Easy Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
It’s always a good time to pull out your Crockpot to make Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings. Fluffy biscuit dumplings (made with canned biscuits!) along with creamy chicken combine to make a chicken dinner made in the Crockpot in 4-5 hours using simple ingredients. If you like easy chicken dinners, then this is an easy recipe that will have you coming back for more!
Being in the South, I am no stranger to Chicken and Dumplings. I learned how to make this Southern classic comfort food by watching my mother-in-law make it on the farm. While she made chicken and dumplings on the stove, this slow cooker adaptation will put your Crockpot to good use. It’s a recipe the whole family will love. [Got Bisquick? Check out our Chicken and Dumplings with Bisquick recipe!]
If you prefer a faster version of chicken and dumplings, be sure to check out my recipe for Quick and Easy Chicken and Dumplings which is made on the stovetop, or my recipe for Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings, my favorite way of making chicken & dumplings.
Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings Using Canned Biscuits
By using your slow cooker, you free up your time by not having to babysit the dish as it cooks. It’s especially nice if you work from home and only have a few minutes here and there to make dinner.
The delicious dumplings are made using refrigerated biscuit dough – it’s a great shortcut with great results. It makes a large batch. It can easily feed 6 hungry folks or can be stretched to serve 8.
Ingredients
For this recipe, you need the following items:
- Cream of chicken soup
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts with fatty bits removed
- Unsalted butter
- Water
- Grands biscuits
- Black pepper
- Garlic powder and dehydrated onions, optional
- All-purpose flour, optional
Equipment Needed: 6 Quart Slow Cooker/Crockpot
How To Make Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings in Your Slow Cooker
Step 1: Place cream of chicken soup in the bottom of your slow cooker and stir it around. Layer the raw chicken breasts across the soup base. Top with a stick of unsalted butter. Pour water over the ingredients and place the lid on the slow cooker/Crockpot. Cook on the HIGH setting for 3 hours.
Step 2: Remove the chicken from the slow cooker. Shred it using a couple of forks and return it to the pot.
Step 3: Make the dumplings. Open a can of Grands biscuits and place the dough on a cutting board. For large dumplings, cut the biscuits into quarters. If you prefer small dumplings like I do, cut the dough into smaller pieces. The number of dumplings does not matter. Separate the dumpling dough and drop it into the pot along with the chicken and soup mixture. Stir. Replace the lid and cook for 1 hour on HIGH.
Season with black pepper to taste and serve.
How To Store Leftovers
Place leftover chicken and dumplings in an airtight container and refrigerate within 2 hours after being made. It should be eaten within 3-4 days.
Substitutions
Fan of dark meat? You can substitute chicken thighs in this recipe. Just be sure that they are boneless chicken thighs without skin. I recommend that you cut the thigh meat into strips to help ensure that it cooks well.
There are 10 varieties of Grands refrigerated biscuits. Feel free to use any except for those with honey butter or Hawaiian biscuits.
For added depth of flavor, substitute chicken broth or vegetable broth for the cup of water. For even more flavor, use chicken stock. You can also add ½ teaspoon of poultry seasoning. Other seasoning options are garlic powder and dehydrated onions.
You can use a can of cream of celery soup instead of cream of chicken soup. It may slightly change the overall taste.
Recipe Notes
There’s plenty of salty goodness from the cream of chicken soup, so there is no need to add salt when making this dish. It’s also best to use unsalted butter for this reason. If you are a salt lover and absolutely want to, you can add up to a teaspoon of salt along with the cream of chicken soup in Step 1.
You can add frozen vegetables to this to make it a complete meal. Add 2 cups frozen veggies like frozen peas and carrots during Step 2 (when you return the chicken to the pot).
You can also add flavor by dicing a medium onion and adding it at the beginning with the cream of chicken soup.
Don’t open the lid of the slow cooker while the chicken is cooking in step 1. Three hours is the minimum time for cooking the chicken.
Tips
Before making this dish for company, be sure to make it for your family.
The first time that I made chicken and dumplings in the slow cooker, I cooked the chicken (step 1) for 4 hours and the dumplings for 2 hours (step 3). In my Hamilton Beach Set & Forget Crockpot, the dish over-cooked. I bought a new Crockpot and the recipe below (3 hours for the chicken, 1 hour for the dumplings) worked wonderfully.
