Vegetable Dumpling Soup

A cozy soup made with Asian vegetable and tofu filled dumplings in a flavorful homemade broth; this Vegetable Dumpling Soup is super delicious.

Enjoy this soup with your choice of vegetables and toppings. It makes the perfect starter to a meal or a complete meal by itself!

Soup season means we enjoy some kind of soup almost every day. Piping hot bowls of vegetable, lentil or tofu soups are on the menu through the season. But not just winters, certain soups are made to lift your spirits and soothe the soul throughout the year.

Tom Yum Soup, Burmese Samosa Soup, Tomato Soup, Hot Pot and this Wonton Soup all fall into that category for us. We love throughout the year for get togethers or simple family dinner nights. It is no surprise that our toddler enjoys bowls of these when made mild for him.

And when when we talk of soups, Asian cuisine almost always comes up. This cuisine is full of broth based soups, vegetables soups and protein based soups. We love almost every Asian soup and it appears on the menu more often than it should. Paired with some Chinese Bhel, Hakka Noodles, Chinese Seaweed Salad, Manchurian and so on; the combination is amazing.

Jump to:

• What are Dumplings
• Why this recipe works
• Ingredients and Substitutions
• How to make this recipe
• Expert Tips and Notes
• Variations
• Making this in the Instant Pot
• Using Frozen Wontons
• Storage and Serving
• Recipe FAQs
• More Delicious Soup Recipes
• Vegetable Dumpling Soup

What are Dumplings

Asian cuisine has so many different ways to make parcels of meat or veggies and serve them in various courses for a meal. Dumpling, wonton, siu mai, bao, mandu, steamed bun etc. are all similar yet unique in their own way.

From these wontons are small dumplings filled with meat, vegetables, protein etc. These are generally served steamed, in a soup or fried. Though of course, we use the terms dumpling, wonton etc. quite loosely here in the US. And so the name Dumpling Soup is synonymous with Wonton Soup.

I like to make the dumplings using vegetables and protein like tofu or paneer. Whenever I get the square dumpling wrappers to make these, I either shape them into purses or into triangle ingots. They are so easy to make and are fairly quick to make.

Why this recipe works

• This Dumpling Soup is naturally Vegan.
• We can easily make all the elements before hand.
• The dumpling skins, filling and broth can be store bought or made from scratch.
• This soup is perfect through winters and beyond.
• It is a perfect veggie loaded meal.
• Dumpling soup is perfect for kids and adults alike.
• The same recipe is great to serve as-is or jazz up with multiple toppings.
• We can easily make this within minutes once the dumplings and broth are ready.
• By swapping out some toppings and vegetables, we can make the soup have a very different flavor profile.
• The soup is best enjoyed hot, the leftovers do not keep too well.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Vegetables for the wontons: The wontons are made with minced vegetables. We can use a mix of vegetables or just stick to a couple. Carrots, cabbage, broccoli, mushrooms, beans and spinach work best. Pick and choose what you like.
• Tofu: Firm tofu is a great source of protein in the recipe. Minced tofu is added to the filling. However, this is optional. We can add some crumbled paneer or simply leave the protein too.
• Sauces: The basic Asian sauces like soy sauce, vinegar and chili sauce are great in the recipe. I stick to light soy sauce to avoid making the soup dark in color. However, both can be used.
• Seasonings: We only need a handful of basic seasoning for the recipe. Salt, pepper and five spice seasoning are great. Moreover, some mushroom seasoning works as well. MSG can be used if desired.
• Vegetable Stock: The soup base does not have a lot of ingredients. So I like to make it with stock rather than with water. Homemade vegetable stock or a stock cube works well. However, we can make this with water too.
• Vegetables for the soup: The soup is great to season with a handful of vegetables. Carrots, spinach, bok choy and cabbage work great. Plus, some scallions and garlic are perfect to season the broth.
• Sesame Oil: Like most Asian recipes, I like to use sesame oil in this recipe. Sauté vegetables in sesame oil to make the wontons. Plus, use the same to sauté the aromatics for the soup base. However, any neutral oil works for the recipe.
• Toppings: The best toppings for the soup include chili oil, toasted sesame seeds, cilantro and scallion greens. We can also make the soup without any topping.

See the recipe card for detailed ingredient information, measurements and nutrition.

How to make this recipe

1- Heat sesame oil in a wok or large pan over medium heat.

2- Once hot, add minced carrots and minced broccoli; sauté for a couple of minutes.

