Tender vegetables, hearty rotisserie chicken, and soft, pillowy dumplings come together to create classic recipe that everyone will enjoy. My Hearty Dairy-Free Chicken Dumpling Soup is a better-for-you twist on the classic recipe. It’s sweet, hearty, and filling without being heavy, which means that it’s perfect for keeping you full during those chilly winter months!
Friends, as I write this post it is the first rainy day of the season here in San Francisco, which means it’s the start of one of my favorite times of the year: soup season! I love stocking my freezer full of healthy and hearty soups to keep my family warm, full, and satisfied during the cool winter months. Soups are truly the perfect no-brainer recipe, and the easiest way to meal prep. Sometimes, on those colder days, I just want to curl up on the couch with my boys and not have to worry about spending time in the kitchen. And making a big batch of soup is the perfect way to do that!
This Chicken Dumpling Soup is a healthy twist on the classic recipe that we all grew up with. Filled with tender vegetables, hearty chicken, and perfectly soft dumplings, this soup is truly a hug in a bowl. Plus, it’s dairy-free!
That’s right: this recipe swaps out the traditional heavy cream for creamy coconut milk to keep this soup perfectly dairy-free. However, if you prefer the traditional heavy cream, it also works well in this recipe, too. The best part about this soup is that it’s adaptable to meet your different dietary needs. Need to make it gluten-free? Use gluten-free biscuit dough! Want to make it vegetarian or vegan-friendly? Use a plant-based chicken! The opportunities here are truly endless, which means that this is a recipe that anyone can enjoy!
What You Need to Make This Classic Wintertime Soup
- Biscuit Dough: Yes, you can make the dumplings from scratch. But if you don’t have the time (like me) then you can just use biscuit dough! Plus, if you want to make this soup gluten-free friendly, simply opt for a gluten-free biscuit dough.
- Olive Oil: Olive oil is my favorite oil to use in soups, because it’s filled with heart healthy fats. However, you can also opt for another healthy oil, like avocado oil!
- Yellow Onion: Fresh yellow onion is my favorite to use in soups. It adds a delicious flavor!
- Carrot: Carrots are rich in Vitamin A and betacarotene, which adds a healthy balance to this soup.
- Celery: Celery is loaded with fiber, helping you stay fuller for longer!
- Sea Salt & Black Pepper: A pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper adds the perfect flavor to this soup.
- Seasonings: A combination of fresh garlic, Italian seasoning, fresh thyme, and dried sage adds the perfect flavor to this soup!
- Flour: A little flour is needed to thicken the soup and coat the biscuit pieces before cooking them.
- Chicken Broth: Of course, it wouldn’t be a soup without the broth! A high-quality chicken broth makes the perfect liquid base for this soup.
- Shredded Rotisserie Chicken: Part of what makes this soup so easy to make is the addition of shredded rotisserie chicken! Simply buy the rotisserie chicken at the grocery store and shred it yourself for a simple way to speed up the cooking process.
- Coconut Milk: Coconut milk makes this soup nice and creamy, without the dairy! However, if you don’t mind dairy, you can also swap out the coconut milk for heavy cream.
- Frozen Peas: Did you know that peas are packed with protein? It’s true! 1 cup of peas has about 8 grams of protein, which helps make this soup perfectly filling.
How to Make This Cozy and Comforting Soup
To make this soup, start by adding the olive oil to a large pot and heat it on the stove, over medium-high heat. While the oil is heating, wash and dice the onion, celery, carrots. Once they are diced and the olive oil is hot, add them to the pot on the stove alongside a couple large pinches of sea salt and ground black pepper. Cook the diced vegetables for about 6-7 minutes, being sure to stir them while they’re cooking.
Next, while they’re cooking, open the package of biscuit dough and cut each biscuit into 3-4 pieces. Add 1/4 cup of flour to a small bowl and toss each biscuit piece into the flour. Repeat until each of the biscuit pieces have been coated in the flour, and set them aside.
Next, add the garlic, Italian seasoning, sage, thyme, sea salt, black pepper, and remaining flour to the pot with the vegetables and stir until they’re fully combined. Add 2 cups of the chicken broth to the pot and stir. Use the spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze and get all of the remaining vegetables and seasoning off of the bottom of the pot. Then, pour in the remaining broth, alongside the shredded chicken, frozen peas, and coconut milk. Stir once again.
Bring the soup to a gentle simmer. Once it’s simmering, add in the biscuit pieces to the soup, cover the pot, and reduce the heat to low. Allow the soup to simmer for 15 minutes.
Once the soup is done, remove the lid from the pot, turn off the heat, give it a stir, serve, and enjoy! Store any leftovers in an airtight container, in the fridge, for up to 5 days.
If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a review and rating below! To see more recipes and behind the scenes, follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube! I’m also now on Pinterest, so stop by and take a look at what’s new.
** Photography by Gayle McLeod
Ingredients
- 1 16.3 Ounce Package Biscuit Dough, you can opt for gluten-free biscuit dough, if you desire!
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Yellow Onion, diced
- 3 Carrots, diced; this is approximately 1 cup
- 3 Stalks Celery, diced; this is approximately 1 cup
- 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 5 Cloves Garlic, mashed
- 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
- 1 Teaspoon Fresh Thyme
- 2 Teaspoons Dried Sage
- ½ Cup Flour, divided
- 4 Cups Chicken Broth
- 1 ½ Cups Shredded Rotisserie Chicken
- 1 15 Ounce Can Coconut Milk, if you don't want to make this soup dairy-free, you can also opt to use heavy cream
- 1 Cup Frozen Peas
Instructions
- To make this soup, start by adding the olive oil to a large pot and heat it on the stove, over medium-high heat.
- While the oil is heating, wash and dice the onion, celery, carrots. Once they are diced and the olive oil is hot, add them to the pot on the stove alongside a couple large pinches of sea salt and ground black pepper.
- Cook the diced vegetables for about 6-7 minutes, being sure to stir them while they're cooking.
- Next, while they're cooking, open the package of biscuit dough and cut each biscuit into 3-4 pieces.
- Add 1/4 cup of flour to a small bowl and toss each biscuit piece into the flour. Repeat until each of the biscuit pieces have been coated in the flour, and set them aside.
- Next, add the garlic, Italian seasoning, sage, thyme, sea salt, black pepper, and remaining flour to the pot with the vegetables and stir until they're fully combined.
- Add 2 cups of the chicken broth to the pot and stir. Use the spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze and get all of the remaining vegetables and seasoning off of the bottom of the pot. Then, pour in the remaining broth, alongside the shredded chicken, frozen peas, and coconut milk. Stir once again.
- Bring the soup to a gentle simmer. Once it's simmering, add in the biscuit pieces to the soup, cover the pot, and reduce the heat to low. Allow the soup to simmer for 15 minutes.
- Once the soup is done, remove the lid from the pot, turn off the heat, give it a stir, serve, and enjoy! Store any leftovers in an airtight container, in the fridge, for up to 5 days.
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What others are saying
Super yummy! I wasn’t sure about the coconut, but I used it exactly as written, (except I doubled the whole recipe) and it turned out Excellent! Everyone in the family loved it even the kids! Thank you ❤️