Our Recipes
Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken Corn Rivel Soup
Serves: 10
Prep Time: in
Cook Time: in
There’s something truly comforting about a pot of homemade Chicken Corn Rivel Soup—especially when it comes from a Pennsylvania Dutch kitchen. Sophie Light, former Head Cook at Esther’s Diner and now owner of Farmer’s Wife Diner in Ono, PA, shares her time-honored recipe that’s been passed down through generations. Made with tender, flavorful Bell & Evans Whole Chicken Legs, sweet corn, and hand-pinched rivels (tiny egg dumplings), this rustic soup is a taste of home and heritage. No measuring cups required—just instinct, tradition, and love.
Ingredients
Chicken Broth
- 6 Bell & Evans Whole Chicken Legs
- 1 Cup Chopped onion
- 1 Cup Chopped celery
- ¼ Cup Chicken Base. (one popular brand is Better Than Bouillon)
- 4 Cups Frozen corn
- 1 tsp Celery salt
- 1 tsp Onion salt
- 1 T Parsley flakes
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Rivels
- 3 Large Eggs
- 2 Cups Flour
Gluten Free Rivels
- 3 Large Eggs
- 2 Cups King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten Free flour
- 1-2 TB Cold water
Preparation
- Fill a 10 Qt pot with 5-6 quarts of water. Cook the 6 chicken legs until tender. Remove from broth. Strain the broth, then add the chopped celery, onion, frozen corn and chicken base. Cook 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the rivels. Beat the eggs, then gradually add the flour, working the flour into the eggs with your hands, making small chunks of dough.
- Slowly add the little chunks of dough to the broth, stirring frequently.
- Add cooked and shredded chicken, celery salt, onion salt and Parsley into soup. Cook the small balls of dough for about 5 minutes or until they start to float.
- Serve with chunky, warm bread.
Rate and Review
Customer Reviews:
Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken Corn Rivel Soup
16 Reviews
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Sounds great! What exactly is chicken base? Sorry..I much beginner in the kitchen. My mom was born:from PA-Dutch area in state of PA so would love to learn this dish.
Hi Dave! “Better than Boullion” is a popular brand of chicken base. It’s a very thick liquid that you scoop out with a spoon and dissolve to make stock. Bouillon does the same thing. It’s just usually a dry powder that comes in prepackaged cubes and is shelf stable because it’s dry.
How long do you cook the rivels in the broth for?
Hi Erin, You can simmer for about 5 minutes or until the small chunks of dough float to the top of the pot.
About 20 minutes a chicken base is broth. You can buy it in a box at the market. Good luck. It’s a wonderful soup. Delicious. Made it many times.
I didnt use bouillon. I cooked a whole chicken. I also used fresh corn
Are used to make chicken and dumplings it’s almost like that without the corn Pennsylvania Dutch style pot pie we also used to call it yummy
Well my Nana is gone now. I was 19 years old when I got married. I wanted to please my new husband. So NANA showed me recipes she had been making some 60 years. Even though they are a little different from this one they basically are the same. I did not have any corn so I added carrots.
I have made this soup in the past and it is absolutely delicious. This is the exact recipe I have and I thought I lost it. Make it on the snowy day. It is terrific. Your family will love it.
Mmmm, kumm esse!!!
Love chicken corn soup , growing up my mom would make it. Except we add hard boiled eggs into the broth. Wonderful 😊❤️
That is the only way I’ve ever had it with hard boiled eggs in with the soup.
My mom used to make potato soup with hard boiled eggs yummy
My family always adds hard-boiled eggs to the soup and I grew up in Lancaster Pennsylvania. My family also eats this soup and others with spoonfuls put onto saltines that have been smeared with a thin layer of Hellmann’s mayo. Don’t knock it until you try it. I do leave out rivels, but that’s a personal preference
I think there is an error in the amount of flour for the rivels. I did 3 eggs and 2 cups of flour and formed a stiff dough. I don’t know how you could use 4 cups of flour for 3 eggs.
Good call, Alison. We will update the recipe to 2 cups of flour, 3 eggs. The dough should be stiff, but form up once they are dropped into the broth. Did that happen for you?
Yes, I found the dough pretty thick with two cups of flour. The dough was a little sticky so it could take a bit more flour, but 4 cups is too much in my opinion. Coming back to this site to make it again. My girls loved this stew. I love Bell and Evans chicken! Please come to Big Y Supermarkets. 🙂
I did 2 cups flour and 3 eggs and my dough was still dry so I added a little bit of milk to moisten it up and it formed perfectly
Loved Sophie’s restaurants and soups. Miss them both!. Can’t wait to try this recipe, her soup always reminded my of my PA Dutch Grandma’s Chicken Corn Rivel Soup. Bell & Evans chicken is the best!
How are you going to cook 6 whole chicken legs in a half full 4-5 quart pot? That seems really small. Is that a typo?
Good point. We upped it to a 10 Qt pan filled with 5-6 quarts of water. Thanks for catching that. Let us know how it turns out.
There are so many recipes that aren’t truly home made. This recipe walks you through how to make the rivels. I’ve never made them before and these directions made it super easy!
Very good. Only recommendation would be to season the flour for the rivels. Not having them seasoned you taste flour. Other than that very good recipe
Made this as I was feeling the need for chicken soup on a chilly Wisconsin winter day. I’ll be honest, I didn’t include the corn and I did add chopped celery and carrots. This soup is delicious!
AMAZING! The recipe is spot on. As a gluten-free family, appreciate the rivels recipe.
We enjoy this soup throughout cooler weather. It makes me wanna talk dutch!
Love this! The “makes me wanna talk dutch” made us LOL
I recommend make sure the broth is very hot when you drop in the rivels. I’ve been making their soup for over 50 years and grew up on my mothers
My aunt passed away 2 years ago her and my mom were born and raised in Pennsylvania, this is something that my family’s been making for forever and I couldn’t find a good recipe for it until now because my aunt took it with her when she passed away. This one is the best one that comes close.
That’s awesome. Thanks for letting us know, Kasey!
The name is chicken, corn and riverl soup. I make this exact recipe. It’s made the same in Lancaster county. It’s not stew with carrots. Some use hard boiled eggs too. To each their own. It’s PA Dutch soup, not stew.
can I freeze the soup if it had eggs in it?
Yes!
I loved the soup. My rivels were a little tough. I have never done it before. I also added one can of cream of chicken soup as a thickener.
I will cook it again. Maybe I will try the chopped up boiled egg that so many versions of this recipe contain.
Add hard boiled eggs and we’ll know your from berks county♡