Homemade Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
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This easy Chicken and Dumplings recipe makes creamy soup filled with fluffy dumplings. An easy, made from scratch homemade recipe! Now with a 30-minute method, Instant Pot, and Stovetop instructions!
Looking for more cozy dinner recipes? I think you’ll love my Grandmother’s Potato Soup, Alfredo Sauce, and Pot Roast Recipe.
Chicken and Dumplings make the perfect, comforting meal any time of the year.
Whenever my Grandmother Verdie said she was making her Chicken and Dumplings recipe, we begged to be able to eat dinner with her that night. Thick and creamy, full of moist, tender chicken and dumplings that were light as a feather – her recipe is a prize. No fiddling is needed with this recipe! It’s rich, delicious, and hearty and has always been one of my family’s favorite dishes.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Grandmother’s Chicken and Dumplings recipe is rich, creamy, comforting, and delicious! Made with minimal ingredients and cooked from scratch, it is a recipe I turn to time and again for my family.
I’ve also included updated variations for Grandmother’s original recipe to make this a quick and easy recipe ready in 30 minutes and for cooking in the Instant Pot! You may also love my Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings Recipe. So easy!
How to Make Homemade Chicken and Dumplings
To make this recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Whole chicken – about 3.5 to 5 pound chicken
- Cold Water
- Salt
- Self-rising flour
- Butter
- Buttermilk
- Milk
Step-by-Step Instructions
Cook the chicken. Add the chicken to a Dutch oven. Cover chicken completely with water, plus about 3 inches. Bring the chicken to a boil over low heat until the chicken is very tender, approximately 2 hours.
Shred the chicken. Then remove the chicken from the broth and shred it, returning the shredded chicken to broth, discarding all but the meat. Only the chicken meat goes back into the broth.
Bring to a boil. Add salt to the broth and increase it to medium heat to bring the broth to a boil.
Make the dumplings. Add the flour and butter to a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender or two forks. Pour in the buttermilk and stir together until a soft, shaggy dough forms. Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop the dough and drop it into the broth, as shown in the photo above.
If you prefer a rolled dumpling, pour the dough onto lightly floured paper towels and roll to about 1/4-inch thickness. Cut dough into 1-inch strips and pinch off 1 1/2-inch pieces. Drop the dough pieces into boiling broth. Gently stir after every few additions of the dough pieces to make sure they are submerged in the broth and able to cook.
Simmer. Add the milk, stirring to combine while cooking. Simmer for 3-5 more minutes or until the dumplings are completely cooked. Remove a dumpling and cut it in half to test for doneness, if needed.
Then remove from heat, serve, and enjoy!
Quick and Easy Chicken Dumplings (30-Minute Recipe)
To make this recipe even easier, you can use the following variation of the recipe. The chicken and dumpling soup will be ready in 30 minutes and still taste delicious!
Ingredient Substitutions
- Shredded chicken – use about 4 cups of cooked shredded chicken
- Chicken stock or broth – use 1 quart (32 ounces) of chicken stock or broth
- Milk
- Salt
- Self-rising flour
- Butter
- Buttermilk
Step by Step Instructions
- Add the chicken stock or broth, milk, and salt to a Dutch oven set over medium heat. Bring to a boil and stir in the cooked shredded chicken.
- Meanwhile, make the dumplings. Once the soup reaches a boil and you have stirred in the chicken, carefully drop the dumplings into the boiling soup.
- Stir the dumplings into the soup, reduce the heat to medium-low heat, cover the Dutch oven with a lid, and cook for about 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid, stir, and remove one dumpling to check for doneness. Cut the dumpling in half to see if it is cooked throughout. If it is, the soup is done and ready to serve. If it is not, return it to the soup and continue to cook.
Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
So many of you have been requesting how to make Grandmother’s Chicken and Dumplings Recipe using your Instant Pot.
I’ve tested and retested to make sure that the Instant Pot method was just as delicious as Grandmother’s stovetop, slowly simmered method, and boy, is it!
But you’ll see that you do not cook the dumplings in the pressure cooker at the same time as the rest of the recipe. You may ask why not cook the dumplings under pressure, but as I tested the recipe, I found that cooking the dumplings under pressure resulted in tough, dense dumplings that Grandmother wouldn’t have approved of at all! These dumplings are meant to be delicate and light. I’ve given the instructions in the Instant Pot instructions part of the recipe to make these dumplings taste the absolute best!
Three Popular Types of Dumplings Used in Chicken and Dumplings
Drop Dumplings
(uses a tablespoon or cookie scoop to scoop and drop the dumplings)
Add the flour and butter to a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender or fork. Stir in the buttermilk until a soft, shaggy dough forms. Drop the dumplings into the soup. Stir after every few additions of the dough pieces to make sure they are submerged in the broth and able to cook.
Rolled Dumplings
(uses a rolling pin to flatten the dough and cut it into strips)
Mix flour, butter, and buttermilk to form a dough. Pour the dough onto lightly floured paper towels and roll to about 1/4-inch thickness. Cut dough into 1-inch strips and pinch off 1 1/2-inch piece. Drop the dough pieces into boiling broth. Stir after every few additions of the dough pieces to make sure they are submerged in the broth and able to cook.
Biscuit Dumplings
(uses frozen and thawed or canned biscuits for dumplings)
Cut canned biscuits into four pieces and drop them into the soup.
