Chicken and Dumplings {All Scratch} Gonna Want Seconds (2024)

Chicken and dumplings have to be the purest comfort food in the world! This is my Grandma’s exact recipe. It starts with a large chicken that’s gently cooked to produce the ultimate broth base. We use a large chicken so that the finished soup is loaded with tender meat along with the veggies, then, we top it all off with fluffy, delicious biscuits!

If you’re a fan of this classic recipe, I hope you’ll try my Southern chicken and dumplings (with flat biscuits!), crockpot chicken and dumplings, chicken and dumpling casserole, and Bisquick chicken and dumplings next for some variety!

Chicken And Dumpling Ingredients

Stock:

• Flour: All-purpose flour. I use the Gold Medal.
• Salt + Black Pepper: To season everything just right.
• Chicken: I like to use a big roaster chicken. I love when this dish is loaded with tender, juicy chicken. If you grab a smaller fryer chicken, the recipe will work just fine. /The finished dish just won’t have as much chicken.
• Vegetable Oil: You can use any neutral flavored oil you have on hand.
• Onion, Carrots, Celery: Just like you’d expect. I try to dice roughly the same size, so they cook evenly.
• Garlic: Please use fresh garlic, not the stuff that comes preserved in a jar.
• Chicken Stock: I like to start with low-sodium chicken stock so I can control the overall sodium in the dish.
• White Wine: This adds so much flavor. I understand some people don’t like to cook with alcohol but if you can, the wine is amazing in this recipe. If you can’t, just skip it.
• Sugar: This is the secret ingredient to everything delicious! Don’t worry, it doesn’t make the dish sweet.
• Thyme
• Bay Leaves: I use dry bay leaves.

Dumplings:

• Flour: I use all-purpose flour for my dumplings.
• Baking Powder: Makes the dumplings fluffy.
• Salt + Pepper: Gives the dumplings just the right seasoning.
• Milk: I like to use whole milk.
• Egg: Large egg.
• Butter: I use unsalted butter.x

Soup:

• Heavy Whipping Cream: This gives the soup a luxurious mouth feel.
• Parsley: I like the freshness the parsley adds.

Tips

• Mirepoix – Sauté the aromatic components: onions, garlic, celery, and carrots. These classic “mirepoix” ingredients will soften enough to release their natural oils and flavors.
• Browning The Chicken:Thisis areally important step. I know you’re tempted to skip it, but here are a few reasons why you shouldn’t. It seals the exterior of the chicken and keeps it nice and juicy when it’s all cooked. It leaves little brown bits, which the French call fond, in the bottom of the pan that adds crazy amounts of flavor to the stew. Some of the veggies are browned in the same pan after the chicken, then flour, wine, and some of the chicken broth are whisked in, to deglaze the pan. That’s when all the little brown bits are swooped up and added to the pot to create another layer of delicious flavor to the sauce.
• Dumplings:The tender dumplings are mixed from scratch. They’re yummy and quick to put together. If you’d rather use Bisquick dumplings or canned biscuits, they’ll work just as well!
  • The bottoms of the dumplings will obviously still be wet because they cookdirectly in the liquid of the stew. The centers of the dumplings, however, should no longer have any “rawness” to them.
• Full-fat dairy-Butter is the boss in the kitchen. It’s important to use full-fat butter. The fat is important to a tender dumpling.

Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead

• How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? The old fashioned chicken and dumplings will be kept for up to 4 days in the fridge. Just be sure to let it cool completely before putting it up and reserve the FDA-recommended 2-hour serving rule.
• Can You Freeze This?You can freeze this Southern style chicken and dumplings. Just be aware that since there is heavy cream included, it might not hold its texture perfectly. Cream sometimes splits when it freezes. The overall dish might be very thick when you reheat it as well. Loosen it up with some extra chicken stock if you need to.
• Make-Ahead Tips:If you need to prep the day before you can go ahead and get all the chopping out of the way. Just be sure to store the stock veggies separately from the others.
  • You can also make the dumplings a day ahead. Just put wax paper between the layers and slide them into the fridge. I always like to make my dumplings while the chicken is boiling so that’s an option too.
• Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out these links about refrigeration and storage.

How to Make Chicken And Dumplings Soup

1. Coat the chicken with the flour mixture and shake off excess.
2. Brown the chicken in batches on all sides. Set aside.
3. Saute the vegetables until tender. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant.
4. Sprinkle flour over vegetables. Stir to evenly coat the vegetables.
5. Add stock, wine, sugar, thyme, bay leaves, and peppercorns.
6. Return the chicken to the pan, and simmer until the chicken is falling off the bones.
7. Make the dumplings: Mix the dumpling mixture.
8. Form quarter-size dollops of the dough.
9. Remove the chicken and shred it.
10. Bring back the chicken to the pot.
11. Drop the dumplings into the pot and cook until they are puffed and totally cooked.
12. Serve.

***See the full instructions below.

More Chicken Soup Recipes

• Chicken Stew
• The Best Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Chicken and Rice Soup
• Italian Chicken Soup
• Mexican Chicken Soup
• Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
• Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup
• Lemon Chicken Soup
• Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

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