Chicken and Dumplings (+Video)
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.
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.
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 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:
Time needed: 1 hour and 20 minutes
- Cook the chicken
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.
- Start preparing the dumplings
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.
- Cut butter into flour
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.
- Roll out dumpling dough
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.
- Cut out dumpling shapes
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.
- Warm up broth and chicken
Bring the chicken broth up to a boil. Add in the shredded chicken and stir.
- Add dumplings to the pot
Begin adding dumplings one at a time so they don’t all stick together. Stir frequently while adding them.
- Let dumplings cook
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.
- Serve it up
Ladle the chicken and dumplings into bowls and serve! Happiness and comfort in a bowl!
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Originally published: April 2012
Updated and republished: October 2020
Chicken and Dumplings (+Video)
Ingredients
- 2-3 chicken breasts (about 3 cups of cooked chicken)
- 2 Tablespoons 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 olive 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
- Use whatever cut of chicken you and your family enjoy. Chicken thighs are a great alternative. Also, if you want boil your chicken and use the broth from that, it’s fine. My family just doesn’t like the taste or texture of boiled chicken.
- If using a rotisserie chicken, you’ll want to cut up about 3 cups worth of chicken for this recipe.
- 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.
- I like to serve this with French Bread or Biscuits. If you want some more veggies with your meal, you could serve with a side salad or Green Beans.
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.
Excellent! Tastes exactly like the Western PA Chicken & Dumplings my grandma used to make. Thanks for this!!!
I’m looking for a recipe to make dumplings like my grandmother use to make. This sounds like the perfect one. I had an aunt that always added a can of Cream of Chicken Soup and a stick of butter to her dumplings. Best dumplings ever.
My nanny made homemade dumplings and always added cream of mushroom too it. Amazing
This is the one chicken and dumpling I keep coming back to time and time again.
GIRL! This recipe is definitely old school! It looks great!!
This is how I have been making for over 50 years ! Best ever…however, I think I will start using the rotesserie chicken ! Thank you !
The best ever , Everyone should try this .
Just like what my mom made many, many years ago with one exception – she used hot water instead of milk. If they soaked up most of the broth, she would then add a little milk and flour to thicken the gravy. Delicious
No one makes it exactly like our Mommas be we can sometimes come close, right? 🙂
I love this recipe. I add about 1/4 tsp of celery salt for some added flavor.
I made these dumplings, and they came out really nicely! Next time I’ll roll them a little thinner. They puff up a bit while cooking. The broth was too thin at first. I figured I dusted too much of the flour off of the dumplings, so added more. Worked great! Thanks for a recipe to play with, and for a lovely pot of dumplings!
I can’t give this 5 stars since it used baked chicken breast–that is a SIN! You boil a whole hen or leg quarters to make a delicious broth and provide the tender meat. I like to roll my dumplings thinner and let them dry a bit before using. I also leave them in strips, the way my neighbor taught me. She also added some whole milk to the broth before the last step. The final glory is to have these in a shallow oven-proof dish and finish them in the oven so that the top dumplings get a little brown crust. Heavelnly!
Question on this please. My mother in law has been trying to find a recipe that her mother made when she was a child. She said that the dumplings were simmered all day in the chicken broth while the chicken cooked. How long can the dumplings cook in the chicken broth? I would like to make this for my mother in law’s birthday. Thank you!
In my opinion, the dumplins would fall apart if cooked too long or they might get tough. I do as she says, 15-20 minutes…perfect ! Good luck !
Has anyone ever used frozen (not refrigerated in the cans) biscuits to make the dumplings? I think I read somewhere that you can roll them out and slice them just like you did.
I’m from southeastern North Carolina, and I love your recipe! Tastes just like my grandmother’s! I’ve made it a few times now and it’s perfect. Thank you so much!
Easy to make. Wonderful flavor. Just like my Granny use to make.
Finally I can again enjoy my Mom’s chicken and dumplings. Thank you.
This makes me so happy Rose Mary! I know nothing beats a meal made by Mom but I am happy this came close to what you remembered! Thank you!
Unbelievable – just like grandma made it when I was a kid!
These are just like my Grandmother made! Delicious!!
Love hearing that!! Thanks so much Jan!
I had to taste at least ten of them to see if they were done!
Ha! I often do that too Liz. 😉
My mom used to make them when I was growing up.
Wonderful! This recipe took me back to childhood when my Grandmother made Chicken and Dumplings. My Mother in law, 81, said she’s never going to Cracker Barrel again . Delicious
This recipe was so easy and delicious!!! Use plenty of flour when you roll out your dumplings, as recommended, and they’ll be perfect.
Definitely my go to recipe from now on!
used this recipe 4 times now,works great,easy to follow,good job!
This was EXACTLY what I was looking for. I made a big batch of chicken stock this weekend, and had a bunch of leftover shredded dark meat chicken. I stuck to the recipe exactly, only adding around a cup and a half of defrosted frozen peas at 15 minutes, then cooked another five. This was a very easy recipe, and I can’t believe I made homemade dumplings on a weeknight.
Came out perfect!
Woo hoo!! Thanks so much Wen!
I’ve been using this recipe for years now. I LOVE Cracker Barrel dumplings and this is the closest I can get. Super easy too.
Love hearing that so much! Thank you Katy!