Chicken and dumplings have to be the purest comfort food in the world! This is my Grandma’s exact recipe. It starts with a large chicken that’s gently cooked to produce the ultimate broth base. We use a large chicken so that the finished soup is loaded with tender meat along with the veggies, then, we top it all off with fluffy, delicious biscuits!
If you’re a fan of this classic recipe, I hope you’ll try my Southern chicken and dumplings (with flat biscuits!), crockpot chicken and dumplings, chicken and dumpling casserole, and Bisquick chicken and dumplings next for some variety!
Chicken And Dumpling Ingredients
Stock:
- Flour: All-purpose flour. I use the Gold Medal.
- Salt + Black Pepper: To season everything just right.
- Chicken: I like to use a big roaster chicken. I love when this dish is loaded with tender, juicy chicken. If you grab a smaller fryer chicken, the recipe will work just fine. /The finished dish just won’t have as much chicken.
- Vegetable Oil: You can use any neutral flavored oil you have on hand.
- Onion, Carrots, Celery: Just like you’d expect. I try to dice roughly the same size, so they cook evenly.
- Garlic: Please use fresh garlic, not the stuff that comes preserved in a jar.
- Chicken Stock: I like to start with low-sodium chicken stock so I can control the overall sodium in the dish.
- White Wine: This adds so much flavor. I understand some people don’t like to cook with alcohol but if you can, the wine is amazing in this recipe. If you can’t, just skip it.
- Sugar: This is the secret ingredient to everything delicious! Don’t worry, it doesn’t make the dish sweet.
- Thyme
- Bay Leaves: I use dry bay leaves.
Dumplings:
- Flour: I use all-purpose flour for my dumplings.
- Baking Powder: Makes the dumplings fluffy.
- Salt + Pepper: Gives the dumplings just the right seasoning.
- Milk: I like to use whole milk.
- Egg: Large egg.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter.x
Soup:
- Heavy Whipping Cream: This gives the soup a luxurious mouth feel.
- Parsley: I like the freshness the parsley adds.
Tips
- Mirepoix – Sauté the aromatic components: onions, garlic, celery, and carrots. These classic “mirepoix” ingredients will soften enough to release their natural oils and flavors.
- Browning The Chicken: This is a really important step. I know you’re tempted to skip it, but here are a few reasons why you shouldn’t. It seals the exterior of the chicken and keeps it nice and juicy when it’s all cooked. It leaves little brown bits, which the French call fond, in the bottom of the pan that adds crazy amounts of flavor to the stew. Some of the veggies are browned in the same pan after the chicken, then flour, wine, and some of the chicken broth are whisked in, to deglaze the pan. That’s when all the little brown bits are swooped up and added to the pot to create another layer of delicious flavor to the sauce.
- Dumplings: The tender dumplings are mixed from scratch. They’re yummy and quick to put together. If you’d rather use Bisquick dumplings or canned biscuits, they’ll work just as well!
- The bottoms of the dumplings will obviously still be wet because they cook directly in the liquid of the stew. The centers of the dumplings, however, should no longer have any “rawness” to them.
- Full-fat dairy- Butter is the boss in the kitchen. It’s important to use full-fat butter. The fat is important to a tender dumpling.
Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? The old fashioned chicken and dumplings will be kept for up to 4 days in the fridge. Just be sure to let it cool completely before putting it up and reserve the FDA-recommended 2-hour serving rule.
- Can You Freeze This? You can freeze this Southern style chicken and dumplings. Just be aware that since there is heavy cream included, it might not hold its texture perfectly. Cream sometimes splits when it freezes. The overall dish might be very thick when you reheat it as well. Loosen it up with some extra chicken stock if you need to.
- Make-Ahead Tips: If you need to prep the day before you can go ahead and get all the chopping out of the way. Just be sure to store the stock veggies separately from the others.
- You can also make the dumplings a day ahead. Just put wax paper between the layers and slide them into the fridge. I always like to make my dumplings while the chicken is boiling so that’s an option too.
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out these links about refrigeration and storage.
How to Make Chicken And Dumplings Soup
- Coat the chicken with the flour mixture and shake off excess.
- Brown the chicken in batches on all sides. Set aside.
- Saute the vegetables until tender. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant.
- Sprinkle flour over vegetables. Stir to evenly coat the vegetables.
- Add stock, wine, sugar, thyme, bay leaves, and peppercorns.
- Return the chicken to the pan, and simmer until the chicken is falling off the bones.
