Tender rosemary dumplings, vegan chicken and veggies are simmered in a rich herbed broth in this hearty vegan chicken and dumplings stew from Mastering the Art of Vegan Cooking.
Well now. Here we are, post Memorial Day, temperatures steadily climbing, and I'm posting a recipe for comfort food. Hearty, heavy, veganized chicken and dumplings no less. Serious comfort food. You know what though? It was really freaking good comfort food. No regrets.
I didn't really plan to post something like this in late May, but when I received a copy of Mastering the Art of Vegan Cooking
by Annie and Dan Shannon for review, along with an invitation to choose from a few recipes for posting, this vegan chicken and dumplings recipe was the one that grabbed me. I haven't done nearly enough cookbook cooking since I began blogging. One of the nice things about cracking open a new cookbook and picking a recipe is that it's often one I never would've come up with on my own, but no less delicious. I also tend to learn a thing or two when I branch out and start cooking according to someone else's instructions. In this case I was dubious, for example, about throwing a whole cup of nutritional yeast into my stew, or using whole wheat flour as a thickener, but both worked out beautifully, and this was a delicious and indeed comforting dinner.
The one adjustment I did make was to substitute seitan for the vegan chicken called for in the recipe. Feel free to go with either ingredient choice if you make this. I don't use commercial meat substitutes a whole lot in my kitchen or on this blog, but I do recognize that good quality meat substitutes have a place, particularly for those new to a vegetarian or vegan diet. The recipe, as well as many others in the book, includes brand recommendations where meat substitutes are called for, which is pretty helpful because they're not always interchangeable.
On that note, I'll say that this book would be perfect for veg newbies. The recipes are versatile, relatively easy, and have a wide appeal. The book also offers plenty of practical tips on stuff like how to stock your vegan pantry and how to food shop as a vegan. There's an entire chapter devoted to recipes for repurposing leftovers, which is a topic pretty near and dear to my heart. It even gives you a cost estimate per serving for each dish, which is great because I've found cost to be one of the biggest concerns for those wishing to cut animal products from their diet.
The chicklins & dumplins stew weighs in at a mere $1.99 per serving, and is incredibly tasty. My husband and I ate this on a chillier day when we were both feeling a bit cranky and beat up after a rough week. Hang on to this one - I'm sure you'll find room for a little comfort dining in your spring.
Rosemary Vegan Chicklins & Dumplins Stew
Ingredients
Chicklins Stew
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup vegan chicken defrosted and diced (authors recommend Beyond Meat Chicken-Free Strips or Gardein Chick’n Scallopini, I used diced seitan)
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- 5 cups vegan chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 1 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 11/2 teaspoons rubbed sage
- 2 teaspoons dried rosemary crushed
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon crushed black peppercorn plus more to sprinkle over the top
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ teaspoon celery seed
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 carrots chopped
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- ½ cup frozen peas
Dumplins
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons vegan margarine
- ¾ cup soy milk
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary crushed
Instructions
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Make the chicklins stew: In your favorite Dutch oven or stew pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Toss in the vegan chicken and cook until it is browned and has crispy edges. Transfer it to a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up any extra oil, leaving the oil in the pan.
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Using a wooden spoon, stir the flour into the hot oil left in the pan. Add the vegan chicken broth and whisk in the nutritional yeast. Using a large wooden spoon, stir in the soy sauce, thyme, sage, rosemary, onion powder, garlic, peppercorns, parsley, celery seed, bay leaves, carrots, celery, and peas.
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Reduce the heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes.
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Meanwhile, make the dumplins: In a large bowl, combine all the dumplins ingredients and use an electric handheld mixer to mix the ingredients until they form a firm batter.
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If you like a large dumpling, roll a portion of the dough into a ball about the size of your palm—but if you want to get more servings out of one recipe, use a soup spoon to form smaller dumplings instead.
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Raise the heat under the pot of stew to bring it to a boil. Drop the raw dumplings into the hot stew one at a time and stir them in with a wooden spoon. Make sure the dumplings get completely covered so they cook evenly.
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Let the dumplings simmer in the stew for 10 to 15 minutes.
