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Nothing says comfort food more than a big bowl of vegetable dumpling soup. It’s healthy, it’s warming, it’s easy (yes, dumplings can be easy), and it’ll become one of your winter go-to recipes.
Dumplings are a broad classification for a cute bundle of joy made with pieces of dough wrapped around a filling. Fillings are typically meat, fish, or cheese, but can also be fruits or sweets. Dumplings can be made in a variety of ways, such as baking, boiling, or steaming. For this recipe, we’re going to make not only vegan dumplings but also drop dumplings (think biscuit-style dumplings) that can be easily added to your vegetable soup. They’re delicious!
Maria Koutsogiannia
Maria is the creator of FoodByMaria and your go-to Greek food expert for cozy, flavor-packed recipes. Inspired by her Mediterranean roots, she brings traditional Greek flavors, feel-good ingredients, and a whole lot of joy to everyday cooking.
Cozy Spoonfuls: Why You’ll Love This Vegetable Dumpling Soup
- 60-minute start-to-slurp: This brothy veggie soup recipe has a prep time of only 20 minutes.
- Comfort-food cravings: If you’re looking for the ultimate comfort food… this is it!
- Plant Protein: Full of veggies and healthy goodness that will keep your body in tip-top shape.
- Versatile: Use the veggies you have available on hand or need to use up in your fridge.
Ingredients
Dumplings – These fluffy pillows of goodness are the star of this vegetable dumpling soup. Made with simple pantry staples like flour and baking powder, they cook right in the broth, absorbing all the delicious flavors while creating a satisfying texture contrast to the vegetables. They’re surprisingly easy to make and transform a simple vegetable soup into a complete, hearty meal.
Vegetables – The foundation of any good vegetable dumpling soup starts with aromatic vegetables like celery, carrots, and onions. These classic soup ingredients create a flavorful base, but the beauty of this recipe is its flexibility. You can use whatever vegetables you have on hand, making this soup perfect for using up your produce and minimizing food waste.
Step-by-Step: From Sauté to Fluffy Dumplings
Mix the Dumpling Batter. Combine your flour, baking powder, sea salt and herbs. Create a well in the center of your flour mixture and pour oil and warm water into the middle. Using a spatula fold together until sticky and well combined. It will be wet and sticky but this is what you’re looking for. Form into a ball and place a tea towel on top and let it rest while you make your soup.
1. Prep your veggies for the vegetable soup
4. To the pot, add your butter and let it melt. Add your flour and stir till everything is coated. Season, stir well, and increase heat to high. Add veggie stock and water.
6. Grab your dough mixture, and using an ice cream scoop begin scooping little balls and dropping them into the soup. Cook for around 5 minutes before removing from heat.
Tips and Tricks
- Simmering: I always prefer to let the vegetable soup base simmer for a long time to develop the flavor; don’t rush this step.
- Quality Herbs: Use fresh, high-quality herbs in your dumplings for the best flavor.
- Sweat It Out: By sweating your veggies on a lower heat instead of blasting them on high, you’ll really bring out their flavor in your soup.
- Freezer Friendly: Cool soup & dumplings separately for best texture, and freeze seperately.
Substitutions
- Vegetables: Use whatever veggies you have in the fridge – broccoli, squash, kale, mushrooms all work beautifully.
- Herbs: No fresh herbs for your fluffy herb dumplings? Use dried (about 1/3 the amount) in a pinch.
- Flour: For gluten-free dumplings, try a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend with a bit of xanthan gum.
- Vegan Butter: Coconut oil or olive oil can be used as a substitute if needed.
- Protein Boost: Toss in chickpeas or baked tofu cubes for extra protein.
Best served with
- Warming Caesar Salad (with a twist)
- Roasted Beet Salad and Feta with Pistachios
- Quick and Easy Focaccia Bread
- Apple Caprese Sandwich
How to Store Leftovers
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to two days. When you’re ready to eat, gently warm it on the stove until it’s warm. Store your dumplings separately; reheat gently in simmering broth. The dumplings may break down slightly and change in consistency, but they’ll generally still be delicious and remain intact.
