Quick and Easy Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
Nothing says love more than a homecooked meal. In the South, we all know that Chicken and Dumplings is the ultimate comfort food. Our version is quick and easy to make, thanks to the use of canned biscuits. Give it a try and you’ll see why it’s love at first bite.
Chicken and Dumplings are a staple in the deep South. 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.
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. Our family loves this quick and easy recipe, and we’re confident yours will too!
This recipe is an adaptation of my mother-in-law’s recipe in which she used canned biscuits to make the dumplings. Let’s take a look at just how easy it is to make this classic Southern chicken dinner.
Ingredients
There are only a few items that you need to make this super delicious one-pot dish:
- Chicken – you’ll want to use chicken that has been cooked and shredded.
- 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 can of Pillsbury Grands will do the trick.
- Pepper – good old black pepper is all you need.
How To Make Chicken and Dumplings Using Canned Biscuits
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. Remember – you’ll want to use chicken that has already been cooked.
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 the dumplings.
Stir well, reduce the heat, and let the chicken and dumplings simmer for 5-10 minutes.
Tip
The dough will expand once it is placed in the warm broth so cut the dough into small pieces. Smaller dumplings cook better than larger dumplings.
Some people may find that canned biscuits work better if you coat the biscuit dough with 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 when the dumplings are done and won’t need to flour them.)
You can use regular chicken broth or chicken bone broth. Bone broth will impart a richer, darker color to the dumplings.
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 the bones and use it. If you are in a pinch, you could purchase pre-cooked chicken chunks in the meat section of your grocery store and use them.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Are chicken and dumplings supposed to be thick or soupy?
Chicken and dumplings should be thick, somewhat like a stew
Can you make chicken and dumplings in an Instant Pot? How about in a Crockpot?
Yes and yes. Check out my recipe for Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings for making them in America’s favorite pressure cooker. Using a Crockpot, you can make them 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.
Quick and Easy Chicken and Dumplings
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.
Notes
Nutrition
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.
I’m wondering how well this freezes.
Although I have not tried, I would not recommend it. It really doesn’t take long to make and would probably be best freshly made.
This recipe is great! I used your Condensed Cream of Mushroom soup recipe (minus the mushrooms) and followed the instructions as written for the chicken and dumplings mixture. For the dumplings portion,
I used a gluten-free
pie crust, tore it into strips and added it when called for. My husband and I loved it! Thank you for a fantastic recipe.
We’re so glad you enjoy it!
absolutely amazing recipe super easy and simple
We are so glad you enjoyed it!
Mine was a gooey mess! I used 2 cans of Grands but they were large. It didn’t specify on the recipe. I cut into strips and it just melted!
When you cut them into strips, did you flatten them, too?
This looks absolutely so good! My only question is can I use flaky butter biscuits (great value brand) instead of buttermilk Pillsbury biscuits, and get the same result? Thank you so much!
I think that should be fine. Just make sure it is a larger can. Otherwise, you will need 2 cans of biscuits.
Delish
nothing else needs to be said
I thought I would give this recipe a try. I didn’t have any cream of chicken soup on hand, so I substituted cream of mushroom and some sour cream. It turned out really good. I kind of went a little crazy with the pepper, but it was still really good. I followed the tip of not putting in the biscuits until everything was boiling. Was very pleased with the outcome. Very filling. When I first poured in the liquids, I thought it was going to be runny. The biscuits took care of that, though. I did roll my biscuits in a little flour and liked how they turned out in this dish. I think that helps with the thickening process as well.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It makes my heart happy to hear that you enjoyed the dish. 💗
How do I thicken my dumplings they are done !!?!?
Did you use a can of cream of chicken soup? It helps to thicken the dish.
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!
I am glad you liked it. I like what you did with the extra biscuit pieces.
Easy and fast alternative when you don’t have time to make it from scratch.
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.
I am so glad you liked it.
Where are the celery and the carrots? And just a speck of seasonings. Holy cow. What a mess.
You should try it! It’s a simple version and thousands love it. Sometimes less is best.
If someone puts celery and carrots in my chicken and dumplings, I am fighting them. Don’t listen to these haters
💖💖💖
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.
Wishing you a speedy recovery!
We are glad that you all loved it and are grateful that you visited our blog.
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!!!
I hope you like it as much as we do!
Delicious! Thanks for sharing
can I also combine egg noodles with my dumplings?
I would not recommend it.
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.
You’re welcome. I am so glad to hear that your family likes it.