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French Onion Dumplings – best for nights when you’re craving steaming hot french onion soup but want something a little heartier too. Easy homemade dumplings made with chicken or mushroom filling, enclosed in sesame-crusted wrappers, and served in a steaming rich french onion style broth. These are a fun dinner to make any night of the week, especially during these cold months. So warming, cozy, and delicious.
Happy Monday, happy almost Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving week is always so odd. We’re prepping and gearing up for all the food and festivities on Thursday, but at the same time we still have to live a normal like Monday through Wednesday…and get dinner on the table too.
Sometimes we can forget that we’ll be needing dinners this week too! Between friends and family coming, it can all be a lot. But I thought ahead, and I’m bringing you some of the best dumplings.
These dumplings are different, and definitely not traditional, but they sure are delish. A cross between a good bowl of french onion soup (minus the cheesy bread) and crispy bottomed dumplings. Sounds odd, but I promise, these are SO GOOD.
The idea
Honestly, it was kind of simple how this recipe came to be. I was thinking about this week and what would be just the right recipes to share. More appetizers? Desserts? Sides? Nothing seemed perfect, but then I figured that by now your menus are probably pretty much set. So you may just be looking for a really delicious dinner to eat during these days leading up to Thanksgiving.
I love to serve Asian or Mexican meals this week since they’re so different from the traditional Thanksgiving meal.
Dumplings sounded awesome, but then I thought how delicious they could be in a rich french onion broth. And that was that.
The details
Make the filling. It’s very simple but very good. Just some garlic mixed with ground chicken and spinach. I add a splash of soy sauce for saltiness, and a pinch of pepper for a little kick.
I also did a mushroom filling for anyone who prefers no chicken. It’s the same as above, just minus the chicken and plus sautéed mushrooms. Both are really delicious.
Assembling is easier than you’d think. I chose to make round dumplings because I find the assembly easier and I’m able to make them prettier too. You can also fold the dough into half-moons. Either way, it’s an easy process. Simply spoon the filling into the center of your dumpling wrapper. Then lift the edges of the dough up and over the filling, pinching at the top to seal. Don’t stress about making these look perfect. Each little dumpling is unique and cute in its own way!
Brush the bottom of each dumping with water and coat in sesame seeds. I don’t believe this is traditional, but those crispy sesame seeds on the bottom are delicious.
Now the broth
The key to this is to caramelize the onions with a touch of wine just like I do in my french onion soup. They add so much flavor and make the broth feel rich and indulgent. When the onions have caramelized, add the broth, a splash of soy sauce, and then a bay leaf and star anise. The soy sauce, bay leaf, and star anise really create a flavorful broth and help to tie in the Asian flavors too.
Let the broth simmer while you cook the dumplings. I like to pan-fry the dumplings. Then add water to steam and finish cooking. It can be a little messy of a process, but it’s pretty easy. Once the water evaporates, I like to leave the dumplings on the pan another minute to allow the bottoms to get crispy again.
When pan-frying/steaming, it’s important to note that the pan will splatter when you add the water. So please be careful and stand back when doing so.
Serve them up
To serve, I like to arrange the dumplings in low bowls. Then spoon the steaming broth overtop and top with fresh green onions for a nice pop of color and flavor.
SO DELICIOUS. Even my dad, who doesn’t love onions, loved this dinner. These were his words, “Damn, these mushroom potstickers are amazing!!”.
Yeah, he called them potstickers, that’s ok, just so he loved them!
Our nights are so much longer these days, so sometimes I find it nice to be able to spend a little extra time in the kitchen making dinner. These are especially fun to make with others, so grab a few friends, your husband, kids, whoever. Then make this into a fun night.
Trust me, everyone is going to love this recipe. It’s surprising but in a good way!
