Habanero spiced creamy fire-roasted tomatoes and sweet potato broth with chunks of shredded tender chicken and carrots with fluffy dumplings with a hint of rosemary.
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Tradition with a Twist
Pamper yourself with this nostalgic warmth of a vintage recipe with a Caribbean twist of Haitian spicy flavors. With this creamy, spicy sweet potato chicken and dumplings soup—a comforting and complete meal that captures the essence of classic one-pot wonders.
This creamy chicken soup is a culinary masterpiece, boasting a rich and flavorful broth that perfectly balances the sweetness of sweet potatoes with a hint of spice. The star of this dish is the airy dumplings, made from scratch to perfection—light, fluffy, and homemade.
So Fluffy!
These yummy dumplings add a satisfying texture to the soup, making every spoonful a delightful experience. Embrace the convenience of a one-pot meal that satisfies your cravings and brings you to a slow, simpler, heartwarming time.
This creamy, spicy sweet potato chicken and dumplings soup is a celebration of comfort food at its finest, promising to fill your home with the irresistible aroma of tradition and new memories.
Here are some other soup recipes to warm your heart:
- Spicy Red Bean Stew with Dumplings and Smoked Turkey
- Pumpkin Gnocchi Chicken Soup
- Easy Aleppo Pepper Spiced Dill Lentil Chicken Soup
- Curry Chicken Gnocchi Soup with Spinach and Mushrooms
- Chicken Meatballs and Israeli Couscous Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
To prepare the dumpling recipe, begin by searing the salt and pepper seasoned chicken breast in a medium Dutch pot until golden brown. Then, add the bay leaves, sweet potatoes, and chicken broth.
Make the Soup
Once the chicken is cooked, remove it with the bay leaves and let it rest to shred. Next, blend the savory broth when the sweet potatoes are tender. Then, saute the celery, green bell pepper, onion, and garlic in olive oil.
Next, add the fire-roasted crushed tomatoes and adobo seasoning to build flavor. Make the soup by adding carrots, sweet potato broth, chicken, habanero, lime juice, and parsley. When the soup simmers, make the dumplings.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Make Dumplings
To make the dumplings, combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and rosemary. Drop the batter into the soup with a scooper, creating airy morsels that soak up the rich broth.
When the dumplings have doubled in size and are cooked, remove the soup from the stove and serve. The result is a comforting one-pot meal, marrying the creaminess of the chicken soup with the sweetness of sweet potatoes with habanero heat and the satisfying fluffiness of homemade dumplings, offering a nostalgic and flavorful dining experience.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Follow along with my step-by-step picture tutorial for the chicken and dumplings recipe. Visualize the golden searing of chicken breast, the aromatic dance of sautéed vegetables, the simmering melody of sweet potatoes in a flavorful broth, and the artistry of crafting airy, homemade dumplings—all captured in vivid detail to guide you seamlessly through creating this comforting and complete one-pot masterpiece in a couple of minutes.
Brown the chicken to seal in the juices.
Add the uniform-cut sweet potato chunks, chicken broth, and bay leaves to create an earthy depth of flavor.
The Soup's Flavor Foundation
Remove the bay leaves and puree the broth. You can use either a stand-alone blender or an immersion hand blender.
After sweating down the aromatics of onion, celery, green bell pepper, and garlic, add the crushed fire-roasted tomatoes.
Add the carrots once the tomato base has created a rich red-brown color, creating the foundation of flavor.
Add the sweet potato broth and bring to a simmer.
During this time, you will shred the chicken.
Once the carrots are almost tender, add the shredded chicken, habanero pepper sauce, lime juice, and fresh chopped parsley. Add the chicken at this time, and ensure it doesn't overcook.
