Homemade chicken and dumplings. Or, chicken n’ dumplins’ rather, as we like to say in the South. I had been eagerly searching for a recipe like the kind I enjoyed so much growing up and this one, from TIffany (TK member Eat at Home), nailed it.
There are many different versions of chicken and dumplings and this is definitely the one that reminds me of home. For this version, the dumplings are rolled out thin and sliced, rather than dropped biscuit-style into the bubbling chicken stock. The result is a creamy, thick chicken stew that is just perfect for chilly nights! Try it and be converted to a dumplin’ lover forever.
Another reason I love this dish so much? Look how simple it is! You don’t need anything fancy—just cooked chicken, flour, milk, butter, salt, baking powder and broth. The recipe said to use cooked chicken and I had just finished roasting one, so it turned out perfect! I highly recommend using a roast chicken (either roasted at home or rotisserie for this!).
To make the dumplings, in a large bowl measure out 2 cups of flour …
A half teaspoon of baking powder …
And some butter! Cut this in with your fingers and mix until the dough looks crumbly, sort of like making pie dough!
Then add a little less than a cup of milk and a pinch of salt.
Mix the dough together and then roll out on a heavily floured surface. You definitely don’t want to go easy on the flour—using a lot of flour here is what will make the broth thicken later!
Once you have the dough rolled out, make long slices either using a pizza cutter, a pastry cutter or just a plain ol’ knife.
Then make criss-crosses so you have lots of cute little dumpling squares. Remember to keep everything covered in flour!
Bring your broth or stock to a boil and drop the dumplings in, along with any extra flour on the table. Gently stir but be careful not to mash them.
Finally, add your cooked chicken to the pot and serve. So, so, so easy! When I served this to my boyfriend for dinner, I slyly asked him how long he thought I spent making it. He guessed four hours (four hours, people!) and couldn’t believe it when I told him it took me only 30 minutes. Amazing.
You’ll want to make this recipe, asap. Thank you so much Tiffany for such a nostalgic treat! Be sure to check out her blog Eat at Home for more of her delicious recipes.
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Description
A bowl of chicken and dumplings. A glass of sweet tea. It’s a meal any Kentuckian would be proud to fix and danged happy to sit down to. And it’s not hard to make. Come on, I’ll show you how.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Flour
- ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 pinch Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- 1 cup Milk, A Bit Less Than A Full Cup
- 2 quarts Chicken Broth
- 3 cups Cooked Chicken
Preparation Instructions
In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork or pastry blender. Stir in the milk, mixing with a fork until the dough forms a ball.
Heavily flour a work surface. You’ll need a rolling pin and something to cut the dumplings with. I like to use a pizza cutter. I also like to use a small spatula to lift the dumplings off the cutting surface.
Roll the dough out thin with a heavily floured rolling pin. Dip your cutter in flour and cut the dumplings in squares about 2″x2″. It’s okay for them not to be exact. Just eye ball it. Some will be bigger, some smaller, some shaped funny.
Use the floured spatula to put them on a heavily floured plate. Just keep flouring between the layers of dumplings.
To cook them, bring the broth to a boil. Drop the dumplings in one at a time, stirring while you add them. The extra flour on them will help thicken the broth. Cook them for about 15-20 minutes or until they not doughy tasting. Add the cooked chicken to the pot and you’re done!
For more pictures and instructions, see the related link above!
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Jenna is a food writer who has worked as a pastry chef and bread baker. Her blog Eat, Live, Run has great recipes, travel stories, and the perfect slogan: “Celebrating life, one crumb at a time.”
55 Comments
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amanda. on 3.26.2012
this is EXACTLY how my mama makes it – a recipe from her grandmother. she always tripled the recipe so that we could have leftovers … so happy to see it being shared here!
Mia on 3.25.2012
Is the butter cold when you cut it in the flour or at room temperature. I am going to give these a try tonight. I usually use canned biscuits, but wanted to give homemade dumplings a try.
Erin on 3.21.2012
Comfort food at its finest! Few ingredients, easy to make, tasty and comforting. I made this tonight for dinner and it was sooo good. It will replace my more complicated and less tasty version of chicken and dumplings I currently make. Every bowl was empty at the end of dinner. Thanks for an easy, satisfying meal!
Megan McPortland-Lucero on 3.15.2012
If you roasted the Chicken, what recipe did you use?
Michelle Q on 3.10.2012
Similar to mine, but I cheat even further. LOL I use Pillsbury Grands refrigerated Buttermilk Biscuits (affectionately known as “whompums” here, ’cause you sometimes have to “whomp ‘em” on the counter to open them). Roll them out and cut them just the same. Mmmm, mmmm good!
