Comfort food doesn’t get much better than this Vegan Chicken and Dumplings recipe! Homemade dumplings simmered in a hearty vegan “chicken” soup are fluffy, tender, and savory. It’s so easy to make in one pot on the stove!

close up on vegan chicken soup and dumplings in a large black pot.

If you’re looking for the ultimate vegan comfort food for dinner tonight, turn to this Vegan Chicken and Dumplings recipe. It’s a one-pot dish made entirely on the stove with a hearty vegan “chicken” soup and homemade drop dumplings. You won’t believe how easy it is to put together!

The creamy soup is made with simple ingredients and my favorite homemade vegan “chicken”. Made from seitan, it has the most delicious meaty texture and savory flavor. You can easily make the “chicken” months ahead of time and keep it in your freezer so you can make chicken and dumplings whenever you want. You can also use your favorite store bought vegan chicken.

Creamy vegetable soup, vegan seitan chik’n, and fluffy soup dumplings are so great together. You’re going to want to keep this recipe in your back pocket for sick days, during winter, and when you’re craving a big bowl of comfort!

a white bowl filled with vegan chicken soup and dumplings.

Ingredients needed (with substitutions)

  • Vegan chik’n – If you don’t want to make your own vegan “chicken”, you can replace it with a can of chickpeas or use something like Tofurky chik’n pieces.
  • Yellow onion
  • Carrots – Traditional chicken and dumplings recipes are made with a few simple vegetables, but you can always add more, like celery, potatoes, or green beans.
  • Garlic
  • All purpose flour – You’ll need flour to make the dumplings and to coat the sautéed onion, carrots, and garlic. Cake flour also works when making dumplings and will help them turn out lighter.
  • Vegan chicken broth – Or use regular vegetable broth.
  • Vegan creamer – Make sure to use unsweetened creamer! Coconut milk or cashew cream can also be used (although coconut milk is best).
  • Dried thyme and parsley – Fresh herbs are good too.
  • Frozen green peas – Feel free to add more frozen veggies if you’d like.
  • Baking powder – To help the biscuits rise and fluff up in the soup.
  • Plant milk – Any unsweetened dairy free milk can be used to make the vegan dumplings.
  • Vegan butter
individual glass bowls filled with vegan chicken, vegetables, seasonings, flour, broth, and baking powder.

How to make vegan chicken and dumplings

You can whip up the vegan chicken soup and homemade dumplings in a pinch. The entire recipe comes together easily in one pot on the stove:

To make the chicken soup: 

Heat some olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute the onion and carrots until softened, then add the garlic.

sautéing carrots and onions together in a large black pot.

Pour the flour over the vegetables and stir to coat.

sauteed carrots and onions in a large black pot covered in flour.

Add the broth and creamer to the pot. Stir until the mixture thickens a bit.

womans hand pouring white cream into a black pot filled with broth.

Now you can add the herbs and seasonings, green peas, and vegan “chicken”. Stir it all together and bring it up to a boil. Afterward, lower the heat and let it simmer while you prepare the dumplings.

large black pot filled with a creamy liquid, vegan chicken, dried herbs, and green peas.

To make the drop dumplings:

Stir the flour, baking powder, salt, and black pepper together in a large bowl.

large glass bowl filled with flour.

Make a well in the middle and add the milk and melted vegan butter.

large glass bowl filled with flour, melted butter, and milk.

Stir until a firm ball of dough forms. If it’s too firm or dry, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of milk.

a rolled ball of dough in a glass bowl.

Scoop 2 tablespoons worth of dough out of the bowl and gently drop them right into the simmering chicken soup. The dough will expand a lot, so make sure they aren’t too big!

Place the lid on top of the pot and let the soup simmer until the dumplings are cooked through. Portion into bowls and enjoy!

raw dumplings cooking in a large black pot filled with a creamy chicken soup.

Make ahead tips

This hands-on recipe is really fun to put together! If you want to save time and not make every element at once, follow these tips to make them ahead of time: 

  • Vegan “chicken”: My seitan chicken recipes can be cooked, then stored in the fridge for about 1 week or in the freezer for 3 months.
  • Chicken soup: Make the soup without the dumplings, let it cool, and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
  • Dumplings: Wrap the finished dough ball in plastic and keep it in the fridge for about 1 week.

