Chicken and Dumplings
Warm, creamy, homemade Chicken and Dumplings is a savory soup topped with fluffy drop biscuits to soothe your very soul!
If you’ve never made a fluffy, drop-style Chicken and Dumplings recipe, you are in for SUCH a treat! This easy, hearty soup is loaded with tender chicken, herbs and veggies, cream, butter, and satisfying, mouthwatering bites of the best drop dumplings ever!
Chicken & Dumplings – Noodle-style or Drop Style?
When it comes to Chicken & Dumplings, there are two definitive teams: Those who prefer flat, rolled dumplings (like a fat, puffy egg noodle) and those who love doughy, biscuit-like Southern-style drop dumplings! Chances are, you’re on the team representing your Grandma’s Chicken and Dumpling recipe from childhood!!
But here’s the thing: the ingredients are the same! It’s all about shape and texture. Noodle-style dumplings are rolled out flat, sliced into strips, and dropped into the broth. Drop dumplings are scooped by little mounds onto the top of the soup and steamed under a closed lid. Both styles of dumplings are fantastic, though drop dumplings are – by far – the easiest!
Other Recipes to Serve with Chicken & Dumplings
- If you love Chicken & Dumplings, you’ll love this Double Crust Chicken Pot Pie which has almost all the same ingredients!
- And one good dumpling deserves another, right? So try these warm, sweet & tangy Apple Dumplings!
Ingredients
Chicken: Chicken stock and diced, boneless chicken breasts make this recipe easy! Boneless chicken thighs can also work. Feel free to make your own chicken and broth, but for a super-fast option, use store-bought broth and a rotisserie chicken!
Veggies: This hearty recipe calls for carrots, onion (I prefer a yellow onion for the best flavor), celery, and frozen green peas. Since the focus is on the dumplings, the veggies go down easily!
Herbs & Seasonings: This soup stock is loaded with tasty goodness from garlic, dried sage, dried thyme, salt, pepper, and fresh parsley—SO fragrant and flavorful!
Dairy: The soup stock uses butter and heavy cream, and the dumpling dough requires butter and milk.
Dough: All-purpose flour pulls double duty in this recipe. A-P flour thickens the soup and is also used with baking powder to make the dumplings.
How to Make Chicken and Drop Dumplings
STEP ONE: In a soup pot, bring the chicken stock to a simmer on the back burner. Leave it on low heat. In a large Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium-low heat. When melted, toss in the diced carrots, onion, and celery and sauté until fragrant. Next, add the flour and stir constantly for a couple of minutes.
STEP TWO: Slowly add the warm chicken stock to the Dutch oven, allowing the soup to return to a boil between each addition. Stir often until it thickens. Then, add the heavy cream, dried thyme, sage, salt, and pepper. Lower the heat and simmer.
STEP THREE: In a mixing bowl, make the dumplings by whisking together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the milk and melted butter and lightly mix until a dough forms. Set aside.
STEP FOUR: Place the diced chicken, frozen peas, and fresh parsley into the Dutch oven and stir into the soup.
STEP FIVE: Drop 2 tablespoons portions of the dumpling dough into the pot to cover the entire top of the soup. Cover the pot with the lid and cook. After 15 minutes, remove the lid and gently flip each dumpling (use a couple of spoons to keep them intact). Cover and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
STEP SIX: Serve immediately in a bowl garnished with chopped parsley, and be prepared to return for seconds!
Tips for Success
- The dumpling dough just needs a quick stir. If you overmix it, the dumplings will become dense and chewy instead of light and fluffy.
- A cookie scoop makes the perfect-sized dumplings!
- Sprigs of fresh rosemary are a unique and wonderful flavor addition to chicken & dumplings!
- Red onions don’t work for this recipe, but sweet, yellow, or white onions are all fine.
- Instead of heavy cream, you can substitute evaporated milk (NOT condensed milk!)
How Do You Make Rolled Dumplings?
To turn drop dumplings into flat, noodle-style dumplings, simply place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough to your desired thickness (remember: they will nearly double in size during cooking). Once flattened, cut into rectangles (or other fun shapes!), then drop into boiling broth one at a time. The broth must be boiling. PUSH the dumplings down into the broth – don’t stir. Wait for the broth to return to a rolling boil before adding more. Adding them slowly to the boiling broth ensures they don’t clump together but remain light, fluffy, and perfect!
What’s the Best Way to Store Chicken & Dumplings?
The best way to save leftover chicken and dumplings is to separate the dumplings from the chicken soup and place both components into airtight containers. They will be kept in the refrigerator for 4-5 days and in the freezer for up to 4 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge, then combine into a microwave-safe bowl (or bowls), placing the dumplings on top of the creamy soup. Microwave slowly at 45-second intervals until thoroughly warmed.
To make ahead: I like to make a large pot of chicken soup and freeze it in one-meal-sized containers. When I’m ready for a meal like chicken and dumplings, I simply warm the soup up in a pot, make the dumplings fresh, and dinner’s done!
Other Nourishing, Savory Soup Recipes!
- Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Bacon Jalapeno Potato Soup
- Bacon and Corn Chowder
- Cauliflower Bisque with Grilled Cheese Croutons
- Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
- Southwest Quinoa Soup
Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 3 medium carrots peeled and diced
- 1 large yellow onion peeled and diced
- 2 celery ribs diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ tablespoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried sage
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 4 cups cooked chicken breast diced (about 3 breasts)
- 1 cup frozen peas
- ¼ cups fresh parsley chopped
Dumplings
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 taespoon salt
- 1 cup milk (whole or 2%)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Add the chicken stock to a medium saucepan. Place over medium-low heat and bring to a simmer.
- While the stock warms, place a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat and add the butter. Once melted, add the carrots, onion, and celery to the pot. Saute for about 10 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and for 1 minute. Add the flour and stir constantly for 2 minutes.
- Slowly add the warm chicken stock to the pot, stir to combine, and bring back to a boil between each addition. Stir often until the soup base thickens. Stir in the heavy cream, salt, pepper, sage, and thyme. Lower the heat to a low simmer.
- Make the dumplings my whisking to gether the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Add the milk and melted butter and mix until a dough forms. Set aside.
- Add the diced chicken, frozen peas, and parsley to the soup pot. Stir to combine.
- Use a medium cookie scoop (2 tablespoons) to portion the dumpling dough into the soup pot. The dumplings should almost cover the top of the soup.
- Cover the pot and cook for 15 minutes. Then uncover, press the dumplings into the soup to coat, recover, and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Portion into bowls, being sure to add some dumplings to each bowl. Garnish with chopped parsley if desired, and serve warm.
Notes
- This recipe is a great way to use up extra chicken from the night before. You could even use leftover Thanksgiving turkey.
- If you don’t want to pre-cook the chicken, dice the chicken and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pot and saute until it’s cooked through. Transfer to a bowl and set aside for later. Then lower the heat under the Dutch oven and continue on with the recipe as directed.
