Potato Dumpling Soup

Hearty and comforting potato dumpling soup with vegetables, this chicken soup will warm you up during the cold months of the year.

Chicken Potato Dumpling Soup

A super comforting chicken and potato dumpling soup with lots of vegetables. Learn how to make soft and delicious potato dumplings for soup from scratch.

If you have followed this blog for a while, you might have noticed that we love soups. Any kind, from the always present Romanian Chicken Soup with Dumplings to typical German ones like the German Beef Soup, fish, vegetable soups like the Broccoli Soup or the Creamy Mushroom Soup with Cream Cheese and many many more.

Have a look at the Soups category in the blog, there are so many recipes for soups there, you will have a hard time choosing. 🙂 So, today another soup recipe.

Have you ever tried potato dumplings?

Today a chicken soup with lots of vegetables and nice, soft potato dumplings.

I initially meant to make this either with potatoes or rice instead of any dumplings at all, but then I thought I might try another sort of dumplings, something I haven’t had for a while: potato dumplings.

They were indeed something different from my usual soft yet structured semolina dumplings or from the heartier marrow dumplings.

These potato dumplings are really soft, almost melting in your mouth, similar in taste and structure to the German potato dumplings, which are larger and are served as a side dish for meat roasts or stews with lots of sauce.

Two ways to make the soup!

There are two ways to make this potato dumpling soup: the fast and super easy way and the still easy yet more time-intensive way.

Easy way:

• Use bought very good quality chicken stock.
• Poach two large chicken breasts in the stock. Or use leftover or rotisserie chicken.
• Cook 2 chopped carrots, red pepper and cauliflower in the stock as well. And some potato cubes instead of dumplings.
• If not using potatoes, add gnocchi, noodles or even a handful of cooked rice.
• Shred or chop the chicken and add it to the soup as required by the recipe.

Festive way with homemade chicken stock:

• I always recommend making homemade chicken stock, there is nothing better than that.
• So, if you have the time to make it, please do! Especially, if you plan to serve the soup as part of a festive meal, the homemade chicken stock will really bring this dumpling soup to another level.
• Place the chicken in a large pot and add cold water to cover it. Add carrots, celeriac, onion, garlic, spices, and salt.
• Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 45-60 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
• Remove the chicken legs from the pot and leave it until cool enough to handle. Remove skin and bones.
• Strain the broth into a clean soup pot and keep the carrots.
• Discard the rest of the vegetables and spices.
• Chicken broth cooked for such a short time is not as intensively flavored as chicken stock, which is cooked for about 4-5 hours. Add some chicken stock cubes to the broth to intensify the flavor.

How to make potato dumplings for soup?

• While the chicken legs cook, bring another pot of water to a boil and cook the cubed potatoes. Drain. Mash in a bowl with a fork. Let cool for about 5 minutes.
• Add the lightly beaten egg, soft butter, flour, a few good gratings of nutmeg and salt to taste.
• Check if you need more flour!
• Make only one dumpling at first.
• Dip a teaspoon into the soup and take a small amount (about ¾ teaspoon) out of the potato mixture. Let it slide into the soup and watch if it holds its shape.
• If it disintegrates, add a very small amount of extra flour and incorporate it well. Try again.
• The exact amount of flour needed depends on the size of your egg. Mine was a medium one, about 60g/ 2.1 oz.
• Carefully add the potato dumplings to the pot, then add the defrosted peas as well.
• Let simmer for about 10 minutes or until the dumplings are puffed up and cooked through.
• Do not let the soup boil anymore while the dumplings are in it.

Alternatives to potato dumplings

• This chicken and vegetable soup is delicious with or without the potato dumplings.
• You can replace the dumplings with small potato cubes, which should be cooked together with the cauliflower and red pepper.
• Or with cooked rice added at the end of the cooking process.
• Small pasta shapes or small gnocchi would be great as well.

How to serve?

• To finish the potato dumpling soup, add the shredded chicken, adjust the taste with salt and pepper, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.
• This is a meal in itself, you can serve it with some fresh bread if you wish. It will be enough for 4-6 people.
• If served as a first course, it will be enough for about 8-10 people.

More dumplings?

Hungarian Chicken Paprikash– This chicken paprikash is one of the best traditional Hungarian dishes.

Romanian Semolina Dumplings – How to make chicken stock and semolina dumpling soup – Romanian supa de galusti.

Cauliflower Soup with Flour Dumplings – Another comforting chicken soup with cauliflower, carrots and flour dumplings.