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Single out the largest dumpling for sacrifice, remove it from the stew, and break it open. If it’s firm on the inside, you’re ready to eat! Mix in the cooked vegan chicken before serving with a few pinches of pepper over the top.
Recipe Notes
Excerpted from the book MASTERING THE ART OF VEGAN COOKING by Annie and Dan Shannon. © 2015 by Annie and Dan Shannon. Reprinted by permission of Grand Central Life and Style. All rights reserved.
I haven't received any recipes from you in 2 weeks. Please put me back on your email list. I have really enjoyed them. Thank you.
I have oh so missed chicken and dumplings! My Mama was Southern born and raised and made THE best C & D around! Thank you so much for this recipe, I can hardly wait to make it!
This was so good! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
These dimplings! oh my gosh.
I was just complaining to my husband that I didn't want fall to come (Florida girl living in the NY area) but these dumplings have me reconsidering. I haven't tried seitan yet, but this looks like a great recipe to try it out in.
Thank you! This is definitely a good dish to try seitan out. I hope you enjoy it! :)
You can use young jackfruit for a great chicken replacement. The texture is very similar and it doesn’t have a strong taste of its own.
This wasn't my favorite. Too much rosemary and to little veggies for me. I will definitely try other recipes from Alissa though.
Can this be done GF?? Drooling....
I heard from a few people who used gf flour blends and said the dumplings were really hard. I could see chickpea flour working - your best bet might be to adapt the dumplings from a recipe like this one: https://www.anediblemosaic.com/smoky-roasted-cauliflower-soup-with-herbed-chickpea-dumplings-vegan-grain-free-gluten-free/
I am planning to try this recipe GF but using my usual GF biscuit recipe with it instead because I have been making those for years and they always come out perfect. I am sure it has a lot to do with the GF flour I use as everything I make with it tastes completely "non-GF." It is called Cup 4 Cup, and was invented by Thomas Keller of The French Laundry. It is amazing because you literally can just replace it "cup for cup" as a substitute for regular all purpose flour. It is truly indistinguishable. You can buy it at Whole Foods (pricy buy so worth it) as you can use it for everything you cook and bake that calls for regular flour and you won't be able to tell the difference.
That sounds great! I'd love to hear how it works out if you try it - I've had some readers that had trouble making this one gluten-free. :)
I make a ton of soups and am not vegan (my husband is). I was craving a hearty stew. This was delicious!! We used mostly fresh herbs and more broth to make it a little less thick. The flavor was very savory. We think beans, tofu or mock duck would be just as good in the recipe. I wanted to use pea protein, Beyond Meat to add a different source of protein this time around. YUM. Will make again.
I'm so glad to hear you both enjoyed it!! Thanks Nicole!
Hi, What times and settings did you use when you adapted it to your instant pot? Thanks!
This was absolutely DELICIOUS. I love the dumplings and the stew was so thick and hearty. Can’t wait to make this again!
Yay!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks Hannah!
This was wonderful, but my dumplings were a bit gummy/tough. What did I do wrong? Mix the batter too long? Under/overcook them?
I'm glad you enjoyed it! On the dumplings: it's possible you overmixed the dough. Another guess is your baking powder could be a bit dated. You can test it by sprinking some in a glass of water - it should fizz if it's still good. :)
This is one of, if not the, best vegan dish I've every made. It's so good I ended up making another batch 12 hours after the first. ZERO complaints here, thank you for sharing!!
That's awesome!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much Michelle!
What is nutritional yeast and where can I find it?
It's a type of deactivated yeast that has a savory, cheesy flavor. Try places like Whole Foods, and if you don't have one nearby, try Amazon. :)
Just made this using soy curls as my "meat". I added one chopped fine leek, and 4 med sized red potatoes cut into chunks.. So absolutely delicious this is exactly what recipe I was needing for a vegan version of my favorite comfort food. Thank you so very much.
Great idea to use soy curls! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Lisa!
Can't wait to try this. It's getting to be perfect fall weather here.
1 cup of nooch sounds like a lot! Curious if anyone has found that overwhelming. I'd hate to miss out on deliciousness, but I'll start with half the nooch because I also don't like it when it overpowers all other flavors.
