This Viral Trader Joe’s Dumpling Bake turns affordable freezer staples into a cozy, crave-worthy dinner with minimal effort and maximum comfort. This is a saucy, savory recipe that’s exactly the kind of weeknight win busy households love!
Where are my fellow Trader Joe’s shoppers at? Whether you shop at Trader Joe’s or not, you’re gonna love this viral recipe!
It’s a one dish wonder full of plump dumplings bathed in a glossy, savory sauce. The tops stay lightly crisp and golden. And, you can make it as mild or as spicy as you want it to be!
This is the dinner that we love to make when everyone is hungry now. It’s super comforting and indulgent, restaurant quality, yet surprisingly easy and simple to make.
Table of Contents
What is the inspiration for this recipe?
While our family has been making similar Asian-inspired dinner recipes for decades, this particular dumpling bake first became popular on social media. Trader Joe’s fans used the store’s fan-favorite potstickers (either meat-filled or vegetarian) and the store’s popular bottled sauces for a shortcut dish.
All of these grocery store shortcuts help it feel fully homemade and still fit real life schedules and end-of-day exhaustion.
Why you’ll love this easy semi-homemade recipe!
If you’re tired and want a stress-free dinner, you’re gonna love this recipe!
- It uses freezer and pantry staples you can always keep on hand.
- Prep work takes just a few quick minutes and minimal mental energy.
- The oven does most of the work while you handle homework or emails — or just chill out with a glass of wine while it’s baking.
- This Asian-inspired dinner feels cozy and comforting without being heavy.
- You can scale this recipe easily for family dinners or casual entertaining, as well as cut it down for a quick solo meal.
Ingredient notes
While you can make this with ingredients you can find at most Trader Joe’s, you can easily substitute similar ingredients from any local grocery store.
- Trader Joe’s frozen dumplings or potstickers: Chicken, pork, or vegetable all work beautifully here.
- Trader Joe’s Soyaki Sauce: This bottled sauce creates depth of flavor with zero effort. You can easily substitute any brand of soy sauce, tamari sauce, or coconut aminos instead.
- Trader Joe’s organic coconut milk: Coconut milk softens and cooks the dumplings and adds richness. Use any brand of full-fat coconut milk instead if you prefer.
- Trader Joe’s crunchy chili onion: This jarred chili crunch has aromatic garlic, ginger, and heat to add warmth and fragrance. Use less if you want it to be less spicy, and more if you love a spicy meal. You can use any other brand of chili crunch here.
- Toppings: Scallions, white or black sesame seeds, or chopped peanuts add texture and personality.
Step-by-step instructions
Here are just a few step-by-step photos so you can see how easy this is to make!
You’ll find the full list of ingredients along with measurements, and more detailed instructions in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Start by preheating the oven to 400°F.
- Mix together the coconut milk and soyaki sauce until combined.
- Add the dumplings to a 9″ x 13″ baking dish in a single layer. Then pour the sauce over the dumplings.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake at 400°F for 30-40 minutes.
- Uncover and sprinkle with green onions, sesame seeds, chopped peanuts, and/or spoon the chili crunch over the tops.
Marlynn’s Tip
Recipe Tip
If you want a mild sauce, you can omit the chili crunch completely.
Recipe FAQs
Any frozen dumplings or potstickers will work as long as they are not pre-cooked in sauce.
No. Bake them straight from frozen for the best texture.
Only if you want it to be! Heat is easy to add with more chili crisp or chili oil. You can also make this mild by leaving out the chili crisp or chili oil completely.
You can assemble it about 2 hours ahead of time, then cover and refrigerate. Bake when ready. Don’t assemble it too far in advance, though, as the dumplings will soak up too much of the sauce before baking.
A shallow ceramic or glass baking dish helps the dumplings cook evenly and brown nicely.
Store leftover dumplings in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.
Serving suggestions
Serve this dumpling bake straight from the dish with extra scallions, chopped peanuts, sesame seeds, and drizzled chili crisp on top.
To complete the meal, pair it with Instant Pot basmati rice to soak up the sauce and our Asian Carrot Cucumber Salad or Cucumber Dill Salad for freshness.
🍷 🥂 Wine pairings
This viral Trader Joe’s dumpling bake pairs best with white wine. Try:
Off-dry Riesling: The gentle sweetness balances salty, savory flavors and handles a touch of heat with ease.
Unoaked Chardonnay: Clean and softly textured, it mirrors the creamy sauce without overpowering the dumplings.
More Asian-inspired recipes
Filipino Recipes
Adobo Mushrooms
Side Dishes
Air Fryer Cabbage
All Recipes
Turkey Teriyaki Meatballs
Asian Recipes
Curry Chicken Fried Rice
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you really loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!
Viral Trader Joe’s Dumpling Bake
Equipment
- 1 9" x 13" baking dish
Ingredients
- ½ cup Soyaki sauce
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 package dumplings, about 23 dumplings. Trader Joe's chicken or vegetarian gyoza dumplings work well.
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- ½ cup roughly chopped peanuts
- 1 Tablespoon chili crisp
- 1 teaspoon black sesame seeds or white sesame seeds (optional, for garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the soyaki sauce and coconut milk.
- Pour sauce mixture into a 9" x 13" baking dish.
- Place dumplings on top of the sauce. Stir around to coat dumplings in the sauce. Make sure they are in a single layer before baking.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 400°F for 30-40 minutes.
- Uncover and stir dumplings to coat again with the sauce or use a spoon to pour sauce over the tops of the dumplings.
- Top with green onions, peanuts, chili crisp, and, if using, sprinkle black or white sesame seeds.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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