I have been eating egg dumplings since I was just a small child. My mom would usually make the dumplings with chicken stock for a chicken and dumpling soup. But once in a while she would cook up pork ribs and serve them with the dumplings for a pork and dumpling soup.
And my grandmother made these for my mom and her siblings, so you can see this recipe has been passed down from generation to generation. That is a true testimony to how good they are.
This is a simple recipe that goes perfectly on cold-weather days. And, as much as I loved these as a kid my family loves them as much as I did and still do.
Helpful Tips:
- All-purpose flour works well for this recipe.
- I don’t use salt in this recipe. I let the chicken broth season the dumplings. If you prefer you can add about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the batter.
- I know that most egg dumplings use baking powder in their recipes. I like to leave the baking powder out of the dumplings. These dumplings are denser than some dumplings, which my family enjoys.
- These dumplings are delicious in chicken broth. Use 4 to 6 cups of chicken broth for this recipe. Add onion, carrots, celery, and cooked chicken to the broth for a delicious and hearty soup.
- If adding the vegetables saute them in a separate skillet before adding them to the soup.
- When cooking the dumplings add them to the boiling broth by rounded teaspoons. Before added the dumplings dip the teaspoon in the broth, this will prevent the dumplings from sticking to the spoon.
- Leftover can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
- To reheat the dumpling simply heat in the microwave or on the stovetop to the desired temperature.
Steps for Making Egg Dumplings
Step one
In a medium bowl beat the eggs and milk together
Step two
Gradually beat in the flour. You will want a beat in flour until the batter is thick but still moist.
Step three
Drop the dumplings in boiling broth.
Step four
Once all of the dumplings are added to the broth bring to a boil. Then reduce the temperature and cook for 15 to 30 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked through.
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Egg Dumplings
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- In a medium bowl beat the eggs and milk together.
- Gradually beat in the flour. Beat in enough flour to make a thick but moist batter.
- Drop the dumplings into boiling broth by small teaspoons. For larger dumplings have the teaspoons rounded.
- Once all of the dumplings bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and cook for 15 to 30 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked through. Time will vary depending on the size of the dumpling.
- For soup add onions, carrots, and celery that have been sauteed and tender. Add pieces of cooked chicken.
Notes
- Use enough all-purpose flour to make a batter that is stiff, but still moist.
- If you desire you can add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the batter.
- Drop dumplings into a boiling broth by small teaspoons. For larger dumplings add by rounded tablespoons.
- Cooking time may vary depending on the size of the dumplings.
- These dumplings are delicious in chicken broth. Add carrots, celery, and onions that have been sauteed for added flavor. Cooked diced chicken can be added to the soup also.
- Reheat leftover soup in the microwave or on the stovetop to the desired temperature.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on December 31, 2013. It has been updated with new content and pictures on January 11, 2021.
Ooo I’ve never heard of these before…but I wouldn’t complain if a big bowl of them was set in front of me!
These sound amazing. I have always loved egg dumplings….I grew up with them too!
I’ve never had these before. They sound simple and delicious.
I love dumplings! And don’t make them enough. Thanks for these. And Happy New Year!
My mom use to make these in a pot of navy beans
We still do!!!!
These are wonderful! Did you know they also go by the name spatzele?! I grew up with them. Same batter, but my mother used water instead of broth. Spellings can vary. I love to add pumpkin and sometimes crushed nuts to them, and toss in browned butter. They’re a wonderful side dish, but I’ve never made them for a soup! Live and learn. Oh, one traditional way to make spatzele is to run the batter through a cheese grater of sorts, and that makes little squiggles, that cook much faster. I prefer the big meaty ones like yours!
I have been looking for this recipe for years. While some might call them spaetzli the Germans/Austrians Bavarians make them much much smaller, but us Polish and Slavic heritage grew up with these. I always had to distinguish them as “Polish Spaetzli” as they were sooooo much bigger but soooooooo much tastier.
I too grew up with mom making this on Wednesday (the day she made homemade zuppe) some times chicken, duck, beef, pork or what ever we had over the weekend mom would cook down the bones to make her base. It was oooooohhhhhh!!!!! so good. Mom would make a “Favorite Son” batch of dumplings that I got to eat once I came home from elementary school Just warm dumplings and milk (3.8% butterfat no less) Oh those where the days.
Needless to say I have some cancer fog and chemo fog and simply lost the recipe and mom has been gone 3 years so its been tough finding just the perfect recipe. This is the one. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I do.
Hi Christopher, I am happy that you found this recipe. I hope that you are able to enjoy these dumplings for a long time. Take care!
I love dumplings! Laura makes dumplings all the time for her “pot pie” – an Amish recipe that is nothing like pot pie. It’s really a soup. But the dumplings are the best part because they absorb all of the flavor from the soup. Great tips for making these, Dawn!
We all love dumplings here and yours look the best, Dawn! For whatever reason, I generally use Bisquick, but will try your recipe the next time. I like that these are more dense! We usually enjoy dumplings with chicken, etc but I love them on top of homemade navy bean soup. Can’t wait to try these sometime this winter! Thanks for the recipe!
My grandmother made egg dumplings, and added cream to the soup at the end.
Bruce, That is interesting. I have never had cream with dumplings. Sounds like it would be delicious. I will have to give it a try. Thank you for stopping by!!
