This 1-pot homemade Chicken and Dumplings recipe features a creamy chicken and vegetable stew topped with light, fluffy biscuits. It’s classic winter comfort food that’s perfect for warming up!
It was 2010 when I first shared my Chicken and Dumplings recipe here. I was married and living in Buffalo, New York (my hometown), and we had just had a bout of intense winter weather.
Mike and I were snowed in (par for the course during a Buffalo winter!). Over a period of a couple days we had over three feet of snow dumped on us, and there was even thunder and lightning! (Scroll down to the bottom of this post to see photos.)
I didn’t mind that winter wonderland though. It was the perfect backdrop for a delicious winter comfort food dish: Chicken and Dumplings!
Now I live in Florida, so crazy winter weather is a thing of the past. And although I miss the beauty and serenity of snow, I don’t miss shoveling or driving in it, lol.
The other day I had a hankering for southern Chicken and Dumplings and I had to make it happen!
Chicken and vegetables in a creamy stew, topped with fluffy drop biscuits, and seasoned with herbs. This easy recipe should be in every home cook’s repertoire. It’s comfort food at it’s finest, and everyone loves it!
Does it snow where you live?
The Best Easy Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
Here’s What You’re Going to Love About This Old Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
- It’s a full meal in one pot. I love a good casserole or stew because of the fact that it’s a one-stop-shop for dinner – no sides needed!
- The creamy chicken stew. This old fashioned Chicken and Dumplings recipe is full of tender chicken a variety of vegetables with a savory sauce and herbs to enhance the flavor.
- Those fluffy, light biscuits on top! They’re drop biscuits, which means you mix up the biscuit batter in a bowl, and literally drop it by the spoonful into the simmering stew.
- It’s so easy to make. Despite how impressive this classic comfort food dish looks, it’s actually so easy to make!
- Chicken and Dumplings reheats well. You can reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave, adding a splash more chicken stock if necessary.
Chicken and Dumplings Ingredients
Ingredients for the Chicken Stew:
- Chicken stock
- Onion
- Carrots
- Celery
- Garlic
- Bay leaf
- Fresh thyme
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Dried powdered sage
- All-purpose flour
- Cooked chicken
- Frozen green peas
- Fresh parsley
Ingredients for the Dumplings (Drop Biscuits):
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Whole milk
How to Make Homemade Chicken and Dumplings
This hearty comfort food classic is easier to make than you might think!
How to Make Drop Biscuit Dough for Chicken and Dumplings with Biscuits
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
- Add the butter.
- Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork or work it in with your fingertips. Do not completely combine butter and flour, there should be some larger pieces about the size of peas.
- Add the milk to the flour mixture.
- Use a wooden spoon to stir the milk into flour mixture.
- Be careful not to over-mix.
How to Make Chicken and Dumplings
- Add the chicken stock, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, salt, black pepper, and sage to a 5-quart pot with a lid.
- Stir.
- Bring up to a boil.
- Whisk in the flour slurry, and then turn heat down to a simmer. Cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Use a 1.5-tablespoon scoop to measure the dumpling batter and drop it into the liquid of the simmering soup.
- Cover the pot.
- Cook until the dumplings are puffed and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add the chicken, thawed peas, and parsley, and gently stir. Cook a couple minutes until everything is warm throughout.
Tips for Making Homemade Chicken and Dumplings
- You can use leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken for this recipe. And leftover turkey works well too!
- If you want your stew thinner like soup. Increase the chicken stock to 6 cups.
- For the biscuit batter, shortening will work instead of butter. Use whatever your preference is!
- Don’t over-work the biscuit batter. When you work the butter into the flour, there should be some larger pieces of butter about the size of peas.
- Use a 1.5-tablespoon ice cream scoop. When scooping out the biscuit batter, this will help you do it as quickly and uniformly as possible.
- For the best biscuits. Do not stir while the dumplings cook, and do not uncover the pot until you check the biscuits for done-ness at the 10 minute mark.
- Use the toothpick test to see if the biscuits are done. Simply insert a toothpick halfway into a dumpling in the center of the stew. If it comes out clean, the biscuits are done.