Frequently asked questions

  1. What do you serve with chicken and dumplings? This meal is hearty and filling all on its own. If you need a few dishes to serve on the side, I recommend making asparagus, broccoli, potato wedges, caesar salad, or other light vegetable-forward sides.
  2. Can I use storebought dumplings instead? If you want to save time, make the dumplings with a vegan-friendly dumpling mix, like Bisquick.
  3. How can you tell the dumplings are cooked? If you’re unsure, you can cut one dumpling in half to make sure the dough is cooked through and fluffy.
  4. How do you store vegan chicken and dumplings? This is a dish that’s best served fresh because the dumplings tend to soak up the liquid. If you want to store the batch for later, keep the dumplings and soup in separate airtight containers in the fridge.
large spoon scooping a dumpling from a large black pot filled with vegan chicken soup and dumplings.

Want more comforting vegan meals?

close up on vegan chicken soup and dumplings in a large black pot.
4.94 stars (46 ratings)

Vegan Chicken and Dumplings

Comfort food doesn’t get much better than this Vegan Chicken and Dumplings recipe! Homemade dumplings simmered in a hearty vegan “chicken” soup are fluffy, tender, and savory.
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Total: 55 minutes
Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients 
 

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 4 cups no chicken broth or vegetable broth
  • 1 cup unsweetened, unflavored vegan creamer*
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1 cup frozen green peas
  • 8 ounces vegan chicken*
  • salt + black pepper, to taste

Dumplings

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened plant milk
  • 4 tablespoons vegan butter, melted

Instructions 

Make the soup

  • In a large pot, add the olive oil and warm over medium heat.
  • Add the onion and carrots and cook for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
  • Add the flour and stir into the vegetables. Slowly pour in the broth, then the creamer, stirring constantly until it thickens a bit.
  • Add the thyme, parsley, green peas and vegan chicken. Stir and bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Taste; add salt and pepper as desired.

Prepare the dumplings

  • In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and black pepper. Pour in the milk and melted vegan butter.
  • Stir until a ball of dough forms. If it seems dry, add a tablespoon or two more of plant milk.

Cook dumplings in the soup

  • Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough (I used a large cookie scoop) and gently drop them directly into the simmering soup. They will sink in a bit, and expand a ton while they cook!
  • Once they have all been added, cover the pot and let the soup simmer for 15 minutes, or until the dumplings are cooked through.
  • Portion into bowls and serve. Enjoy! Refrigerate any leftovers in a covered container for 3-4 days. It can also be frozen.

Notes

  1. Gluten free – Substitute a gluten free flour mix for the all purpose flour and make sure to use chickpeas or another gluten free “chicken” substitute.
  2. For the cream, I used an unsweetened and unflavored coconut/almond blend creamer. You may also use canned full fat coconut milk or cashew cream.
  3. Vegan chicken – I prefer my homemade seitain chicken, but you can also use Tofurky brand chik’n pieces, seitan, chickpeas or any other vegan chicken you like.

Nutrition

Serving: 1of 6 servings | Calories: 419kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1010mg | Potassium: 528mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 4346IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 157mg | Iron: 4mg
Course: Main
Cuisine: American
Author: Nora Taylor
Did you make this recipe?Mention @nora_cooks_vegan_ or tag #noracooks!

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Comments

  1. This recipe turned out really tasty, and was simpler to put together if than I had expected. You can really easily do everything in order and then have a few minutes of simmer time at the end to fix a side salad or something.

    I used Sweet Earth brand chicken which I browned a little first. For the stew I used coconut milk and veg broth with added chikn broth powder, and for the dumplings I used almond milk and also added some dried rosemary. This was a nice addition. Finally, subbed corn in for peas as I unfortunately live with a pea-hater. This was a good sub but I’d ideally love some of each, I think!

