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!
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!
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.
The first time I ever had any was on a trip to visit my husband’s parents (when we were dating). Being originally from the North, it was not something that we ate at home. Little did I know what treat was in store for me. Since my husband seemed to enjoy them, I know they had to be good. After trying them, I could see why.
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.
My mother-in-law’s technique for making the dumplings was to pinch off the dough into small pieces and it to the pot. I did that for years and then started to use a pizza cutter to do the trick. However, a large knife does the job even better if the dough is cold.
A tip for cooking them: smaller dumplings cook better. The dough will expand once it is placed in the warm broth.
Some people may find that the 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.)
You can use regular chicken broth or chicken bone broth. Bone broth will impart a richer, darker color to the dumplings.
How to easily make Chicken and Dumplings
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.
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 cream of chicken soup and stir.
- Add chicken. You’ll want to use chicken that has already been cooked. (You can cook chicken ahead of time and shred it. 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.)
- Cut biscuits into small pieces and place in chicken broth mixture. Stir well.
- Put a small layer of pepper over dumplings.
- Stir well and let the chicken and dumplings simmer for 5-10 minutes.
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.
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 cream of chicken soup and stir.
- Add chicken.
- Cut biscuits into small pieces and place in chicken broth mixture. Stir well.
- Put a small layer of pepper over dumplings.
- Stir well and let simmer for 5-10 minutes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you prefer dark meat, then check out the recipe that Martha Stewart makes. Prefer to use your Crock Pot? Sweet T Makes Three has you covered.
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.
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.
FAQ: Are chicken and dumplings supposed to be thick or soupy?
Chicken and dumplings should be thick, somewhat like a stew.
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.
Buck says
Best i ever had , added extra cup of milk. Rolled out biscuits in seasoned flour. I Like mine thin , DANG delicious.
Donna Ballotta says
I love this but I make my dumplings with mash potatoes and egg and flour the cook in the broth
take dumplings out when cooked and put chicken and veggies in to simmer when that is ready I add cream soup and put dumplings back in stir and I am done lol enjoyed everyone elses choices also
Lynda says
Thanks for sharing how you make dumplings. 🙂
Brenda Mariani says
This is absolutely delicious!! I used Grands Honey Butter which added a sweetness. Also had some canned corn & put that in also. Could use peas too if desired. Super easy & unbelievably good! Thanks! Used to make the long version for years. This is so simple & my new go to now.
Lynda says
<3
Cassandra Kravarik says
I’m trying out your recipe tonight I added sliced mushrooms to mine hopefully it comes out well.
Lisa K Salander says
Just got done making this and it’s very tasty. But since we had a bag of frozen vegetables that we cooked last night. I used mixed vegetables and We had turkey breast yesterday, so I used shredded turkey
Lisa says
Omg I opened the can of biscuits ant it pop out and hit my belly and shot off to the paper towel roll. I have a mark on my belly
Pat Butler says
My favorite soup. Going to make it shortly. It freezes very well. Yum
Cindy says
My biscuit are not cooking. Still very raw after 45 minutes! Help!
Lynda says
I am not sure what has happened. The biscuits will be soft and doughy when they are cooked. They don’t have the same texture of baked biscuits.
William says
@Cindy, Cover and simmer until dumplings are cooked through, about 15 minutes. Once you have covered the pan, do not uncover and peek while the dumplings are cooking! In order for the dumplings to be light and fluffy, they must steam, not boil.Most dumpling recipes call for cooking them in a tightly covered pot, because they actually cook in the steam created by the boiling stew or fruit. If left uncovered, this steam evaporates and the tops of dropped dumplings often turn out soggy and undercooked.
Tammy Goad says
Ty 4 sharing ur chicken n dumpling recipe n i had added cans of chicken n like 3 cans of buttermilk biscuits n had put my dough in a mixture of salt n pepper flour n last but least just 1 can of mixed carrots n peas. Looks n smells amazing n gonna see how my husband likes this way. Ty again 4 sharing ur recipe.
Becky Buice says
Our Mama made dumplings with canned biscuits, too. She cooked boneless chicken breasts in a big pot of salted water, added cubed raw potatoes (which thickens the broth) and finally the can biscuits as dumplings. Yum! We had potato dumplings, too, if there was no chicken in the house.
Lynda says
Making potato dumplings sounds like a good way to use up an abundance of potatoes. Thanks for the inspiration!
Mark says
@Lynda, Have you ever tried gnocchi potato dumplings it is an Italian pasta made with potatoes a solid pasta they work great in a dumpling
Lynda says
Hi Mark,
I don’t think I have. Do you know of any restaurants that serve them?
~Lynda
Jamie says
@Lynda,
Olive Garden has a Chicken and Gnocchi Soup that is similar to chicken and dumplings and very delicious.
Jacquelin Dickerson says
Olive Garden@Lynda,
Sunshine says
Can you use can chicken
Lynda says
I don’t see why not.
Brandy says
So do you add the soup right after you add the biscuits or do you let them cook some?