Chicken and Dumplings Recipe FAQs
What Are Drop Biscuits?
Drop biscuits are the easiest type of biscuits to make! For drop biscuits, you simply mix the batter in a single bowl. And then to cook the batter, you drop spoonfuls of it onto a baking sheet (or in this case, into a simmering stew).
The end result is soft and fluffy, light and pillow-y biscuits!
Like in this recipe, I love cooking drop biscuits in soup even more than baking drop biscuits on a tray in the oven. When they’re simmered in a soup, drop biscuits take on the flavor of the broth!
How Do You Make Soup Creamy?
You’re going to love how creamy this Southern Chicken and Dumplings recipe is. But get ready for the shocker: there’s no cream!
Here we use a mixture of flour and water (called a flour slurry) to thicken the soup and make it creamy.
To make it even richer, yes, you can go ahead and add a splash of cream.
More Winter Comfort Food Recipes to Make
- Instant Pot Beef Short Ribs
- Leftover Turkey Puff Pastry Pie with Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli, and Cheese Sauce
- Chocolate Babka Recipe with Orange and Cardamom
- Pelmeni (Russian Dumplings)
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xoxo, Faith
Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
Dumplings (Drop Biscuits):
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter chilled and diced
- 1 cup whole milk
Chicken Stew:
- 4 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1 medium-large onion diced
- 3 medium-large carrots diced or cut into rounds
- 3 large stalks celery diced
- 3 large cloves garlic crushed
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground sage
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour mixed with 5 tablespoons cold water to form a flour slurry
- 3 cups cooked chicken shredded or chopped
- 1 cup frozen green peas thawed
- 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
Instructions
For the Dumplings (Drop Biscuits):
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
- Add the butter, and cut it in with a fork or work it in with your fingertips. Do not completely combine butter and flour, there should be some larger pieces about the size of peas.
- Use a wooden spoon to stir the milk into flour mixture, being careful not to over-mix.
For the Chicken Stew:
- Add the chicken stock, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, salt, black pepper, and sage to a Dutch oven or 5-quart pot with a lid.
- Bring up to a boil, whisk in the flour slurry, and then turn heat down to a simmer.
- Cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the Dumpling Batter:
- Use a 1.5-tablespoon scoop to measure the dumpling batter and drop it into the liquid of the simmering soup.
- Cover the pot and cook until the dumplings are puffed and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean, about 10 to 15 minutes. Do not stir while the dumplings cook, and do not uncover the pot until you check the biscuits for done-ness at the 10 minute mark.
To Finish the Chicken and Dumplings:
- Add the chicken, thawed peas, and parsley, and gently stir.
- Cook a couple minutes until everything is warm throughout.
- Serve.
Faith’s Tips
- Great for Leftover Chicken or Turkey or Rotisserie Chicken: You can use leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken for this recipe. And leftover turkey works well too!
- For Thinner Stew (Like Soup): If you want your stew thinner like soup, increase the chicken stock to 6 cups.
- Biscuit Batter Tip: For the biscuit batter, shortening will work instead of butter. Use whatever your preference is!
- Careful Not to Over-Work the Biscuit Batter: Don’t over-work the biscuit batter. When you work the butter into the flour, there should be some larger pieces of butter about the size of peas.
- What Size Scoop to Measure the Biscuit Batter: Use a 1.5-tablespoon ice cream scoop to scoop out the biscuit batter. This will help you do it as quickly and uniformly as possible.
- Don’t Stir While the Dumplings Cook: For the best biscuits, do not stir while the dumplings cook, and do not uncover the pot until you check the biscuits for done-ness at the 10 minute mark.
- Test the Dumplings for Doneness With a Toothpick: Use the toothpick test to see if the biscuits are done. To do so, insert a toothpick halfway into a dumpling in the center of the stew. If it comes out clean, the biscuits are done.
To Make Chicken and Dumplings in the Instant Pot
- Add the chicken stock, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, salt, black pepper, and sage to an Instant Pot. Give it a stir.
