Chicken and Dumplings
Old-Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings is a super simple recipe. Flat strips of dough simmered in a yummy broth with tender chicken.
An Old-Fashioned Southern Style Recipe
There really is no other recipe that screams comfort food quite like chicken and dumplings. This meal will warm up and comfort any soul on a cold winter’s day! Want an easier version, be sure to check out my Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings.
The perfect recipe and just like I remember growing up. Thank you!
– Denise
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Use whatever cut of chicken you and your family enjoy! You could even purchase a store-bought rotisserie chicken to make this a little faster to prepare.
Personally, I like to serve with some sort of French Bread or Biscuits. If you want some more veggies with your meal, you could serve with a side salad or Green Beans.
For those of you who didn’t grow up eating this style of Chicken and Dumplings – then you may have eaten it at a place like Cracker Barrel. A lot of us grew up eating Chicken & Drop Dumplings. Flat dumplings are very basic and are meant to soak up the flavors of the broth. It’s an easy, comforting homestyle meal.
You certainly could. This particular version of chicken and dumplings usually does not have any vegetables added but you certainly could throw in some peas and carrots if you prefer.
Absolutely, instead of roasting the chicken breasts, you can pick up a store bought rotisserie chicken.
You sure can! You can boil the chicken directly in the chicken broth if you prefer. You can even do this the old school way and boil a whole chicken in water to create its own broth (see my post on how to make Homemade Chicken Broth on how to do that.)
Chicken and Dumplings are best eaten the day they are made. You can store it in a covered container in the fridge; however, the dumplings will continue to soak up the broth and can turn gummy over time.
Ingredients Needed: (See Recipe Card Below For the Full Recipe)
- chicken breasts – you can use bone in or boneless or even chicken thighs
- chicken broth – if you have any sensitivity to sodium, you can get the low or no sodium option. Alternatively, if you really want to kick up the flavor, try making Homemade Chicken Broth.
- all purpose flour – my favorite brand of flour is White Lily but any brand of all purpose flour will work here.
- baking powder – it’s super important you make sure your baking powder is fresh. If it isn’t the dumplings won’t puff up at all.
- salted butter – it needs to be real butter and not margarine.
- milk – whole milk is best if you have it.
How To Make Chicken and Dumplings
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Drizzle a little olive oil on the 2-3 chicken breasts and season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 45 minutes. Chicken will reach an internal temperature of 165F degrees when fully cooked.
Once the chicken is cooked, shred it with two forks. Or, you can put it into a stand mixer and have it do the work for you. Pour 2 quarts of chicken stock or broth into a large pot and start warming it up on the stovetop while you make the dumplings. In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Then add in cold cubed butter.
You can combine it all using a fork or a pastry cutter or your fingers. Just smoosh the butter between your fingers while you gradually mix it in with the flour mixture.
Now pour in the milk. Mix it all together. Dust your counter with a generous amount of flour. Place your dumpling dough on the counter and dust it with more flour.
With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4″ thickness. Be sure to add flour as necessary to keep it from sticking underneath or to your rolling pin.
Using a knife or a pizza cutter, start cutting out your dumplings into squares. They don’t need to be perfectly shaped. Remember, this dish is rustic and homemade so it should look like it. Dust your dumplings with a bit more flour. The extra flour is all gonna help keep them from sticking but will also thicken your chicken broth some as well when you add them to the pot.
Bring the chicken broth up to a boil. Add in the shredded chicken and stir.
Begin adding dumplings one at a time so they don’t all stick together. Stir frequently while adding them.
Allow dumplings to cook for about 15-20 minutes. You should notice your broth starting to thicken (from the extra flour) and your dumplings may start to sink a little to the bottom because they are soaking up the broth. Take one out and taste test it. It shouldn’t have a doughy taste anymore.
