For the last couple years I’ve been working hard to come up with low-carb dumplings that, in my opinion, taste and have the mouth feel of the dumplings I made before I was low-carbing. All experiments have been mediocre, at best. Somewhere on the net a year or so ago, maybe herem maybe on Low Carb Friends forums (but not the gluc sticky thread I researched today), I wrote down by hand someone’s dumpling recipe made with glucomannan powder. I’d love to give credit to my inspiration on this, but I must admit on this one occasion (which is rare for me), I did indeed fail to write down the person who was my inspiration on this. If it's a member here, I hope you'll step forward so I can give credit to you on my website.

Glucomannan adds the elasticity and slight chewiness needed for dumplings and noodles. So I’ve really been experimenting a a great deal with gluc powder this past year. Whoever posted this basic recipe had no leavening in their version and I found them way too dense. Might experiment with the dough for possible noodle results, but just not light enough for dumplings IMO. So I added some baking powder and VOILA, a fairly light dumpling that will now be my go to recipe. As you can see in the pic above, they held together nicely during simmering (unlike most of my previous almond flour/coconut flour dumpling attempts that disintegrated in the broth), yet the gluc powder still gave off enough thickening from the surface to slightly thicken the broth! NICE!

These were the best low-carb dumplings I’ve had in three years, for sure! My husband gave these dumplings two thumbs up today! (he's pretty picky). He was astounded when I read him the low calorie/carb count for these. Guilt free dumplings at last!! YAAAAAAY!

The recipe posted elsewhere on my website for chicken and dumplings is good, don’t get me wrong. But you have to bake those rolls for the dumplings separately in that recipe. With this dumpling recipe, I can stir the ingredients together when my broth is ready and the dumplings are simmering immediately! Much easier! And I'm one in to EASY, FAST cooking.

These would also be good (made much smaller) for vegetable soups and I plan to try my hand at gnocchi with this dough as well. One might be able to make this dough into a VERY large German-style dumpling to have with Wiener Schnitzel, but I would have NO idea how long that would take to get done simmering in the broth. Should I ever try the mega-dumpling, I’ll post my results on my website. These are not suitable until the grains rung of the Atkins OWL ladder due to the oat fiber.

NOTE: I order glucomannan and oat fiber from Netrition.com as I have yet to find it in any brick and mortar store.

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 tsp. baking powder (not in original recipe)
1½ T. glucomannan powder (Konjac powder)
1½ T. oat fiber (NOT oat flour or oat bran, which are much higher in carbs)
1/8 tsp. salt
¼ c. +2 T. water
1 extra large or jumbo egg, beaten

VARIATION: Add 1-2 T. finely chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS: Beat the egg in a small bowl with a fork. Add the water and beat until well blended. On a paper plate or in another bowl, mix the dry ingredients well. Slowly sprinkle the dry ingredients into the wet, beating constantly as you incorporate the two. Using a rubber spatula, fold the mixture over and over itself until the glucomannan has thickened the mixture into a smooth batter and eventually a thick dough. Using a teaspoon, drop 1″ balls of the dough into boiling soup/chicken stock, cover. you want a medium simmer on the fire. From the time you cover the pot, set timer for exactly 10 minutes (less if you chose to make very small dumplings). I like to remove chicken, meat or large chunks of vegetables to a platter while the dumplings are cooking to prevent overcooking and to allow ample room for the dumplings to rise and swell up. DO NOT LIFT THE LID or disturb the pot during this 10 minutes. Voila. They’re done! I have not found I have to thicken the stock further but you can decide if YOU want to thicken yours or not.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 12 medium-large 1¼” dumplings (this diameter after cooking), each contains:

7.17 calories
.49 g fat
1.38 g carbs, 1.29 g fiber, .1 g NET CARBS
.61 g protein
55 mg sodium
6.5 mg potassium