Chicken and dumplings is a perfect meal for a cold winter evening, or when you just want some southern comfort food to warm your soul.
Jump to RecipeOne of Justin’s favorite meals is chicken & dumplings. His family has them at Thanksgiving every year. I had never heard of dumplings for holiday meals until I met him and went to his grandma’s for the first time during the holidays. We also often have them around Christmas. It is his birthday, after all, so he gets to pick the meal.
Before meeting Justin, I had only ever had chicken & dumplings if we were out somewhere, never homemade, so I was intrigued! After watching both his mom and grandma make their homemade recipe, I wrote it all down and have been making it that way since.
Making it homemade takes some time, but it’s worth it in the end. This is one of those meals, like homemade Pierogi and Chicken Noodle Soup, that I only make on the weekend. I try to make these a couple of times per year since Justin loves them so much. But, if we need a quick meal, I also have a recipe for Chicken and Dumplings in the Slow Cooker.
Through trial and error, we have found the biggest secret to delicious dumplings is to make sure they have plenty of time to cook in the broth. The dough soaks up a lot of the flavors in the broth, so they need time to sit and simmer.
Also, making the dumpling dough with chicken broth rather than water adds a lot of flavor, too. One year we tried to cheat and bought frozen dumplings, but it just wasn’t the same.
If you are going to take the time to make chicken and dumplings, take the time to do it properly. Your taste buds will thank you for it!
Chicken and Dumplings Step by Step
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 6 cups water
Instructions
Place the chicken in a large stockpot and cover with two cups of chicken broth. Set the heat to high and bring this to a boil.
Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, covered, for about one hour. Move the chicken now and then just to make sure it isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pan. If the liquid starts to evaporate too quickly, add more water or broth as needed.
Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, 1/2 cup of chicken broth, and one egg. Add more flour as needed so the dough isn’t sticky.
Sprinkle a work surface, your hands, and a rolling pin with flour and turn the dough out.
Use the rolling pin to spread out the dough as thin as possible. The dumplings thicken as they cook, so you want them to start very thin.
Use a pizza cutter to make squares that are about one-inch square.
When the chicken is finished, remove it from the stockpot (leaving the broth in the pot) and shred the chicken. Add 2 1/2 cups of chicken broth to the stockpot plus 6 cups of water. Bring all of this to a boil.
Carefully add the dumplings to the stockpot. You will want to make sure they don’t stick together as they are placed in the pot. Once they are in there for a few seconds, they don’t stick. Just place them around the edges as you go and it should be fine.
After all of the dumplings are in the broth, add the chicken and bring it back to a boil.
Cook for about 15 minutes, until the dumplings are soft. Serve warm and sprinkle with pepper, to taste.
Chicken and Dumplings Leftovers
Storage: Store any leftover chicken and dumplings in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reheating: You can reheat the chicken and dumplings in a variety of ways. Quickest is the microwave but the best is in a pot with a bit more chicken broth.
Freezing: While chicken and dumplings can be frozen, I don’t care for it. The dumplings will start to break down and you will lose a lot of the texture of the dumplings when it’s thawed and reheated.
Recipe
Originally Published On: March 27, 2017
Last Updated On: December 20, 2023
Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 6 cups water
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Put the chicken in a large stockpot and cover with 2 cups chicken broth, and bring to a boil
- Reduce the heat to medium and cook for at least 1 hour, mostly covered
- Meanwhile, mix together flour, 1/2 cup chicken broth, and egg
- Add more flour as necessary so dough isn’t sticky
- Add some flour to your hands, work surface, and rolling pin
- Roll the dough to as thin as possible
- Use a pizza cutter to make small squares
- When chicken is done, remove from pot and shred, leaving the water in the pot
- Add 2 1/2 cups chicken broth and 6 cups water and bring to a boil
- Add dumplings to the boiling broth
- Take meat off chicken and add to dumplings
- Continue cooking until dumplings are done, about 15 minutes
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
More Thanksgiving Recipes
- Leftover Turkey Tortellini Soup
- Turkey Gravy from Scratch
- Smooth and Creamy Mashed Cauliflower and Potatoes
- Instant Pot Turkey Roasted to Perfection
- Grandpa’s Sweet Potato Casserole
- Buttermilk Biscuits
- Ambrosia Salad
- Roasted Butternut Squash
- Pumpkin Pie
- Cranberry Sauce Leftovers in Mini Jello Cups
- Homemade Stuffing or Dressing Recipe with Fresh Bread
- Creamy Homemade Mashed Potatoes
- Easy Apple Pie
- Chicken and Dumplings
I’m instantly intimidated by any meal where I have to make homemade dough. Do you think that this would work with a pre-made dough?
