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Spring Chicken and Dumplings with leeks, mushrooms, and peas is a cozy, spring-inspired one-pot dinner made with my fluffy yogurt dumplings for extra protein.
Spring Chicken and Dumplings
This high-protein, spring-inspired take on chicken and dumplings is just as cozy and comforting, with tender chicken, earthy mushrooms, sweet leeks, and peas simmered in a savory broth. I used my yogurt dumplings from my Skinnytaste Simple cookbook. They add a little more protein and come out so fluffy while soaking up all that flavor. My husband, Tommy, loved this dish so much that he even ate the leftovers (which he never does!) and asked me to make it again the next week.
Why This Chicken and Dumplings Recipe Works
I’ve been testing this new healthy chicken and dumplings recipe with spring ingredients, and my family has been loving it. It’s cozy and light, great for those cooler spring nights.
- Comfort food made healthier: The same classic chicken and dumplings lightened up without cream or milk.
- One-pot meal for maximum convenience and minimal cleanup
- Protein-Packed: Over 50g protein!
- Layers of flavor: Sautéed mushrooms and leeks create a richer, more savory broth.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Keep reading for all the ingredients in this homemade chicken and dumpling soup recipe. See the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Baby Bella Mushrooms: Wipe dirt off the mushrooms using a damp paper towel.
- Kosher Salt for seasoning
- Leeks: Remove the dark green tops, then cut the white and light green parts into circles. Submerge in a bowl of cold water to get rid of any dirt. Lift them out and rinse again to make sure they’re clean.
- Self-rising Flour contains baking powder and salt to help the dumplings rise.
- Broth: Use low-sodium chicken broth as the base, then add Better Than Bouillon to enhance the flavor.
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs: Trim off the fat with kitchen scissors and cut into cubes.
- Plain Nonfat Yogurt (not Greek) adds extra protein to the dumplings.
- Fresh Chives for a mild onion flavor
- Petite Peas: Use fresh or frozen peas.
How to Make Chicken and Dumplings
The dumplings are super easy. They only have 4 ingredients, and the cooking process is completely hands-off. Just add them to the broth and let them simmer. See the recipe card at the bottom for printable directions.
- Cook the vegetables: Sauté the mushrooms until soft, then add the leeks. Cook for a few minutes, then stir in 1 tablespoon of flour.
- Boil and simmer: Add the broth and bouillon, tasting and adjusting salt if necessary, then place the chicken thighs in the pot. Increase the heat to high, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for about 25 minutes, until the chicken is no longer raw. Stir in the peas.
- Make the dumplings: Mix the flour, yogurt, chives, and salt together.
- Cook the dumplings: Spoon teaspoons of dough into the soup. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes until the dumplings are tender.
Variations
- Mushrooms: Swap baby bellas for white button mushrooms, shiitakes, or a mix. If you don’t like mushrooms, replace them with carrots or celery.
- No self-rising flour? King Arthur has a recipe you can use with all- purpose flour.
- Protein boost: Substitute chicken bone broth.
- Chicken: Swap thighs for 2 pounds of diced chicken breasts. You can also use leftover cooked chicken (rotisserie chicken is a great shortcut!). Add it when you add the dumplings.
What are some common mistakes to avoid when making chicken and dumplings?
For the softest, fluffiest dumplings, try these tips.
- Don’t overmix the dumpling dough when adding the yogurt.
- Make the dough ahead to give it time to rise, and let the yogurt get room temperature.
- Don’t lift the lid while the dumplings are cooking, or the steam will escape. They need the steam to rise.
Serving Suggestions
Here are some side dishes that pair well with chicken and dumpling soup.
Storage
- Refrigerate the soup for 4 days.
- Freeze in airtight containers for 3 months. I also like using Souper Cubes, which are perfect for freezing soup in individual portions.
- Reheat on the stove or in the microwave until warm. If the dumplings have absorbed a lot of the broth, add a little more broth or water to thin it out.
More Easy Soup Recipes You’ll Love
For more dinner ideas, check out these five healthy soup recipes to inspire your next meal!
- Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Soup
- Turkey Meatball Vegetable Soup
Chicken and Dumplings with Leeks, Mushrooms, and Peas
A lighter, spring-inspired chicken and dumplings made with tender chicken, leeks, mushrooms, and peas in a savory broth. Fluffy yogurt dumplings add extra protein and cook right on top for an easy, cozy one-pot meal.
Yield: servings
Serving Size: 1 ⅔ cups
Equipment
- large deep skillet or pot
Ingredients
- 2 cups baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 1 cup leeks, cleaned well, white part and light green only, sliced into rounds
- ⅔ cup plus 2 tablespoons self-rising flour, divided
- 5 cups low sodium chicken broth
- ½ tablespoon chicken better than bouillon, (or more to taste depending on the broth you use)
- 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into 1-inch chunks
- ⅔ cup plain nonfat yogurt, not Greek
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, plus more for garnish
- 1 cup petite peas, fresh or frozen
Instructions
- Heat a large deep skillet or pot (that has a lid) over medium heat and spray with oil. Add mushrooms and ¼ teaspoon salt. Saute, stirring continuously, until the mushrooms soften and release some of their moisture, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add leeks and saute until softened, about 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the flour and stir 1 minute until no longer raw.
- Add the broth and chicken bouillon and stir vigorously to combine (taste for salt at this point and add more as needed so it’s flavorful); add the chicken thighs. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat so it bubbles gently. Cover and simmer until the chicken is just cooked through, about 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile as soon as you cover the pot, mix the remaining flour, the yogurt, chives, and remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt in a medium bowl with a spoon until mixed through. Let this rest room temperature 25 minutes, while the chicken cooks.
