Best Frozen Soup Dumplings [Taste Test]

The best frozen soup dumplings (aka xiaolongbao) should have a tender dumpling skin, a meaty filling, and tons of rich broth. This type of steamed Chinese dumpling is phenomenal and we wanted to see if you can recreate restaurant-level deliciousness at home with store bought soup dumplings.

After searching everywhere from Asian grocery store chains to CVS, we found a handful of the best store bought soup dumplings you can buy. Prep your black vinegar and try not to burn your mouth. (And if you’re looking for other sorts of frozen dumplings, like potstickers and gyoza, we have you covered there, too.)

Best Seafood

While seafood-filled frozen soup dumplings weren’t our favorites in general, Synear makes the best version of them if you have your heart set on oceanic store bought soup dumplings. These have a nice, fatty taste from the pork in the filling and they aren’t nearly as fishy as many of the seafood-filled soup dumplings we tried in our taste test. The crab, however, still brings a pleasant amount of seafood flavor. Get your steamer baskets ready, though! These are the only frozen soup dumplings on our list that can’t be made in the microwave.

Credit: Merc / Instacart

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Budget

Trader Joe’s has absolutely no business making such good frozen soup dumplings. The skin is delicate, the filling is flavorful, and there’s tons of broth. Plus, these are microwaveable. The pork is a little richer and the chicken is a little lighter, but both are phenomenal. The best part is that they’re cheap. Stock up on them the next time you’re at TJ’s, because they truly are some of the best store bought soup dumplings.

Credit: Merc / Trader Joe’s

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Most Unique

These are really cool! I know it’s bizarre to describe food as “cool,” but that’s how I would describe these. They literally taste like pho in dumpling form. If you paired these with some raw white onion mixed with sriracha and hoisin, a squeeze of fresh lime, and some Thai basil, you’d have a really interesting and elevated version of pho that you could serve at a dinner party. But you can also just eat them with nothing at all for a perfectly delicious meal. No matter how you choose to consume them, these are some of the best store bought soup dumplings out there.

Credit: Merc / Instacart

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Bibigo is the king of dumplings. They already make some of our favorite regular dumplings and now they make the best frozen soup dumplings, too. The flavor and texture are 10/10. You get plenty of rich broth when you bite into these. Then, to sweeten the pot even more, these are microwaveable and come with their own dipping sauce! Not that you need another reason to buy these, but I found both the chicken and the pork versions at my local Dollar Tree for an extremely low price. Good job, Bibigo!

Credit: Merc / Ralphs / Freshly Brookshires

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Other Products We Tried: Good & Gather Pork Soup Dumplings, Yea Foods Soupy Pork Bun With Purple Sweet Potato, Mila Pork, Mila Pork and Shrimp, Synear Pork Soup Dumpling, Synear Pork & Shrimp Soup Dumpling, Synear Supreme Soup Dumpling, Yeah Foods Soupy Chicken Bun With Shrimp, Yea Foods Soupy Pork Bun

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