Warm your soul and body with this hearty knoephla soup, loaded with chewy herb-infused knoephla dumplings. Step-by-step photos are included!
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You guys, it’s bitter cold up here in North Dakota right now! We’re talking 7°F that feels like -7°F. ❄️Brrr is right!!
I don’t know about you, but this kind of weather calls for a cup of hot chocolate, or piping hot tea, or a bowl of stick-to-your-ribs hearty soup, and a thick blanket, of course! A fireplace would be nice too, but we don’t have one. But lots of snuggles with your newborn is better than any fireplace! Lots of snuggles! (<-As you’ve seen on my snapchat: shineshka) ❤️
Speaking of soups, I absolutely love the sound of simmering soup on the stovetop on such cold winter days. Do you? The steam, the bubbling sound, the hearty aroma filling the house- so comforting!
And today, I’m sharing with you one of my winter favorites, a quintessential North Dakota soup.
Knoephla soup is a creamy dumpling and potato soup originated from German immigrants from Russia. My husband first introduced me to this hearty soup about 6 years ago, and it’s become one of my favorites ever since.
I also like to add chicken in my soup!
Knoephla refers to the type of dumpling in this soup. Don’t let the idea of making the dumplings from scratch scare you off. It’s super easy to make and taste absolutely delicious! Worth every effort, I promise!!
I like my knoephla on a smaller size and infused with loads of fragrant herbs. No special equipment is required here. Since I’m a lazy cook, I used my stand mixer with dough hook attachment, but you can totally kneed the dough by hand.
As usual, here’s step-by-step visual to guide you through the process.
My recipe makes pretty generous portion. But just as many hearty soups, it tastes even better the next day. You’ll be happy to have some leftovers the next day.
Cheers to hearty soup season! Stay warm!
Knoephla Soup, aka Chicken & Dumpling Soup
Ingredients
For knoephla:
- ¾ cup (95g) all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons milk I use whole milk, but any milk will work
- 2 teaspoons parsley
- 1 teaspoon dill weed
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For soup:
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons bacon fat divided
- ½ cup (60g) all-purpose flour
- 3 garlic cloves pressed
- 2-3 medium carrots about 1 cup chopped
- 3-4 stalks celery about 1 cup chopped
- 2 medium russet potatoes
- 1 chicken breast
- 4 cups (1L) unsalted chicken stock
- 1 cup (240ml) water
- 2 ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (480ml) milk I use whole milk, but any milk will work
Instructions
- To make the knoephla dumplings, in a large mixing bowl with dough hook attachment, mix together all the ingredients and kneed until elastic dough forms. Alternatively, you can mix everything by hand. Cover the dough and let it rest while you make the soup.
- To make the soup, chop chicken, celery, carrots and potatoes into cubes.
- In a large pot, melt the butter and 2 tablespoons of bacon fat over medium high heat. Stir in the flour and cook for about 2 minutes, or until nice and golden color, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. That’s how you make the roux to thicken the soup. Transfer the roux into a small dish.
- Into the pot, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of bacon fat and pressed garlic. Cook until fragrant, stirring frequently. Add chicken cubes. Add ¼ teaspoons of salt and cook for about 5 minutes, or until fully cooked, stirring occasionally. Remove the chicken onto a plate.
- Add the cubed vegetables into the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes, and then add chicken stock, water and the remaining 2 teaspoons of salt. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the potatoes are fully cooked.
- Meanwhile, divide the dumpling dough into 2 equal parts. Then roll each dough into long log, about ½-inch thick, and cut into small pieces.
- Once the vegetables are fully cooked, add the roux, chicken, dumplings and milk. Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the dumplings float up on top and fully cooked. Serve immediately.
Tips & Notes
Nutrition
this is an amazing recipe! Sometimes I make Big spaetzle type dumplings. Awesome your from North Dakota!
Hi, Stephanie!! So gald you love my recipe. And thank you for your feedback!!
Loved loved loved the soup! But… my Grandma’s knoephla is never chewy or herbie.
But I will continue to make the soup. Without the chicken….knoephla soup never has meat.
Added the things I had, but I didn’t have chicken. Phenomenal!
Thank you for your feedback, Barbara!!
Uhm “aka chicken and dumpling”????
Thats a completely different soup, traditional knoephla never has meat in it.