3- Then add finely chopped cabbage and chopped spinach.

4- Sauté for a couple of minutes till the spinach wilts and then add finely diced tofu.

5- Then season the vegetable tofu mix, mix well and cook, stirring frequently for 4-5 minutes.

6- Then add the sauces and mix well. 

7- Remove from flame and let the mixture cool completely.

8- To assemble the dumpling, wet the sides of the one dumpling wrapper thoroughly and add a tablespoon of the filling.

9- Fold the square wrapper into half and get rid of all the air bubbles.

10- Seal the two side corners using some water and set aside.

11- Repeat this for all the wrappers. Set the wontons aside.

12- In a soup pan add some oil.

13- Add in minced garlic and scallion whites. Sauté till fragrant.

14- Then add sliced carrots, spinach, bok choy and cabbage. Sauté for a few seconds.

15- Add in vegetable broth and season with salt and pepper.

16- Bring to a boil and add in the dumplings.

17- Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes, till the dumpling skins are translucent.

18- Season with cilantro and scallion greens.

19- Mix everything well and turn down the heat.

20- Serve in bowls and enjoy with a topping of chili oil if you like.

Expert Tips and Notes

• Using fresh vs store bought ingredients: While the recipe lists out the steps to make everything from scratch, it is okay to use some store bought elements. Frozen dumplings, store bought soup stock or cubes and a bag of coleslaw swap out the made from scratch elements.
• Freezing prepared Dumplings: One of the easiest hacks to make the soup within minutes is to prepare the dumplings as per the instructions and freezing them. Then the soup comes together rather quickly.
• Making plain Dumpling Soup: One of the coziest version of Dumpling soup has just a flavorful broth and well made dumplings. This is easy to make by heating the broth and adding in the dumplings. Cook the dumplings till soft and serve. No added toppings!
• Do not stir the dumplings: The prepared dumplings, especially once they start to cook get pretty soft. It is best to let them cook and not stir them a lot. They break open and make a mess that way.
• Substituting Vegetable Stock: Often times, we may not have vegetable stock on hand. To substitute, simply sauté the aromatics, add the vegetables and water and bring to a boil. Make sure you add more vegetables as we can get a lot of flavor in the water. Then add the dumplings and cook covered. Also, meat based broths work if you consume meat.

Variations

The recipe uses a plain vegetable stock. However, there are quite a few variations. Use Miso broth for an Umami taste. Or stir in some red curry paste with coconut milk to dunk the dumplings in. Moreover, I often add some chopped kimchi along with miso broth to make the soup. It makes a spicy and delicious soup.

Plus, it also easy to add some soba noodles, shirataki noodles or even regular noodles and make it a wonton noodle soup.

I have also made a soup using black bean paste and gochujang paste to make the soup. The spicy kick makes the soup perfect for winters.

Making this in the Instant Pot

To make Dumpling soup in the instant pot, set the mode to sauté and normal. Add sesame oil and sauté the aromatics. Once the garlic loses its raw flavor, add the vegetables, vegetable stock and dumplings.

Bring everything to a boil and keep cooking till the dumpling skins are translucent. Then turn off the instant pot and remove the insert. Leaving the insert in there will not stop the cooking process. This will result in the dumplings getting overcooked in a few minutes.

Enjoy the soup with your favorite toppings.

Using Frozen Wontons

The easiest way to make dumpling soup is to use a packet of frozen dumplings. There are several variations of frozen dumplings. I often use the ones that are Vegan friendly and stuffed with vegetables like mushroom, cabbage and greens.

To make dumpling soup using frozen dumplings, simply sauté the aromatics in sesame oil and add the vegetables. Then add the broth and immediately add the frozen dumplings. Cook till the dumplings are soft and enjoy!

DO NOT thaw these before adding to the soup. Thawing them makes these dumplings quite soggy. they cook best straight from frozen.

Storage and Serving

Dumpling soup needs to be made just before serving. As the soup base is hot, the dumpling skins tend to get overcooked in a few minutes and start to give away After a couple of hours, the soup will have pieces of dumpling skin, the filling and brotha ll mixed up. This is definitely not the best way to enjoy it.

Instead, make only the amount that you will consume in one go. Make a serving right before serving and enjoy. I would not recommend leftovers in this recipe.

In case you have leftovers, lightly lift the dumplings out and store in a lidded container. Save the broth in another container. The two can be combined and enjoyed, though the texture of the dumplings will not be the same.

Recipe FAQs

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