Make the Dumplings
While the soup is being brought to a simmer again, make the dumpling drop batter by combing the dry ingredients first. Combine the flour, baking powder, kosher salt, and rosemary. Mix well to ensure proper seasoning. Then, make a well in the center of the bowl to add the oil and slowly mix in the flour into the oil. Once the oil has been absorbed, slowly add the milk. Combine the ingredients just enough to be mixed. You do not want to over-mix the batter that will soon become fluffy due to baking powder.
Once the broth begins to simmer, use a small scoop or tablespoon scoop and drop the batter into the soup, ensuring space in between. The dumpling dough will double in size while cooking.
Covering the soup will allow the dumplings to steam and cook through in a gentle simmer. The soup will be ready when the inside of the dumplings looks like baked bread.
Busy Folks - Become a better home cook with cooking tips to help you cook more efficiently on Cook's Notebook tab. In addition, some related detailed steps can be found there.
Substitutions
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast - Try using chicken thighs. Or, for convenience, use cooked chicken. You can use leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken, or even shredded turkey. You will skip browning and cooking the chicken or turkey in the broth and just add it at the end when instructed to add the chicken back to the soup.
- Fresh Sweet Potatoes - You can use canned sweet potatoes; however, because these do have more liquid in them, keep an eye on the amount of chicken broth you blend along with it. I suggest you add little by little until it resembles the picture; it will be a loose broth. It thickens over time when cooking and reducing.
- Adobo Seasoning - Use what you may have at home from your pantry staples: a mixture of black pepper, cumin, chili powder, dried oregano, garlic powder, paprika powder, and onion powder.
- Habanero Pepper Sauce - Use scotch bonnet pepper sauce. Check out the following link below to try other pairings on the "Scoville Scale" page.
- Fresh Parsley - Try dried parsley; just use half of what is instructed to use in the recipe for the fresh parsley.
Change Heat Level - Modify the recipe's heat level to your liking and learn more about the Scoville Scale and Chili Pairings.
Variations
- Frozen Peas - Traditional chicken and dumplings are made with it; you can add it if you prefer.
Equipment
Dutch Oven - The only item needed for one-pot meals, like this chicken stew recipe. I used the Lodge 6-quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven with a Lid to develop this recipe. Or use any heavy bottom pot because this is a thick soup, and you do not want it to stick to the bottom. To prevent this, keep an eye on and occasionally stir.
Kitchen Must Haves - Find other tools I use here.
Storage
- Refrigerator - To store in the fridge, you can place the soup in a shallow 2-inch container to cool down quickly. Then, store it in an airtight container. As a result, the meal will last up to two days. Do not allow the dumplings to submerge into the soup when transferring.
- Freezer - Follow the refrigeration process mentioned above. Then, place it in the freezer in a labeled, airtight container. Be sure to remove the dumplings.
Air Tight Food Containers - I use Glass Food Storage Containers with a plastic clipping lid to store food. For example, I always suggest glass storage containers since you can microwave them and hold food without staining the container, and the glass keeps them at a more stable temperature, which keeps the food fresher longer.
Cooking tip
To boost the flavor profile of your creamy, spicy sweet potato chicken and dumplings soup, infuse the broth with depth using the bay leaves, ensuring a rich and robust earthy base for this comforting dish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but not exactly; using a pancake-biscuit mix can substitute store-bought dumplings to save time. Look for options in the breakfast section of your grocery store. Ensure they are suitable for soups, with no added flavors like "blueberry," etc., and follow the box instructions for cooking.
The key to light and fluffy dumplings is to avoid overmixing the dough, as mentioned in the recipe and the instructions. Mix the ingredients just until they come together, and handle the dough as little as possible. Additionally, drop spoonfuls of the dough into the simmering soup rather than rolling it into compact balls to maintain an airy texture.
Yes, chicken and dumplings soup can be made ahead of time for busy nights. However, storing the soup and dumplings separately is recommended for the best texture. Reheat the soup over medium heat, and add the dumplings just before serving to ensure they maintain their light and fluffy consistency.