    Definitely be sure to taste and adjust for salt and pepper as indicated in the recipe. 🙂

    1. Hi Lizzie. I’m so appreciative you look time to share your cooking experience with this recipe! I’m so glad you loved it! Thank you for your fabulous review and feedback!

  2. My family loves this recipe! I make it all year ’round because good food is good food any season! For the chik’n I use Butler soy curls. I make up the broth and let the curls simmer in it for a while, along with a handful of barley. Then I plop the dumplings on top! So good! Thank you!

    1. You are welcome, Kellye! I am so glad you and your family are loving the recipe! Thank you for your meal idea, and your amazing review! Happy cooking!

  3. This may be one of my new favorite recipes! It was absolutely delicious and the leftovers are just as good. Thank you!

  4. Thank you. Your recipes are always foolproof, even with slight changes.

    This was delicious but I only had chipotle vegan chicken so mine was a bit spicy. It was still delicious and different, but next time I will try it with plain vegan chicken. I like sweet earth. I added celery because I love celery.

    When I went vegetarian in the 90’s my mother made me vegan beef stew, which I still make today. Most of my own recipes have been adapted from my mom. She added dumplings to her stew which until now I have never tried to make. Thank you for taking the intimidation out of dumplings, now I can recreate her recipe.

    1. You’re so welcome, Rose! I’m thrilled you loved this recipe and that it’s inspired you to recreate your mom’s recipe 🙂

  5. Hi! How long does this last in the fridge? I want to make this for my dinners for the following week!

    1. Hi Cindy. The chicken and dumplings can be made in advance, but always keep the dumplings and chicken soup in separate airtight containers in the fridge. They should last for about 3 to 4 days!

  6. Absolutely delicious – definitely comfort foot! I used Oatly cream and What the cluck vegan chicken. Didn’t have the right dried herbs at hand but an Italian seasoning mix worked well.

  7. This recipe was simple and came out delish!! I just used coconut milk in place of creamer cuz that’s what we had on hand, and it came out great. My husband and I both loved the flavors.

  8. I am planning to make freezer meals for my son and DIL when their baby arrives. You mentioned this freezes well but with the dumplings or without? Also what’s the best way to reheat after freezing? Thank you for all your hard work in making these delicious recipes! I have tried and enjoyed many of them!

    1. Hi Philecia. It’s best to freeze the soup without the dumplings. The dumplings can also be flash-frozen, then kept in a sealed bag in the freezer. Reheat the soup in a pot on the stove over medium heat, drop in the thawed dumplings, then cover and simmer until they’re cooked through (about 15 minutes). Hope this helps!

      1. Thank you for your time and yes, that helps! I know this is going to be delicious and appreciated by the new parents.

          1. This was LOVED by all! My husband and I had it as well as our son and DIL. It made a great freezer meal for them. Our DIL said it was like a “ hug in a bowl”. Thank you so much, again, for your hard work!

  9. This was so easy and one of the best things I’ve had in awhile! My fiancé is newly vegetarian and said it’s the best chicken and dumplings he’s ever had. Your recipes are definitely becoming some of my favorites but this one is at the top of my list right now.

    1. I’m so glad you are enjoying my recipes, Tiffany! Thanks for your fabulous feedback and review! I’m thrilled you guys loved the chicken and dumplings!

  10. The dumplings were like little puffy clouds of delight. I can’t get over how happy I am with this recipe. I am lacto-oco, not vegan, but my son is vegan and I enjoy making dishes he can eat.

    I made this recipe with some modifications (I added some off recipe herbs and spices because I am a rebel), and used Butler Soy Curls because that’s what I had in the pantry. The bones/proportions of this recipe are PERFECT. It was really easy to make and created a comforting masterpiece. This is the second of Nora’s dishes that I have made.

    Vegan recipes on the Internet are hit and miss but I am starting to trust that Nora’s will consistently turn out well and look forward to exploring the other options she has here. The other was her vegan coffee cake, my first foray into vegan baking. It turned out very yummy!

    Thank you, Nora!

    1. Hi Reama. Welcome to my site! I want you to know how much your words mean to me! I love creating delicious and easy recipes, and put a lot of work and time into them. It’s awesome to know you love what you’ve had, and you’re growing trust in my recipes! I hope you enjoy your journey through them. Please reach out with any questions you may have. Thank you for your wonderful feedback, and happy cooking!

