.

NOTE: FYI, I've noticed that when you freeze dumplings made with turmeric wrappers, the turmeric flavor fades the longer they're in the freezer. The flavor is very prominent if you cook them right away to make steamed dumplings or potstickers just after filling them.

Closeup of Mardi Gras colored Chinese potstickers after cooking showing naturally colored gold turmeric and white, gold and purple cabbage dumpling wrappers for homemade dumplings recipe.

Colored Dumpling Wrappers Ingredients

For these dumpling skins, you'll notice the dumpling dough above looks a bit rougher in texture than my normal dumpling dough.

This is because I used a Type 2 Italian flour, which has a coarser texture compared to other flours.

You can use just about any kind of flour to make dumpling wrappers or wonton wrappers, but bread flour is my favorite and what I recommend using for this recipe.

  • Purple Dumpling Wrappers: water, purple cabbage, bread flour (sub all-purpose flour or 00 flour)
  • Pink Dumpling Wrappers: water, beets, bread flour (sub all-purpose flour or 00 flour)
  • Green Dumpling Wrappers: water, spinach (fresh or frozen), flour (sub all-purpose flour or 00 flour)
  • Orange/Yellow Dumpling Wrappers: water, turmeric, bread flour (sub all-purpose flour or 00 flour)
  • Orange Dumpling Wrapper Alternative: water, carrots(or sweet potatoes, or pumpkin), bread flour (sub all-purpose flour or 00 flour)
A plate full of dumplings from a restaurant in Bologna, Italy with two each of black dumplings, pink dumplings, orange-yellow dumplings, soup dumplings, and white dumplings.
Dumpling turned into potstickers in a cast iron skillet with some of the dumpling wrappers sharing two colors split down the middle (yellow and white and purple and gold which are perfect dumplings for Mardi Gras).

How to Make Naturally Colored Dumpling Wrappers (Chinese Dumpling Recipe) Step-by-Step

I recommend making the dumpling fillings the night before so all that's left to do the next day is to make the dumpling wrappers, roll, and fill them.

A collage of 8 step by step photos for how to make dumpling wrappers from scratch.

Here's an overview of how to make colored dumpling wrappers and fill them. You'll find the full detailed instructions in the recipe card below. 

  1. Prepare the natural dyes by infusing water with each vegetable or turmeric powder to extract the color. 
  2. Mix the colored water with the flour. 
  3. Knead the dough for 10 minutes and rest the dough.
  4. Roll out the dough into a log and cut 20 equal dumpling pieces from each log.
  5. Roll out each dumpling wrapper, fill it with your favorite dumpling filling, and cook, or freeze dumplings right away.
A long "rope" or "log" of purple dumpling wrapper dough.
A ¼ sheet pan filled with white dumpling wrapper balls, orange-yellow dumpling dough balls, purple dough balls, pink dough balls, and green dumpling dough balls covered with sustainable cling film to keep them from drying out.

How to Fill and Pleat Dumplings

In case you're a visual learner like I am, you'll see how to roll, fill, and pleat dumplings in the photos below. You can always hop over to this shrimp dumpling post for more detailed instructions if you need them.

Even if your dumpling pleats look bad or are nonexistent, don't worry, they'll still taste great 😊! Just don't over-stuff the dumplings and be sure to squeeze out any air around the filling before closing them up.

A collage of 7 step by step photos for how to roll, fill, and pleat chinese dumplings.

Dumpling Wrappers Best Tips & Techniques

Use these tips to make colorful dumpling wrappers to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Tip 1. Let the dumpling dough rest

Allow the dumpling dough to rest for at least 30 minutes (or even up to an hour) to give the dough time to relax, which makes it easier to roll out.

Tip 2. For making even more deeply-colored dumpling wrappers.

To concentrate the color, for a darker purple, green, or pink-colored dumpling wrapper, double the amount of vegetables called for in each wrapper recipe, which will concentrate the color and make them even more intensely colored.

