Tiktok soup dumpling lasagna is here to stay.

I LOVE dumplings. To me, they are the perfect food: juicy meat and a tiny bit of vegetables all wrapped up in a noodle-y dumpling wrapper. Dumplings are an instant hunger fixer. Mike and I always, always have a bag of frozen dumplings in the freezer. One of my all time favorite dumpling types is xiao long bao (aka Shanghai soup dumplings). If you’re into Shanghai food or even remotely into dumplings, you’ve probably heard about them.

Soup dumplings are notoriously finicky to make and most people just go out to dedicated XLB restaurants like Din Tai Fung or buy frozen ones to steam at home. Making soup dumplings from scratch is no joke: you need to make a rich gelatin stock, chop a bunch of aromatics, and make thin and pliable dumpling wrappers. All of that is before you even think about shaping the dumplings, which, is an art. I tried it…once. Let’s just leave it at that. Like most delicious things nowadays, there’s always a hack and although this recipe looks nothing like soup dumplings, I can honestly say it’s legit delicious.

What is dumpling lasagna?

Dumpling lasagna is exactly what it sounds like: an extra large dumpling, in lasagna form. Think: layers of thin noodle-y wonton wrappers layered with a savory gingery pork mix and tender cabbage. Instead of baking, this lasagna steams up into a tender, layered, spoonable dumpling. Douse your dumpling lasagna with chili crisp and a big splash of soy sauce and black vinegar and get ready for heaven.

Who invented dumpling lasagna?

I first saw it on TikTok via april_eatz. She wanted an easy-to-make dumpling, so instead of folding up individual dumplings, she layered a pork dumpling mixture with cabbage and wonton wrappers. It took off and it looks like dumpling lasagna is here to stay.

TikTok soup dumpling ingredients

ground pork – ground pork is the perfect dumpling filling. It’s flavorful and has just the right amount of fat content. You don’t want a super lean meat for dumpling filling because the fat is what makes everything juicy and tender.
wonton wrappers – super easy to find wonton wrappers are going to be our noodle layers. If you’ve never bought them before, just head to the area where they keep the tofu. They come in little square refrigerated packages. I LOVE wonton wrappers. They’re incredibly versatile: you can make wonton soup, spicy chili oil wonton, crisp salad topper strips and even classic mini lasagna cups.
vegetables and aromatics – finely chopped (or sliced, if you prefer) cabbage adds a bit of heft and sweet juiciness and fresh ginger and thinly sliced green onions add a nice aromatic bite.
seasoning – using a mix of soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, toasted sesame oil, salt, and white pepper are going to give this lasagna dumpling a super authentic, savory, deeply delicious flavor. If you don’t have Shaoxing wine, you can skip it, but if you’re a fan of Chinese food, Shaoxing wine is a great ingredient to keep in your pantry. It’s available online and in all Asian grocery stores. It’s hard to describe its flavor, but it’s nutty, sweet, earthy, and aromatic. When you get take out Chinese food and there’s a flavor that you can’t quite put your finger on, but love, it’s probably Shaoxing wine. You can read more about it here.
chicken stock – a splash of chicken stock gives the dumpling lasagna some liquid so they can steam up extra juicy.
toppings – chili crisp, soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar, toasted sesame seeds, sliced green onions, basically anything and everything that you like in your dumpling dipping sauce.

How to make TikTok soup dumplings

Prep – start off by prepping the dumpling filling mix: thinly slice or chop the cabbage, slice the green onions, and mince the ginger. Set up a steamer over medium high heat by adding 2 inches of water to a large, wide pot. Set a wire rack inside the pot and make sure you have a lid that fits over top.
Mix – add everything to a large bowl and mix in the ground pork, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, toasted sesame oil, salt and a bit of pepper.
Layer – grab 4 ramekins and alternate layers of wonton wrappers and the pork filling. before the last layer of wonton wrappers, add 3 tablespoons of chicken stock to each ramekin. Finish off with a layer of 2 wonton wrappers per ramekin.
Steam – bring the water to a boil and then turn the heat down to medium-high. Steam the dumping lasagnas for 20 mins or until cooked through.
Enjoy – carefully remove the ramekins from the steamer and let cool slightly. Enjoy the lasagna dumplings topped with chili crisp and desired toppings.

Big soup dumpling lasagna

Most of the dumpling lasagnas floating around out there are for individual sized dumplings in small ramekins or cocottes, but if you don’t have ramekins, you can make a giant dumpling lasagna. The only thing is, it’s a bit difficult to steam a large pan. If you can steam a large pan, I recommend it, but if you can’t, you can also bake your dumpling lasagna. For a big dumpling lasagna, layer all the ingredients in a casserole dish and top with 1 cup of chicken stock. Cover with foil and bake in a 350°F oven for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and check to see if the pork is cooked through. When cooked through, remove from the oven, top with dumpling sauce, chili crisp, and toasted sesame seeds. Scoop up and enjoy hot. Depending on the size of your casserole you may need to double up the ingredients.

That’s it! I hope you enjoy this, I love both lasagna and dumplings so I had fun making and eating these guys. We had a chill, rainy winter lunch over lasagna dumplings and they really warmed me up, inside and out. Mike liked them too!
xoxo steph