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Old-Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
- 2-3 chicken breasts (about 3 cups of cooked chicken)
- 2 Tablespoons oil (avocado or olive oil)
- salt and pepper (to taste)
- 2 quarts chicken broth
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 Tablespoons cold salted butter, cubed
- 1 cup milk
- all purpose flour (for your counter and for rolling out the dumplings)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place 2-3 chicken breasts on the baking sheet. Drizzle 2 Tablespoons oil on the chicken and season with salt and pepper
- Bake chicken for about 45 minutes. Chicken will reach an internal temperature of 165F degrees when fully cooked. Once the chicken is cooked, shred it with two forks.
- Pour 2 quarts chicken broth into a large pot and start warming it up on the stove top while you make the dumplings.
- In a medium bowl, combine 2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. Then add in 2 Tablespoons cold salted butter, cubed.
- Combine using your fingers, fork or pastry cutter. The butter should resemble tiny pebbles when combined well.
- Pour in 1 cup milk. Mix it all together.
- Dust your counter with a generous amount of all purpose flour. Place dumpling dough on the counter and dust it with more flour.
- With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4" thickness. Be sure to add more flour as necessary to keep it from sticking underneath or to your rolling pin.
- Using a knife or a pizza cutter, start cutting out your dumplings into squares.
- Dust dumplings with a bit more flour. The extra flour is gonna help keep them from sticking but will also thicken your chicken broth some as well when you add them to the pot.
- Bring chicken broth up to a boil. Add in shredded chicken and stir.
- Begin adding dumplings one at a time so they don’t all stick together. Stir frequently while adding them.
- Allow dumplings to cook for about 15-20 minutes. You should notice your broth starting to thicken (from the extra flour) and your dumplings may start to sink a little to the bottom because they are soaking up the broth.
- Take one out and taste test it. It shouldn't have a doughy taste anymore. Then serve!
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- This particular version of chicken and dumplings usually does not have any vegetables added but you certainly could throw in some (like peas and carrots) if you prefer.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Originally published: April 2012
Updated photos and republished: May 2025
This is a great recipe. reminds me of when my mom would make chicken and dumplings. here’s a nice little hack though. if you don’t have a pastry cutter, I’ll tell you what I do cuz I don’t have one. I take my stick of butter and freeze it ahead of time and then I use my old fashioned grater and just grate it into the flower it works awesome. I do this with biscuits also. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Absolutely delicious! Made it for a whole crew of firefighters and I should have made way more. They kept wanting seconds and thirds so I would say it was a HUGE hit! LOL thank you!
This is the real deal, the way your Southern great-grandmother made chicken and dumplings. I cook 3 boneless chicken breasts in the crockpot covered with chicken broth and add some onion, celery, salt and pepper. When done, shred chicken put back in the pot with your broth measurements and the dumplings. Cook about 45 min or until dumplings are tender. Pure comfort food.
Thanks so much Delilah (love your name too btw) 🙂
I grew up on this. It was my favorite meal as a kid. But ours didn’t include the chicken in with the dumplings. And we called it chicken pot pie. The chicken was served in the side. There were three of us. Mom would start working on it in the morning with 11 cups of flour, so you have an idea how much she made. It would last a week. It was always better after the first day.
Great recipe; my eleven year old wanted to try and make this today. We really enjoyed it.
Much like the rest of comments my family is obsessed with this recipe. I have a tribe of 4 daughters, nieces, nephews, parents and grandparents that want this dish even when its 100 degrees. Excellent Thank you
Excellent recipe with easy to follow directions. Will definitely make again!
I think I’ve used this recipe forty times in the last several years. Even if you use rotisserie chicken instead it still works.
Thank you for finally commenting Marla! It means so much!!
I did chicken thighs and added a little heavy cream. Also used the store-bought dumplings in the freezer section. Yum!
Excellent! Very good!
Can the dumplings be made ahead of time?
I love everything about cooks country I tell my friends about u all the time . U R Amazing
Okay, I’m going to bring my whole honest self to this comment: I’ve spent the better part of two years googling “chicken & dumplings recipes,” and every single time this one pops up. And I immediately overlook it because I’m used to little pops of green and orange, and dumplings that are lumpy, not flat. (I come from good polish drop dumpling stock, see.)