But DO NOT add more turmeric to try and intensify the yellow dumpling dough, or you may not be able to eat them! Too much turmeric spice will overpower the dumpling flavor, and it'll be all you taste!

Pro Tip: Use a pasta machine fitted with an electric Pasta Drive to roll dumpling wrappers: When I'm making more than 20 to 25 dumplings, I use the Marcato Pasta Drive my Italian mother-in-law gave me.

It's an electric motor that fits onto my pasta machine and does all the rolling for me! If you make homemade pasta or a lot of Chinese dumplings like I do, it's worth investing in one or using the KitchenAid pasta roller attachment.

Dumpling dipping sauce with toasted soy sauce, sesame seeds, scallions, and ginger.

Dumpling Dipping Sauce For Colored Dumplings

If you're specifically looking for a few good dipping sauces, I suggest this homemade Sichuan chili oil, a vinegar-based dumpling dipping sauce, or a simple mixture of 1 tablespoon of soy sauce plus 1 tablespoon water, a slice of fresh ginger, and a pinch or two of sugar with toasted sesame seeds and scallions sprinkled on top.

How To Store Dumplings

If you're not steaming dumplings or making potstickers right away, it's best to freeze them.  

Place them onto a parchment-lined tray, leaving a little room in between each one so they don't touch, and freeze them for 30 to 45 minutes or until completely frozen.

Transfer frozen dumplings to a freezer-safe bag or another airtight container and store for 1 month or up to 3 months.

A parchment paper-lined sheet tray with a line of bright yellow dumplings, white dumplings, green dumplings, pink dumplings, and purple dumplings all different shapes.
Homemade frozen dumplings on a sheet tray.
Frozen dumplings in a freezer bag (multiple colored dumplings with different dumpling fillings in each color dumpling wrapper).

 How To Cook Frozen Dumplings

Whatever you do, DO NOT thaw frozen dumplings before steaming, boiling, or making potstickers. Below are 4 ways to cook frozen dumplings:

To Steam Frozen Dumplings:

Place dumplings in a lined steamer basket (you may brush the parchment liner or cabbage leaves with a little oil to help keep them from sticking).

When the water is boiling, place the basket with dumplings over the pot with water (being sure the dumplings have no contact with water) and steam the dumplings on high for about 15 minutes or until cooked all the way through.

Remove the steamer basket from the pot and allow dumplings to cool about 1 minute before removing them.

To Boil Frozen Dumplings:

Add frozen dumplings to a pot of boiling water. When the dumplings float to the top, continue cooking them for 2 to 3 minutes more which will ensure the middles are cooked all the way through.

Remove the dumplings using a strainer or slotted spoon and serve with chili oil or your favorite dumpling sauce.

To Cook Potstickers from Frozen:

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat in a well-seasoned 10 or 12-inch cast iron skillet or another non-stick skillet with a lid. Swirl the pan to make sure the oil has covered the bottom of the skillet.

Place frozen dumplings into the skillet in a single layer making sure there is space in between each one and cook for about 1 minute. Add ¼ cup of water or chicken stock to the skillet, cover with a lid, and set a timer for 15 minutes.

Turn down the skillet to medium heat and cook for about 10 minutes. For the last 5 minutes of cooking, turn the heat back up to medium-high, but be sure to check the bottoms to make sure they don't burn and that the liquid is evaporating completely.

When they're ready, all of the liquid should have evaporated, the filling will be cooked through, and the potstickers will be easy to remove from the skillet.

Alternate Way to Cook Potstickers from Frozen:

You can steam dumplings first using the above steamer basket method for 10 minutes, then add them to a medium-high heat skillet with oil in it to finish cooking and brown the bottoms.

You will only need to add about 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or stock to the skillet and cook them for just 4 to 5 minutes until the bottoms are browned and the liquid has evaporated.