Chicken Recipe
Looking for other chicken recipes like this? Try these:
- Creamy Chicken Corn Chowder with Dumplings | Dairy-Free
- Best Peach Piri Piri Chicken with Fonio Kale Salad
- Lemongrass Marinated Grilled Chicken Spring Rolls
- Spicy Greek Chicken Meatball Rice Bowl
One Pot Meal Recipe
Looking for other one-pot meal recipes like this? Try these:
- One-Pot Curry Meatball Soup with Ground Turkey and Kale
- How to Make Easy Bacon Potato Leek Chowder | Creamy Comfort
- Bold and Spicy Caribbean Beef Noodle Soup Recipe Twist
- Quick Chickpea and Egg Skillet: Easy Mediterranean Meal
Video
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📖 Recipe
Creamy Spicy Sweet Potato Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
Soup
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 2 small sweet potatoes peeled and large chunks
- 1- quart low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 rib of celery small chopped
- 1 green bell pepper small chopped
- 1 small onion small chopped
- 3 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 cup crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon adobo seasoning
- 1 medium carrot medium sliced
- ½ teaspoon habanero sauce
- 1 small lime juiced
- ½ bunch chopped parsley
Dumplings
- ¾ cup of all-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ tablespoon fresh thyme or rosemary
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup milk
Equipment
Instructions
- Save time in the kitchen: Read the instructions thoroughly, then gather and prep all your ingredients before cooking! Learn Prepping Tips.
- Prepare the Chicken: Season chicken with salt and pepper.
- Cook the Chicken: Heat oil in a Dutch Oven on medium-high heat and brown the chicken on both sides for 2 to 3 minutes each side.
- Prepare Soup Base: Add bay leaves, sweet potatoes, and chicken broth, cover, and increase the heat a little to bring it to a simmer, taking about 10 minutes.
- Prepare the Chicken: Remove the chicken when cooked, discard the bay leaves, and cover the pot. Let the chicken rest for at least five minutes before shredding.
- Prepare the Broth: When the sweet potatoes are tender, blend the sweet potato with the broth and set aside. Carefully remove it from the pot if using an immersion blender, and wipe it with a paper towel to cook the vegetables.
- Sweat the Vegetables: Heat olive oil in the pot and add the celery, green bell pepper, onion, and garlic; cover, and let them sweat for 3 minutes, or until onion is tender.
- Build the Soup Base: Add tomatoes and adobo seasoning and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Then, add the carrots and sweet potato broth, and bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes or until the carrots are tender.
- Finish the Soup: Add the chicken, habanero, lime juice, and parsley (save some parsley for garnish) and bring to a simmer again to add the dumplings. Make the dumplings while the broth simmers.
- Make the Dumplings: Mix the flour, baking powder, kosher salt, thyme, or rosemary. Make a well in the center and add oil and half of the milk. While mixing, slowly add the rest of the milk and mix just enough to combine the ingredients.
- Cook the Dumplings: Once the soup begins to simmer, using a small scoop or tablespoon, scoop the dumplings into the simmering broth, cover, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 15 minutes. Note: The dumplings will double in size.
- Plate Up: Bowl up the soup and garnish with parsley
Video
Notes
- When measuring flour, do not use the measuring cup to spoon; use a spoon to spoon it into the measuring cup.
- If you do not have a ¾ measuring cup or spoon, use three times of the ¼ measuring unit.
- Liquids and solids are measured differently. They have their own measuring cups.: For example, measure the chicken broth in a "Liquid" measuring cup that has a spout.
Nutrition
Food Safety
- Cook chicken to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C).
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food that previously touched raw meat to prevent foodborne illness from contaminated uncooked meats.
- Wash hands after touching raw meat to prevent cross-contamination.
- Don't leave food at room temperature for extended periods; this can breed bacteria.
- Never leave cooking food unattended to prevent burns and fires.
- Use oils with a high smoke point to avoid harmful compounds.
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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