Looking for other weeknight dinners? Here are my favorites:
Ginger Sesame Chicken Potstickers
Crispy Cauliflower Tinga Tacos with Honey Lime Avocado Crema
Lastly, if you make these French Onion Dumplings, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
French Onion Dumplings
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 2038 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Chicken Filling
- 1 pound ground chicken or pork
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- 2 cups roughly chopped spinach
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- black pepper
- 24-26 round dumpling or wonton wrappers
- 1/4 cup raw sesame seeds
Broth
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- chili flakes
- 2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 star anise (optional)
- sesame or olive oil, for cooking
- sliced green onions, for serving
Instructions
- 1. In a medium bowl, combine the raw chicken, spinach, garlic, soy sauce, and a pinch of black pepper.2. To assemble, spoon 1 tablespoon of filling onto each wrapper. Brush water around the edges of the wrapper. Fold the edges of the wrapper up and around the filling and pinch in the center to seal. Repeat with the remaining wrappers. Place the sesame seeds in a shallow bowl. Brush the bottoms of the dumplings with water and then dredge them in the sesame seeds. *vegetarian mushroom filling in the notes.3. To make the broth. Melt together 2 tablespoons butter and the onions in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 10 minutes. At this point, you'll want to slowly add the wine, 1/4 cup at a time, until the wine cooks into the onions. Continue to cook another 10 minutes until you've used all wine and the onions are deeply caramelized. Add 1 tablespoon butter, and season with chili flakes and pepper. Add the broth, soy sauce, bay leaf, and star anise. Simmer over low heat, 10 minutes. 4. Meanwhile, heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add the dumplings and cook until the bottoms are golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Carefully pour 1/4 cup of water into the skillet, it will splatter, so stand back. Immediately cover with a tight-fitting lid. Turn the heat to medium-low and let the dumplings steam for 5-6 minutes. Remove the dumplings from the skillet to a plate.5. Arrange the dumplings in shallow bowls. Ladle the steaming broth and onions over top. Top with green onions. Enjoy!
Notes
Mushroom Filling: 1. Heat 2 tablespoons sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 chopped shallots and cook until fragrant, 2 minutes. Add 3 cups finely chopped mushrooms and 2 cloves chopped garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally until the mushrooms have cooked down, about 5 minutes. Add 2 cloves chopped garlic, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and a large pinch of pepper. Stir in 2 cups chopped spinach. Cook another 2-3 minutes, until the mushrooms are caramelized. Remove from the heat and let cool.
Okay this was SO good. It’s all pretty fast minus the assembling of the dumplings, but that’s the fun part of you’re socializing with family 🙂 I would say my only critique is that there was only enough broth for two bowls of soup. Which is disappointing because the broth is SO good. Alas, I will have dumplings for the whole week 🙂 not mad!
Hey there,
Thank you so very much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays!??
I used ground turkey and added the mushrooms in the filling as well. Absolutely delicious. This was added to our “recipes to make for guests” list.
Just also wanted to say your blog is our go-to for when we want something delicious, different, and that we can trust will taste great even on the first try. Always the same level of top-notch recipes! Thank you for what you do, Tieghan. You directly impact my and so many people’s homes to bring us together around great food.
Hey Barbara,
Thank you so very much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Thanks so much for your kind message. Happy Holidays!??
Although this definitely took longer than anticipated it was unique and delicious. I combined the chicken and mushroom filling into one dumpling and loved how well it paired with the Broth. Was a nice flavorful twist on French onion
Hi Sara,
Thank you so very much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays!??
These look amazing! I’m concerned the chicken wouldn’t cook through in the case I put too much filling in. Would it be possible to cook the filling a bit before putting them in the wontons? …Or would it be better to just steam them for a little longer or let them soak in the broth instead? Thanks and Happy Holidays!
Hi Andrea,
I would just let them steam a little longer:) Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Apparently my first attempt to post ended up as a response to someone else’s comment…sorry to that person!
I don’t have a lot of time this weekend but would like to try this. To save time could I use store made dumplings?
Hey Kevin,
Yes, that will work well for you! Please let me know how it turns out, I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
I tried making dumplings a long while back using wonton wrappers I got from the store; I think I got small ones, that’s all they had. It ended very badly for me. I really wanted to make this and despite my massive kitchen melt-down the last time I tried making dumplings, decided to try again. This time I made my own dough which was surprisingly easy to make and roll out. I followed this recipe and oh my god it was so good and now I need to make dumplings forever! We are in love with your crockpot french onion soup recipe – I mean in love, we make it all the time, so this just pulled together our favourite thing and dumplings. It was heaven! SO GOOD! And no meltdowns! I singularly credit you with no more total kitchen meltdowns episodes.
