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Home » Recipes » CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Quick and Easy Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

Published: Dec 2, 2021 · Modified: Jan 14, 2023 by Lynda · This post may contain affiliate links.

Jump to Recipe

Chicken and Dumplings is the ultimate comfort food. Period. The fluffy dumplings combined with flavorful chicken soup make this meal irresistible! In just minutes from now, you’ll be enjoying an amazingly creamy and delicious dinner that tastes like it’s made from scratch!

A blue pot filled with chicken and dumplings.
Chicken and Dumplings Made With Bone Broth

The easiest and fastest way to make chicken with dumplings is to use a can of biscuits. It’s true, canned biscuit dough makes excellent dumplings in this classic Southern comfort food dish the whole family will love!

Jump to:
  • 🥘 Ingredients
  • 🔪How to easily make Chicken and Dumplings
  • 📌 Tips and Notes
  • 🤷🏻‍♀️ Chicken and Dumplings FAQs
  • 🐓 Got Chicken? I’ve got recipes!
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 🆚 Quick and Easy versus Old-Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings

Let’s take a look at just how easy it is to make this Southern chicken dish.

🥘 Ingredients

There are only a few items that you need to make this super delicious one-pot dish:

  • Chicken – be sure it is already cooked.
  • Chicken broth – you can also use chicken bone broth. Bone broth will impart a richer flavor and darker color.
  • Cream of chicken soup – this helps to make it nice and creamy, naturally.
  • Canned biscuits – use either two cans of regular biscuits or one large of Pillsbury Grands.
  • Pepper – good old black pepper is all you need.
Ingredients to make chicken and dumplings.

🔪How to easily make Chicken and Dumplings

It doesn’t take special equipment to make these quick and easy chicken and dumplings – a nice large pot will do the trick.

Heat chicken broth in a pot on medium-high heat and cook until it starts to gently boil.

Add chicken. You’ll want to use chicken that has already been cooked.

Chicken simmering in chicken broth.

Cut biscuits into small pieces and place in chicken broth mixture. Stir well.

Piece of biscuit dough being added to pot of chicken and chicken broth.

Add cream of chicken soup and stir.

Cream of chicken soup being poured into a pot.

Put a small layer of pepper over the dumplings.

Black pepper being added to pot of chicken and dumplings.

Stir well, reduce the heat, and let the chicken and dumplings simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Pot of chicken and dumplings.

📌 Tips and Notes

Cut the dough into small pieces. Smaller dumplings cook better than larger dumplings. The dough will expand once it is placed in the warm broth.

Grands biscuits cut into small pieces.

Some people may find that canned biscuits work better if you coat the biscuit dough in a small amount of flour. (Flour will help to keep the biscuits from completely dissolving in the broth. Once you get used to making them, you will learn how to tell that the dumplings are done and won’t need to flour them.)

Chicken and dumplings made with bone broth in a blue Dutch oven.
Dumplings Made With Chicken Bone Broth

You can use regular chicken broth or chicken bone broth. Bone broth will impart a richer, darker color to the dumplings.

A bowl of Chicken and Dumplings.
Chicken and Dumplings Made With Chicken Broth

For the chicken, you can cook chicken ahead of time and shred it. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts work really well in this recipe. You can also purchase a cooked rotisserie chicken and pull the meat off of the bones and use it. If you are really in a pinch, you could purchase pre-cooked chicken chunks in the meat section of your grocery store and use it.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

🤷🏻‍♀️ Chicken and Dumplings FAQs

What are Chicken and Dumplings?

Chicken and Dumplings are a staple in the deep South. Basically, it’s like a thick, creamy chicken stew with pillowy dumplings. The dumplings are cooked in a broth and seasoned, usually with a lot of pepper.

Can you make chicken and dumplings in an Instant Pot?

Yes, you can! Check out my recipe for Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings for making them in America’s favorite pressure cooker.

Can you make chicken and dumplings in a Crockpot?

Yes. Using a Crockpot, you can make chicken and dumplings using uncooked chicken, butter, water, Grands, cream of chicken soup, and pepper. We have a Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings recipe you might like on the blog.