I grew up on egg dumplings from my grandma. These are delicious but I remember my grandma’s recipe and I truly loved hers. I make these as a comfort food and nothing else.
Hi Dianne, I grew up on dumplings that my mom made, it was my grandma’s recipe. These are the perfect comfort food and one of my all-time favorite dishes. Thank you for stopping by!!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! My mom made a version without the milk for us growing up and we loved it but this one is my new favorite. The dumplings were so tender!
Thank you for the nice comment April. You can make these dumplings with water as well, but I think the milk makes them more tender. I am so glad that you enjoyed them!!
so good
Thank you!
I love this recipe! Is the calories for each serving or for the entire recipe?
Thanks!
I am so happy that you liked this recipe. It is one of my favorites as well. The calorie is only approximate for a serving size. It will depend on the size of helping that you have and the ingredients that you use compared to mine.
My Mom used to make these was I was young. She’d use them as a potato substitute. She’s melt butter and pour over them. I did that tonight for dinner. My dumplings came out smaller than what I recall but she had some the size of UFOs. I’m going to make these next Mon as I’m cooking at the fire station for 12 guys. My variation is I’m going to incorporate them into chicken & dumplings. Cracker Barrel will have nothing on me.
I’ll sauté onions, carrots, celery, make a roux, add chicken broth, debone a Costco rotisserie chicken & toss it in and lastly add the dumplings. Pair it with a salad and pray we don’t catch a structure fire afterwards.
This recipe is money, although I added more milk than 3 Tbsp: 1.5 cups flour.
Thank you!
Thanks Mike. My favorite way to serve these dumplings is with chicken and chicken broth. I always saute onion, carrots, and celery too.
I make homemade soup ALL of the time; but just have notes of “make dumplings with eggs, flour and salt” thinking I would remember the amounts. So no water or milk was ever used before. Then, Mom would simply take a fork of the batter (first place in the broth so no sticking) and then just swirl the batter around in the soup. The little dumplings were about 1/4 to 1/2 inches and no consistency (for a purpose =). THANK YOU for posting this, since I will make my next “batch” of chicken noodle soup using this recipe. One question, I usually use about a 12 ounce bag of noodles. Would this be equal to this recipe, or should I double it? I enjoy cooking so much and appreciate others sharing =)
Hi Cynthia, thank you for the comment. It is a little hard to compare this recipe to 12 ounces of noodles. But if I was making a batch of soup like you I would probably double the batch. You can never have too many dumplings.
I found the answer within your NOTES after reviewing. Again THANK YOU SO MUCH for the amounts to use for the dumplings. YUM
I make about 500 at a time (×10 recipe). I flash freeze and bag them about 80 per bag. Pull out and defrost when needed. We have dumplings for months.
I am a “gourmet chef” retired
And chicken dumpling soup is the first thing my 2 oldest grandchildren learned to cook. Completely from scratch! They started with a trip to my herb garden to get the fresh thyme, rosemary and sage. From there the only thing that they didn’t do was deal with the raw whole chicken. But everything else was done by them under very close supervision. My granddaughter did get a little bit afraid of dropping in the dumplings directly into the pot of simmering chicken stock, so she let her little brother do that part. Granddaughter was 5 and a half grandson was 4.
We made 32 gallons of soup and wasn’t a bite left over! There were 4 adults and the 2 little ones that made it. And the 2 little ones probably ate the most.
I have always seasoned the dumplings with thyme, rosemary,sage and a pinch of garlic powder and onion powder. The salt would depend upon if I added any kind of bullion to the chicken stock.
We have made this soup since my children were old enough to eat it. And having lived the last 30 plus years in nw Wisconsin, it’s our first choice in any restaurant that makes their soup from scratch.
It’s a staple in this neck of the woods!
Hi Diane, Thank you for stopping by my blog. Your dumplings sound good. I grew up on simpler taste. We always enjoy the dumplings from this recipe. It is the way my mom made them and the way my grandma made them. I also have a granddaughter who loves helping make soup with me.
That’s 2 gallons of soup, not 32!
My dad made potato soup with egg dumplings. I was raised on it and now I make it for my family. My husband ALWAYS bugs me to make it. He LOVES it and he can’t make it like I do. HeHeHe!
Thank you for stopping by Cynthia.
Such an easy recipe! I have a different recipe that I have made from my mother… Similar, but a lot more work than this! Hers started with melting butter and mixing the flour in a pan to thicken. Then we would add just the egg whites and let it form into a ball then you have to let that cool down a bit. Once cooled you stirred in the egg yolks. ( I have found that I didn’t need all the yolks!) . And then she’d drop into her chicken noodle soup!
This recipe is right up there with hers, but much easier! I also found this was very easy to make a single serving! Thank you so much for sharing this!
I am happy that you like the recipe Jeanie. My mom and grandma used this recipe to make dumplings. It has always been one of my favorites. Your mother’s recipe sound great too.
Hi! Was looking for a dumpling recipe that wouldn’t disintegrate in my soup and make it cloudy; these were perfect! I used about 1/2 c of parm as a replacement for an equal amount of flour & added a squeeze of lemon to the soup. yummmm
Hi Nichole, I am glad that you like the recipe. I bet the parm and lemon gave a great taste to the soup and the dumplings.