How Many Calories Are in Chicken Dumplings? A Detailed Look

Chicken dumplings are a delicious comfort food that can be a hearty addition to soups, stews, and casseroles. But with their doughy texture and savory flavor, you may wonder just how many calories are packed into these little pillows of goodness.

A Brief Overview of Chicken Dumplings

Chicken dumplings are made from a simple dough containing flour, salt, baking powder or baking soda, milk, and sometimes eggs. This dough is then cut into small pieces and dropped into boiling chicken broth, stew, or soup. The dumplings cook quickly, absorbing some of the surrounding broth and becoming light, fluffy, and tender. Classic chicken and dumplings combine the dumplings with chicken meat and broth to make a complete one-pot meal.

Different kinds of flour, like all-purpose self-rising or wheat flour, can be used to make chicken dumplings. The nutrition facts may be a little different depending on the exact ingredients used. But in general, chicken dumplings are thought to be high in calories because the flour makes them high in carbs.

Calorie Count in Chicken Dumplings

According to the nutrition database Nutritionix, a 100 gram serving of chicken dumplings contains:

• Calories: 330
• Total fat: 9 g
• Carbohydrates: 50 g
• Protein: 11 g

This means that chicken dumplings contain approximately 330 calories per 100 grams.

To put that into perspective, here is the calorie count for a typical serving size of chicken dumplings:

• 5-6 dumplings (140g) = 462 calories
• 10-12 dumplings (280g) = 924 calories

You can see that these little doughy puffs can give you a lot of calories, especially if you eat them with a big bowl of chicken and dumplings!

Nutrition Pros and Cons

While chicken dumplings are high in calories, they do provide some valuable nutrition:

Pros:

• Contain protein from the flour and chicken broth
• Provide some B vitamins like thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin
• Offer carbohydrates for energy

Cons:

• High in calories if consuming large portions
• Low in fiber, vitamins, and minerals
• Made with refined flour that lacks nutrients

Tips for Enjoying Chicken Dumplings in a Healthy Way

If you want something tasty, chicken dumplings aren’t the best choice. Here are some ways to limit the number of calories in your chicken dumplings:

• Stick to a small portion of 5-6 dumplings.
• Avoid frying the dumplings; stick to boiling or steaming.
• Choose whole wheat or vegetable-based dumpling recipes.
• Fill up on nutritious sides like vegetables, salad, or broth.
• Enjoy chicken dumplings only occasionally as a treat.

Even though chicken dumplings aren’t the healthiest food, they can still be part of a healthy diet if eaten in moderation. When you eat these cozy comfort bites, watch your portion sizes and remember how many calories you’re taking in for the day.