Are chicken and dumplings supposed to be thick or soupy?

Chicken and dumplings should be thick, somewhat like a stew.

What’s the easiest way to make dumplings?

Canned biscuits. You can use either 2 cans of refrigerated biscuit dough or one package of Grands biscuit dough.

Can I add veggies?

Absolutely. While we prefer the simplistic version, feel free to add frozen veggies when you add the biscuit dumplings.

🐓 Got Chicken? I’ve got recipes!

  • Easy Baked Chicken Taquitos – Creamy and cheesy, these Mexican favs are crispy and will be a hit for Taco Tuesday! (You say Taco, I say Taquito.)
  • Chicken Fiesta Casserole– Chicken and shredded potatoes are combined in one dish to make an easy weeknight delicious dinner.
  • Spicy Basil Chicken Stir-Fry – The dish is full of veggies and can be prepared in one skillet. Serve with some rice and it’s a great Thai dinner for 4-6 hungry folks.
  • Sesame Chicken – Crispy, tender, sesame seed battered chicken nuggets made at home.
  • Chicken Noodle Casserole – Chicken breasts, egg noodles, and veggies are baked in a homemade cream sauce and topped with buttery Ritz Crackers. Yum!
  • Chicken Pot Pie – Creamy chicken filling is surrounded by a buttery crust and it all just melts in your mouth.

📖 Recipe

Blue pot filled with chicken and dumplings.

Quick and Easy Chicken and Dumplings

This classic Southern staple is made easy using a few shortcuts.
4.57 from 1204 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Dishes
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 379kcal
Author: Lynda

Ingredients

  • 32 ounces Chicken broth
  • 10.5 ounces Cream of Chicken Soup
  • 2 cups cooked chicken shredded
  • 2 cans refrigerated biscuits
  • pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Heat chicken broth in pot on medium-high heat and cook until gently boiling. Add chicken.
  • Cut biscuits into small pieces and place in chicken broth mixture. Stir well.
  • Add cream of chicken soup and stir.
  • Put a small layer of pepper over dumplings.
  • Reduce the heat, stir well, and let simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Video

Notes

Nutrition information is approximate. Values for 2 cans of Pillsbury™ Buttermilk Refrigerated Biscuits (from a Value Pack), 2 cups of chicken, and 12 ounces of cream of chicken soup were used in the calculation.
Be sure to use cooked chicken when making this recipe.  Leftover rotisserie chicken is a great option.  In a pinch, you can use prepackaged cooked chicken that you find in the meat section next to lunch meat.
Cut the dough into small pieces. Smaller dumplings cook better than larger dumplings.  The dough will expand once it is placed in the warm broth.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 379kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 19g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 1785mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g
Tried this Recipe? Share it Today!Mention @SouthernKissedBlog or tag #southernkissed!
Spoonful of chicken and dumplings.

If you prefer dark meat, then check out the recipe that Martha Stewart makes. If you prefer to use your slow cooker, check out our recipe for Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings.

🆚 Quick and Easy versus Old-Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings

From the recipe above, you can see how easy this recipe is to make. Let’s take a quick look at Old Fashioned method with homemade dumplings.

First, you need either chicken stock or chicken broth. You can get it either by boiling a whole chicken in a large Dutch oven preferably with some aromatics (herbs and spices) over medium-high heat. The results are tender chicken and homemade broth. This is a good time to turn the burner off momentarily.

Next, you have to transfer chicken, chicken pieces, and other flavoring ingredients from the broth and skim any undesirable floating materials like chicken fat. The chicken meat needs to be taken off the bones. Return the shredded chicken meat to the broth.

Now it’s time to look at making dumpling dough. For this, you need a mixing bowl, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, thyme, whole milk, and butter. Combine flour and the dry ingredients, melt butter, and then add the butter and milk to the dry ingredients. Mix it all well with a wooden spoon or a spatula. You can then either roll out the dumpling dough and cut it into strips or simply scoop it into the flavorful broth. Turn the burner on and adjust to medium heat. Let the dumplings cook for about 15 minutes.