Different crockpots can produce different results. I recommend that you check the chicken after 3 hours. If it’s shreddable, then go with the 3/1 method of making dumplings. If the chicken does not shred easily, cook 30 minutes longer and re-check. (Chicken is done and safe for consumption when it reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.)
Can you use frozen chicken breasts to make this dish?
I don’t recommend it. According to the USDA, it is best to thaw frozen meats before putting them into a slow cooker. If you are pressed for time, I recommend that you use my Instant Pot recipe.
Do dumplings float when done?
Yes, they do. Once they have cooked, turn off the slow cooker and stir the dumplings into the creamy chicken mixture.
Do you need to coat the dumplings in all-purpose flour?
That’s totally up to you. Some people like to roll the biscuit dough into balls and then roll the balls in all-purpose flour before adding them to the Crockpot.
Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
Equipment
- 6 quart Crockpot or slow cooker
- Cutting board and knife
Ingredients
- 21 ounces cream of chicken soup (2 cans)
- 1 cup water
- 4 chicken breasts boneless and skinless
- ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 16.3 ounces Grands refrigerated biscuits
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place cream of chicken soup in the bottom of your slow cooker and stir it around. Layer the chicken breasts across the soup base. Top with a stick of unsalted butter. Pour water over the ingredients and place the lid on the slow cooker/Crockpot. Cook on the HIGH setting for 3 hours.
- Remove the chicken from the slow cooker. Shred the chicken and return it to the pot.
- Make the dumplings. Open a can of Grands biscuits and place the dough on a cutting board. For large dumplings, cut the biscuits into quarters. If you prefer small dumplings, cut the dough into smaller pieces. The number of dumplings does not matter. Separate the dumpling dough and drop it into the pot along with the chicken and soup mixture. Stir. Replace the lid and cook for 1 hour on HIGH.
Notes
Nutrition
Thanks to the Crockpot, you can enjoy delicious homemade chicken and dumplings without being stuck in your kitchen.
Before you go, don’t miss out on these Southern Kissed favorite recipes:
Be sure to come back and tell us how your Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings turned out!
How much water do I use ?
1 cup of water
Out of this world wonderful
do u melt butter or slice it up
You place the entire stick of butter on top of the chicken breasts. The heat from the Crockpot will melt the butter, so there is no need to cut it before placing it in the slow cooker.
I made these last night for dinner, and they were delicious and SO easy to make! Thank you for sharing!
So glad you enjoyed it!
I used buttermilk pancake and biscuit mix. no matter what I used to make the dumplings, my crock pot did not enough hot enough to cook the dumplings through. This is strange because it took the chicken just fine. I think I need a new crock pot. I am so disappointed!
I am sorry it didn’t work for you. Have you ever tried it using canned biscuits?
So good.. I never have leftovers so I’m doubling the recipe… does the chicken need to cook longer than the 3 hours?
Good question.
Without getting science-y here, I would recommend that if you have 2 slow cookers to cook 2 batches at the same time. There could be issues with the amount of time it takes due to the volume/density of the contents of the slow cooker. Better safe than sorry.
If you try it, the main thing you want to ensure is that the chicken has thoroughly cooked. If the chicken does not shred easily, it needs to cook longer.
Anyone try making biscuit dough instead of canned bisquits?
I have recently made this for my family (using them as guinea pigs) and they loved it. I barely had leftovers left.
Haven’t tried this yet but definitely will. Question do you cut the butter into pieces or leave it whole?
Leave it whole.
I never buy unsalted butter. The only change I made was using salted butter thinking it would not make a difference. It made a huge difference. Don’t use salted butter. The dish was far too salty and I like salt. Please but 1 stick of unsalted butter! Otherwise dish was perfect!
Glad you enjoyed it!
All I have is the hawiian biscuits can I use those? I mean will it still cook the same?
I imagine it would cook the same, but I cannot say for sure. Hawaiian bread products typically have a sweeter taste and may have notes of pineapple. If you make it with them, please let me know how your dish turns out.
I havent triedit yet, but if I were to forego the biscuits and add potatoesor rice for the starch, can I? Have you added either of these and how did it work out?
I have not tried that. I think that is a very interesting concept. If you try it, please come back and let me know how it turned out.
It would be nice if the original contents listed would state the amount wound up having to add another can on soup 3hours in, cannot
I bought a bag of frozen cooked yeast biscuits. Can I use these?
No. Unbaked biscuits turn into puffy dumplings. Baked biscuits have already gone through the process of baking and will react differently than unbaked.