- Cover the Instant Pot and set it to “Manual, High Pressure” for 0 minutes. Once it’s done, carefully vent it to release the steam.
- Meanwhile, make the dumpling dough in a large bowl.
- Stir the flour slurry into the soup after you release the steam and open the Instant Pot.
- Use a 1.5-tablespoon scoop to measure the dumpling batter and carefully drop it into the liquid of the hot soup.
- Cover the Instant Pot and set it to “Manual, High Pressure” for 3 minutes. Once it’s done, let it naturally release its pressure for 10 minutes. After that, carefully vent it to release the remaining steam.
- Add the chicken, thawed peas, and parsley, and gently stir. The heat from the stew should warm everything up, but you can turn on the “Saute” function if desired.
- Serve.
Nutrition
And So It Begins (As a point of reference for how much snow we got, my car is the one in the front on the left.)
The Next Day…But It’s Not Done Yet (My car is in front…it’s getting buried!)
The Third Day (All that can be seen of my car is the mirror!)
I Had to Go Down For a Close Up of My Car
A Winter Wonderland
This post was first published on An Edible Mosaic on December 5, 2010. It was updated with more information on January 2, 2022.
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
It snows tons here in Michigan!
It snows here but not much and usually Feb-March. The whole area comes to a standstill when a few flakes drop but the city doesnt have much in the way of snow removal/control and it is hilly here. We did have a white Christmas once time that I remember. Loved it!
yes! We live in Colorado, and I’m so glad it snows :)
Yes, it snows here! I live in Oklahoma!
Yes, it does snow in the mountains in southern California, and looking forward to try this recipe after skiing! Comfy and yum!
Oh my, one of my all-time favorite cold weather dishes, but you beat me to it – because it doesn’t snow here :) Actually, it has been cold enough here in SoCal for me to make this, but NO ONE is home for me to cook for this week :(
That chicken and dumpling soup looks goregeous! It is on my to-do list this winter.
We typically don’t get a ton of snow in DC but last year we were pounded with a blizzard. It was actually a lot of fun b/c everything shut down and I got a whole week of snow days!
Yes, it does snow sometimes in Western Washington State! This year we have already had a Thanksgiving snow/ice storm, been just cold since then though!
Mmmmmm, chicken and dumplings!
Holy snow!!! WOW! And yes, it’s snow’s where I am. I am in Canada after all! LOL Chicken and dumplings…..it’s been WAY too long sonce I’ve had that for a meal….
It does not snow in Miami (unless you count the trucked in stuff they often have at malls this time of year), but we do currently have a windchill of 39F, so it is quite wintery!
What an amazing soup! It must be absolutely tasty!
we get random amounts of snowfall at random times of year. i like it like that. :) when it does come down, i love a hearty bowl of chicken soup–this is a great recipe!
Oh yes .. It did snow last week.. Quite early this year.. But we enjoyed the White Stuff Day.. Messed up on snow with the lil one and dirtied the neatly layed snow with our trails!
I cant even imagine that much snow. It use to snow here once in a great while when I was a little girl, but now we never get any snow that sticks. We live in a valley and I live by the river. My house is the last place in Redding to see snow.
That chicken and dumpling dish looks so warm and cozy after seeing all that snow! LOL
It does not snow where I live, but it has been cold lately, and I already know which family member would LOVE me to make chicken and dumplings.
I love snow. It is so pretty. And I love being snowed in with my family. Wow! You really got a lot! I had been hearing about the snowstorn on the news. I live in the Boston area; so we do get lots of snow, none yet, though:(
Oh how I love chicken and dumplings. It is so comforting. Yours looks so delicious. It is really cold here and I would love a bowl:)
Now that’s a lot of snow! Those chicken and dumplings are perfect for that weather! We do get occasional snow but not much. It rains here all winter though but at least everything is so green!
Well, Faith, it’s not supposed to, but it does occasionally.
It doesn’t matter, though; I think I can make that dish whether or not our precipitation is frozen – it looks great!
We just got a small blanket of snow ourselves today. I really didn’t mind since I was working from home ;o)
Love the fact that your dumplings got me questioning myself on why I’ve never made them…hmmm. I would probably make them with butter.