To me, using canned biscuits is the clear winner when it comes to convenience. It’s the perfect recipe for saving time in the kitchen. Truth be told, making everything scratch is a winner when it comes to eating cleaner. Unfortunately, we don’t always have enough time and just need an easy recipe to follow.

Bowl of chicken and dumplings.

I hope you enjoy this family favorite. It’s a great recipe with simple ingredients that you can pick up at the grocery store. It’s perfect all year round, but especially on a cold night.

If you are new to Southern Kissed, stay a while and check out some of our other recipes or travel posts. Reader favorites include Ooey Gooey Butter Cake, Zucchini Tots, and Dining in Panama City Beach.

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Krista says

    March 18, 2023 at 8:23 pm

    5 stars
    I tried this way because I got too late of a start on my slow cooker recipe. I was pleasantly surprised and will repeat this recipe for sure. Also , I had extra diced up biscuits and rolled them into balls and baked them. They puffed out like flowers and they were great on the side!

    Reply
    • Lynda says

      March 19, 2023 at 12:15 pm

      I am glad you liked it. I like what you did with the extra biscuit pieces.

      Reply
  2. HB says

    February 24, 2023 at 11:44 am

    4 stars
    Easy and fast alternative when you don’t have time to make it from scratch.

    Reply
  3. Kim says

    January 30, 2023 at 7:27 pm

    5 stars
    This recipe was so easy and delicious. I had pretty much stopped making chicken and dumplings because it was too much trouble. I wasn’t sure about using precooked chicken but it came out perfect. I will definitely keep this recipe in my monthly rotation.

    Reply
    • Lynda says

      January 31, 2023 at 8:02 am

      I am so glad you liked it.

      Reply
  4. My name is complicated says

    January 14, 2023 at 9:44 pm

    Where are the celery and the carrots? And just a speck of seasonings. Holy cow. What a mess.

    Reply
    • Lynda says

      January 15, 2023 at 8:01 am

      You should try it! It’s a simple version and thousands love it. Sometimes less is best.

      Reply
  5. Nicole says

    December 30, 2022 at 8:06 pm

    5 stars
    I had hand surgery earlier this week. So I’m only working with one hand and this was amazing. So easy and delicious. My entire family loved it. Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply
    • Lynda says

      December 31, 2022 at 8:24 am

      Wishing you a speedy recovery!
      We are glad that you all loved it and are grateful that you visited our blog.

      Reply
  6. Kim says

    December 30, 2022 at 3:41 pm

    5 stars
    I’m so excited I found your recipe!!! I’m making your quick and easy chicken and dumplings for supper tonight!!! I can’t wait, thanks for sharing!!!

    Reply
    • Lynda says

      December 30, 2022 at 4:23 pm

      I hope you like it as much as we do!

      Reply
  7. Amber says

    December 15, 2022 at 10:14 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious! Thanks for sharing

    Reply
  8. Lola says

    November 25, 2022 at 1:40 pm

    can I also combine egg noodles with my dumplings?

    Reply
    • Lynda says

      November 25, 2022 at 8:00 pm

      I would not recommend it.

      Reply
  9. Mike says

    November 20, 2022 at 7:34 pm

    5 stars
    I’ve made this several times with a few minor adjustments. My kids ask for this every week now. Thanks for the recipe. It’s pretty awesome.

    Reply
    • Lynda says

      November 21, 2022 at 9:33 am

      You’re welcome. I am so glad to hear that your family likes it.

      Reply
  10. Jaclyn says

    October 22, 2022 at 10:25 am

    You left out the #1 important rule of cooking chicken n’ dumplings – the dough should only be put in when the broth mix is boiling. If you don’t, the dreaded dough separation will happen. Learned this from my granny many, many years ago.

    Reply
    • Lynda says

      October 22, 2022 at 11:26 am

      Thanks for the tip!

