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Who doesn’t love Chicken and Dumplings? This is a gluten free remake of the soup my mom made every time anybody in our house got sick. It was my favorite thing about getting sick growing up!
The Secret Ingredient for the BEST Gluten Free Chicken and Dumplings
If you are familiar with our definition of clean eating, you know we are not gluten free at our house. But I know SO many people have dietary restrictions these days and I really wanted to make a healthy chicken and dumpling soup that as many people as possible could enjoy.
But let’s face it: it’s not always easy to make classic recipes be both gluten free and nutritious. Luckily I have recently stumbled on an ingredient that I truly believe will soon be a game changer in the world of gluten free cooking…
Cassava flour!
Cassava Flour is a Nutritious Gluten-Free Root Vegetable Flour
Cassava flour is my new BFF in the kitchen. From the luck I’ve had with my gluten and dairy free brownies and grain free tortilla recipe, cassava flour is like wonder bread. Except it’s clean. Cassava flour is also rich in antioxidant vitamin C and fiber.
Just like the popular gluten free tapioca flour, cassava flour is made from the same starchy vegetable called cassava root (also known as yuca root).
However, unlike tapioca flour, cassava is an unrefined flour. Tapioca flour is made from the bleached and extracted starch of the cassava root. In comparison, cassava flour is made from the “whole” cassava root, making it a “whole food” flour. If you have our Clean Cuisine book, you know it is far better from a nutrition standpoint to eat the “whole” plant.
So far, in the recipes I have tried, including this one for Gluten Free Chicken and Dumplings, cassava flour cooks like a dream.
Learn More About the Health Benefits of Cassava Flour HERE.
Where to Buy Cassava Flour?
Cassava flour is easy to find these days at just about any natural foods store. And of course you can always buy it at online grocery stores and Amazon too.
What Can Be Substituted for Cassava Flour?
If you are NOT gluten free, you can substitute sprouted spelt flour for the cassava flour. You could also substitute white whole wheat flour.
Lemon Makes It Even Better!
Mom always added the lemon to her Chicken and Dumpling soup because she figured the vitamin C would help us get better sooner. Not only does the lemon give an antioxidant and nutrition boost, but it really does wonders for brightening the overall flavor of the soup.
I worked with my mom closely on revamping this recipe and the clean version has been a BIG hit with everyone in our family. I hope your family loves it as much as we do.
For those of you with food allergies and food sensitivities, it’s helpful to know this recipe meets the following dietary restrictions:
Bean-Free / Gluten Free /Nut Free
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Ingredients
- ***FOR THE SOUP***
- -1 whole chicken, pasture-raised chicken
- -3/4 teaspoons medium grind Himalayan salt, divided, plus more for seasoning chicken
- – 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided, plus more for seasoning chicken
- – 1/4 cup lemon juice
- -1 bay leaf
- -2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- -1 large yellow onion finely chopped
- -6 large carrots, peeled and chopped
- -1 medium leek, thoroughly rinsed and chopped (see notes below)
- -3 ribs celery chopped
- -1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
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- ***FOR THE DUMPLINGS***
- -2 cups cassava flour (Note: Sprouted spelt flour can be used if you are NOT gluten free)
- -1/4 cup brown rice flour
- -2 teaspoons baking powder
- -3/4 teaspoon medium-grind Himalayan salt
- -2 organic, pasture-raised eggs, beaten
- -1 1/4 cups chicken broth (use broth from soup)
- -1 cup plus 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley, divided
Instructions
FOR THE SOUP:
- Pat the inside and outside of the chicken with paper towels and generously season chicken with salt and pepper. Put the whole chicken in a large pot and add 9 cups of water along with the lemon juice, bay leaf, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Bring liquid to a boil and then simmer with the lid on for about an hour, skimming off the foam and scum from the top of the water periodically.
- While the soup is simmering, heat the oil in a second large heavy pot over medium heat; add the onion, carrots, leek, celery and garlic. Sauté vegetables for 6 to 7 minutes, or until soft. Season with ¼ teaspoon salt and remaining ¼ teaspoon pepper.
- After the chicken has been cooking for an hour, set the chicken aside to cool. Add the broth from the chicken to the pot with the vegetables. Stir in the turmeric and simmer for 10 minutes.
- When the chicken has cooled enough to handle, peel the skin off and discard. Tear the meat off the bones (note: leave the meat on the legs, if desired) Add the chicken to the broth and adjust seasoning. Turn off the heat and cover chicken while preparing the dumplings below.
- Add the 1 cup of parsley after you add the dumplings and just before serving.
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FOR THE DUMPLINGS:
- To a medium sized mixing bowl, add the cassava flour, brown rice flour, baking powder and salt; mix ingredients together. Add in the beaten eggs, broth and 1 tablespoon parsley and mix well (note: the dumpling mixture will be thick and sticky).
- Spoon out approximately 2 heaping tablespoons of the dumpling mixture, lightly form into balls with clean hands and drop dumplings into soup broth.
- Cover soup and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the remaining 1 cup of parsley and serve warm.
Notes
How to Clean and Prep Leeks:
- Place leek on a cutting board. Insert the tip of a sharp knife about a 1/4-inch below the lowest opening in the leek. Cut straight through, up to and through the green ends of the leek, leaving the pale part of the leek whole.
- Fan open the leek and place under cold running water. Rinse out any dirt or sand. If the leek is especially dirty, you may want to make another similar cut through the leek to further be able to fan the leek open.
- Cut off the dark green tops of the leek, reserving about 5 inches or so of the dark green. Note: Many chefs suggest discarding the green part of the leek, but we like the taste (it’s basically just a big onion green!) and we don’t like the idea of throwing out food unnecessarily. Plus the greens are great in soup.
Oh my gosh Ivy, this is so good! Perfect autumn dinner served with a chopped salad. I didn’t have cassava flour so used the sprouted spelt flour and it was delicious. When it was time to put away the leftovers the liquid had been mostly soaked up. So I added organic, low sodium chicken stock and that worked great. Thank you for remaking so many of the classic recipes!
Oh I am SO SO happy to know you liked it as much as we do! I have tried the spelt flour too and it worked great for us. Thank you for taking the time to let me know =)
I am willing to fall sick to test this great soup.
It looks so delicious.
Awww, thank you =) If you try it, please do let me know how you like it!
I can’t have eggs. Would some kind of egg replacer like flaxseed? Thank you.
Hi Bobbie, Yes, I think substituting “flax eggs” for the eggs would work very well for this recipe. I have not tried it myself for this particular recipe but I have been very happy with the results when trying it with many other recipes so I’m almost certain it will work for this one too! Please do let me know if you give it a try how it turns out.