Chicken and Dumplings
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This easy recipe for Chicken and Dumplings is the ideal comfort food. A hearty recipe that uses roasted chicken, fluffy buttermilk and chive dumplings that’s both simple to make and shockingly easy to lose yourself in for a moment or two.
The Best Chicken And Dumplings Recipe
Chicken and Dumplings holds such a special spot in my heart. Every time I stand over the pot, watching those little dumplings bobbing at the surface, I feel as if I’m sitting in my moms kitchen once again. I would eat the soup quickly, leaving the dumplings for last to savour nice and slowly.
While my mom’s recipe was a little less traditional, a thinner more clear soup paired with semolina flour dumplings, the one I’ll be showing you today is far more traditional, closer to a stew than a soup. If you’re craving something savory, simple, and good for the soul consider curling up with a bowl your plans for the rest of the night.
Why You’ll Love This Chicken And Dumplings
- Simple Recipe! You only need one pot, a few basic ingredients, and 45 minutes to make this tasty recipe. Dumplings are easy! No dough making or kneading involved.
- Classic Comfort Food! With fluffy chive buttermilk dumplings sitting on top of a flavorful roasted chicken stew full of veggies, this dish is hearty and incredibly delicious.
- Family Favorite! This is a homestyle dish that the whole family will love. And you can make this dish in the pressure cooker or crock pot too, which makes it a fantastic weeknight meal option.
- Celery, carrot and onion – Otherwise known in cooking as mirepoix (there’s a fun little French word for you). Mirepoix is a base in so many recipes that allows for a good foundation for further depth of flavor. Stir regularly to ensure that there’s no browning or caramelizing going on, we want to soften and sweeten the mirepoix rather than cook or saute it.
- Chicken broth – I always opt for low sodium chicken broth, this way I can control how salty my food is.
- Thyme – Even if you’re not the biggest thyme fan, there are just some recipes that absolutely need it, and this is in one of them. I used dried for this dish.
- Shredded chicken – The more chicken the better, we want a rich stew like consistency at the end with roasted chicken in each bite. You’ll want to ensure the chicken is cooked before adding it.
- Frozen peas – Don’t worry mom, I’m including veggies.
- Flour – I’m using all purpose as a thickening agent for our soup.
- Salt and Pepper – Just to taste, keep in mind sodium levels when using store bought versus homemade broth.
- Flour – You’ll need all-purpose flour. Gluten flour can be substituted but may give your dumplings a more gritty texture that has a bit more difficulty binding.
- Baking powder – A leavening agent that will allow our dumplings to puff up in the soup.
- Chives – Added to the dumplings for flavor.
- Egg – Just one large, whole egg will do. We will need both the white and the yolk to bind our batter.
- Buttermilk – Buttermilk is more acidic than regular milk and as a result will react more readily with our baking powder. This makes the dumplings light and fluffy.
- Salt – All good batters need a little salt.
This comforting classic is pretty simple to make in just 45 minutes. Once you saute the vegetables and thicken the broth, the dumplings come together quickly. It’s a fantastic weeknight meal on a cold winter day.
To start the stew, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large Dutch oven or pot. Next, add the chopped onion, carrot, and celery and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes until the onion becomes soft and translucent. Then add the thyme and 4 cups of chicken broth to the pot.
Next, remove one ladle of the broth from the pot. Then whisk it together with the flour in a small bowl until it’s smooth.
Now, pour the mixture back into the pot with the veggies and broth while whisking constantly to ensure there are no lumps. This is how the dish becomes more of a creamy chicken stew versus a soup.
Finally, stir in the frozen peas and shredded chicken. Then season the stew with salt and pepper to your taste and simmer everything together for 5 minutes.
While the broth is simmering, you can make the dumpling batter! Add all the dumpling ingredients to a large bowl and then whisk them together. Yet, it’s very important not to overmix the batter or the dumplings will turn out dense. So once everything is combined you need to stop mixing. If you find the mixture is too dry, add a bit more buttermilk.
Now that the dumpling batter has been made and the stew has simmered for about 5 minutes, you can start making dumplings! To do this, drop spoonfuls of the batter into the thick broth. While doing this step, keep in mind that the dumplings double in size as they cook. Keep in mind the dumplings will more than double as they cook.
