Einkorn Chicken and Dumpling Soup is our favorite soup to enjoy in the winter. It's the BEST homemade chicken soup that I've ever made, and when the soup is topped off with buttery einkorn dumplings...perfection!
Place the chicken and vegetables in large soup pot or Dutch oven. I didn't add parsley to the broth ingredients, but if you have extra around you can throw in a handful as well. Add water, enough to cover the chicken (my chicken usually isn't fully submerged, but the majority of chicken should be), about 8-10 cups. Add salt and either ground pepper or a few peppercorns.
Bring the mixture to a lively simmer, then cover, and reduce the heat to a simmer. The mixture will need to simmer for about an hour, cooking the chicken and creating a fragrant broth.
After an hour, the chicken should be cooked through (easy to shred). Remove the chicken from the broth (I use two forks to do this) and set aside to cool. Use a colander and large bowl to strain the broth from the veggies and any skin or bones left behind.
Once cool, shred the chicken. You'll use all the chicken meat for this recipe. If you'd like to reserve the bones, you can make another pot of broth/stock at this point for the freezer or future use (I like the Instant Pot or slow cooker method).
Make the Chicken Soup:
Melt the butter in a large soup pot or Dutch oven (the one pictured in my post is a Staub 4 quart).
Once melted, add the carrots, celery, onion, and a pinch of salt. Saute for about 6-8 minutes, or until the vegetables soften.
Add the garlic, oregano, and thyme and saute for just a minute or two. Add the salt, pepper, and flour. Stir until the flour coats the vegetables.
Add the shredded chicken and chicken broth, stir.
Allow the soup to simmer, covered, for about 25 minutes. Taste the soup and add more salt or pepper, if needed. I don't find that I need to add more salt. Everyone's taste is different.
Make the Einkorn Dumplings:
While the soup cooks, I recommend making the dumpling batter. To do this, whisk together the einkorn flour, baking powder, salt, and fresh parsley (if using).
Add the melted butter and milk to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. This should be a wet and sticky dough.
Use an ice cream scooper or large spoon to scoop the batter from the bowl into the soup. The dumplings should float on top of the soup, if one sinks use a spoon to bring it to the top (I've only had this happen once, not sure why).
Cover the pot and allow the soup to simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the dumplings are cooked through. They will appear "wet" or glossy on the outside, but on the inside should be like a dry biscuit texture.
To serve, scoop out one or two dumplings into a bowl along with soup. Add chopped fresh parsley on top for vibrance and flavor (optional).
Store Leftover Soup:
This soup stores very well. I love to make it for dinner one night and serve it for lunch the next day. Store the soup and dumplings together in an air-tight container in the fridge. I've never tried freezing this soup so I can't speak to that. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove-top.
Notes
Time-Saving Tips
This recipe does take some planning and time to make since you must first cook a whole chicken in water to make the broth and meat base. This takes about an hour of hands-off time, but it's still an extra time piece to this recipe that may not be ideal on a busy weeknight. I usually make this soup on the weekend, when I have more time at home and can set my chicken to cook in the afternoon and then make the dumpling soup in the evening. If you want to reduce the time it takes to make this recipe or prep some elements ahead of time, here are my time-saving recommendations.
Cook the chicken and broth in advance. Do this on the weekend or a day when you're home, then shred the chicken and place in a storage container and store the broth in a different container. The broth and chicken will both be ready in the fridge when you need them. Store the chicken and broth for up to 4 days in the fridge. Keep in mind, doing so will reduce the amount of time you can store the chicken and dumpling soup in the fridge if you have leftovers since the broth and chicken are already several days old.
Use a store-bought rotisserie chicken. Simply buy an already-cooked whole chicken from the store. You'll also need to pick up broth or if you have some in your freezer, defrost and use that. This option won't have the same amazing flavor as the homemade route, but it will still be delicious.