Vegetarian Dumpling Soup (with Vegetables)

Cozy vegetarian dumpling soup full of veggies; a healthy, filling, and comforting soup with easy-to-make, fluffy dumplings. 

This vegetarian dumpling soup is one of our favorite vegetable soups. I cook soup of any kind at least twice a week, and most of them are vegetarian. And this hearty vegetable soup with dumplings is one of my kids’ favorites.

Why? Well, it’s the dumplings, not necessarily the veggies… These lovely, comforting dumplings made with flour and eggs are the perfect addition to a hot, steaming soup bowl.

If you like homemade dumplings as much as we do, check out the Romanian Semolina Dumpling Soup, the German Beef Dumpling Soup, or the Potato Dumpling Soup. Or the Chicken Paprikash with Nokedli, Gnudi - Ricotta Dumplings in Tomato Sauce, or Romanian Cottage Cheese Dumplings.

Recipe ingredients and substitutes

• Vegetables: Lots of them. Don’t be put off by the long ingredient list; they are all simple ingredients, and you can make the list shorter by taking more from one kind of veg and leaving out what you don’t have. This recipe is also great for using up any veggie rest you might have in the crisper.
• Onion, garlic, carrots, bell peppers, and frozen peas are my standard as I always have them in the fridge/freezer.
• I use leeks, green beans, and broccoli when I have them. They can be substituted with other vegetables, like cauliflower, cabbage, green onion, mushrooms, sugar snap peas, kohlrabi, parsnips, sweet potato, pumpkin, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, and so on. As you can see, anything is possible.

• Spices: I love the combination of sweet and smoked paprika, and I always add some red chili flakes for a bit of heat. Use them to taste or use cayenne pepper instead (also, to taste, you will need less as it is hotter). You will also need fine sea salt (Kosher or table salt) and ground black pepper.
• You can also add 2-3 bay leaves, I forgot them this time, but they are actually present in most of the soups I make.
• Thyme is an excellent addition, but you can substitute it with other dried herbs or a combination of herbs, like Herbs de Provence or Italian herbs.

• Vegetable broth or stock of good quality.

• Balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, and sugar are for adjusting the taste.

• Fresh herbs like parsley, chives, thyme, lovage, oregano, etc. You can use only fresh parsley or a mixture of several herbs.

Ingredients for the dumplings: all-purpose flour, eggs, one tablespoon of Greek yogurt or sour cream (for the fluffiness), and salt.

Step-by-step instructions

Make the vegetable soup

• Prepare the fresh vegetables:
  • Peel and chop the onion and the garlic and set them aside separately as they have different cooking times.
  • Clean and chop the carrots, pepper, and leek and keep them in another bowl.

• Sauté onions in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven in olive oil for a couple of minutes (1). Add garlic and stir for another minute.
  • Add carrots, pepper, leeks, and spices (2). Stir, and cook for about 10 minutes on medium-low heat until a bit softer (3).

• Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil on medium-high heat (4).
• During the time the soup needs to come to a boil, make the batter for the dumplings.

Make the dumpling batter

• It's the same dumpling recipe I use for making nokedli, a simple, fool-proof, tasty recipe I always make.
• Mix the eggs and sour cream or yogurt in a medium bowl. Mix them with a fork; you will not need a mixer.
• Add salt and then gradually add the flour while mixing with the fork. The mixture should be smooth, relatively thick, and slowly fall off the fork. Check the pictures to see the batter consistency (5).
• Give or take a little flour, depending on the size of your eggs. If the eggs are small to begin with, use 1 tablespoon less flour than instructed and only add more as needed. If the eggs are larger, you might need a little extra flour.

Cook dumplings

• Turn the heat under the soup pot down to low. Add the green beans; the liquid should only be simmering now.
• Add the dumpling dough to the simmering soup using a teaspoon, which should only be half full of dough (6). Let simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes.
• Add the broccoli florets and the green peas and simmer for another 3-4 minutes until the dumplings are fluffy and cooked through (7).
• Adjust the taste of the vegetable dumpling soup with salt, black pepper, white balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, and a pinch of sugar.
• Add chopped herbs and stir.

Expert Tips

• Acidity: Adding something acidic to any soup, stew, or sauce is almost a religion for me; there is hardly any dish I make that won’t benefit from adding vinegar or lemon. Just a tiny amount of acid lifts the taste of the food and helps bring out the rest of the flavors.
  • Just like salt, vinegar or lemon juice have the power to bring a dish from ”OK” to “amazing.”

