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Creamy Potato Knoephla Soup

Small homemade knoephla dumplings, tender potatoes, and a softly creamy broth make a warming one-pot meal for a cold day.

Small dumplings and potato cubes sit in creamy peppered soup beside slices of rye bread.

This North Dakota-style soup builds a filling meal from simple pantry staples and a pot of gently simmered broth. Small, lightly mixed dumplings cook directly with potatoes, then milk and cream soften the broth without masking the pepper and dill.

Mix for a soft bite

The dumpling dough should look shaggy and soft as soon as the egg and milk meet the flour. Stir only until it holds together, since extra kneading develops toughness and makes the small pieces feel dense.

Let the potatoes lead

The potatoes enter the broth before the dumplings because they need a head start. Add the dough pieces when the cubes are nearly tender, so both finish together without the potatoes collapsing.

Two spoons portion small soft dumplings into a gently simmering potato broth. — Small cut dumplings are lowered into the gently simmering potato broth.

Check one dumpling

Floating is a useful first cue, but cutting one open is more dependable. A fully cooked dumpling has a tender, moist center without a raw flour streak; keep the simmer gentle while the rest finish.

Finish the broth gently

Milk and cream go in after the dumplings cook, and the pot should return only to steaming. A hard boil can make a dairy broth look rough, while restrained dill and black pepper keep the soup savory and simple.

A spoon lifts a tender dumpling and potato cube from creamy broth with light dill and pepper. — A spoonful shows tender small dumplings and potato cubes in creamy broth.

Make it a cold-weather meal

Serve the soup while its broth is hot and the dumplings are tender, with rye bread alongside for dipping. If the soup thickens as it sits, loosen the next serving with a splash of milk while warming it over low heat.

Creamy Potato Knoephla Soup

6 servings

60 minutes total

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 1/2 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
•
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk, divided (1/2 cup for dumplings and 2 cups for broth)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp kosher salt, divided
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried dill
• 1 loaf rye bread, for serving

Method

Prepare the vegetables
Peel the Yukon Gold potatoes and cut them into even 1/2-inch cubes so they soften at the same pace; finely dice the yellow onion and keep the vegetables separate.
Look for: The potato cubes are small and even, and the onion is finely diced rather than in large chunks.
Soften the onion
Melt the unsalted butter in a soup pot over medium-low heat, add the diced onion, and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent without letting it brown.
Look for: The onion is glossy and translucent, with no dark edges or browned bits.
Start the potato broth
Pour in 8 cups low-sodium chicken stock and add the potatoes. If using a fallback, replace the chicken stock with 8 cups low-sodium vegetable stock or 8 cups water; bring the pot just to a boil, then lower it to a gentle simmer.
Look for: The broth reaches a boil around the edges, then settles to steady small bubbles after the heat is lowered.
Mix the dumpling dough
In a mixing bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups flour, the baking powder, and 1/2 tsp of the kosher salt. Beat the egg with 1/2 cup whole milk, stir it into the flour just until a soft shaggy dough forms, and do not knead it smooth.
Look for: The dough holds together in soft clumps and still looks slightly rough, not elastic or heavily worked.
Rest dough and soften potatoes
Let the dough rest for 5 minutes while the potatoes simmer for about 12 minutes, stirring the broth once or twice. The potatoes should be nearly tender but still hold their shape before the dumplings go in.
Look for: A paring knife enters a potato cube with slight resistance; the cubes are not yet falling apart.
Cut and add the dumplings
Dip two teaspoons in the simmering broth, then use them to portion the soft dough into small pieces about 1/2 inch across. Release them into the soup in batches so the dumplings stay separate and tender.
Look for: Each piece is about the size of a small marble, and the dough pieces enter the broth separately rather than in one clump.
Cook dumplings through
Keep the soup at a gentle simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring carefully once or twice so dumplings do not catch on the bottom. Test one by cutting it open; it is done when it has puffed and the center is tender with no raw floury streak.
Look for: The dumplings puff and float, and a cut center is moist and tender rather than gummy or floury.
Make the broth creamy
Lower the heat and stir in 2 cups whole milk, the heavy cream, the remaining 1/2 tsp kosher salt, black pepper, and dried dill. Warm until steaming but do not boil; if you used water or vegetable stock, taste and adjust the salt before serving.
Look for: The broth is creamy and steaming with no rolling bubbles, and the dill is noticeable but restrained.
Serve with rye bread
Ladle the hot soup into bowls, distributing dumplings and potatoes evenly, and serve with slices of rye bread for dipping while the broth is still steaming.
Look for: Each bowl has both dumplings and potatoes, with rye bread alongside for dipping.