How to Cook Potstickers Pro-tip: Don't be tempted to add too many dumplings to the skillet at a time because you'll need room to use a spatula to remove them. A small offset pastry spatula makes an excellent tool to remove potstickers from the skillet.

More Dim Sum, Dumpling & Potsticker Recipes

If you're looking for some easy dim sum or yum cha recipes to celebrate the Chinese New Year (or just to stop spending so much on takeout), we have plenty of tried and true authentic recipes. Everything from shrimp dumplings, spicy homemade chili crisp, BBQ pork bao buns, to stir fries, rice, and noodles recipes.

Let's get started!

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Colored Chinese dumplings being pan-seared and steamed to make potstickers including purple dumplings, green, pink, and two-toned wrappers with half-purple and half gold and half gold and half white dumplings.

Colored Dumpling Wrappers for Chinese New Year (春节饺子)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

  • Author: Kelly
  • Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
  • Yield: 100 Dumplings (20 Each of Purple, Pink, Green, Yellow, Orange)
  • Diet: Vegetarian
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Description

Dumpling wrappers are incredibly easy and inexpensive to make at home And there's no better time than Spring Festival (春节 Chinese New Year) to make dumplings and potstickers that are a little bit extra special. To celebrate my Sichuan family this year, I've made purple, pink, orange, and green dumpling wrappers and filled them with everything from chicken to pork and chives, and even delicious shrimp har gow filling! You can even use them to make money bag dumplings (Beggar's Purses)!

Ingredients

Units

Purple Dumpling Wrappers

  • 1 cup bread flour or all-purpose flour (130g)
  • ½ cup water (115g)
  • 2 cups purple cabbage, chopped (200g)

Pink Dumpling Wrappers

  • 1 cup bread flour or all-purpose flour (130g)
  • ½ cup water (115g)
  • 1 ½ cups beets, roughly chopped (fresh or steamed) (200g)

Green Dumpling Wrappers

  • 1 cup bread flour or all-purpose flour (130g)
  • ½ cup water (115g)
  • 3 tablespoons prepared spinach purée (30g) *see recipe notes for using fresh spinach

Yellow Dumpling Wrappers (using turmeric)

  • 1 cup bread flour or all-purpose flour (130g)
  • 6 tablespoons water (90g)
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (1.25 - 2.5g)

Orange Dumpling Wrappers (using carrot)

  • 1 cup bread flour or all-purpose flour (130g)
  • ½ cup water (115g)
  • 2 medium carrots, sliced (200g)

Dumpling Fillings: Choose from any of our favorite dumpling fillings below

Instacart Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

Prepare the purple dye

  • Bring the water and cabbage to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 8 minutes.
  • Strain the cabbage and measure out 6 tablespoons (90g) of purple water.

Prepare the pink dye

  • Bring the water and beets to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 8 minutes.
  • Strain the beets and measure out 6 tablespoons (90g) of pink water.

Prepare the green dye

  • Heat the water and spinach puree until hot and stir everything to combine.
  • Measure out 6 tablespoons (90g) of green water.
  • Alternatively, if using fresh spinach, find the instructions in the recipe card notes.

Prepare the yellow dye

  • Bring the water to a boil and stir in the turmeric powder until combined.
  • Measure out 6 tablespoons (90g) of bright yellow-orange water.