- Make the dumplings: Mix the dumpling mixture.
- Form quarter-size dollops of the dough.
- Remove the chicken and shred it.
- Bring back the chicken to the pot.
- Drop the dumplings into the pot and cook until they are puffed and totally cooked.
- Serve.
***See the full instructions below.
More Chicken Soup Recipes
- Chicken Stew
- The Best Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Chicken and Rice Soup
- Italian Chicken Soup
- Mexican Chicken Soup
- Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup
- Lemon Chicken Soup
- Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Tried This Recipe?
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Chicken And Dumplings
My chicken and dumplings are the real McCoy! Everything is made from scratch just like Grandma's. Rich soup, tons of chicken + fluffy dumplings.
Servings: 8 Servings
Ingredients
Chicken + Broth:
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour divided
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 4-5 pound roasting chicken, cut up
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil divided
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chicken flavor Better Than Bouillon
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 whole peppercorns
Dumplings:
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
Soup:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley finely chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a 1-gallon resealable bag, mix 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add chicken (4-5 pounds), a few pieces at a time, and toss to coat; shake off excess.
- In a 6-quart Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed pot, heat oil (2 tablespoons) over medium-high heat. Brown chicken in batches on all sides; transfer to a plate. Add more oil as needed.
- Add onion (1), carrots (2), and celery (2 ribs) to Dutch oven and cook, stirring often, being sure to scrape up all the brown bits on the bottom of the Dutch oven, until onion is tender about 6-8 minutes Add garlic (4 cloves); cook and stir 1 minute longer.
- Sprinkle 1/4 cup flour over vegetables. Stir to evenly coat the vegetables. Gradually add stock (6 cups), stirring constantly. Stir in wine (1/2 cup), sugar (2 teaspoons), thyme sprigs (4), bay leaves (2), and peppercorns (5).
- Return chicken to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the chicken is falling off the bones tender, about 45 minutes 1 hour. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside until it's cool enough to handle. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the dumplings.
- Make Dumplings: Whisk together flour (1 1/2 cups), baking powder (1 1/2 teaspoon), salt (3/4 teaspoon), and pepper (1/4 teaspoon) in a medium mixing bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk (3/4 cup) and egg (1) and add to the dry ingredients, followed by the melted butter (2 tablespoons). Using a wooden spoon stir just to combine. (Do not overmix or dumplings will be tough.); set aside.
- Transfer the chicken from the pot to a plate. Discard thyme stems and bay leaves and skim fat from the soup. Remove skin and bones from chicken and discard. Using 2 forks, coarsely shred meat into 1- to 1-1/2-in. pieces; return to soup. Stir in heavy cream (1/2 cup). Cook, covered, on high until the mixture reaches a simmer (Not a boil).
- Drop generous quarter-size dollops on top of simmering soup. Cover the pot, and reduce heat to low. Cook, undisturbed, until the dumplings are puffed and totally cooked through, about 18 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the dumplings comes out clean. Sprinkle top with parsley (1 tablespoon) and thyme (2 teaspoons) and serve.
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Mirepoix - Sauté the aromatic components: onions, garlic, celery, and carrots. These classic “mirepoix” ingredients will soften enough to release their natural oils and flavors.
- Browning The Chicken: This is a really important step. I know you’re tempted to skip it, but here are a few reasons why you shouldn’t. It seals the exterior of the chicken and keeps it nice and juicy when it’s all cooked. It leaves little brown bits, which the French call fond, in the bottom of the pan that adds crazy amounts of flavor to the stew. Some of the veggies are browned in the same pan after the chicken, then flour, wine, and some of the chicken broth are whisked in, to deglaze the pan. That’s when all the little brown bits are swooped up and added to the pot to create another layer of delicious flavor to the sauce.
- Dumplings: The tender dumplings are mixed from scratch. They’re yummy and quick to put together. If you’d rather use Bisquick dumplings or canned biscuits, they'll work just as well!
- The bottoms of the dumplings will obviously still be wet because they cook directly in the liquid of the stew. The centers of the dumplings, however, should no longer have any “rawness” to them.
- Full-fat dairy- Butter is the boss in the kitchen. It’s important to use full-fat butter. The fat is important to a tender dumpling.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 782kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 50g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 215mg | Sodium: 814mg | Potassium: 837mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 5117IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 134mg | Iron: 5mg
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Can I use gluten free flour in this recipe?
hey Teresa. I’m sorry I don’t generally work with gluten free flour but I can’t imagine it won’t work.