Last updated on December 11th, 2018 at 06:51 pm
This easy recipe for Chicken and Dumplings screams comfort food. A hearty recipe using roasted chicken and fluffy buttermilk and chives dumplings that’s simple to make and the whole family will love.
CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS
Chicken and Dumplings is something I grew up with. My mom’s version of dumplings is made with semolina flour and it’s more of a thin clear soup with dumplings versus this one here which is more traditional and more of a stew than a soup.
But I have to tell you that dumplings have always been a favorite of mine. I remember as a kid when my mom would make chicken soup with dumplings, I would eat the soup quickly and leave the dumplings for last because I wanted to savour them and enjoy them at a slow pace, without the soup getting in the way. Yeah, the things we do as kids. Well I’m an adult now, so I’d like to think, and still love dumplings! I guess even back then I was a carboholic.
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS
Start by cooking the onions, carrots and celery like you do with any soup or stew. Cook them a bit until the onion starts to sweat, and becomes soft and translucent.
After about 7 minutes or so, the onion and the carrots should be somewhat soft now, so it’s time to add the thyme and the chicken broth. You know I am not a fan of thyme, but some things just ask for thyme, and this recipe here, asks for thyme, as a matter of fact it begs for some thyme.
I have to tell you something here though. Although I don’t tell you to do this in the recipe because I’m trying to make things easier for you, I did make my own chicken broth. Basically I took a whole chicken and boiled it for about an hour or so until the chicken was nice and cooked to the point that it almost falls off the bones.
However, I have made this before with roasted chicken, so whatever is easier for you my friends. Anyway you can dump the chicken into the pot including some frozen peas. The more chicken the better!
We want to thicken this a bit, so you need to take about 1/3 cup of flour with a couple ladles of broth from the pot and whisk it, then just dump it back in the pot while whisking a bit. This will thicken up the soup nicely. Let this cook for a few minutes while we make the dumplings.
The dumpling batter is really simple to make, it’s a simple mixture of flour, buttermilk, an egg, baking powder, some chives and salt, whisk it all together and that’s that. You simply drop tablespoonfuls of this batter into your pot, keep in mind that they will double in size, probably more like triple in size, so drop small amounts of batter.
The dumplings need to steam in the pot so they cook and become nice and fluffy, so cover the pot with a lid and don’t peak for the next 15 or 20 minutes. Leave them alone, go do your nails or drink a coffee, or tea in my case.
When the time’s up you are done. You have a nice thick broth loaded with chicken and dumplings. Comfort food at its finest, my friends.
Mangia! Mangia! And bon appetit!
LOOKING FOR MORE CHICKEN RECIPES? TRY THESE:
- Bang Bang Chicken
- Chipotle Popcorn Chicken
- Coconut Chicken
- Chicken Poppers
- Cuban Chicharrones de Pollo
- Shanghai Chicken
- Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Lasagna Soup
- Chicken and Corn Chowder
Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
For Dumplings
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 egg beaten
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp chives chopped
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
Chicken soup
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 large carrot chopped
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 1/2 tsp thyme dried
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 2 cups roasted chicken shredded (any part of the chicken will do, both white and dark meat would be great for flavor)
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 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.
Notes
- Check out how to make this soup in an Instant pot!!
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition
I used your recipe for a dinner with my wife’s family and they were extremely impressed. THANKS A BUNCH !!!
Recipe looks wonderful. I will be trying it soon.
I would like to add, if I could, that I really like this picture of you.
I have a frozen chicken. Can I use boiled chicken instead of roasted or will it take flavor out of the recipe.
The flavor will be slightly different, but it really won’t make a big difference! Any chicken will work 🙂
Very delicious recipe! Have made a few times now. 🙂
So glad you like it, Natalie!
This is by far the best “quick” recipe for Chicken and dumplings that I have ever made. It doesn’t taste like you spent only 30-45 minutes – but more like you cooked that chicken, made that broth, etc. The dumplings are light and fluffy and the chives add a surprise taste. The instructions regarding over-mixing the flour mixture were right on. I dropped a teaspoon of the dumpling mix into the pot and they were a perfect “golf ball” size when cooked. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. We love it!