  11. This is such a solid recipe and I’m not sure why I haven’t commented before since I’ve made it multiple times (I’m making it right now)! Sometimes I switch up the soup and still use the dumpling part of the recipe too. Just excellent!

    1. Hi Kate. I’m really glad you are enjoying the recipe! I appreciate you taking your time to share your great feedback!

  12. We just decorated for Christmas and then I came across this recipe and it sounded so good and comforting that we had to try it. It’s an absolute hit!! Thank you.

      1. This soup is absolutely delicious, and easy to make!! I added soy sauce and shiitake mushrooms for a bit of umami flavor as well. The perfect meal for this rainy day!!

        1. My husband is vegan but me and my 2 kids are not so it’s a struggle to find dinner ideas that work for all of us. This recipe is it! All of us love it! It’s a great comfort food dish we can all share. Definitely 5 stars!

  13. This was absolutely delicious! My husband could not stop talking about how good it was. And he is picky! Thanks for a hearty, easy and delicious recipe that will now be in our recipe roundup. Oh and I subbed out the carrots for mushrooms. My husband preferred that.

    1. Hi Courtney. You are welcome! It makes me happy that you both loved the recipe, and that it is now part of your meal rotation! Thank you taking time to share your fabulous feedback!

  14. My husband and I loved this recipe! He kept bringing up how good it was throughout the evening. I used canned coconut milk in the soup mix, as well as in the dumplings to help use up the rest. For broth- a plain veg broth + mushroom seasoning. For chicken- Sweet Earth Mindful Chik’n. In place of fresh carrots, I used 2 cups of frozen carrot and pea mix when the peas were called for.

    1. Thank you for your wonderful review, Angel! I’m so happy you loved this recipe. Thanks so much for including all of the substitutions you used and your add-ins as well!

  15. Hi, I haven’t tried this yet, but I wanted to ask what milk would work best for this recipe. It looks really good and I’m excited to try! 

  16. This is absolutely the very best vegan chicken and dumplings I have ever made…..My husband and son love it and are really happy when I make it. 
    Thank you so much for the recipe.

  17. This is my boyfriend’s favorite vegan recipe! It’s reminiscent of my moms recipe growing up, I can never have leftovers! I was curious, have you tried soy curls for this recipe?

    1. That’s so wonderful to hear, Izzy! I haven’t tried this recipe with soy curls but they would absolutely work as a substitute for the seitan.

  18. This is the BEST vegan chicken and dumplings I have ever ate. My son and husband really love it also. I have made it several times and today I am going to make a double recipe because there is never enough. 
    Thank you so much!!!
    Sylvia Ice 

    1. You are welcome! I’m glad the chicken and dumplings are a hit with your family! It is a definitely a delicious and cozy meal! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback and review!

  19. Made this for dinner last night and it was SO GOOD! I used Gardien “chicken” strips and Better than Boullion No-Chicken. I am definitely going to make it with your chicken seitan recipe in the future! Thank you for another amazing recipe!

  20. First time making dumplings, surprisingly easy. 4 out of 6 enjoyed it very much! Next time I would skip the chicken altogether and make the dumpling soup w more veggies/peas and carrots. 

    1. Thank you for sharing your terrific feedback and ideas about the chicken and dumplings! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe, and found it easy!

  21. I made this tonight and it was delicious!  I used your vegan chicken recipe and it was so easy and my husband says we need to add this to our weekly rotation.   Thanks again Nora for another great meal!!

    1. Hi Jill. I’m thrilled you’ll be adding this to your meal rotation! It is a delicious and cozy dish! Thank you for your wonderful feedback! Wishing you happy cooking!

  22. This recipe is absolutely flawless! I followed your chicken recipe and made my own cashew cream. This is the perfect comfort food and just the thing for a cold winter day.

    1. Thank you, Justin, for your wonderful feedback! This is the perfect cold winter day meal! I’m so glad you loved it! Wishing you happy cooking!

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