Once all the dumplings have been dropped, cover the pot and simmer everything for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the dumplings are fully cooked. Yet, while the dumplings are cooking it’s crucial that you don’t peek. They need the steam that’s created by covering the pot to become nice and fluffy. If you lift the lid you will let out all of that steam. But after 15 minutes of cooking, you can then lift the lid and use a toothpick to test if the dumplings are cooked through. The toothpick should come out clean and batter free.
Change It Up
This dish is simple comfort food at it’s core, so we want to keep the recipe list short. There are simple swaps you can make if you don’t have ingredients on hand.
- Parsley can be substituted for the chives in the dumplings and will still easily achieve that sharp fresh taste.
- If you’ve got leftover ham on hand instead of chicken that will easily make a savory, scrumptious soup too.
- If you want a sweet little burst of flavour, corn is a great addition either instead or alongside your peas.
Can I Make Chicken And Dumplings In A Pressure Or Slow Cooker?
Pressure cooker
If you’d like to take your new pressure cooker for a spin, I’ve got a delicious recipe for instant pot chicken and dumplings. Check it out and enjoy!
Slow cooker
You’ll want to combine the soup ingredients in your slow cooker, save the shredded chicken, and allow to cook on low for 1 hour. Add the chicken and your dumplings, leaving space between the dumplings to prevent them from sticking. Cover and cook for an additional 20 minutes.
Expert Tips
- Don’t overmix the batter. When making the dumpling batter it is important that you stop mixing once all the ingredients are fully combined. Overmixing will result in dense dumplings.
- Whisk the flour mixture. The broth and flour need to be whisked together and the mixture needs to be whisked into the broth in the pot. This is how you avoid lumps from forming as you turn the soup into more of a stew.
- Do not lift the lid. It’s imperative that you leave the lid in place for at least 15 minutes while the dumplings are cooking. They need the steam to cook properly.
Leftovers
Chicken and dumplings can be stored up to 3-4 days in the fridge in an airtight container. Keep in mind that the more times this recipe is reheated, the more the dumplings may fall apart.
Freezing is possible but again the dumplings may fall apart when thawed, so be gentle. Ensure the soup is completely cooled before storing in a shallow container.
More Delicious Chicken Recipes To Try
- Bang Bang Chicken
- Chipotle Popcorn Chicken
- Coconut Chicken
- Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Lasagna Soup
- Chicken and Corn Chowder
- Firecracker Chicken Meatballs
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Chicken and Dumplings
Video
Ingredients
For Dumplings
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg (beaten)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons chives (chopped)
- ½ cup buttermilk (use more if needed)
Chicken soup
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 1 large carrot (chopped)
- 1 stalk celery (chopped)
- ½ teaspoon thyme (dried)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ½ teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
- 2 cups roasted chicken (shredded (any part of the chicken will do, both white and dark meat would be great for flavor))
- ½ cup peas (frozen)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven add the olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion, carrot and celery to the pot and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes until the onion sweats and becomes translucent. Add thyme to the pot and the 4 cups of chicken broth.
- In a small bowl whisk the flour with a ladle of the broth from the pot then pour back into the pot and whisk making sure there are no lumps. Stir in the frozen peas and the shredded chicken. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes.
- While the broth is cooking, prepare the dumplings. In a bowl whisk together all the dumpling ingredients, making sure not to overmix, if you overmix the dumplings will turn out too dense.
- Drop dumpling batter using a spoon into the thick broth. Make sure you don’t take too much batter at once because the dumplings will double in size while they cook, so make them as big or small as you wish.
- Cover the pot and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked. Make sure you don’t peek while the dumplings are cooking, because they need to steam in order for them to cook and be nice and fluffy, lifting the lid will release the steam. After about 15 minutes use a toothpick to test if the dumplings are cooked through.
Equipment
Notes
- Check out how to make this soup in an Instant pot!!
- This recipe can be stored up to 3-4 days in the fridge in an airtight container. Keep in mind that the more times this recipe is reheated, the more the dumplings may fall apart. Freezing is possible but again the dumplings may fall apart when thawed, so be gentle. Ensure the soup is completely cooled before storing in a shallow container.
- Don’t overmix the batter. When making the dumpling batter it is important that you stop mixing once all the ingredients are fully combined. Overmixing will result in dense dumplings.
- Whisk the flour mixture. The broth and flour need to be whisked together and the mixture needs to be whisked into the broth in the pot. This is how you avoid lumps from forming as you turn the soup into more of a stew.
- Do not lift the lid. It’s imperative that you leave the lid in place for at least 15 minutes while the dumplings are cooking. They need the steam to cook properly.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