Yum, that sounds so good! We’re glad you loved the recipe 🙂
The best chicken and dumplings recipe ever. Tastes like it took hours to make. The dumplings come out perfectly! A new family favorite.
This was delicious. I doubled the recipe using homemade stock; however I only made 1-1/2 of the dumpling recipe. I also used dried chives that I soaked in some hot water. (Didn’t have fresh – which would have been more flavorful.). And I used an extra stalk of celery and sautéed my vegetables in 3 tablespoons of butter rather the olive oil (personal preference). I also used about 4 tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with a little cold water rather than flour to thicken just slightly. I steamed the dumplings for the full 20 minutes because they completely covered the surface and I wanted to make sure they were done. When all was done, I removed the lid and let it set for about 30 minutes before serving. So good – will make this again and again. Thanks for the recipe. It was very easy and fun to make.
My pleasure, glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Awesome and easy. Everyone loved it. I used boneless thighs. Added a bit more chicken broth to make it a bit more rich broth.
Hi Jo. My husband does not like the fat dumplings at all. He likes thin flat dumplings. I have never tried to make this. We just go to Cracker Barrel and get it there. Do you if there is anything out there that I can use to make thin dumplings. Your recipe sounds great and I would love to try it. Thanks for any help you can give me.
The only thing that comes to mind is buy some Pillsbury Biscuits, flatten them out with a rolling pin, then cut them out in strips and add those to the soup like that.
Use flat lasagne noodles.
Corinne – I am “older than dirt” but I have a recipe for you that I have had for at least 50 years. I think your dumpling preference comes from the part of the country you were raised in. My mother was from the Washington, D.C. area – we ate what she called Egg Dumplings – like Jo’s – my husband is from Texas and prefers the kind your husband prefers. I will share it with you with no guarantees. These dumplings are like large noodles – I used to see them packaged in the dry noodle section of the grocery store, but then I am older than dirt.
2 Cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp shortening
1 Cup liquid (half milk, half water)
Combine and roll like a pie crust. Cut in 2″ squares. Drop in hot liquid, cover and cook about 5 minutes.
Please can you tell me the difference between chicken Broth and chicken stock
Chicken stock tends to be made more from bony parts, whereas chicken broth is made more out of meat. Chicken stock tends to have a fuller mouth feel and richer flavor, due to the gelatin released by long-simmering bones.
Looks delicious, but buttermilk doesn’t agree with my wife or kids’ bellies – could you recommend a substitute? Would regular milk work okay?
I suppose you could use heavy cream or half and half instead.
I use homemade kefir in place of buttermilk.
Love Kefir!!
Very nice recipe. The dumplings were very light and tasty. I wanted to make them from scratch and this recipe is easy. I let the dough rest before adding them to the broth. Trick is not to over mix. Will use this recipe again.
This was so delicious! The recipe was simple and easy to follow. I will definitely make this again.
Finally – perfect dumplings! This was delicious.
Great recipe delicious dumplings just like my mom used to make
thank you
I’m going to make the chicken and dumplings this weekend. Curious. If I don’t want to make the dumplings from scratch, would this recipe work with Pillsbury biscuits? Steve
Good question! Haven’t tried myself but a quick google search shows that you can indeed. 🙂
I saw a recipe for chicken and dumplings, which made me want to make it. After looking at about 20 recipes that were so complicated they almost required butchering the chicken yourself, I came across yours. Wow! So simple and forgiving. But the dumplings were the BEST! I followed directions, using the 1/2 tsp vinegar fix in place of buttermilk. I cooked them the full 20 minutes since I had to pile them up a bit (my pot was smaller than a Dutch oven). Wowee! I was so impressed with myself (and you)!
That’s the best compliment, so happy you liked this soup!
De-Lic-ious! I would not change anything about this recipe – it is perfect!! Thank you so much for sharing this!! Yum!
Thank you, Ashley! So glad you liked it!
Made these a couple weeks ago and they were awesome. Going to make them again today.