- Stir in the peas. Using 2 teaspoons, spoon the dough into the stew 1 teaspoon at a time (they will expand quite a bit). Cover and simmer for an additional 20 to 30 minutes on medium low, to low heat, until the dumplings are tender. The stew will thicken as it sits.
- Serve hot.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Notes
Any type of mushrooms work, a mix is great; baby bella were tested here.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 ⅔ cups, Calories: 383 kcal, Carbohydrates: 20 g, Protein: 51.5 g, Fat: 9 g, Saturated Fat: 2.5 g, Cholesterol: 214 mg, Sodium: 802 mg, Fiber: 2.5 g, Sugar: 5 g
I love this website and have had so many great meals but this was a bit bland for me. The dumplings were fun and tasty but it needed a flavor boost IMO
This was absolutely delicious! Our whole family loved it and commented on how flavorful the broth was. Approved by two teenagers! We will 😁 be keeping this in the Skinnytaste dinner rotation!
Glad everyone enjoyed it! 🙂
I haven’t tried this yet, but wanted to thank you for including sat fat in the nutrition info! I have tried many other SkinnyTaste recipes and loved them 🙂
Is it 1/2 or 1/4 tsp salt in the dumplings? Recipe states 1/2 tsp divided. 1/4 used in the mushrooms already.
1/4
Delicious and my new favorite. Five stars.
Planned on making this tonight and realized it’s not supposed to use Greek yogurt which is all I have…. Anything I could do to still make it work? Could I cut the Greek yogurt with some cottage cheese or milk to thin it out so the dumplings don’t turn out too dense?
Absolutely amazing! Our house is a little under the weather right now and this totally hit the spot. Had an open container of Greek yogurt to use up, so used that instead, and just added a tinny amount of water to loosen the dough up. Also substituted bisquick instead of flour because again that’s what I had on hand.
That was very good. My husband thinks the leeks were a great addition.
I wasn’t sure how the dumplings were going to turn out because I couldn’t find any nonfat plain yogurt. Go figure!! So – I used Greek yogurt instead. The dumplings were a little dense but still – they were oh so good!! The flavor is scrumptious. Thanks, Gina – you did it again 🙂
Could I use gluten-free flour for this? And do I have to do anything different to it since your original recipe calls for self rising? Thank you in advance. I appreciate your help.
I have not tried?
You can make self rising flour by mixing 1 C flour (gf or wheat) 1.5 tsp of Baking Powder, and ½ tsp salt. Mix well and you have self rising flour
Can you use sourdough discard instead of yogurt?
Sure but you have to add more flour
Very yummy for how healthy it is. There is an error stating 2 tablespoons and 2/3 divided flour and there is a tablespoon unaccounted for so I sssume it’s where you put it in with the mushrooms and leeks which I will do next time because I wanted it thicker. I love brothy soups but this one had a lot of broth so I would do maybe 4 cups next time of chicken broth and make sure it comes out thicker.
This was a good recipe….I don’t eat meat so I used cauliflower. Tofu would work well also. The big question though is why would anyone stand over a hot pot, spooning the 25+dumplings one at a time? I rolled my dumpling dough into equal balls and let them sit to get to room temperature. When the time came, I just placed them all in the pot which made less stove work and allowed for even cooking. Too time consuming to do it as the recipe suggests. One teaspoon at a time is a ridiculous and tedious waste of time.
It takes less than a minute to spoon them in but glad it worked for you
I see the 2/3 cup flour mix and the the tablespoon for the mushrooms and chives comes from but where does the second tablespoon of flour go?
It goes in after you saute’ the mushrooms and leeks.
Thanks!
So are the dumplings made with 2/3 cup and 1 tbsp of flour?
The extra flour goes on the veggies
This is such a satisfying recipe to make with such a cozy, nourishing result. Loved it! Will make it again!
Fantastic recipe. Excellent flavor.
Can I use dairy free yogurt?
Sure
Great recipe! The flavor is great and pretty easy to make.
For me the dumplings never really “set” so they are quite mushy. I might try like bisquick or something next time and see how it turns out. I tried letting it simmer even longer than the 20-30 mins however they still never hit that firmness I would expect. Like when you take a cake out too early and it’s still batter inside.
Still giving this 5 starts though. This could totally be something I did wrong.
This was really good. I will put this in my soup/stew rotation. 😋
Tasted delicious, really enjoyed it.
I thought it would have had a thick sauce.
The sauce gets thicker as it sits, if you let it simmer longer.
Would using breast make it less calories and do you know
Yes it would.
How much chicken breasts would you use ?
about 2 lbs
I just made this tonight with only 1 chicken breast cut up, to cut the calories way down, and it was still incredibly delicious!
Would love this but I am on WW.
Thank you aanyway.
All my recipes are WW friendly! This one is 2 points. 🙂
How many servings?
5 servings
In the recipe it states non-fat Greek yogurt is used but the ingredients list states non-fat yogurt, not Greek.
Use non-fat plain yogurt (not Greek)
Why can’t you use Greek yogurt? That’s all I buy. Thanks
Regular yogurt make the dumplings lighter.
Does this reheat well? Wondering about the dumplings…
Yes, you can refrigerate the soup for 4 days.
Can’t find the recipe for the dumplings
Steps 4 & 5.
Can gf flour be used for dumplings, if I add baking powder?
Yes, I dont see why not! Add 3/4 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Recipe doesn’t note how many servings??
Me too.
5 servings. Sorry, it is updated now.