Hey Tracy,
Happy Friday! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed. Thanks so much for making it and happy holidays!❄️ xTieghan
Im hoping to make this tonight but as far as the spinach goes do you use like the frozen spinach or fresh?
Hey there,
For this recipe I would use fresh spinach. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Awesome thank you. I’m making it tonight. I got fresh and frozen just in case. Can’t wait to make it. Will definitely update after I make it.
Hello! I made this tonight for dinner and it was so good! Would have loved to try the mushroom version but decided to treat my husband with the chicken version. Based off other comments I doubled the broth (it was SO good) and I had the same problem as someone else with only finding the super small wrappers available but just made more with less stuffing. This was such a treat thank you for the awesome recipe!
Hi Adrienne,
Wonderful! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
This may have been the best recipe that I’ve ever made!! It was delicious and well worth the time and effort. I’m making it again for my book club Christmas party on Tuesday. Do you think it would be ok if I made the dumplings tomorrow night, put them in the fridge and then steamed them on Tuesday?
Hey Suzie,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe out, I am thrilled to hear that it was enjoyed. Yes, that would work well for you! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Just made the mushroom version and omg it was soooo good! Like the other commenter said, this is actually a lot more prep-intensive than one may think. In total, it took me about 3 hours to complete this dish. As an FYI, most grocery stores do not have the larger dumpling wrappers. I went to Whole Foods and found some vegan wonton wraps that were fairly small and square shaped. They still worked! But I wish I had just gone to an Asian foods store and picked up some bigger ones. All in all, I rate this recipe 10/10. Keep killing it tieghan!
Hey Olivia,
Happy Sunday! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! xTieghan
Made this last nite for just me and my wife — she went over the moon! Loved it!
A few notes: I strictly followed the recipe. Next time I’m gonna use low-salt soy sauce instead of tamari, as the tamari is *really* rich. Also, I used my last lonely star anise but pulled it halfway through cooking as it was starting to overwhelm the flavors. Be careful with it.
I don’t like cooking from scratch at dinner time, so I did this “mise en place” style — made the dumplings in the morning, put 12 in fridge for us, froze the rest. Made the broth, too, figuring I could reheat it while I fried/steamed the dumplings. Worked perfectly.
One last note, with a smile: I’m sure an experienced chef or home-kitchen pro might be able to make this dish in an hour, but if you’re just a common old stove hack like me (who does take an occasional break to rest and sip a little red wine), leave *way* more time for the prep and cooking. But it was *great*, gonna make it again soon, thanx much!
Hey Dave,
Awesome!! I am so glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you. Have the best weekend! xTieghan
Amazing.
Hey Nicole,
Awesome!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Tieghan Tieghan, you’ve done it again! What a wonderful soup this was. For a broth that cooked for such a short time it was unbelievable how much flavor was packed in. The wontons were excellent, so perfect with the soup. I love french onion and love how this one had a nice Asian twist on it. FANTASTIC! Keep ’em comin!
Hey Samantha,
I love to hear that this recipe worked out for you, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! xTieghan
My wife and I spent three years in Japan. When I saw these on your Instagram, I knew we had to make them! First two ever tonight and wow were they good! We made it all from scratch; from the dumplings to the stock! Absolutely delicious! Will definitely be making again!
Hey James,
Awesome!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
I caught my kitchen on fire making the dumplings. That’s how good they are ?
Hi Hannah!
Oh no!! What happened? Thanks for trying the recipe! xTieghan
My family and I loved this recipe! I love French Onion soup and the soy sauce with dumplings added a fun, tasty twist. We added our favorite garlic chili sauce to taste for added heat and flavor. Will definitely make this again.
Thank you for another great dinner!
Hey Kristen,
Fantastic! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad it was enjoyed!❄️ xTieghan