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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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
We made this for the first time New Year’s Eve. It’s incredible. We doubled the broth based on other comments and now I am having a delicious bowl of soup for New Year’s Day. I can’t wait to make this again.
Hey there,
Awesome! I love to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a go! Happy New Year!? xTieghan
This recipe slaps! My husband and I made this together for our New Years eve dinner and both loved it. Next time we will double the broth because the French onion part is so good! And the sesame seeds on the bottom of the dumplings are fire! My husband says he’s VERY excited about our dumpling future ?
Hey Kara,
Awesome! I love to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a go! Happy New Year!? xTieghan
I am in no way surprised that this recipe was phenomenal. Every HBH recipe is always a show stopper.
I made this last night for my family, and made a few changes to make it vegetarian and accommodate what I had on hand. I used vegan butter and vegetable broth (I added an extra cup of broth to mine) and did not have bay leaf or star anise. I also added ginger to my dumplings because I love ginger.
My whole family said this was probably the best meal I’ve ever made for them. My mom and boyfriend both loved it and we were all fighting over the last bowl that was left?
Delicious as usual for HBH
Hey Laurynn,
Wonderful! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a go! Happy New Year!? xTieghan
I made this tonight and it was amazing. I made the wonton wrappers from scratch and used the mushroom version. The French onion soup is so good. Honestly some of the best I’ve ever had.
Hey Beth,
Wonderful! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a go! Happy New Year!? xTieghan
Where can I find dumpling wrappers? Any ideas?
Hi Sarah,
If your local grocery store doesn’t carry them I would try ordering from Amazon or making them from scratch:) Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
These were absolutely delicious and easier than I thought they would be! Perfect cozy and satisfying meal for a cold-winter’s night! Oh, double the broth. I had twice as many wontons as I had broth, and the broth is delicious! Thank you for another amazing recipe!
Hi Allison,
Wonderful! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a go! Happy New Year!? xTieghan
For the mushroom filling, you add 2 cloves of garlic twice?
Hi there,
Nope, just once to the filling, so 2 cloves of chopped garlic. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
My partner loved this recipe and I thought it was ok. Would add ginger and cilantro to the wonton mix next time!
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try Lilly!
Just like everything that Teighan creates, this was AMAZING. One of my favourite HBH recipes out there and it has become a staple in our home.
One question: I pre-made a quadruple bath of the dumplings yesterday so that it’s an easy weekday meal in the future and froze them. Would you suggest steaming them from frozen and THEN frying them with the sesame bottom, or letting them thaw first? Thanks!
Hi Bailey,
Fantastic! Love hearing that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try. You can definitely steam from frozen:) xTieghan
This was amazing! My hubby loved it and asked that I make it again. I used chicken bone broth and tripled the broth recipe, but only doubled the bay leaf and anise star. I chose to make the mushroom filling and had closer to 4 cups mushrooms and was able to make 25 dumplings. They were fun to make. I tell you this soup was so delicious. We love onions and know the flavor they can deliver. We enjoyed this soo much! The dumplings are awesome, but like you said the broth makes the dumplings. Just a phenomenal recipe. Keep up the good work!
Hi Courtney,
Awesome!! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Happy Holidays!? xT
Made this with turkey and kale instead of chicken and spinach… it was still amazing! Best French onion soup and the dumplings are so delicious. Love your recipes and how flavorful they are!
Hi Jes,
Awesome!! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Happy Holidays!? xT
Can I get a dumpling dough recipe?
Hi Vicky,
2 1/2 cups flour + 3/4 cup water, stir, let sit 20 minutes
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Wow! This is so good! Somehow I ended up with so many dumplings so I froze half. We just made it for a second time tonight with the frozen dumplings and it was just as good as the first time. The broth is so delicious and when the dumplings are made ahead of time, it is a very easy meal! I use about 4 cups of chicken broth and a little extra soy sauce bc I like a little more. Thank you! Love all your recipes!
Hey Jen,
I really appreciate you giving the recipe a try, so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! Have a great week! xxT
Very good flavors! I used regular soy sauce though and it was a bit too salty – make sure to use low sodium! I also think you could use more chicken broth to make even more!
Hi Julie,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! Happy Holidays! xT
This was delicious! I ended up with way more dumplings than soup, so next time I would double the soup!
Hi Erin,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! Happy Holidays! xT
Followed this recipe as it was written, with one exception made additional broth based on previous reviews. It turned out perfectly! I cannot wait to make it again. I will probably add a bit of shredded Gruyère to the top.
Hi Mary,
Thank you so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Merry Christmas!?? xT
We made this tonight for Christmas Eve! We don’t eat meat so used seitan instead but otherwise it was exactly the same. The broth is SO GOOD. And it was really fun for my 4-year old to help with the wontons!
Hi Katherine,
Thank you so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Merry Christmas!?? xT