This easy Chicken and Dumplings Recipe is just like mom used to make! This recipe will teach you how to make chicken and dumplings that’s full of old fashioned homemade goodness.
Chicken and Dumplings is a classic American comfort food. It consists of a chicken and vegetable soup base, topped with a biscuit dough dumpling. You can find a wide variety of methods and preparations out there for chicken and dumplings, particularly when it comes to the dough for the dumpling itself.
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Drop Biscuit vs. Flat Noodles
Dumplings vary from being flat and noodle like, to being more like a drop biscuit. This will depend on your region and personal preferences. This particular recipe uses the drop biscuit type dough. It’s a simple dough with only a handful of ingredients. Buttermilk is used to interact with baking powder to form a puffy dumpling. The dough is dropped into the simmering liquid in various sizes for a rustic, homestyle look.
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How do you make chicken and dumplings from scratch?
For a true from scratch chicken and dumplings recipe, you’ll want to use a whole chicken that you have butchered up into individual pieces (IE breasts, wings, thighs, drumsticks). Sear those in some olive oil at the beginning of the recipe. Once seared, remove them from the pan and continue with the recipe. Because you seared the chicken and have the whole chicken in there, you can use water instead of chicken broth, as the chicken itself will create it’s own chicken broth. You will need to simmer your broth for much longer, 45 minutes to 1 hour, in order to make sure you chicken is cooked through. The disadvantage of using a whole chicken is that the skin and bones will need to be discarded. This, along with the searing, adds additional work and cooking time.
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How do you thicken up chicken and dumplings?
If you want to thicken the soup base on your chicken and dumplings, you’ll need to do it BEFORE you add in your dumplings. Take about 1/3 cup of the liquids and place it into a bowl. Whisk 2 teaspoons of cornstarch into this liquid. Once the mixture is smooth, pour it back into the soup pot and stir in. Then, you are ready for dumplings. The soup base will thicken as the dumplings cook.
Other classic soup recipes you might like:
Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, Facebook Watch, or our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
I add garlic and onion powder to my dumplings as well as some dried parsley instead of the butter. Bumps up the flavor without adding extra calories.
Purchased 3 drumsticks, 2 breasts, 2 thighs. Enough for 2 people. Washed and dried them and removed excess fat. Seared them in vegetable oil till there was a hint of golden brown then added 7-8 cups of cool water. Pepper and salt and pinch of nutmeg. I started with boil of 6 minutes then turned down to low and let it stew for 2 hours. Low and slow. At time’s end, I removed the meat which was slidig off the bone and set the broth to cool. The meat was tender enough to pull off. I set the meat in a bowl and covered in in plastic wrap. The next day, I chopped up two leeks, 5 carrots, 4 ribs celery and sauteed them in vegetable oil. Salt and pepper. Added in the broth.
Cooked them low and slow and when the vegetables were just “fork tender”, I took a potato mash to them, just enough to break them up, not have mashed vegetables. Then, mixed the dumpling and set them in the broth. When cooked, I put in the chicken to warm, added more salt and pepper to taste and served.
So you’re saying you just did your own thing.
Love your response. Perfect.
This recipe is delicious as is but I recently took a soup class at Sur La Table and chicken and dumplings was one of the dishes. One of the differences is the addition of fresh chopped chives and thyme to dumpling mixture, heavy whipping cream instead of buttermilk if you don’t have buttermilk at home, can use leftover chicken instead of cooking in pot, just add last 5 min along with a cup of frozen peas.
HI Elena.. I appreciated your comments as I have a cooked rotisserie chicken on-hand, so will debone and add at the end of cooking to warm the meat. I assume the rest of the recipe can be used as is.
Thanks for this as I didn’t want to have to buy buttermilk and I do happen to have heavy cream! Yay!
How do I store for the next day, or is that not possible because of the dumplings?
How long would the dumpling keep before dissolving?
I’ve been able to store leftovers for several days just fine.
Fantastic recipe! My dumplings have never turned out before using this recipe, but they were so soft and fluffy. I used dry buttermilk and it worked perfectly, however, I almost forgot to add the butter because the written recipe didn’t say when to but luckily you showed it in your video. This is a keeper, thanks for sharing! I tried giving 5 stars but was unable.
I made this chicken and dumplings today. It was delicious and my husband said that we have to save this recipe.
I see parsley on the dumplings?? No mention of parsley in recipe. Also, To make the dumplings once you have dropped dumpling into the soup mixture, do you cover them? or cook uncovered?
Parsley can be used as a garnish.
The recipe indicates to cover the pot after dropping the dumplings in to cook.
I have always covered dumplings for 10 min and uncovered for 10 min.
I always uncover for 10 min and cover for 10 min.
I thought ten minutes covered on and ten minutes uncovered. This leaves you with fluffy dumplings.
One of my favorite dinner’s mine is more like a stew.I like it hearty.And dont forget cranberry sause for a tad of sweetness.Also some coleslaw makes it as close to a thanksgiving dinner you can enjoy and love.Chow down and enjoy!!!!
How long do you cook the chicken?Is it best to use a whole chicken for your brooth?
What type of chicken works best?
you don’t have to use a whole chicken you can just use 2 chicken breast or 1 chicken breast and 2 thighs If you use chicken with the bone it is more flavorful you take it out and carefully pick the meat off the bones OR you can use boneless chicken and you don’t have to pick the bones but you add canned chicken broth.
This was delicious, my whole family loved it. Plus the leftovers were even better reheated the next day