A few months ago, someone asked me if I had a recipe for a vegetarian version of Chicken and Dumplings. There are a lot of dishes on my mental list of things to make meatless, but that's one that I never really thought about, mostly because I've never had Chicken and Dumplings before. I forgot about it for a while, then I happened to see a Chicken and Dumplings recipe on Martha Stewart's website and thought maybe I'd give this whole Chicken and Dumplings thing a try. Minus the chicken, of course.
The big honkin' question when you're making a meat-based recipe meatless is, "What will I replace the meat with?" I thought about using seitan, but I decided to go with chickpeas because I remembered that Thrifty Veggie Mama had used them in a vegetarian Chicken and Dumplings recipe too and chickpeas are more readily available than seitan. So we have dealt with the main obstacle!
Making a recipe vegetarian isn't always just about switching out one ingredient for another though. For the Martha Stewart recipe I was adapting, I knew a lot of the flavor would come from the chicken, so I needed to add more flavors to the pot to keep the finished dish from being bland. I usually substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth, but in recipes where the chicken broth is a main component, I will sometimes use vegetarian chicken broth, either from the carton or from bouillon cubes. I decided to do that here; I also took some ideas from a Chicken and Dumplings recipe on Saveur and added white wine, extra thyme, and a bay leaf. The Saveur recipe included bacon too; I liked the idea of adding a little smokiness to the stew, so I included a half teaspoon of smoked paprika. This is enough to give the finished dish a subtle, smoky flavor without it being, "Oh, hey, you added smoked paprika to this!"
Chris and I aren't fans of peas, so I took those out and added a parsnip and red potatoes instead. The chickpea-and-veggie stew is prepared in a big Dutch oven and once it comes to a boil, you drop spoonfuls of dumpling batter onto the top. When you put the lid on the Dutch oven, the dumplings will steam in the pot; 20 minutes later, your veggies are tender, your dumplings are firm and puffy, and you have a big pot of comfort food to keep you warm and full.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 medium carrots peeled and sliced
- 1 large parsnip sliced
- 2 small red potatoes diced
- 3 ribs celery sliced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 cup all-purpose flour divided
- 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon dried dill weed or 2 tablespoons fresh dill
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons milk
- ½ cup white wine
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas (or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas)
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, parsnip, potatoes, celery, thyme, and bay leaves. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, 5-8 minutes.
- While the veggies are cooking, whisk together ¾ cup flour, baking powder, salt, and dill in a medium bowl. Use a fork to gradually stir in ½ cup of milk. The batter should be slightly thicker than pancake batter and drop easily from a spoon; if it's too thick, add the additional milk 1 tablespoon at a time. Set aside.
- Sprinkle the remaining flour over the veggies and stir to coat; cook for 30 seconds. Pour in the white wine and cook until evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add the broth, chickpeas, paprika and salt and pepper to the Dutch oven; bring to a slow boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce the heat to low. Drop the dumpling batter into the pot in heaping tablespoonfuls. You should have enough batter for 8-10 dumplings--be sure to keep them evenly spaced because they'll expand as they cook! Cover the Dutch oven and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and the dumplings are firm. Remove the bay leaves before serving and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on February 12, 2014.
Anele @ Success Along the Weigh says
Wow, this looks soooo yummy and given it's 1 degree outside, I think I could use a little comfort food!
Kiersten Frase says
Yes, you deserve comfort food!
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan says
Ohh I LOVE Chicken and dumplings (loved!) so I can't wait to try this!!
Kiersten Frase says
I hope you like it if you make it! 😀
Brooke says
I just found dinner!! This looks and sounds delicious and perfect for yet another sub zero cold winter day!
Kiersten Frase says
It's definitely the kind of meal that warms you up inside!
Colleen @ Culinary Colleen says
Thank you for this! I always struggle with how to make my favorite comfort foods vegetarian so that my boyfriend can enjoy them, too. This definitely looks just as good (if not better) than the original.
Kiersten Frase says
It's harder than it looks sometimes! When I first stopped eating meat, I just replaced everything with faux meats, which makes it super easy. Once you stop relying on those, it gets more complicated. 🙂
dishing up the dirt says
Love this twist on an old classic! Perfect for this chilly weather we are being hit with!
Kiersten Frase says
I know! We are snowed in right now and I totally wish I had the ingredients to make this again for dinner tonight...
Hope says
Get out of my husbands head. He just requested chicken and dumplings.
Kiersten Frase says
Ha! That's a little bit eerie, huh? 🙂
Hope says
By the way, seriously good. Non vegetarian husband is satisfied!
Kiersten Frase says
I'm glad the recipe was a hit! 🙂
Heather E says
Being a northerner and a vegetarian for more than half my life, I've never tried Chicken and Dumplings. I've always been intrigued with the idea of it though, and cannot wait to try it for some winter comfort!
Kiersten Frase says
I'm a northerner (currently living in the South!) who's been a vegetarian more than half her life too, so I think that's why I've never had Chicken and Dumplings either. 🙂 But I am hooked now!
Kim says
Will omitting the white wine change the flavor much?
