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Crockpot Chicken And Dumplings

Hearty, homemade Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings taste just like grandma used to make but without spending all day tied to the stove! Perfect for a cold day!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword chicken and dumplings recipes, Crockpot Chicken Recipes, dumplings recipes
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 40 minutes
Servings 6 -8 servings
Calories 710kcal
Author Kathleen

Ingredients

STEW:

  • 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs-trimmed
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil~divided
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 1 tablespoon garlic minced
  • 2 celery ribs sliced 1/4 inch thick
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup dry sherry
  • 4 1/2 cups chicken broth divided
  • 2 teaspoons better than bouillon chicken flavor
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 4 carrots peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cup frozen peas thawed and drained
  • 3 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

DUMPLINGS;

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves chopped

Instructions

Make The Stew:

  • Heat up 2 tablespoons of the oil in a 12-inch skillet until it's almost smoking. Add the chicken in batches, making sure not to overcrowd it, and brown on both sides. Remove to a plate and set aside.
    How to make Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings , brown the chicken
  • Add another 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet and heat until it begins to shimmer, then add the onions, celery, garlic, tomato paste, and thyme cooking over medium heat until the veggies are soft.  Whisk in flour and continue to cook for 1 minute. Slowly add sherry and stir, loosening any brown bits on the bottom of the skillet. Add 1 cup of chicken broth and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Carefully pour it into the slow cooker.
    How to make Crock pot Chicken and Dumplings , add liquids
  • Add the remaining chicken broth, Better Than Bouillon, black pepper, carrots, and bay leaves to the crockpot. Add the browned chicken, with any accumulated juice, and nestle the pieces in. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours, or high for 2-3 hours, or until chicken is tender.
    How to make Easy Chicken and Dumplings , add chicken and veggies
  • Remove the chicken and transfer to a cutting board. Cool until it can be handled then cut or shred it into bite-size pieces. Remove any fat that's floating on the top of the stew. Remove bay leaves.
  • Stir in cut chicken, peas, parsley, and heavy whipping cream. Replace cover and turn on High, bringing back to a simmer, while you make the dumplings.

Make the Dumplings:

  • In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and black pepper.
  • Microwave butter and milk together until warm, about 1 minute. (Don't overheat). Stir to finish melting butter.
  • Mix milk mixture and fresh thyme into flour mixture until just incorporated.
    How to make crockpot chicken and dumplings without cream of chicken soup , mix dumpling ingredients
  • Drop dough, about the size of a golf ball, onto the surface of the simmering stew, leaving about 1/4 inch between the dumplings. Cover and cook on High until the dumplings have about doubled and are cooked all the way through, 45-60 minutes.
    How to make Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings from scratch , add dumplings to the crockpot

Notes

  1. 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.
  2. 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, sherry 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 crockpot to create another layer of delicious flavor to the sauce.
  3. Making the roux: A roux is made by whisking together a fat, typically butter or oil, and flour. The key is to whisk like crazy. Once your mixture is smooth, it’s important to let it cook for a minute to break down the flour a bit. Then, GRADUALLY add in the liquid, once again whisking to keep it smooth.
  4. Veggies – The carrots aren’t browned, they’re added directly to the crockpot at step 3 in the instructions.  The peas are added to the stew last when the chicken has been cut and is added back.
  5. Dumplings: The buttery dumplings are mixed from scratch and are flavored with fresh thyme. They’re so yummy and quick to put together, you’ll wonder why you ever bothered with the ones made with convenience ingredients. If you’d rather, you can use my easy Bisquick Dumplings.
    • Make sure the dumplings are cooked all the way through. The amount of time this takes can vary significantly from one crockpot to another. Please remember that the cooking time given in the recipe is an estimation.
    • 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.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/6 of the recipe | Calories: 710kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 58g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 191mg | Sodium: 1395mg | Potassium: 1598mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 7880IU | Vitamin C: 34mg | Calcium: 212mg | Iron: 4mg