Today I finally went, “Fine. You know what? I’ll do the chicken how I want and I’ll add peas and carrots but let’s see how this does for the dumplings & broth/gravy.”
MA’AM. The noise I made when I took the first bite. I have been changed. I will be disowned by my drop-dumpling ancestors and I am honestly FINE with it. I’m not going to say I didn’t make changes — after all, I didn’t know better. (For chicken I braised 2lbs of boneless skinless thighs and then chopped them because shredding is too much work, and I set them aside WITH the braising liquid because that’s too much flavor-town goodness to go to waste. Then I began by sautéing a whole white onion and three ribs of celery, both minced as finely as possible because I wanted the flavor not the texture, in a couple tablespoons of butter before adding the broth. And then, just before throwing in the dumplings, I added a sprinkle each of poultry seasoning and black pepper and thyme.) But MY. GOODNESS. I can’t believe I wasted two years of my life on the recipes of amateurs. And you know what? I’m GLAD I only added peas & carrots to one portion because I actually think it might be better without, and now (as a single woman living alone) I get to spend the next six days living in pure unadulterated comfort food bliss.
Thank you. I’m sorry I ever doubted you. These dumplings are tedious compared to the other recipes that say “hack up a can of refrigerator biscuits” but I will gladly do the work every time if this is what I’m going to be rewarded with. Rest assured this will remain at the very top of the rotation in my comfort food repertoire.
I’ve made your chicken and dumplings twice! Both times they were fantastic! They tasted just like my mom’s growing up. I looked for a recipe like hers forever. Im so grateful I’ve got this one now! Thank you for helping me create new memories for my family!
I make this one all of the time. its hands down the best. taste just like cracker barrel!
I have been making your recipe for years and realized I should probably comment. I have been a huge fan of your site for many, many years and you are my go-to for recipes. These have been a family favorite since you first shared them (I think well over 10 years ago.) My kids grew up eating them and they still ask me to make them when they come home to visit. Thank you so much for all you do. Love your videos and step by step photos and the way to you write the recipes. Thank you for all you do!
Oh my gracious, thank you so very much Sarah! What an honor that one of my recipes is a cherished family favorite. I can’t tell you how much that means to read! And you are right, I first published this in 2012 so it’s been about 14 years now, I can hardly believe it! Thank you for finally commenting and being a loyal reader all these years. It means more than you know!
can you do this in a simmering crockpot or does it need to be boiling?
It needs to boil to thicken it up a bit
This recipe made some delicious dumplings!
wow!!! I made this recipe today, craving chicken and dumplings like Cracker Barrel makes. I found this recipe and decided to try it… Ma’am, you DID THAT! This recipe is beyond delicious! SO much better than Cracker Barrel! I seasoned my chicken with rotisserie seasoning before baking and added a little thyme to the broth and the end result blew us all away! My husband said the best chicken and dumplings he’s ever had and to put this meal into our regular rotation! He’s picky too…. That says everything!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
This turned out perfect! Thanks so much for all your step by step photos and video. It really helped my 10 year old son make this all by himself. It was absolutely perfect and tasted amazing. If a 10 year old can do it perfectly, anyone can – ha!
Please help, me husband loves this and I make it exactly like the reciepe however my husband says the last 2 x it is more like soup and not creamy and thinks I did something different , I don’t think I did but is there a way to make it creamier.
Make sure your dumplings are coated well in flour. It’s that flour on the dumplings that helps thicken the dumplings up a bit 🙂
And you might need to cook them a little longer to also thicken.
If your broth is too thin to your liking, you can always I use 1 or 2 tbsp. of corn starch mixed with 2 to 3 tbsp. of cold water in a cup. Once mixed pour that into your pot of dumplings.
That’s a great tip, thank you!