Gnudi or Ricotta Dumplings – Tender ricotta dumplings or gnudi in a velvety tomato sauce with lots of olive oil and garlic – Italian food at its best.

Romanian Cottage Cheese Dumplings– Serve these sweet papanasi fierti as dessert.

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Potato Dumpling Soup

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes

A hearty and comforting potato dumpling soup with vegetables, this chicken soup will warm you up during the cold months of the year.

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Ingredients

• Chicken broth (See note 1 and 2):
• 2 large whole chicken legs
• 2 large carrots
• 1 piece of celeriac (about 200 g/ 7 oz) or 2 celery sticks
• 1 large onion
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 5 bay leaves
• 10 black peppercorns
• 5 cloves
• 5 juniper berries
• 5 allspice berries
• fine sea salt
• about 1-2 chicken stock cubes, as needed
• Soup:
• 1 red bell pepper
• 200 g/ 7 oz cauliflower
• 100 g/ 3.5 oz peas, defrosted
• fine sea salt and pepper
• some parsley
• Potato dumplings (See note 3):
• 400 g/ 14 oz potatoes, weighed after peeling
• 20 g/ 1 tablespoon soft butter
• 1 egg, about 60g/ 2.1 oz (weighed whole, with shell)
• between 100-115 g/ 3.5-4 oz/ ¾ – 1 scant cup all-purpose flour (more as needed, depending on the size of the egg)
• nutmeg
• fine sea salt

Instructions

Soup:

1. Place the chicken legs in a large soup pot and add cold water to cover it, about 2 ½ – 3 liter/ 10.5 – 12.5 cups. Clean and halve the carrots, celeriac piece, and onion. Add them to the pot. Add the whole garlic cloves, all the spices, and some salt.
2. Slowly bring everything to a simmer, turn the heat down immediately and simmer, uncovered, for about 45 minutes to 1 hour until the chicken is cooked through and really soft.
3. Remove the chicken legs from the soup and leave until cool enough to handle. Strain the broth into a clean soup pot and keep the carrots. Discard the rest of the vegetables and spices.
4. Chop the pepper into small cubes, divide the cauliflower into small florets and add them to the strained chicken broth. Bring to a boil and cook them gently until half cooked about 5 minutes.
5. Chicken broth cooked for such a short time is not as intensively flavored as chicken stock, which is cooked for about 4-5 hours. Add some chicken stock cubes to the broth to intensify the flavor.

Potato dumplings:

1. Peel, cube and cook the potatoes. Drain. Mash in a bowl with a fork.
2. Let cool for about 5 minutes, add the lightly beaten egg, soft butter, about 100 g/ 3.5 oz/ 3/4 cup of the flour, a few good gratings of nutmeg and salt.
3. Start adding the potato dumplings to the soup using a teaspoon. Make only one dumpling at first. Dip the teaspoon into the soup and take a small amount (about ¾ teaspoon) out of the potato mixture. Let it slide into the soup and watch if it holds its shape. Give it about 3-4 minutes. If it disintegrates, add a very small amount of extra flour and incorporate it well. Try again.
4. The exact amount of flour needed depends on the size of your egg.

Finish the soup:

1. Add the defrosted peas to the soup together with the dumplings. Let simmer for about 10 minutes or until the dumplings are puffed up and cooked through. Do not let the soup boil anymore while the dumplings are in it.
2. In the meantime remove the skin and the bones of the chicken and shred the meat into bite-sized pieces.
3. Chop the reserved carrots into cubes or slices. Add them to the soup and let the soup stand (heat off) for about 10 minutes more so that the chicken and the carrots can get hot again. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper, sprinkle the soup with some chopped parsley and serve.
   
   
   

Notes

1. You can use bought good quality chicken stock to make the soup. In this case, poach two chicken breasts (about 450 g/ 1 lb) in the soup and cook the carrots, pepper, and cauliflower in the stock as well. Make the dumplings and finish the soup as indicated in the recipe.
2. Chicken broth cooked for such a short time is not as intensively flavored as chicken stock, which is cooked for about 4-5 hours. Add some chicken stock cubes to the broth to intensify the flavor.
3. It is preferable to use a kitchen scale when measuring the ingredients for the dumplings.
   

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1/6 of the dish
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 384Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 116mgSodium: 829mgCarbohydrates: 57gFiber: 13gSugar: 14gProtein: 25g

Nutritional information is not always accurate.