Storage Tips
To store. Allow to cool and then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To serve, reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until heated throughout.
So, here’s our family Chicken and Dumplings recipe. I’m sharing a family treasure. And please, be sure not to overwork your dough.
Southern Chicken and Dumplings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 (3 1/2 – 5 pound) whole chicken, or about 4 cups shredded, cooked chicken
- 1/2 cup cold water, or 32-ounces chicken stock or broth
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 cups milk
For the Dumplings
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 1/4 cup butter, cold
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup buttermilk
Instructions
Traditional Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
- Cook the chicken. Add the chicken to a Dutch oven. Cover chicken completely with water, plus about 3 inches. Bring the chicken to a boil over low heat until the chicken is very tender, approximately 2 hours.
- Shred the chicken. Remove the chicken from broth and pull into strips, returning to broth, discarding all but the meat.
- Cook the soup. Add salt to the broth and increase to a medium heat to bring the broth to a boil.
- Make the dumplings. Add the flour and butter to a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender or forks. Stir in the buttermilk until a soft, shaggy dough forms. Drop the dumplings in to the soup. Stir after every few additions of the dough pieces to make sure they are submerged in the broth and able to cook.
- Cook the dumplings. Add butter and milk, stirring to combine and often while cooking. Allow to gently boil for 3-5 more minutes, or until the dumplings are completely cooked. Remove a dumpling and cut in half to test for doneness, if needed.
Quick and Easy Chicken and Dumplings Recipe (30 Minutes!):
- Cook the soup. Add the chicken stock or broth, milk, and salt to a Dutch oven set over medium heat. Bring to a boil and stir in the cooked shredded chicken.
- Make the dumplings. Meanwhile, make the dumplings. Once the soup reaches a boil, and you have stirred in the chicken, carefully drop the dumplings into the boiling soup. Stir after every few additions of the dough pieces to make sure they are submerged in the broth and able to cook.Stir the dumplings into the soup, reduce the heat to medium-low heat, cover the Dutch oven with a lid, and cook for about 10 minutes.
- Check the dumplings for doneness. Remove the lid, stir, and remove one dumpling to check for doneness. Cut the dumpling in half to see if it is cooked throughout. If it is, the soup is done and ready to serve. If it is not, return it to the soup and continue to cook.
Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings Recipe:
- Cook the chicken. Arrange the rack insert inside the Instant Pot. Place the whole chicken onto the rack and sprinkle with the salt. Add 3 cups of clean water to the Instant Pot. Secure the top to the Instant Pot, close the vent at the top of the Instant Pot lid. Set the time using the Poultry button and reduce the amount of time to 25 minutes.
- Shred the chicken. Once the Instant Pot reaches pressure, the chicken will cook for 25 minutes. Allow the pressure to naturally release over the next 15 – 20 minutes. Carefully remove the lid of the Instant Pot and lift the rack insert out of the Instant Pot carefully transferring the chicken to a cutting board or platter. Remove the meat from the chicken and return it to the Instant Pot broth.
- Make the dumplings. Press the Saute button on the Instant Pot and bring the chicken and broth to a boil. Mix together the dumplings. Drop the dumpling dough pieces into boiling broth. Stir after every few additions of the dough pieces to make sure they are submerged in the broth and able to cook.
- Cook the soup. Add milk, stirring to combine and often while cooking. Allow to gently boil for 3-5 more minutes, or until the dumplings are completely cooked. Remove a dumpling and cut in half to test for doneness, if needed.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Thanks so much for your feedback, Cathy! I’ve updated the recipe to answer the questions you brought up. Great points! I appreciate it!
I was wondering because the recipe does not say what size whole chicken to start out with, can the dumplings be frozen if there are too many?
Robyn, when my grandmother died, her dumpling recipe went with her. I have tried many times to replicate her recipe. While the recipes I tried were good, they were never like granny’s. Well, that is until I found your recipe. Your picture captured me first. I thought, that looks like my granny’s dumplings. So, I had to try your recipe. Girlfriend, when my daughter took a bite, she said, “Mom, these are like granny’s”. I love to cook and so does my daughter (age 24). I really enjoy your blog. Chicken & dumplings were always a tradition at Thanksgiving and Granny’s were the best. Now, thanks to you, the tradition lives on. Happy Thanksgiving Robyn!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!!! Thank you so much for sharing your story with me! I know how important those family recipes are and am so glad that I was able to help you to recreate one! Have a wonderful Christmas season! xo
About how much water should I cook the chicken in?
How much broth should be in the pan when you start dropping dumplings in?
I know this might sound strange but I add some white peppered gravy mix to my broth after dumplings are added. This makes it so good.
do you boil the chicken in just water or in broth? and how much?
Thank you, I cant wait to try this as well as your slow cooker beef stew!
How much broth do you use? I pre-cooked my chicken so wanted to start after the boil chicken step but am not sure how much broth to add the chicken to.
What is a instant pot?
It’s a type of pressure cooker. Thanks Deborah!
How much water do you recommend using to cook the chicken in?
This looks delicious!
When we make ours instead of adding water to the dough we add some cool chicken broth … Just adds more flavor.. My aunt the dumpling lady .. I have made them a few times though we are a rolled dumpling kinda of bunch in the south…