Common Questions
It may sound complicated, and generally when you hear the word “dumpling,” you think of rolling out a complex dough, adding fillings, and shaping them into these beautiful crimped balls or pockets. However, soup dumplings are different and so easy, less messy, and delicious in their own way.
No, properly cooked dumplings should be light, fluffy, and fully cooked in the center – like a soft bread. If they’re doughy, they likely need more cooking time.
This can happen if the soup is boiling too vigorously. Keep it at a gentle simmer when adding the dumplings, and avoid stirring too much while they cook.
There are so many variations of dumplings that are made differently, crimped differently, etc., so yes, dumplings can be different than soup dumplings. It depends on the culture, and so much more.
Not all dumplings are vegan, and different cultures prepare them differently. However, it is very easy to make soup dumplings vegan with a few simple ingredients, such as flour, baking powder, seasoning, and olive oil.
Absolutely! White beans, chickpeas, or even crumbled tofu would make excellent protein additions that keep the soup vegan.
Yes! Freeze the broth/veggies separately and make the dumplings fresh for the best texture.
Over-mixing develops gluten; stir just until the flour disappears.
Yes—use 1:1 GF blend + ½ tsp xanthan to ensure your dumplings stay fluffy.
Yes, cool the soup for 5 minutes on high pressure and then do a quick release. For the dumplings, drop the batter and sauté for 5 minutes with the lid on.
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Ingredients
For the dumplings:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- ¼ tsp cracked pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ cup warm water
For the soup:
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 medium-sized white onion, finely chopped
- 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
- 2 medium-sized carrots, finely chopped
- 5 stems of green onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp. vegan butter
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour, heaped
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp fresh cracked pepper
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp. vegetable stock paste mixed with 1 1/2 cups boiling water
- 7 cups boiling water
Instructions
Start Cooking- Start by making the dough. Combine your flour, baking powder, sea salt and herbs. Create a well in the center of your flour mixture and pour oil and warm water into the middle. Using a spatula fold together until sticky and well combined. It will be wet and sticky but this is what you’re looking for. Form into a ball and place a tea towel on top and let it rest while you make your soup.
- To a large pot add your olive oil and heat on medium heat for 1 minute before adding onions. Cook the onions for 7-8 minutes or until translucent. To the pot add your carrots, celery and green onion. Cook them for 7-8 minutes while stirring often to avoid burning. Scrape any brown bits that develop at the base of the pot with a wooden spoon.
- To the pot, add your vegan butter and let it melt. Add your flour and stir till everything is coated. Now season with salt and pepper and add your fresh thyme. Give everything one more stir to ensure everything is well coated with flour. Increase heat to high and add 1 tbsp of vegetable stock paste + 1 1/2 cups of boiling water to the pot. Stir and scrape any loose bits from the bottom of the pan. Once your water has almost reduced and the rest of the water and bring soup to a boil. Cook till the vegetables are tender.
- Grab your dough mixture and using a tbsp. begin scooping little balls and dropping them into the soup. It’s not an overly fancy or particular process, just make sure you’re using a tbsp. Cook for around 5 minutes before removing from heat.
- Serve with fresh dill and your favourite vegan sour cream!
114 people are discussing this recipe.
Great soup, Easy and Tasty! Loved it
Thanks so much for the love Cloe!
I love vegan vegetable soup with dumplings, and that looks delicious! After reading your blog, I am thinking of making this soup tomorrow.
This is so delicious! I added kale to mine. It’s my first time eating dumplings in soup and this recipe is going into my collection of favorites. Thank you, Maria!
YESSS!!! I am so glad you loved it. Seriously such a favourite. I couldn’t stop eating them lol
Hehe! Yay!
I’ve just made it again 😄
YES!! How was it this time around love?!
what kind of vegetable stock base do you use? I made this with Better Than Boullion vegetable stock paste and the flavour was not great, but I certain it was because of poor stock choice. Any advice?
I use Better Than Bouillon always and it is always delicious. Do you think you ended up with a bad batch, perhaps? Hoping it works out for you next time my love!