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.

Course Chicken Dinner, Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword chicken and dumplings recipes, chicken soup recipes, creamy chicken soup recipes, dumpling recipes

Prep Time 1 20

Cook Time 1 45

Servings Servings

Calories 782kcal

Author Kathleen

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

US Customary - Metric

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.

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