      Reply
  11. Janice Crawford says

    October 14, 2022 at 8:43 am

    I have always made my true southern dumplings by boiling bone in chicken until all the goodness from the chicken is released into the broth. Canned biscuits does not sound appetizing. Sorry but I am a old school southern cook.
    I think chicken and dumplings are on the menu tonight. Yum

    Reply
    • Misty says

      November 15, 2022 at 11:15 am

      Then why even comment? At what point did you think “Quick and Easy” was going to be everything from scratch? I’m making this right now and it’s perfect for the 30 minutes I have to make something my sick kid asked for.

      Reply
    • Bill says

      November 18, 2022 at 4:22 pm

      If the only thing one can say is criticism, then often it is best to not say.

      Reply
      • Jimmy says

        December 29, 2022 at 3:57 pm

        My thoughts exactly. It did not say “homemade from scratch” so keep your negative comments to yourself. Oh by the way, my grandmother made chicken and dumplings with canned biscuits (she worked and did not have the luxury to spend hours on dinner) and the were REALLY good!

        Reply
    • Brenda Uldrick says

      January 24, 2023 at 7:34 pm

      I was looking for a recipe for my brother when I saw this – I also make them from scratch, but not everyone can do that and it’s very rude and unnecessary when someone like you feels compelled to criticize them! Who’s to say this recipe is not VERY good??? Not you ! Try minding your own business next time!

      Reply
  12. Doug says

    October 10, 2022 at 5:41 am

    4 stars
    Very good but next time I will use low sodium broth and cook my own chicken too improve the overly salty result I got with rotisserie chicken and store brand chicken broth

    Reply
    • Lynda says

      October 10, 2022 at 6:53 am

      Sorry to hear it was too salty. Hopefully, with those changes, it will turn out perfect for you!

      Reply
  13. Doug says

    October 09, 2022 at 6:07 pm

    2 stars
    Very salty maybe the Safeway rotisserie Rosemary chicken .maybe the cream of chicken soup

    Reply
  14. Dana says

    October 02, 2022 at 4:56 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious !!!

    Reply
  15. Sarah says

    September 20, 2022 at 5:24 pm

    5 stars
    Really tasty but have made twice once with only one can of biscuits and the other time with two , the two was overwhelming. And tasted only biscuits . Also added mixed veggies . Delicious !

    Reply
  16. Gayle Davis says

    September 16, 2022 at 2:06 pm

    I was wondering if I could use canned chicken. I don’t have the time to cook the chicken to obtain the broth and cooked chicken. Plus, I am moving, and most things are packed. I have been craving chicken and dumplings forever.

    Reply
    • Lynda says

      September 17, 2022 at 7:15 am

      I don’t see why you couldn’t use canned chicken. I use chicken that has already been cooked, so it should be fine. That being said, it might not taste quite the same because of the “canned meat” taste.

      Reply
  17. Barbara says

    August 05, 2022 at 9:04 am

    4 stars
    Don’t make the mistake I did once.
    I used the buttery Pillsbury biscuts. They dissolved when heated! I also think it is better to start with an uncooked chicken. Tried making it with boneless breast and it is not the same.

    Reply
    • Nick Jr. says

      September 13, 2022 at 8:07 am

      So you substituted ingredients, got mediocre results, and then left a 4 star review? Wow.

      Reply
  18. Kary M says

    July 01, 2022 at 6:33 pm

    5 stars
    Been hankering chicken & dumplings and so glad I found your recipe. Just a bit of prep & wowzers good eats right away! Those pepper layers are amazing.
    Since I am the only one in the house that loves C&D, I made the full recipe
    then into individual servings. Waiting until I’m going for leftovers to pop in those biscuit dumplings.
    Love easy peasy yummy recipes.
    Thank you for sharing Lynda

    Reply
    • Lynda says

      July 02, 2022 at 7:39 am

      This comment makes my heart happy! Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving it. Hope 2022 is full of wonderful surprises for you!

      Reply
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Lynda and Johnny statue

My name is Lynda and I am a recovering sugar addict and travel junkie. I'm also a mom of two children & 2 dogs, wife of 1....and a messy cook taking life one bite at a time.

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