• Flour: I recommend using a digital kitchen scale when measuring the flour needed for the soup dumplings, especially when making them for the first time. I make them all the time, and I still use the scale, although I know perfectly well how the batter should look and feel; it’s easier and avoids disappointment (Amazon affiliate link).
  • You might need a touch of extra flour depending on the size of your eggs; check the photographs and if you think the batter is too thin, add a tiny amount of extra flour, stir and check again.
  • However, don’t add too much flour; I think that ½ tablespoon it’s the most you should add.

Recipe FAQ

How to serve?

• Serve the vegetarian dumpling soup immediately or reheat it.
• We have it as it is or with bread. Try it with Buckwheat Bread, Spelt Bread (No-Rise, No-Knead Bread), or Soda Bread with Yogurt.

More recipes for the soup season

Vegetarian Dumpling Soup (with Vegetables)

Cozy vegetarian dumpling soup full of veggies; a healthy, filling, and comforting soup with easy-to-make, fluffy dumplings.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 184kcal

Author: Adina

Equipment

• ▢
  Large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven

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Ingredients 

Vegetable soup (Note 1):

• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1 medium onion about 100 g/ 3.5 oz
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves
• ▢ 2 carrots about 150 g/ 5.3 oz
• ▢ 1 leek thin, about 100 g/ 3.5 oz
• ▢ 1 bell pepper about 150 g/ 5.3 oz, any color
• ▢ 100 g green beans 3.5 oz
• ▢ 100 g broccoli 3.5 oz
• ▢ 50 g peas 1.8 oz
• ▢ ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
• ▢ ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ▢ ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ▢ ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ 1.2 liter vegetable stock 5 cups
• ▢ 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ▢ ½ teaspoon sugar optional, Note 2
• ▢ a small bunch of fresh herbs Note 3

Dumplings:

• ▢ 2 eggs Notes 4, 5
• ▢ 1 tablespoon sour cream or Greek yogurt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢ 90 g all-purpose flour plus or minus1 tablespoon, 3 oz/ ¾ cup

Instructions

Vegetables soup:

• Prepare the fresh vegetables: Peel, chop the onion, and set it aside. Peel and chop the garlic and set it aside.

  Clean and chop the carrots, bell pepper, and leek. Set them all aside in a bowl.
• Sauté onions: Heat the oil and cook the onions until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for another minute.
• Sauté vegetables: Add carrots, pepper, leeks, sweet paprika, smoked paprika, red chili flakes, thyme, salt, and pepper and stir. Stir well and cook for 10 minutes on medium-low heat.
• Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil.
• During the time the soup needs to come to a boil, make the batter for the dumplings.

Dumpling batter:

• Combine eggs and sour cream/yogurt using a fork.
• Add salt and slowly start adding the flour while beating with the fork and incorporating the flour. The mixture should be smooth. Depending on the size of your eggs, you might need a little extra flour. Or a little less if your eggs are small. Check the pictures to see the batter consistency; it should be relatively thick and slowly fall off the fork.

Cook dumplings in the soup:

• Turn the heat down to low. Add the green beans to the soup.
• Add the dumplings to the simmering vegetable soup using a teaspoon, which should only be half full of batter. Let simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes.
• Add the broccoli florets and the peas to the soup and simmer for another 3-4 minutes until the dumplings are fluffy and fully cooked.
• Adjust the taste with white balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, and a pinch of sugar.
• Add the chopped herbs and serve immediately or reheat the soup.

Notes

1. You can make the vegetable soup using other veggies, whatever you have and like. You can use only fresh vegetables, frozen ones, or a mixture. Most of the veggies I use are fresh, except for the green beans and peas (and sometimes the broccoli); they are frozen most of the time.
2. I recommend using a kitchen scale when making the dumplings.
3. The size of the eggs matters when you make dumplings. Use large ones if you live in the US and medium ones if you (like me) live in Germany.
4. If you need the sugar depends on the acidity of the vinegar, some are sweeter than others.
5. I had parsley, lovage, and thyme, but other fresh herbs like dill, chives, and oregano are also great. Or only use one kind; parsley is the most common choice.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 184kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 1147mg | Potassium: 326mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 6015IU | Vitamin C: 49mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 2mg

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