I’ve tried it before. It’s not quite the same, but it definitely works. Just make sure they sit in the broth long enough, otherwise they don’t get as much flavor.
I’ve made with canned buttermilk biscuits (believe it or not) and it was still delicious.
Oh, good to know! Thanks!
I am suddenly so hungry. These look beyond amazing. You are such a good cook, always posting the best stuff.
Thank you! My family enjoys cooking together, so we also have fun photographing and sharing!
Yummy Chicken & Dumplings! Look so delicious This is perfect recipe for Holiday season!
We love having Chicken and Dumplings during the holidays. It’s a family tradition for my husband.
Ooh, that looks so tasty! I am developing a massive cold (just in time for Thanksgiving, ugh!) and I have to say, I have zero appetite today BUT that looks just like the sort of comfort food I want to (try to) eat anyway!
Chicken and Dumplings would be perfect for when you aren’t feeling great since there’s a lot of hot broth in it, too. Feel better!
One of my favorite plates too. We don’t make it so often at home, but when I am out for lunch or dinner, there is place in the city offering an amazing plate and I visit it like once every month.
My husband would love to have it once a month! I like the ones out at restaurants sometimes, but homemade is the best.
Well, I have made dumplings for years. I agree a good broth is the key because that broth become the gravy for those squares of dough. I boil bone-in, skin- on chicken parts. The little bit of fat and the bones add a depth of richness and flavor. When I boil my chicken, I add an onion, cut in large chunks and a couple of stalks of celery, they are removedwhen I strain the broth. I also add a cup of milk to the broth befor I drop in the dumplings. I break up e task of boiling my chicken and making my broth when chicken is on sale. Then I debone the chicken and return it to the broth and freeze it until I want to make dumplings. I defrost it and do the dumplings on the day I want to serve them. This breaks up this into task into two less time consuming tasks.
This sounds great! The method sounds a bit similar to how I make my chicken noodle soup. This would be a great way to combine the two delicious meals together.
This looks so good! Although I am on a low carb diet, I would love to try making these!
There are cheat days for a reason 😉
I agree that allowing dumpling to simmer in broth gives it more flavor. T Chicken & dumplings is a great meal anytime of the year.
It really does make all the difference!
I’ve never eaten dumplings before, but this looks absolutely delicious!! This might have to go on my list of recipes to try soon!
I didn’t eat them often until I met my husband since they are a favorite of his. They are delicious little pieces of dough in broth!
Looks like a good fall recipe I’ll give it a try!
I think that’s why my husband’s family always has it for Thanksgiving because yes, it’s perfect for when the weather cools down a bit.
I’ve never tried to make chicken and dumplings. My mom makes it fairly regularly but it always seemed complicated until reading this.
I find that it isn’t complicated so much, it just takes a bit of time. You have to be prepared to spend possibly a couple of hours on this one. That’s why I only make it on the weekends.
My other half loves this kind of home comfort food. I will add this to my book, I have so many recipes now xx
Chicken and Dumplings is definitely comfort food at it’s finest!
This is such a comfort meal. I love the addition of dumplings. Carbs are my favorite. lol.
I am a sucker for carbs, too! I figured this could be considered Southern Comfort Food since it’s so popular at Cracker Barrell 😉
I love a good chicken and dumplings recipe! Its been so long since ive made some and I definitely plan to soon!
We will be making it again soon whenever the weather starts to change. It’s a great fall comfort food.
Chicken Dumplings are my favorite and I can’t stop thinking about enjoying this recipe at home. I simply love the recipes shared by you, they are simple, sweet and tasty.
This is probably one of the few I have that take a little more time than most, but if you have a good weekend day to cook, this would be great to make at home and enjoy the leftovers all week!
I will try it today. My kids are a little out of health this season. Chicken soup may save us from getting sick. I love how delicious it looks. Even my two year old will love it.
Oh no, I hope they feel better soon! The broth in this would definitely be soothing for someone under the weather.
My grandma was great at this kind of dish. She would make chicken and dumplings and the whole house would smell so good.
Oh my gosh, yes I love how the smell of this gets throughout the entire house. It’s so comforting!
It looks delicious! Very similar to how Chicken and Dumplings are made here on the Eastern Shore of Delmarva. Usually, we have more chicken flavor based on certain chicken parts such as backs, etc…and add chicken base (original is paste-like)…mostly we remove the chicken parts and maybe add a few back into the cooked dumplings…some versions add a trio of vegetables, such as carrots and celery…others add potatoes…while others add lima beans or peas…my family just stick to the basics, similar to yours. Again, your recipe is on point!
I love hearing about the difference in recipes throughout different parts of the world. It’s so interesting that we have such similar recipes, but they are also changed in many ways, too!