I also wasn't sure about using a full cup of nutritional yeast, but I found it totally worked! If you're nervous, start with less and add stir in a bit at a time after you've let it simmer for 15 minutes (step 3).
This was delicious! One comment, this much nutritional yeast can turn your urine very bright yellow! Apparently it's due to the excess riboflavin being excreted. I was a little alarmed at first :)
Oh boy...thanks for the warning!
I just made this and it is amazing, very tasty and exactly what I wanted on this chilly day! Thank you for this recipe!!
I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
This was delicious. My first time ever cooking chicken and dumplings. I used the chicken of the woods we gathered a month or so ago and doubled the recipe. The meal was simple enough to do with three littles running around and didn't take to long to complete either. Well definitely make its way to my "favorite meals" board as everyone in the family loved it. My husband commented it was more flavorful rehab his mother's 😉 thank you for sharing, none of your recipes have ever let me down and have always been amazing!
Yay!! I'm so glad you enjoyed this! Great idea to use chicken of the woods mushrooms too. :)
Such a great recipe and super easy too! It was a big hit for dinner tonight! You're recipes have never let me down. Thank you!!!!!
I'm so happy to hear all of that!! Thank you so much Jennifer!
Can you make the stew portion ahead of time? Any substitutions for veggies if carrots and celery are not present?
I think you'd be fine to make the stew portion in advance. It might thicken up during storage, but you can always thin it with some water. You could use just about any veggies - cauliflower, parsnips and even cabbage would be nice!
Do you know the serving size and nutritional information?
I'm afraid I don't. It wasn't included with the recipe. I'm slowly adding nutritional info to my recipes, but haven't hit this one yet. Here's the calculator I use if you'd like to take a crack at it yourself: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
This is a go-to comfort vegan recipe. I love the flavors and it’s such a joy to make! the first time I made this recipe I didn’t have vegan chick’n on hand. So I just used red lentils in the soup. It helped thicken up the broth and I was able to go without the roux.
Oh that sounds delicious! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks Carlos!!
I've tried multiple chicken noodle/dumpling stews/soups since I went vegan a year ago and this is by far the best. The flavors are outstanding and it's so easy to make. The dumplings are a great consistency, and I love how the chicken is pan-fried and then added to the stew once it's done cooking so it doesn't get a mushy texture. Awesome job on this! Can't thank you enough.
Yay! I'm so glad you like it! Thanks so much Lauren!
I added potatoes, several pieces of celery, and an additional cup of broth (because of the extra veggies). Other than those additions I made it as described. This stew was a hit with my husband who normally despises nutritional yeast. I haven't had dumplings since I was a child, so this stew was a delicious warm bowl of nostalgia for me. Thank you for the recipe!
Awesome! I'm so glad you and your husband enjoyed it! Thanks Julia!
I made this a few days ago for my non-vegan boyfriend and me and we both loved it. Thank you for sharing this recipe. The stew was so comforting, flavorful and filling, and the dumplings were pillowy and perfect. I've found that I VERY often wind up at your blog when doing a general search for whatever vegan recipe I'm looking for, and I must say that all of your recipes that I have tried have been EXCELLENT. Thank you so much!!
Yay! I'm so glad you both enjoyed this, and that you're enjoying the blog. Thanks so much Eileen!
I don't have wholewheat flour and am disinclined to shop during quarantine if I can help it. Would all purpose flour work as well as whole wheat for the soup?
I think it should work just fine! Enjoy!
SO GOOD!! I halved the nooch just in case 1 c. was too much & we loved it! With fall coming, this is a welcome addition to our recipe rotation :O)
I made this a couple of nights ago and it was amazing! I did use Bisquick (which I didn't know was vegan) for the dumplings to save time, but it was soooo good. Definitely a keeper at my house. I posted the pic and link to your recipe on WW it was so great.
Amazing! Easy to follow, I used naked glory roast tenderstrips and some vegan quorn pieces and cooked some brocolli and sugar snap peas for the side to add extra veg!
Delicious!! Dumplings very good too!!
Thanks so much x
Submitted faux chicken for veggies & it was delicious!
So good! I only used about half a cup of nutritional yeast, and did my own dumplings - will totally be making again (: