No Water Chicken Wonton Soup
My No Water Chicken Wonton Soup is one of the richest, most delicious bowls of soup I've ever had. It is a labor of love, but most of the "work" is hands-off, which helps! If you're a wonton soup fan, this is going to be your new favorite.
No Water Chicken Soup with Wontons
I've been seeing this "no water" chicken soup thing taking over social media for a while now, and being a chicken soup fanatic, my interest was definitely peaked.
This recipe is fantastic because it actually becomes two different meals. We're starting off with this Chinese-inspired wonton soup, and later this week I'll be sharing a Chinese Steamed Chicken with Tingly Dipping Sauce, so stay tuned.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- This Recipe Is So Simple - Lots of aromatics and vegetables in the bottom of a big pot, topped with chicken, and cooked low and slow. Simple!
- Two Meals In One - You'll get the steamed chicken plus a hearty soup. You can eat them together if you'd like since wonton soup is more of a starter than a main, but that's up to you!
- Super Concentrated Flavor - Because you aren't using water to cook the chicken, all of the flavor is coming from the ingredients.
Recipe Shopping List
Wondering if you have to hit the store? Here's the list of items you'll need to make this recipe. For specific amounts, please refer to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Napa Cabbage - You'll need about 8-10 leaves from a big napa cabbage for this recipe. It gives the soup a lot of flavor and liquid.
- Ginger - Fresh ginger is best. Peel it and cut it into rounds before adding to the bottom of the pot.
- Carrots - I used shredded carrots and a few peeled whole carrots, but mostly just because that's what I had in the fridge. You can use all of either depending on what you have.
- Yellow Onion - If you don't have yellow onion, sweet onion or white onion also works.
- Celery - Keep the leaves for this one, and give the celery a rough chop.
- Chicken - Most recipes call for using a whole chicken. My Dutch Oven wasn't big enough after I added all of the vegetables, so I cut up a whole chicken into quarters, which worked well.
- Shiitake Mushrooms - Wash, trim, and add to the bottom of the pot. These are flavor bombs!
- Salt - I give the chicken a good salt before adding it to the pan. If you have some fancy flavored salts you can use those here, but plain kosher salt works just as well. Himalayan salt is what I used.
- Soy Sauce - I prefer a dark soy sauce, but light or low-sodium works too.
- Green Onions - Greens AND the whites are best here.
- Baby Spinach - This part is optional and typically not in traditional wonton soup, but I like it, so I used it. You do you.
- Ground Pork - Ground chicken can also work for the wontons, but pork is my preference.
- Garlic - I used freshly grated garlic in the wontons, but garlic paste (like Gourmet Garden) is also a great option.
- Mirin - Rice wine vinegar is a decent substitute if you don't have mirin.
- Wonton Wrappers - I picked up the square wonton wrappers, but round ones also work.
How To Make This Recipe
This is just the overview so you can see what you're actually getting into here. When you are cooking, you'll want to use the full recipe at the bottom of the page.
- Prep - Get all of your vegetables ready and layer them in the pot. Peel and quarter the onion, and cut the celery so it fits in the pot. Layer the smallest pieces on the bottom, and then finish with the Napa cabbage leaves. Add the chicken on top, salt, and cover with a sturdy lid. A big Dutch Oven works best for this recipe.
- Add Chicken - If your pot is big enough, you can add the chicken in whole. Mine wasn't, so I spatchcocked the chicken by removing the backbone with kitchen shears and then quartered it. Give it a generous coating of salt.
- Cover & Cook - Add the lid to the pot and put it over low heat and then...wait. This takes about 1 hour, but cook to temperature, not to time. You don't want to peek too often because you'll release steam (aka liquid), but also don't stray too far from the kitchen. The vegetables and chicken should start releasing enough liquids to ensure that nothing scorches, but if your stove runs hot you might consider using your oven instead. If you go that route, put it in at 300°-325°F.
- Make Wontons - While the soup is cooking, assemble your wontons. Mix together all the filling ingredients, add a teaspoon or so into the middle of the wrapper, brush a cornstarch slurry around the edges, and then bundle and squeeze. Set aside in the fridge while the soup finishes cooking.
- Check - Use a good thermometer to check the thickest part of the chicken. Breast should be pulled at 165°F, and thighs at 175°F. Dark meat is safe at 165°F, but it gets more tender at a higher temperature, so it's worth the wait. Your chicken pieces might finish at different times, so temp each piece and pull it out as it reaches temp.
- Separate - Once the chicken is done, remove to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm. Set it aside for another recipe, Steamed Chicken with Tingly Sauce, which I'll be sharing at a later date. Remove the vegetables from the pot and place them into a colander that's placed over a bowl. The vegetables will continue to release liquid for a bit so you want to make sure and capture that. Add it back into the pot from the bowl.
- Assemble Soup - Add the soy sauce, green onions, spinach, and wontons to the broth and bring to a simmer over medium to medium-low heat. Cook the wontons for 4 to 5 minutes, until cooked through. Taste the broth and add more soy sauce if it needs it.
- Enjoy - Enjoy hot, and add a spoon of sambal or sriracha if you're feeling a little spicy.
Recipe FAQ
No water chicken soup is a whole chicken cooked with high-moisture vegetables in a covered pot over low heat. The chicken and vegetables release their own juices, and those juices become the broth. It's based on a Chinese chicken essence soup that went viral on social media in early 2026.
Yes. Napa cabbage, onion, carrots, and celery are mostly water, and they give it up slowly as they cook. The chicken adds its own juices and fat. You end up with a pot of concentrated broth without adding a single cup of liquid.