Thanks for sharing part of your daily ;)
Flavourful wishes,
Claudia
That’s the perfect dish for a snowy day! We do get snow some winters, but not usually a lot. I don’t mind snow when I don’t have to go to work. :)
No snow where I live, but the mountains are only a couple hours away if I want snow :)
I live in Southern California – no snow here!
It snows a tiny bit here! Not as much as you get though! The chicken and dumplings look fantastic, by the way!
Wow that is allot of snow! And this is such a warm and lovely comfort food dish. There will not be snow where I live, so I guess I will always love it in a not knowing sort of way :)
That is one tasty and comforting soup! My goodness! That’s a lot of snow in one storm! I love your snow pictures showing the mounds of snow growing in height and size :)
I go to school in New Haven, CT and live outside of Chicago the rest of the year. It most definitely snows in both areas and though I’m a native Texan, I have grown to love the snow, except when it snows in March!
I always mean to make chicken & dumplings and never do. It looks so delicious and comforting, especially good for cold weather. It’s not snowing here yet, but it is freezing and windy.
It does snow where I live, but it hasn’t snowed like that in a few years! That’s a lot of snow. Chicken and Dumplings looks really yummy though!
Now that is some snow. Your chicken and dumplings were the perfect match for such a rugged day. I hope you are having a good day. Blessings…Mary
You can never go wrong with chicken and dumplings!
Chicken and dumplings if my #1 favorite comfort food. Nice way to make the snow-in worthwhile. Your dumplings look moist and delicious. That sounds like the perfect lunch right now. I live on So. Cal and I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t leave my house. I grocery shop almost daily.
It snows! A LOT!
MinnesNOWTA =)
We live in Northern California right on the coast, so it doesn’t snow here. But if we drive about an hour inland, we can find some snow. :)
It most certainly snows here in Maine! Perhaps too much…. I’m looking forward to making this soup, perfect for today when some snow is expected.
this looks so good and comforting..thanks for sharing this. have a nice day.
What a delicious looks soup! I love chicken and dumplings. Super comforting.
I cannot believe all that snow! It flurried for the first time today and now I’m all freaked out to drive…haha…I’m such an old lady.
It snows here, but so far this year we have only seen a few flakes.
It snows – I live in DC and last year we ha a whole week off work for snow days. Snomageddon = best week ever!
Chicken and Dumplings are my favorite!
And yes, it does snow up here in northern NH. It’s actually snowing right now and we’re under a winter weather advisory. 4-7 inches expected tonight! And that doesn’t include what we got yesterday or Saturday, or what’s to come tomorrow!
So much pretty snow! Gosh, I wish it would snow that much here. We got about an inch around Thanksgiving, that’s all so far.
My mom would make chicken and dumplings growing up and I actually made it for my husband before too since he had never had them before. I’ll have to give your recipe a try, it looks so comforting.
Thanks for sharing that winter wonderland with us!!! Amazing. Gotta love dumplings this time of year. Great recipe Faith.
Chicken and dumplings is the ultimate in comfort food-delicious! One of my favorite cold weather foods.
Stay warm.
Velva
Stay indoors enjoy the family eat comforting foods that is how we survived the winters back home.
Still no snow down NYC way but there will be! I miss my place upstate where there were many many mornings of buried cars. I was so grateful the owner of the inn across the road or the farmer on my other side would bring a plow/tractor to get my driveway clear. Best memories were of my St Bernard bouncing through the snow… how he loved it!!! I can’t wait so see my new Saint have her first winter with me.
The chicken and dumplings looks perfect, Faith… how perfect they would be after a good shoveling!
No….not at all!! I live in the Land of The Pyramids, and as I write, the mercury is rising to 24C. This is winter! In summer, we’re talking 42C+, and high humidity. I really miss the Scottish snow!
Crazy weather! This looks so comforting, keep warm and take care!
I can’t wait to try this! I live in Colorado and yes, it snows. Not much so far this year but I’m sure in a week we will have a foot of it.
if the peak of mauna kea counts, then yes, it snows where i live ;) lol.