Easy Pot Sticker Soup

That frozen bag of potstickers can do so much more than a simple microwave meal for lunch. In fact, potstickers make for a hearty and filling base for a brothy soup, turning your usual meal of potstickers and soy sauce into a culinary experience like no other. What’s even better is our version of a potsticker soup is made in a slow cooker, making it even easier to get dinner on the table during the week. So snag your favorite brand of frozen potstickers (chicken, pork, veggie, whatever you like!) because it’s time to make the coziest slow cooker soup of your dreams.

Ingredients for Potsticker Soup

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• Frozen chicken pot stickers: No need to make potstickers from scratch, the frozen ones will do perfectly! If you’re not into chicken feel free to grab any you prefer, like pork or vegetable.
• Chinese or napa cabbage: Cabbage is added to this soup to give it volume and added heartiness.
• Celery and carrots: Celery and carrots are thinly sliced and used for a mirepox to give this soup flavor.
• Green onions: Typical yellow onion is swapped out with green onion to give this soup an authentic flavor to go with the potstickers and added sauces and oils in this dish. Save extra sliced green onion to garnish on top of your bowl!
• Soy sauce: Soy sauce is added to the soup to give it an umami, salty flavor that pairs well with potstickers.
• Rice vinegar: Vinegar is added to the soup to provide acid, which pairs well with other flavors in this dish like soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger.
• Sesame oil: Sesame oil adds fat and flavor to this potsticker soup recipe that pairs well with the rice vinegar.
• Garlic cloves: Cloves are minced and added to the soup as an aromatic that pairs nicely with the mire pox and added sauce, oil, and vinegar.
• Ginger root: Fresh minced ginger root is recommended for this recipe, but you can also use ground ginger if that’s what you have on hand.
• Chicken broth: This recipe calls for reduced-sodium chicken broth, but if you prefer to make a vegetarian version (with vegetable potstickers) feel free to use a vegetable stock instead.
• Crispy chow mein noodles: Although optional, you can add crispy chow mein noodles to the top of your bowls to give this soup a special added crunch.

Directions

Step 1: Combine ingredients in the slow cooker

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Combine all the ingredients, except the frozen potstickers and the crispy chow mein noodles, in a 4-quart slow cooker. Stir everything together.

Step 2: Cook the soup

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Cover the slow cooker and set it to low. Cook the soup for five to six hours, or until the vegetables are tender.

Step 3: Add the potstickers and then serve

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Add the bag of frozen potstickers to the slow cooker. Switch the temperature to high and cook them until the potstickers are heated through, for about 15 to 20 minutes. Separate the soup into bowls and sprinkle with crispy chow mein noodles and any other toppings you desire.

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Recipe Variations

• Add a protein: Looking to make this soup a little more substantial? Mix in cooked chicken or pork to make it even more hearty.
• Make it vegetarian: This potsticker soup can easily be made vegetarian by swapping out the frozen chicken potstickers with a vegetable variety and using vegetable stock or soup instead. If you’re feeling ambitious, you could even make vegetable broth from scratch!
• Play with flavors: This potsticker soup recipe is incredibly versatile. Feel free to stir in extras that will give the flavor some oomph. Some of our favorites include kimchi, miso or even chili crisp for a kick of spice.
• Sprinkle on more toppings: Once this potsticker soup is ladled into bowls get creative with the toppings. Add sesame seeds, sliced green onion, an extra drizzle of sesame oil, fresh cracked black pepper and more chili crisp would be fun to add!

How to Store Potsticker Soup

Potsticker soup can last in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. Keep in mind that the longer the potstickers stay in the liquid, the softer the dumplings will become over time. This potsticker soup recipe is best consumed all at once, or at least in the first couple of days for the tastiest results.

Can you freeze potsticker soup?

If you cannot finish the soup in time, feel free to freeze it in airtight, ziplock plastic bags. You can portion bowls in smaller quart-sized bags, or ladle it all into one big bag to heat up in a slow cooker or pot another time. To defrost the soup, heat it up in a pot from frozen or let it thaw in the fridge overnight before consuming it the following day.

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What is the difference between a dumpling and a potsticker?

Although they seem similar, potstickers are made with a thin wrapper compared to a dumpling skin. Potstickers are easy to fry based on their shape (they have a flat bottom), so if you want to get creative and make your own chicken potstickers, fry them, then add them to your slow cooker. There’s truly nothing stopping you.

How long does potsticker soup take to make?

Our potsticker soup recipe is a simple dump-and-go slow-cooker recipe. It makes it easy to have a warm, delicious soup on the table by the time dinner rolls around. However, if you want a quick solution you can make the soup broth base over medium to medium-low heat in a pot on the stove for 20 to 30 minutes before adding the frozen dumplings. The longer the soup simmers (like in a slow cooker) the better chance those flavors will marinate together and create a tasty broth that pairs well with those potstickers.

What goes well with potsticker soup?

Potsticker soup is hearty enough to be a filling meal all on its own. A light side salad like an Asian cucumber salad would pair nicely with a potsticker soup if you’re looking to add more to your dinner.