Can you make dumplings in a microwave? Yes, you can cook dumplings in a microwave – and they’re great tasting too. Making microwave dumplings takes just 3 minutes and can work out better as they can truly be a last minute decision. Above is a photo of some microwave dumplings I made earlier today. Microwave cooking suet dumplings is quick, clean and easy…. and tasty!

I usually make dumplings with suet – but you can make dumplings without suet too, it doesn’t matter. Suet is simply the word for fat that comes from round the kidneys of an animal, so it’s still fat – and you can make dumplings with butter/margarine or oil. If you want to read more about dumplings without suet, you can read that here: Dumplings Without Suet.

• Pin It: Microwave Dumplings Recipe.

Dumplings in a Microwave?

Once you’ve got your dumplings made (simply 2 parts Self Raising flour to 1 part suet, by weight) they need to be placed into liquid and microwaved. I prefer to make sure the liquid’s hot. You can make your dumplings just by using boiling water (from the kettle), or you can mix up some stock. When I make slow cooker stews and casseroles I usually make extra liquid in there and simply keep that and use it to make my dumplings.

Method

1. Place the hot water or hot stock (you can microwave it for a minute to get it hot) into a deep/wide dish.
2. Place the dumplings into the liquid. At this point, to give my dumplings extra colour, I like to just turn them over so they’re coated in my stock.
3. Cover the dish and microwave for 3 minutes on high (my microwave is about 700-900 watts). 
4. Turn your dumplings over in the stock/gravy to give them colour all the way round.  SERVE!

I’ve found the 3 minutes is important as it’s important to cook out the taste of the flour. Microwave cooking suet dumplings is no different to cooking them in a saucepan of stew, it’s simply quicker.

And there you have it – instant dumplings!

Compared to making dumplings by placing them on top of a stew in a saucepan, microwave dumplings don’t grow as much (I find my saucepan dumplings double in size and will become super fluffy), so you can place the raw dumplings a little closer together in the dish.

Do Microwave Dumplings Taste Different?

Taste wise there’s very little difference at all – in fact, if you’re not a confident cook and your dumplings often don’t work out quite right on the stove top, then the microwave result will probably give you the best dumplings you’ve ever made.

The texture is the same when dumplings are cooked in a microwave too; the only difference I find, compared to the old fashioned method of boiling them in a saucepan on top of a stew, is that the dumplings won’t grow to 4x their original size, they’ll typically be just 1½-2x the size once cooked.

I probably make this recipe for microwave dumplings twice a week during the winter!  Sometimes as part of a meal and sometimes alone, as a snack or lazy meal 🙂

The photo above shows some of my microwave dumplings recipe, cooked in a simple gravy made from instant gravy granules and hot water.

What Microwave Setting?

I’ve always used a 700-800 watt microwave and been happy enough. I then bought a 900 watt microwave and I found the dumplings cooked quicker and, possibly, were a little more “fluffy”; I’m sure the higher wattage microwave helped with cooking dumplings…. only time will tell.