My favorite soup from my childhood, Chicken Noodle & Dumpling Soup is made with homemade egg noodles, easy dumplings from scratch, and loaded with shredded chicken, carrots, cabbage, celery, and onions! It's comfort food at it's best!
So there is good old classic chicken noodle soup. And then you have midwestern or southern comfort food chicken and dumplings. And then there is this Chicken Noodle & Dumpling Soup, which is a mash-up of the two classic dishes. And I love, love, love it.
We're talking carbs on carbs here and I, for one, am not complaining about that. There's plenty of broth, veggies, and chicken to balance things out anyway. If you are gluten-free or looking to eliminate carbs from your diet, definitely give this awesome Whole30-compliant Chicken Avocado Lime Soup a try instead! But noodles + dumplings = bliss.
I don't actually remember for sure whether my mom combined the two when I was a kid, but it seems like she did. I distinctly remember her making these simple dumplings and using them in a chicken soup, and I also remember watching her roll and cut out egg noodles from scratch to use in chicken noodle soup as well.
I just can't be sure if she combined them or if this soup is a result of me taking matters into my own hands once I left home for college. Both the egg noodles and dumpling recipes that I'm sharing today for this soup come from my mom. I'm not sure where she got them from but they are both so simple and so good.
The dumplings come together in all of probably 30 seconds and the egg noodles don't take much longer than that, although there is the step of rolling them out and slicing them into strips.
If you really want to save on time, you could always use the dried egg noodles from the store, but nothing, nothing, compares to fresh, homemade ones and at least for me, this soup just isn't the same without them. And they are even easier when you use a food processor (affiliate link) to combine the flour and egg together before pulsing in the water.
The chicken soup broth gets ever so slightly thickened from the excess flour that comes off the fresh egg noodles and the dumplings as they cook.
The other thing I really love about the chicken noodle soup part of this dish is the addition of cabbage to the traditional carrot, celery, and onion combo. It takes an already wonderful soup and makes it even more healthful and comforting and exactly what I need when I'm feeling under the weather.
You can boil chicken in water and make your own broth, or just start with leftover cooked chicken and toss it in to some high quality chicken stock to make things that much easier, which is honestly what I do 9 times out of 10. I've used rotisserie chickens, leftovers pulled from the carcass of a whole roasted Mexican chicken, smoked bbq chicken, and crispy skillet chicken thighs (will share that recipe soon - they are soooo good), and it turns out great every time.
If you are going the route of boiling your chicken, it will take about 30 minutes if using chicken breasts with skin and bones, and about 20-25 minutes if you are just doing boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
This Chicken Noodle & Dumpling Soup is going to be on my menu all winter long, and I hope it makes it to yours as well! If you are a soup fanatic like me, here are some other soups that make regular appearances at our house, especially during these cold winter months! And did you know I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to Soup Recipes?
More Homemade Soup Recipes You'll Love
- Zuppa Toscana Crockpot or Stovetop Soup
- Cheesy Taco Soup
- One Pot Lasagna Soup
- Slow Cooker Tuscan White Bean Soup
- Creamy Leftover Turkey Wild Rice Soup
- Creamy Irish Leek and Potato Soup
- Easy Minestrone Soup
- Smoked Salmon Chowder
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Chicken Noodle & Dumpling Soup
Ingredients
- 12 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 4 stalks celery, chopped
- 4-6 carrots, sliced into discs
- 1 ½ cups cabbage, roughly chopped
- ½ large onion, diced
- 1-2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme, or 1 teaspoon fresh
- 3 cups chicken breasts and/or thighs, cooked and shredded
Homemade Egg Noodles
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1-2 Tablespoons milk
Dumplings
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
- ¼ cup milk
Instructions
- Pour the chicken broth into a large heavy pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and cabbage to chicken broth and season with salt, pepper, and thyme and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
- Stir in the shredded, cooked chicken. Add the fresh egg noodles by dropping them in a handful at a time and stirring so they don't clump together. Add the dumplings at the same time by dropping tablespoonfuls on top of the simmering soup. Cover and cook for 5 minutes until the dumplings are cooked through and no longer doughy inside.