Nothing is diluting the broth. Everything that goes into the pot stays in the pot, so the flavor is stronger than a soup that starts with a few quarts of water.
A heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid, like a Dutch oven, works best. The lid keeps the steam in so the vegetables keep releasing liquid. If your lid doesn't seal well, put a sheet of foil under it.
Yes. Cook it covered at 300 to 325°F. If your stove runs hot, the oven is the safer choice because it heats the pot from all sides, so the cabbage on the bottom is less likely to scorch. Start checking the chicken at the one hour mark and go by temperature, not time.
Make sure the heat is on low and the lid is on tight. Every time you lift the lid, steam escapes, so try to leave it alone. Cabbage that is cooked too fast will scorch before it releases its liquid.
I use a 4 pound chicken, but any size works. A smaller bird finishes sooner and a bigger one takes longer, so check with a thermometer. You can use bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces instead, but you'll get less broth than you would from a whole bird.
Green cabbage or bok choy will work. Napa has the most liquid and the sweetest flavor, so it makes the most broth.
Check the thickest part of each piece with a thermometer. Pull the breast at 165°F and the thighs at 175°F. Pieces may finish at different times, so take each one out as it reaches temperature. This is also a benefit of quartering the chicken before it goes in the pot. With a whole chicken, you have to wait until the dark meat is done before removing it.
I prefer to leave the fat in the broth because it adds so much flavor, but if you'd rather not, you can skim it with a spoon after you drain the vegetables. You can also chill the broth and lift the fat off the top once it hardens.
Store the soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. To freeze, freeze the broth on its own for up to 3 months. Leave the wontons out and make a fresh batch when you reheat.
I save mine for Steamed Chicken with Tingly Sauce, which I'll share soon. You can also shred it for fried rice or rice bowls.
Serving Suggestions
- Instant Pot Jasmine Rice: Spoon a scoop into your bowl to soak up the broth.
- Asian Chicken Salad: A crisp, cold side that balances the warm soup.
- Egg Rolls in a Bowl: All the egg roll flavor with no rolling, which keeps things easy.
- Kimchi Fried Rice: A spicy, hearty option if you want to turn the soup into a bigger meal.
More Chicken Soup Recipes
No Water Chicken Wonton Soup
This incredible no water chicken wonton soup will have everyone wanting another bowl! Plus, this makes two meals because you remove the chicken and can eat it with a spicy, tingly dipping sauce (coming soon!)
Ingredients
For the Broth
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- 3 slices peeled ginger
- 4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, washed and sliced
- 4 stalks celery, leaves included, cut to fit in the pot
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and quartered
- 2 whole carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
- 8 large napa cabbage leaves
- 1 whole chicken (4 pounds), giblets removed
- 2 teaspoons salt
For the Wontons
- 4 ounces ground pork
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 1 tablespoon sliced white part of green onions (from the 3 green onions below)
- ½ teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon mirin
- 16 wonton wrappers
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 2 teaspoons water
For the Soup Add-Ins
- 3 green onions, sliced, green part only (save the white part for the wontons)
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce, plus more to taste
- 1 handful baby spinach
- Sambal or sriracha, for serving (optional)
Instructions
Prep and Layer
- Get all of your vegetables ready. If your pot is big enough for a whole chicken, leave it whole. If not, remove the backbone with kitchen shears, spatchcock the chicken, and cut it into quarters. Layer the vegetables in a large Dutch oven, with the smallest pieces on the bottom and the napa cabbage leaves on top.
- Set the chicken on top of the cabbage and sprinkle the salt over it, coating it generously.
- Cover with a sturdy lid.
Cook
- Place the pot over low heat and let it cook for about 1 hour. Cook to temperature, not to time (see the next step). Try not to lift the lid too often, since that lets steam (and liquid) escape, but stay close by. The vegetables and chicken will release enough liquid to keep anything from scorching. If your stove runs hot, cook it in a 300 to 325°F oven instead.
Make the Wontons
- While the soup cooks, mix all of the filling ingredients in a bowl.
- Spoon about 1 teaspoon of filling into the center of a wrapper, brush the edges with the cornstarch slurry, then fold and squeeze to seal. Refrigerate the wontons until the soup is finished.
- Use a thermometer to check the thickest part of each piece. Pull the breast at 165°F and the thighs at 175°F. Pieces may finish at different times, so temp each one and remove it as it’s done.
- Move the finished chicken to a platter and cover it with foil to keep it warm. Set it aside for another recipe, my Steamed Chicken with Tingly Sauce, which I’ll share at a later date. You can also add it into the wonton soup if you want more protein in your soup.
- Lift the vegetables out of the pot and set them in a colander over a bowl so you catch the liquid they continue to release. Pour that liquid back into the pot.
Assemble
- Add the soy sauce, green onions, spinach, and wontons to the broth. Bring to a simmer over medium to medium-low heat and cook the wontons for 4 to 5 minutes, until cooked through. Taste the broth and add more soy sauce as needed.
Serve
- Serve hot, with a spoonful of sambal or sriracha if you like some heat.
Notes
- Dark meat is more tender at a higher temperature. Thighs are safe at 165°F, but the connective tissue breaks down more fully by 175°F, which gives you juicier, more tender meat.
- You can use whatever size chicken you can find. A smaller bird will finish sooner and a larger one will take longer, so go by the thermometer, not the clock.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 352Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 49mgSodium: 1696mgCarbohydrates: 46gFiber: 9gSugar: 10gProtein: 21g
Nutrition data provided here is only an estimate. If you are tracking these things for medical purposes please consult an outside, trusted source. Thanks!
