My Chicken & Dumplings Are So Delicious, I’ve Already Made Two Pots This Week
Editor’s Note: If you’ve cooked this beloved recipe before, it might look a little different these days! We recently improved it to make it even easier to follow and more delicious.
When it comes to comforting “bowl” foods, people tend to fall into one of three camps: team soup, team stew, or team chili. Well, I’d like to present you with a fourth option, which is where I fall: team chicken and dumplings, a dish that straddles the line between soup and stew. A bubbling pot of chicken and dumplings is made of hearty bites of chicken, mirepoix vegetables, and rich broth, all blanketed with light and fluffy dumplings. It’s the real comfort food star of the cold-weather season.
Why You’ll Love It
Nothing says cozy like chicken and dumplings. Chicken soup is nourishing, but when comfort is what you need, there’s no substitute for soft and tender dumplings.
It’s easy to pull off on a weeknight. Using quick-cooking chicken breasts and store-bought broth are smart shortcuts that won’t skimp on flavor.
Key Ingredients in Chicken and Dumplings
Chicken: Some chicken and dumplings recipes start with a whole chicken or bone-in cuts, but we’ve found a way to get maximum flavor from quick-cooking boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
Vegetables: Onion, celery, garlic, carrots, and peas give the broth slow-cooked flavor with every hearty spoonful.
Chicken broth: You’ll need about 4 cups of chicken broth for this recipe. Make sure to choose low-sodium broth so that you have more control over the seasoning in the finished dish. Here’s our favorite store-bought option and a recipe for homemade chicken stock, if you have the time.
All-purpose flour: Flour thickens the broth and is combined with heavy cream, butter, and leavening to make the dumplings.
How to Make Chicken and Dumplings
Brown the chicken. Cook the chicken breasts until golden-brown on both sides. The chicken will not be cooked through at this point, and that’s OK because it’ll finish cooking once it is added back to the pot.
Cook the vegetables. Sauté the vegetables and seasonings in unsalted butter until they have softened. Sprinkle in all-purpose flour and cook for a minute to remove the raw flour taste.
Add the broth. Pour in the low-sodium chicken broth, making sure to scrape up any of the flavorful browned bits from the bottom. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pot, then bring to a simmer to finish cooking the chicken and thicken the broth.
Make the dumplings. Stir all-purpose flour, baking powder, kosher salt, heavy cream, and melted butter together until it forms a shaggy dough. Don’t overwork the dough, as that will make the dumplings tough.
Cook the dumplings. Drop 1/4-cup portions of the dumpling dough onto the surface of the stew. Cover and steam until the dumplings are cooked through and have quadrupled in volume. No peeking!
If You’re Making Chicken and Dumplings, a Few Tips
Sear the chicken, then let it finish cooking in the stew. The cubed chicken is cooked in two steps. First, it’s seared until the outside is nicely browned to develop flavor, but the meat won’t be totally cooked through yet. Return the chicken to the pot to finish cooking in the stew.
Mix the dumpling dough just until it comes together. Stir just until the dry ingredients are incorporated with the melted butter and heavy cream and you have a soft dough. Avoid overmixing, as it can lead to tough dumplings.
Leave the lid on when cooking the dumplings. It’s tempting to peek in and check on the dumplings, but resist the urge. When you open the lid to the pot, all that steam escapes. The dumplings cook by steaming, rather than boiling, and this is what gives them a light and tender consistency.
Avoid stirring at the end of cooking. Once the dumplings are cooked, don’t stir everything in the pot together, as it will break the dumplings.
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
The vegetables can be prepared and refrigerated up to 2 days in advance. This excludes the peas, which should be kept frozen until it’s time to add to the pot.
The chicken stew can be prepared up to 1 day in advance and refrigerated. Bring back to a simmer before adding the dumplings.
Transfer leftover chicken and dumplings to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
More Cozy Chicken Dinners
Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
It doesn’t get more comforting than creamy chicken soup topped with pillow-soft dumplings.
Prep time 20 minutes
Cook time 55 minutes to 1 hour
Serves 6
Ingredients
For the chicken stew:
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 medium)
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided, plus more as needed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided, plus more for serving
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, divided
1 large yellow onion, diced (about 2 cups)
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 medium stalks celery, diced (about 3/4 cups)
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 (32-ounce) box low-sodium chicken broth (4 cups)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves (from about 8 sprigs), plus more for garnish
For the dumplings:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup cold heavy cream
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
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Make the chicken stew:
Pat 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Season all over with 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the black pepper.
Melt 2 tablespoons of the unsalted butter in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken in a single layer and sear on until golden-brown on both sides, about 10 minutes total. The chicken will not be cooked through. Transfer to a cutting board and let cool slightly, then cut into 3/4-inch pieces.
Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons unsalted butter in the same pot over medium-high heat. Add 1 diced large yellow onion, 3 peeled and diced medium carrots, 2 diced medium celery stalks, 2 minced garlic cloves, 2 teaspoons dried thyme, the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and stir to coat the vegetables. Cook until lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes.
Stir in 1 (32-ounce) box low-sodium chicken broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pot and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the dumplings.
Make the dumplings:
Place 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Stir in 1 cup cold heavy cream and 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter just until a shaggy dough forms.
When the stew is ready, stir in 1/2 cup frozen peas and 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves. Taste and season with more kosher salt and black pepper as needed.
Drop 1/4-cup portions of the dough evenly onto the surface of the stew. Cover and cook for 17 minutes. Check the dumplings for doneness: They are ready when they are about quadrupled in size and no longer raw and doughy in the center. If not fully cooked, cover and cook for 2 minutes more. Serve garnished with more chopped parsley and black pepper.
Recipe Notes
Storage: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
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