Easy Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

Our Easy Chicken and Dumplings Recipe is finally here and we couldn’t be more excited! Our simplified and delicious version is so cozy and makes fluffy biscuit-like dumplings. It’s perfect for chilly weather season!

What are Chicken and Dumplings?

Chicken and dumplings is a slightly thickened chicken soup dish with the addition of dumplings simmered into it.

Types of Dumplings

There are a few different types of dumplings that are used for chicken and dumplings.

Rolled/Noodle Dumplings

A simple dough is rolled out, cut into short/wide pieces and added to the soup. These dumplings are flat, soft, dense, and hold together well. They’re considered the most common ‘old fashioned’ dumplings used in chicken and dumplings.

Biscuit Dumplings

Canned biscuits are most commonly used for this type of dumpling. The biscuits are separated, quartered and dropped into the soup. These dumplings puff up a bit, but aren’t really fluffy and can also be a bit dense.

Drop Dumplings

Drop dumplings, which is what we use in our easy chicken and dumpling recipe and also by far our favorite, are made with a thick batter that is scooped and dropped into the soup. It produces light and fluffy dumplings and we love the ease of making them.

How to Make This Easy Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

Ingredients for Easy Chicken and Dumplings

Dumplings Ingredients:

Tools You Will Need

• soup pot
• wooden spoon
• measuring cups
• measuring spoons
• mixing bowl
• whisk
• liquid measuring cup
• (3 tbsp) scoop

Process

Soup

1. Place a large pot over medium-high heat and melt butter.
2. Add onion, carrot and celery and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes or until vegetables soften. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add thyme and continue to cook mixture for another minute.
4. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir together until mixture is well coated and no dry spots remain.
5. Stir in broth and lower heat to medium. Continue to stir together until mixture thickens and is smooth.
6. Stir in milk, season with salt and pepper and simmer until soup is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
7. Fold in Chicken.

Dumplings

1. In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, chives, thyme, baking powder, and salt.
2. Add butter and continue to stir together until mixture is crumbly.
3. Stir in milk until mixture just comes together into a thick batter.
4. Scoop 1/4 cup sized scoops of batter into the soup until all batter has been used. Cover pot and simmer for 12 to 15 minute until dumplings have puffed up and just cooked through.
5. Uncover, season with salt and pepper, gently stir, and top with thyme and chives.
6. Ladle into bowls, top with more thyme and chives and serve.

Tips and Tricks for Easy Chicken and Dumplings Success

• Don’t over-mix the batter – which will cause your dumplings to be dense when they cook up. Make sure to just mix the batter until it just comes together, with no dry spots.
• Toothpick check for dumpling doneness – just like many baked goods, insert a skewer into the center of one of the dumplings. If the toothpick comes out clean then the dumplings are ready.
• Scoop and drop dumplings into pot – without handling them or packing them tightly. This will help achieve light and fluffy dumplings.
• Use an ice cream/cookie scooper – which is the easiest way to minimize handling the dumpling batter.
• Cover and don’t peak – because you want steam to build up in the pot so the dumplings cook up evenly and tender.

Make Ahead and Freezing this Easy Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

Make Ahead

This easy chicken and dumplings recipe can be made u to 3 days ahead of time. To make ahead, cool soup completely, transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. When ready to reheat, transfer soup to a pot and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly. It’s important to very slowly reheat the soup to prevent it from separating and becoming grainy.

Freezing

Cream based soups don’t generally freeze well because they tend to separate when frozen, making them grainy when reheated. To prevent this from happening, make the soup, but don’t add the milk before freezing. Add the dumplings as usual and simmer until dumplings have cooked through.

Cool soup completely and transfer to a freezer bag, removing as much air out as possible, before sealing. Place soup in the freezer for up to 2 months. To reheat, allow soup to thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Pour thawed soup into a pot and simmer until heated through. Stir milk into soup and continue to simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings.

Other Soup Recipes You Will Love:

• Easy Broccoli Cheddar Soup
• Creamy Chicken and Farro Soup
• Loaded Baked Potato Soup
• Creamy Pumpkin Soup
• New England Clam Chowder
• Creamy Tortellini Sausage and Spinach Soup