Kiersten Frase says
I really like adding wine to a recipe like this to add some of the depth that's sometimes missing when you take out the meat. The first time I tested this recipe, I made it without the wine and while it was good, we definitely liked it with the wine better. 🙂
Julie @ The Simple Veganista says
I love this! I've been wanting to make dumplings and this looks like the perfect fit!
Kiersten Frase says
It's very easy to make vegan too! 🙂
Jen says
This looks delicious! Quick question - when you use white wine in a recipe, what do you typically use? I'm always confused by this ingredient. Is this literally like splashing in Chardonnay? I can't imagine so, but maybe? Thanks!
Kiersten Frase says
Well, there is cooking wine that you can buy (usually it's by the vinegars and oils at the grocery store), but usually I just buy a cheap bottle of regular wine because the quality is better. Not so cheap it's bad, but the kind of stuff you buy at Trader Joe's. 🙂 You want to use something dry, like Sauvignon Blanc.
Mary says
This looks so yummy !! Just got back from the grocery store... making this tonight!
Kiersten Frase says
I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Mary says
This recipe is super tasty! I realized I didn't have any thyme or dill (womp womp - had to improvise) after getting home from the store and it still turned out well, although next time I will def be adding that. I think adding the wine really gave it such a nice little touch of complexity. I ended up adding more wine and reducing the broth a bit. Also, this time I decided to use chicken instead of beans for the husband (since I had some on hand), but am looking forward to making it totally vegetarian next time.
I give this recipe 2 enthusiastic thumbs up!
Kiersten Frase says
Thanks for your feedback--I'm glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
lisacng @ expandng.com says
I *do* love chickpeas and a way to use less meat in my cooking. Thanks!
Holly Waterfall says
There is nothing about this soup that I don't like! Super comforting. Super appetizing. And super veggie friendly! I think I'll make up a big pot while it's still frigid here!
Kiersten Frase says
It's kind of the perfect winter meal, right? 🙂
Joanne says
I've made a chickpea pot pie before and I feel like the idea here is kind of similar? I must admit, I've never had chicken and dumplings either! But suffice it to say, I"d much prefer this chickpea version.
Kiersten Frase says
Ooh, I need to make Chickpea Pot Pie! I've done a shepherd's pie with chickpeas before, but never one with crust...
JulieD says
I love chickpeas!! this looks so lovely and comforting!
Nicole @ Foodie Loves Fitness says
I'm slightly obsessed with chickpeas! I may or may not have roasted a can of them today, planned on eating half, and wound up noshing on the whole thing. So yummy!
I've never made dumplings before... thanks for sharing this recipe!
Kiersten Frase says
I can't get enough chickpeas either. I totally stockpile them in our pantry. 🙂
Lily (A Rhubarb Rhapsody) says
This looks so wonderful! I only recently discovered dumplings in soup and I absolutely love them. Adding this to my meal plan for this week. Thank you!
Kiersten Frase says
I hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
Lisa @ Je suis alimentageuse says
OOOO! I've only ever had chicken and dumplings once before I went vegetarian, and these look awesome!!! I can't wait to try these =D
Amanda says
I'm so excited to try this! And since we happen to have all the ingredients on hand, I think this will be my lunch! 🙂
Kiersten Frase says
I love it when that happens! 🙂
Susan says
Looks amazing and can't wait to try it. Can you substitute the milk for almond milk? Also what would be a good substitute for the butter?
Kiersten Frase says
Almond milk should work just fine; if you use Earth Balance, you can substitute that for the butter, otherwise, just plain olive oil will work.
Gretchen @ Two Healthy Kitchens says
This looks amazing!! I love the little bit of smoked paprika added at the end (but not screaming I JUST ADDED SMOKED PAPRIKA!) 🙂 My oldest prefers her meals to be slightly more bland than the rest of us, so it sounds like the subtle flavors in this will perfectly please my whole family! And seriously, who doesn't love dumplings! I LOVE them -- totally a comfort food! Delish!
Kiersten Frase says
Thank you! This is kind of like a heartier version of chicken noodle soup, so if she likes chicken noodle soup, I'm sure she'll like this too. 🙂
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
Homemade dumplings and chickpea...a hearty and comforting meal!
Ashley R says
What is no chicken broth? I've never seen or heard of it. How does it differ from veggie broth?
Kiersten Frase says
It's a vegetable broth that's meant to taste similar to chicken broth. You can use vegetable broth if you can't find it locally.
Genevieve says
This sounds like it has all the flavour of a comforting bowl of chicken soup, but I love how you changed it to be vegetarian-friendly! I'm not sure if I've ever tried dumplings made this way before, but I think this would definitely be good as just a stew too.
Kiersten Frase says
Yes, I think it would also be good dumplingless. 🙂 I've seen similar recipes that are made with biscuit dough, so I kind of want to try that too!
Brittany says
Yummy! I have been craving dumplings for a while now so this is right up my alley! I'm hoping that by using the vegetarian stock that my husband won't miss the meat so much. Can't wait to try this 🙂
Kiersten Frase says
Let me know how it goes! 🙂