Lynda says
I don’t think it matters much. The main thing is that the soup has time to warm up to the same temperature as the rest of the soup.
Nancy Skinner says
I always roll my cut biscuits if pepper and salted flour! It makes the broth a little thicker. I also never stir the dumplings but instead push them down! Great recipe!
Dianne says
My mother made chicken and dumplings similar to yours, but she rolled the biscuits flat and sliced them so they were not so chunky. I loved it. Good recipe. Thanks for sharing.❤️
Crystal says
I grew up with chicken and dumplings made by my aunt who was a cook in Oklahoma many moons ago. Made this tonight. Sooooo good. I looked at all comments and incorporated a few. I also added a few frozen peas when the broth was coming to a boil. I added 2 cans of cream of chicken soup (one with mushrooms) and a can of milk. After adding the biscuits, it thickened up nicely. I will definitely make this again. Takes me back to the good old days in my aunt’s kitchen.
Lynda says
It made my heart happy to hear this. <3
Brenda says
be sure to use country buscuits not flakey
Peggy Luttrell says
Do your biscuit dumplings turn dark on the inside? The first time I made these they turned out perfect. Now the dumplings turn darker inside. What am I doing wrong?
Lynda says
I don’t know. I have never had that happen. Are you using the same pot or a different one?
Sue Meehling says
This is exactly like my mother used to make them. Using the cooked chicken broth, she would break the chicken apart into bite sized pieces, and use canned biscuits cut into a forth drop into boiling broth. You need to stir when first dropped in to keep them from clumping together. Cook about 20 minutes and simmer till thickened. This was mine and my dad’s favorite.
Mia Taylor says
Thank you for this recipe, it was a hit… I boiled 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast added 1 big jalapeño while boiling, b-cube and garlic powder. Shredded chicken after cool down. Strained water which made 2 cups. Added the 32 oz chicken broth, 2 cans of cream chicken 1cup of milk and 2 tbs of butter… 2 cans of grand biscuits I guess I doubled the recipe!!! Anyway it turned out awesomely good… oh and a pan of cornbread!
Lynda says
Awesome!
Jennifer Elkins says
I made this recipe and it’s amazing I love it just like when I was youngin tastes like momma’s chicken n dumplings ty.!!!!
Melissa says
Delicious, quick recipe and tastes like the old-fashioned recipes! I made it according to the directions and added a bit of McCormick’ s poultry seasoning. There were no leftovers! I plan to keep this as my go-to chicken and dumpling recipe!!!
Kathryn says
Made this today and it turned out great! Added celery, carrots, vidalia onions, and garlic (my husband and I love garlic, so I added a whole bulb). Used Pillsbury biscuits, flattened them, cut into strips, and rolled them in flour. Used two cans of cream of chicken and seasoned with some salt, pepper, and parsley. Delish!
Brad Harris says
Will try it soon! and give a treat to my kids.
Veronica says
Made this for dinner tonight. Followed directions exactly, came out perfect. It was delicious. So easy and quick. Will definitely be making this again!
Denise Carr says
Do leftovers freeze well?
Lynda says
I honestly don’t know. I do not think that they would.
Lynn says
Can you do drop biscuits instead of can?
Lynda says
I am not sure. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out. The nice thing about using canned biscuits is the simplicity of not having to mix up a batch of dough.
Audra says
Any canned biscuits or pills yet brand?
Lynda says
Any brand should work.
Shirley says
I made this and I did not use the soup. I added a extra can of broth and added a stick of butter to the broth and let melt and come to a boil. Added the chicken and let it boil, then let it simmer for awhile, then brought to boil again and then added the Grand biscuits that I cut into eighths, let it slow boil for 20 mins and it was getting pretty thick, so I added a small amount of water, (didn’t have any more broth,would have used that)then let it simmer again. They turned out very good, will make again
Sue Meehling says
@Shirley, this is exactly like my mother made them. Don’t think I’d like the soup added, I’m sure it’s used to thicken the broth. The canned biscuits are chewy and if simmered they will thicken the broth just right. The family loves them.
Lori Curlee says
This is the easiest recipe I’ve ever used. Thank you so much! My family loved the chicken and dumplings. I’ll definitely keep using this recipe. Thank you!
Lynda says
You’re welcome! Thank you so much for stopping by.
Tammy says
Can this be made in a crock pot?
Lynda says
I haven’t tried it – yet.
Stacy says
I have never made chicken and dumplings before so this was my first go at it. I did tweak it just a little. I could remember some of my mom’s things she would put so I did to . I put a whole onion and a little milk and more chicken broth. My family of 4 just told me it was the best they ever had. Well, my kids have never had it but my boyfriend has so thank you so much for the recipe!!
Tara says
Can these be made in the Crock-Pot? If so what setting should they be on and for how long?