Prepare the orange dye

  • Bring the water and carrots to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes.
  • Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a food processor or blender and purèe the mixture completely.
  • Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve and measure out 6 tablespoons (90g) of orange liquid.
  1. Make the dumpling dough. Working with one dough at a time, add the flour to a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment), add the warm colored water 1 tablespoon at a time, and stir or mix just until the mixture comes together and you can form a stiff ball out of it. *Depending on the flour you're using, you may only need 5 tablespoons of colored water or the full 6 tablespoons depending on the flour absorption potential and humidity.  
  2. Knead the dough. Knead the stiff dough for 12 minutes in the mixer (speed 2), or by hand for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the dough is much softer and becomes smooth.  If you feel the dough is too hard to knead, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes before continuing to knead it. Once the dough is fully kneaded, cover it with plastic wrap and allow it to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes or up to 3 hours or overnight.
  3. Roll out the dumpling wrappers. After the dough has rested, roll the dough into a log about 6-8 inches long. Cut the dough into equal pieces (about 12 grams each) which will give you just about 20 total wrappers. Cover the dough pieces with plastic wrap to keep them from drying out. Lightly dust a work surface or non-stick dough mat with a little flour and roll each dough piece out to about 3 inches in diameter. Dust the wrappers and stack them on top of one another and cover them with a damp towel to keep them from drying out. Fill the dumplings with your choice of delicious fillings and cook or freeze, Enjoy!

Notes

If using fresh spinach to make green dumpling dough, blanch 250g of fresh or frozen spinach leaves in 1 ½ cups of boiling water for 1 minute, strain the spinach, and add it to a food processor or Vitamix and purée until smooth. Strain the mixture to get 6 tablespoons (90g) of spinach juice adding a little blanching water if necessary to equal 6 tablespoons (90g) of green spinach liquid.

Make sure the dumpling dough isn't too dry or too wet. Add the water to the flour slowly and mix just until no more flour remains on the sides of the bowl. It should be somewhat stiff but hold together and easily be able to form into a dough ball. The dough should not be wet or sticky at this point. If it is, simply dust it with a teaspoon of flour at a time incorporating it until it's no longer wet. When using 00 flour to make dumpling dough, you'll most likely need the full 6 tablespoons of water because 00 flour has a higher hydration absorption rate. If you use all-purpose flour, you'll most likely need around 5 tablespoons of water. For bread flour I use, I typically add 6 tablespoons of water, but I never dump the water into the flour because everything from what time of year it is to what brand of bread flour I'm using makes a difference in how much water I'll need to add.

If you feel the dough is too difficult to knead just after you've formed the dough ball, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes before continuing to knead it.

Homemade dumpling dough needs to rest for at least 15 minutes and up to 3 hours covered at room temperature before rolling and filling. But you can also wrap dumpling dough in sustainable cling film and place it in the refrigerator overnight, or up to 2 days before rolling and filling.

Making Bulk Dumplings: For standard dumplings and potstickers, I like to make them in bulk over 2 days. I make the dumpling fillings and the dough on Day 1 and refrigerate them overnight. Then I roll and fill them on Day 2. Breaking up the tasks over 2 days makes it feel like less work especially if you don't have a helper.

For more deeply-colored dumpling wrappers, add more vegetables to the water in each dough to concentrate the color: If you want a darker purple, green, or pink colored dumpling wrapper, double the amount of vegetables called for in each wrapper recipe which will concentrate the color and make them even more intense. Do not add more turmeric or you may not be able to eat them because that's all you'll taste!

Pro Tip: Use a pasta machine fitted with an electric Pasta Drive to roll dumpling wrappers: When I'm making more than 20 to 25 dumplings, I use the Marcato Pasta Drive my Italian mother-in-law gifted me which is an electric motor that fits onto my pasta machine and does all the rolling for me! If you make homemade

  • Prep Time: 90 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Category: Pasta
  • Method: Mix & Stir
  • Cuisine: Chinese

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 5 Dumpling Wrappers

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About Kelly Leding

Global recipes from a NYC private chef and Chengdu cooking school founder, now living & cooking in Italy. Authentic Italian, Chinese, and Southern cuisine!

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  1. Sammy K. says

    These were so easy and cute! We used the spinach wrappers paired with a shrimp and pork filling and they were great:) Thanks for the recipe and making the process so easy.

    Reply

  2. Grace says

    The natural colors are incredible! Went with purple and green this time and they were perfect for photos. My daughter is already asking for pink ones next:)

    Reply