Elizabeth on 3.8.2012
MmmmMmmmMmmm.. I used to make this a lot when my kids were little.. now I hardly cook at all.. So I looked in the freezer to see if I had any chicken, no luck but I have froze smoked turkey legs. So two of those are now in the pot and soon I will have me some lip smakin good chicken and dumplings turkey style.. It will be good I gar-en-dang-tee-ya.. yummy
Patty on 3.7.2012
Question, since these are made in a crock pot, wouldn’t you have to cook the dumplings longer than 20 minutes? And does your broth boil in a slow cooker?
Carol on 3.5.2012
seems as if it would be easier to do on the stove and not the crock pot since you must stir them. Am I incorrect in thinking this?:??
Mary Beth on 3.5.2012
I am so excited to try this. When I was in the 7th grade my mother had back surgery and a neighbor brought chicken ‘n dumplins. My dad and brother ate cereal and I finished the pot myself (over a couple of days) Since then I have only enjoyed this meal at Cracker Barrell. I am getting hungry thinking about this. thank you!~!!
Bethany on 1.24.2012
I’ve made this a few times now and I have officially left the dropped dumpling bandwagon!! This is so easy and so delicious, everyone one in my family asks for 2nds and 3rds. After eating these light dough pillows I could never go back to the heavy ball of chewy dough. Thank you so much for sharing!
Brenda on 1.14.2012
I will have to try this..this looks so good! They have chicken bowls like this at K-Mart…They are the country living collection
Brooke on 12.28.2011
I’m from GA. Needed a good, easy recipe. This passes the southern test. Making them the 2nd time tonite. Thank you! No more sticky dumplins
Favor F on 12.12.2011
This was so delicious and so easy! Thank you!! We will make this again and again!
Lizzie on 12.1.2011
Mmmmm … this was good. And so easy with a rotisserie chicken from the store! My broth wasn’t getting thick enough so I added flour&water paste until it was right. I also added corn.
TeresaM on 11.30.2011
Don’t laugh, but when I am very busy or just lazy, I use the dough boy biscuits from the refrigerator section of the store. I just pinch them into pieces into the broth along with a rotisserie chicken from the store, also. Salt and pepper, a little piece of heaven.
PT in SC on 11.30.2011
I’ve never made chicken and dumplings, but my mom does…she does about the same thing, but she always adds milk to the broth and makes it’s creamy good.
carolinagirl on 11.30.2011
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! I made this last night and it was awesome! And very easy!
Katrina Batson on 11.30.2011
Made last night and they were great!
Bonnievb on 11.30.2011
I made this for supper last night. It was delicious!!!! I used leftover turkey, added some parsley and freshly ground nutmeg to the broth (a favorite in our house), and threw together a salad. Easy and good!
becca on 11.29.2011
Oh my goodness! Mom used to make this with Bisquick biscuits, and I’d always make big biscuits and serve them to myself haha. Going to try this!
GinnaP on 11.29.2011
My Mom would take two chickens out of the freezer the night before & defrost them in the fridge overnight. The next morning she would put them on to cook in a pot of water with Lord knows what seasonings & veggies. Once they were cooked she would take the pieces out to cool & call my Aunt Roxie, from across the street, to come make the “pastry”. Aunt Roxie would make them in the middle of the kitchen table; roll out, cut & drop them in the reserved, brought back to a boil, broth. Then Mom would add the picked chicken to the pot & simmer for a while. Of course they had enough to split between the two households & some left over for the next day, if we were lucky. Oh, the memories.
Today I do it the same except I no longer have my Aunt Roxie (or my Mom) to make the “pastry” so I cheat & use Anns Dumplings. Almost like home:)
Laurie {Simply Scratch} on 11.29.2011
I’ve yet to find the perfect chicken & dumplings recipe… but this recipe gives me hope! So excited to try it!!
Katherine on 11.29.2011
I wonder if I can figure out a gluten free version of this. I sorely miss chicken and dumpling soup.
liz on 11.29.2011
I am in the dropped dumpling group (use Bisquick with parsley added). And my variation also includes the carrots and celery to improve the broth as well as just using chicken breasts. There are so many variations that it is interesting to see them all..
Sara F on 11.29.2011
This was AWESOME! It was so good – I shared it with my bestie and her 3 kids – then wished I had made a double batch so we would have leftovers!
Sheri on 11.29.2011
Do you need to use whole milk or will fat free work?