Egg Noodles
- To make the noodles, pulse flour and salt in a food processor. Add olive oil and pulse. Add egg and pulse to combine. Add the milk, one tablespoon at a time, and pulse just until combined and starting to clump a bit.
- Dump the egg noodle dough onto a clean counter and knead a few times to bring it together in one clump, then cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes or longer. Roll out very thin on a well-floured surface, then cut into thin, short strips using a pizza cutter or sharp knife.
Dumplings
- Combine all dumpling ingredients together in a medium bowl by stirring with a fork just until moistened.
I've been craving a chicken soup with dumplings for a couple of weeks now and yours looks divine! Such beautiful photos
Noodles and dumplings. This is my love language! It's always my favourite when childhood faves become family classics even in adulthood. Lovely recipe!
I love this soup, and the dumplings make it delectable. I just want to dig right in. Great recipe!
Thank you!
I’m literally eating this recipe now, 30 degrees outside on the first day of March. YUM. I have NEVER made chicken & dumplings before but I managed to pull this off.
Only variations were using store bought egg noodle (12 oz.) and I used butter for the biscuits because that’s southern comfort for ya. Added diy old bay spice to dumpling dough.
Scared dumplings would fall apart but did not; I did not stir the dumplings but let them sit.
Ooooh, noodles AND dumplings??! Count me in to this delicious carb fest!!!
Oh this will definitely be on my menu! I love chicken and dumpling soup. I could eat a big bowl of this right now. Great photos!
The dumplings Did not work out. They spread,
fell apart & ruined my entire pot of soup. I followed recipe exact.
This is the only recipe I've found that included both noodles and dumplings. I thought I was going crazy thinking they were never combined! Appreciate the recipe help and confirmation haha! As for people who's dumplings are falling apart, you're doing it wrong. >:D
Thanks, Sarah! You definitely aren't crazy, or if you are, I'm right there with you! I don't see them done together much either, but it's the best!
My dumplings were way too fluffy and fell apart, and ruined the whole pot of soup.
Hi Nichole, you most likely OVER COOKED the dumplings... : ( Trust me I HAVE DONE IT! They shouldn't take a long time to cook. Just a gentle boil. Boiling the dumplings to long can make the outside skin fall apart. I normally let them come to a boil. Then when they float to the top, I lower the heat to simmer. Then I give them another two
- three minutes before taking them out. Good luck on your next attempt. Don't give up!
Tammy, you most likely OVER COOKED the dumplings... : ( Trust me I HAVE DONE IT! They shouldn't take a long time to cook. Just a gentle boil. Boiling the dumplings to long can make the outside skin fall apart. I normally let them come to a boil. Then when they float to the top, I lower the heat to simmer. Then I give them another two
- three minutes before taking them out. Good luck on your next attempt. Don't give up!
Did you stir the pot after adding? That would cause it to happen...Do not stir after adding, just cover the pot for 15-20 minutes.
Dumplings did not turn out at all. Would not recommend- my entire pot of soup was ruined.
You over cooked them, stirred them, or both!. They only take 5-7 minutes when dropped into the soup. Drop them in into simmering soup, let them sink, cover the pot, and then check only after 5 minutes after they float.
This was amazing! Thanks for posting and sharing !
You're welcome! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
I was given a giant bag off egg pasta noodles, and never really knew what to do with them, so this recipe sounds awesome! Making as we speak! Thanks!
Tried this soup for your showdown challenge, don't know why I haven't tried this before!! So good! And we loved both noodles AND dumplings in our soup! Yum!
This soup is amazing especially if you decide to add parsley and some pepper. However my dumplings came out with a sorta brown interior which I think is because I overcooked them. Everything else about this was so hearty and perfect for a cold winter night!
Where’s the directions for the dumplings after you mix them ?
I’ve searched several times
Time consuming
On the recipe card under step 2 it says "Stir in the shredded, cooked chicken. Add the fresh egg noodles by dropping them in a handful at a time and stirring so they don't clump together. Add the dumplings at the same time by dropping tablespoonfuls on top of the simmering soup. Cover and cook for 5 minutes until the dumplings are cooked through and no longer doughy inside."
Is this what you are needing? I'm sorry it was confusing. I can add this to the dumpling step to make it more clear.
Sounds good