How to Make the Viral 2-Ingredient Trader Joe's Soup

“My go-to lazy meal,” or “what I cook when I don’t feel like cooking.” We’ve all heard them. We’ve all gotten excited to find something high-flavor and low-effort, only to learn that “one-pot wonder” actually means one pot plus 45 dishes used to prep ingredients, or “10 minute meal” doesn’t count the hour spent cleaning up afterwards. Where are the people that are actually as lazy as we are? They’re all at Trader Joe’s, snatching up dumplings and broth for the actually viral lazy day dinner that only calls for two ingredients from TJ’s.

Videos by Sporked

TJ’s 2-ingredient shortcut to soup

Trader Joe’s is great for ready-to-eat and frozen options, but in the case of this elevated take on soup dumplings, you can get way more flavor for very little more effort by combining two staples: Trader Joe’s frozen soup dumplings and chicken broth. Is it groundbreaking to add soup dumplings to broth, which is essentially pre-soup? No, but we’re not trying to be trailblazers here. We’re just hungry and impatient.

More on the dumplings

The dumplings are a freezer-friendly version of traditional Chinese xiao long bao (steamed dumplings containing soup and filling) and come stuffed with either chicken or pork and ginger, so they’re already packed with flavor, but Allrecipes writer Courtney Kassel has a take on the viral soup that swaps the soup dumplings for the also-available-at-Trader-Joe’s chicken cilantro mini wontons.

How to make the dish

The method of preparation is so simple that it feels almost silly breaking it down for you. First, add some frozen dumplings to a vessel. Bowl, pot, what have you. Be smart about it. No grill grates or fishnet stockings. Second, add enough broth to cover the dumplings. Third, heat it up. The hardest part about this is matching your vessel to your heating method. Don’t put the bowl on the stove or the pot in the microwave, and you kind of can’t mess it up past there.

Finishing touches

From here, you have your pick of toppings. Many season with soy sauce, chili crisp, scallions, sesame seeds—the world is your oyster. Speaking of, oyster sauce would also be fair game.

About the Author

Hebba Gouda is a freelance contributor to Sporked who will die on the hill that a hot dog is not a sandwich. She’s proud to spend weekends falling asleep at 9 p.m. listening to podcasts, always uses the Oxford comma, and has been described as “the only person who actually likes New Jersey.” She’d love to know how on earth she somehow always has dirty dishes, if donkeys hear better than horses, and how the heck you’re doing today? Hopefully swell - thanks for reading!