These vegan, pan-fried Bread Dumplings are a no-steam and no-boil alternative to my regular Bread Dumplings recipe. These were a result of my craving for bread dumplings and extreme laziness. My boyfriend and I absolutely loved how crispy on the outside and soft on the inside they turned out. He actually begged me to make them a couple of times already, and now, I haven’t gotten any excuses, because they are not hard to make, plus they take way less time than the regular bread dumplings.
So what are these bread dumplings? Main dish? Side dish?! They could be both! We had them with brussel sprouts, which was excellent but I like to imagine them as a part of a huge Thanksgiving feast! They would be perfect with a seitan roast, lentil loaf, mashed pumpkin, mashed potatoes, braised red cabbage, gravy, brussel sprouts,.. All the perfect fall goodness on one table!
Using Thanksgiving Leftovers
If you have stuffing leftovers from Thanksgiving you can make these Bread Dumplings as well! You’ll only need to add cassava flour, or any other dry binding agent like chickpea flour, and any spices or herbs you might want to add. Form patties and pan-fry them. Easy as that and so good! I’d love to hear what your signature Thanksgiving stuffing is like! Cranberries? Raisins? Parsley?
- 3 cups / 250g dried bread cubes or old white bread (cubed)
- 1 cup / 250ml water (or unsweetened rice milk)
- 2 red onions
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ground pepper
- 2 teaspoons cassava flour (or chickpea flour)
- olive oil for the pan
- In a large mixing bowl add the dried bread cubes / cubed white bread and pour over a cup of water. Give it a mix. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. The bread cubes should get softer.
- Meanwhile, peel the garlic and onions and chop it in a food processor.
- Heat a bit of olive oil in a pan and add the chopped onion, garlic and cumin seeds. Let it roast until it gets a nice golden color.
- Then transfer the onion-garlic-cumin-mixture to the bread cubes, add the salt, chopped parsley, pepper, cassava flour and mix well. Let it cool off for a couple of minutes.
- Form bread dumplings with your hands. (Add more water if it's not sticky enough, or more cassava flour if it's too sticky)
- Coat a large pan with olive oil and heat it up on medium to high heat. Pan-fry the bread dumplings for about 5 minutes on each side (they should be golden brown and crispy on the sides).
If you give these Pan-Fried Bread Dumplings a try I’d love to hear how they turned out for you! Leave a comment or post a picture on instagram, use the hashtag #elephantasticvegan and tag me via @elephantasticvegan to make sure I’ll see it ^.^ I love to see all your lovely creations! Thanks! <3
Woooooh! BREAD dumplings! That is the ultimate in comfort and good feelings!
comfort food indeed! I love fall for these meals :)
I’ve never had a bread dumpling, but they sound and look spectacular. The closest comparison I can think of that I am familiar with is like stuffing smushed into dumpling form haha. Which actually sounds incredible! And I just finally bought cassava flour, so it’s fun to see that you are using that stuff too :)
Actually, that’s exactly what these are – stuffing dumplings haahah! Historically, bread dumplings were a poor-man’s-food, made out of stale bread. But as in so many countries – the simplest and most inexpensive meals are often the best. And I think these go so well in a huge thanksgiving feast. This is actually the first recipe I used cassava flour. I was out of chickpea flour (which is my usual binding agent) and I was amazed at how great cassava did for binding. So excited to see what you come up with cassava flour! :)
Hi Bianca,
the dumplings look quite nice, but what I am more interested in: how did you make the brussel sprouts, they really look delicious? Cooked and fried afterwards? Or in the baking oven?
LG
Martina
Hi Martina, thank you so much! I always make the brussel sprouts in a large pan, add a bit of water and let them cook with the lid on (until they’re soft and the water is gone). Then I add olive oil and a splash of cooking soy sauce and let them pan-fry until they got a nice color. :)