Easy Wonton Soup

This Easy Wonton Soup takes a shortcut with frozen dumplings but doesn’t take any shortcuts on flavor. The broth is packed with only a few ingredients – ginger, garlic, sesame and soy – but is SO flavorful. Earthy shiitake mushrooms and crisp green onions round it out!

For more easy soup recipes, check out this Easy Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Soup, this Minestrone with Chicken Meatballs, or this Creamy Corn & Sweet Potato Chicken Chili.

Annnnd I’m at it again. Another winter day, another soup. Will it ever end? 

I, like the rest of the world, can’t wait for winter to end, but with the end of winter, comes the end of soups. And that’s actually a very sad reality. Although if you’re like me, you can probably tolerate a piping bowl of soup even in sweltering heat, so I guess I really just want winter to end, regardless. 

Reasons I adore soup and why they keep popping up here

• One pot. Is there anything better than only having to dirty up one single pan??
• Minimal effort. Even the more complicated soups (hello French onion soup) require significantly less elbow grease. 
• They warm you from the inside out.
• Healthy-ish.

Today’s easy Wonton Soup checks all of those boxes. With about 25 minutes, and very minimal ingredients, you can whip up a soup, which at first glance, appears to look anything but simple. Isn’t that all you can ask for in a recipe? 

Here’s the secret: Store-bought dumplings. 

You heard me. I’m a cheater, and I have no shame. Of course if you have the time to whip up homemade dumplings on a weeknight, more power to you. I do not. So the next best thing is to pick up a package at Trader Joe’s and pretend like we made them ourselves. If you won’t tell, neither will I. 

With hints of ginger, garlic, and soy, this actually eats more like an Asian version of chicken noodle soup, which I love. (Similar flavor profile to this one we posted a while back.). It’s light and comforting, yet filling at the same time, which I also love.  

Here’s what’s happening:

• Garlic, onions, shiitake mushrooms, and ginger sweat until soft and fragrant in a generous amount of nutty sesame oil. 
• Chicken stock is poured on top, along with good quality soy sauce.
• Everything is brought to a simmer. 
• The potstickers, wontons, dumplings – whatever you want to call them – are added into the pot.
• Everything simmers again for a few minutes until the potstickers are cooked. 
• The rest of the sesame oil goes in along with sliced green onions and a good amount of black pepper.
• Soup is served.

Does it matter what kind of wontons or dumplings I use?

Absolutely not! Use whatever you prefer. We like pork dumplings, but veggie or chicken will work as well. I prefer the frozen kind at Trader Joe’s but whatever you can find at your local grocery store will work great. 

Can Easy Wonton Soup be made ahead of time? 

It can. Just keep in mind that the wontons can get really soft, which for me isn’t a bad thing, but might be for you. I had this for lunch a few days after, and still loved it. 

 

Tips and tricks for success and substitutions. 

• When sweating the onions, mushrooms, garlic and ginger, be sure to watch the heat. You don’t want it to get too hot, or you risk burning the garlic and ginger, which would ruin the flavor of the soup. 
• If you can find shiitake mushrooms, or they’re a little too expensive, you can swap out thinly sliced creminis or white mushrooms. 
• You can swap out Tamari for the soy sauce 
• Be sure to use UNSALTED or LOW SODIUM chicken broth. You want to be able to control how much salt goes into the soup!
• If you don’t want to waste a knob of fresh ginger, you can buy ginger in a tube (similar to tomato paste) to keep in the refrigerator. I find it in the spice isle at Trader Joe’s. 

What to serve with Easy Wonton Soup

• Chopped Spicy Chicken and Veggie Salad with Peanut Dressing 
• Roasted Shishito Peppers with Soy Glaze
• Roasted Shishito Peppers with Soy Glaze