Mrs C on 11.29.2011
Oh this looks delicious and surprisingly easy!! Yum!!!! I’ve got a simple recipe for baked cinnamon apple chips!!! Perfect for entertaining!
http://www.TheBabyGoat.com
Suzanne on 11.29.2011
I wonder if I can get away with doing this with leftover turkey…
Kay on 11.29.2011
Looks fantastic, Jenna! The ultimate comfort food! Thanks Tiffany for a great recipe!
Robin on 11.29.2011
I made this last night with leftover turkey. It was so simple and delicous!!
EatLiveRun on 11.29.2011
Joan,
I got that hen bowl on sale from Sur la Table last summer!
Gwen on 11.29.2011
This seems similar to what the PA dutch call pot pie up here in Pennsylvania. My grandma used to make this – add some diced up potatoes and maybe a little celery, and it’s delicious! I like to eat it with a little Lemon Pepper Mrs. Dash sprinkled on top. Yummy!
sharon kawata on 11.29.2011
Just can’t wait to make this today, it’s the perfect weather for this yummy dish
Zee @ The Recipe Code on 11.29.2011
Can these dumplings be filled with chicken?
Sheryl on 11.28.2011
The ingredients call for 1 cup ‘milk’ I assume whole milk? Will it alter it much if its not whole milk? Because it’s mixed into the dry I don’t think it would alter the flavor too much would it? I think it’s more for the moisture factor to incorporate with the dry?
A Cozy Kitchen on 11.28.2011
Whoa!!! I looove chicken and dumplings. This looks super delicious!
Lisa at Dishes of Mrs. Fish on 11.28.2011
Oh memories! My dad would make the best chicken and dumplings when I was kid. In college, I would take at least four cool whip bowls full of it back with me when I visited on the weekends.
Karen on 11.28.2011
I whipped this up this evening, and substituted some leftover turkey in the broth. This is one of those “why did I always assume this was difficult?” recipe moments. Thank you for showing just how simple it can be, even without measuring cups handy.
Natalie on 11.28.2011
Yummy.. made some not too long ago. My grandmother’s recipe.. but she used to call them slickers rather than dumplin’s. I could go for a bowl right about now.
Joan on 11.28.2011
Please tell me where you purchased the hen bowls! Love them!
Gina F. on 11.28.2011
We had this for supper tonight. It was easy and very tasty. My husband’s mother made rolled dumplings, so he was very happy with the recipe. I added some frozen English peas and that was my only change. My husband’s quote, “a keeper recipe.” You may have converted this ‘dropped’ dumpling lover.
Wendy D. on 11.28.2011
This takes me right back to my uncles kitchen. He made his own stock and in the tiny town in North Carolina where my father and uncle were born and raised this is called Pie Bread. It’s comfort food at it’s best.
AngAK on 11.28.2011
looks like noodles to me. must be a regional difference in dumpling making. I’d throw in some carrots, onions and peas to the mix as well.
April O. on 11.28.2011
Thank you so much “Eat at Home!” I’m also thinking the chicken should be frozen separately so it doesn’t become overcooked.
This is such a helpful community! Thanks again.
Katrina on 11.28.2011
This sounds unreal!
Eat at Home on 11.28.2011
April, if you want to freeze it, I would suggest just freezing the dumplings (before cooking). Put them in layers between wax paper and use a sprinkling of flour on each layer too. I don’t think it will freeze well after it’s cooked.
Elise M on 11.28.2011
Oh my goodness! This looks absolutely scrumptious! I am afraid it will be difficult though. I am all about the healthy delicious QUICK meals. I will have to do more searching on your blog.
Anyways, I am a student at BYU trying to gather some research about mothers and their shopping habits for a class project, and I am in dire need of more mothers to take my quick survey. Here’s the link: https://byu.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_0CVM7NKfgZbEhSY If you have time, I’d really appreciate it!
cathy53clk on 11.28.2011
These look heavenly and I have a chicken soaking in salt water for me to cook tonight, so I will be making these tonight. Thanks so much for sharing.
April O. on 11.28.2011
Can this soup be frozen? If so, how would you suggest doing this? Thanks!
Gillian on 11.28.2011
I made chicken and dumplings like this for years and LOVE them! But, an elderly lady from church, known for her fabulous homemade dishes, made delicious dumplings like these and her secret was….flour tortillas!! So, now when I am in a hurry or don’t want the mess, I just use flour tortillas torn in pieces instead of making the dumplings and they are delicious. You may have to add a little flour/water mixture to thicken the broth. Try it!