Healthy Kitchen 101 says
I prefer making small dumplings as it’s easier and so pleasant to eat 🙂
– Natalie
Deborah says
OMG I love this chicken and dumpling recipe I added 3 cans of the soup to it and I use Rottessie chicken breast other then that it is the same It is so easy taste like I been cooking it all day have made it a number of times last year and will make it again this year yum
Steph says
Amazing! I made a couple changes: cooked a bit of diced celery in butter and added sage, rosemary, majoram, thyme and nutmeg. The flavor was great. My husband thought these were the best he’s ever had. Both of us had seconds! Thanks for this recipe, I will definitely add it to the rotation!
Amanda says
So simple and delicious! I did have to add whole milk because mine were a bit too thick for my liking. I think the next time i’ll Double the chicken broth amount and use smaller biscuits insteads of grands. Thank you for the recipe!!! We loved it!
Heather says
I had to use milk too. My chicken was really dry too☹ this was my first time making it and it was good.
Nicole says
This is my second time making it. I made it just a little different. I bought a Rotisserie chicken and shredded it, used 2 boxes of chicken broth, 1 big can of cream of chicken, 1 1/2 cans of biscuits ( only cause it was too much if I used the whole other half). It came out really good! I just didn’t want it to be too thick like last time.
Shana says
It’s taking forever (over an hour) for the biscuits to cook. They’re pink in the middle.
What am I doing wrong? It’s like this every time I make them.
Lynda says
Your biscuits are pink in the middle?
haelie says
How many serving does this one recipe yield? i’m wanting to make it but i need to know how much it yields before i can.
Lynda says
Hi. Depending on how hungry people are, I would guesstimate that this would feed 6 people.
Gwen Schmitz says
I’m also wondering about the time! But, pink? Can you over cook the biscuits, because, 5 to 10 minutes doesn’t seem enough!
Sue Meehling says
@Gwen Schmitz, they need to cook 20-30 minutes. You’ll be able to tell when they are done by cutting into one and check the consistency.
Jordan says
I made this tonight for my boyfriend and I and we both loved it!! Sooo good. Only thing I did differently was chopped an onion up and put it with my chicken while it was boiling for flavor. Will be making this again very soon!
Lynda says
I am delighted you enjoyed it! Add an onion sounds like a good culinary decision. 🙂
Krista says
Do you add a can of water for the cream of chicken?
Lynda says
No, it should be left undiluted. It helps to make the dish nice and creamy.
Doreen says
Can this recipe be used with crescent rolls instead of biscuits? I want to try this so badly today.
Lynda says
I’ve never tried it with crescent rolls. If you do make it, please come back and tell us about it. Thanks!
Patty Estes says
Don’t try it with crescent rolls, they fell apart and it was a mess. They didn’t taste like dumplings either!!!
Lynda says
Thanks for the tip! I had wondered if crescent rolls would work. Now we all know.
Paige says
My mom and I have always made them with crescent rolls. You just have to cut them in larger pieces. 🙂
Anna Gibson says
I cut flour tortillas into strips and add towards the end. They hold up well and taste just like the old-fashioned southern dumplings of my youth.
Lesia says
Has anybody tried baking their biscuits before adding them to the dumplings? I have made it this way for years but have some frozen Grands biscuits I thought about making some dumplings with.
Cathy Lindsey says
I’m going to make chicken and dumplings for the first time today but using the slow cooked already have the chicken sautéed two chicken stock boxes added and frozen corn and peas and carrots will be using frozen biscuits , thawed and cut into little chunks! I’m crossing my fingers !!!!!!!
Robin says
My mother (for quick dumplings) would always thaw some frozen biscuits, cut up and roll in flour, then add to the stew like normal. Has one tried this recipe with the frozen biscuits? I’m thinking about doing it this weekend.
Carol says
I am making this recipe for the first time as we speak! I love a good chkn & dumplin!
How many servings from the recipe do you get using the 32 oz. of chin broth?
Betty Adkins says
Best way to make melt in your mouth dumplings is to not stir or disturb them for at least 10 to 15 minuets after you add them to your pot. Just cover with a lid while cooking them. Stirring them makes them tough.
Michelle says
Made this for dinner tonight, it was Awesome! I read most of the comments and was worried about the dumplings disappearing, so I thought I would pay close attention when cooking them. After I boiled the chicken and shredded, I thought, that is a lit of chicken! I poured the chicken broth in a big pot and didn’t think it was enough. So, I added another carton. I put the chicken in, waited for it to come to a boil, added biscuits, stirred then added cream of chicken soup. I stirred everything trying to be gentle and not “upset” the dumplings, they all went to the bottom of the pot.
I was waiting for the cornbread to come out of the oven, my times were a little off. When the cornbread was ready to come out, I stirred again but couldn’t find the dumplings. I was able to locate maybe three or four. I had the bright idea to put in another can. I turned up the heat to get the pot back to a boil, then added more biscuits. These cooked up beautifully. I watched them like a hawk the whole time. Everything was done, time to eat. When serving, there was an abundance of dumplings! I guess they didn’t really disappear, they just looked like chicken… Oh well, no worries it turned out fabulous. This was my first time making chicken and dumplings. My husband and mother-in-law loved it! My husband was usually the one to make chicken an dumplings, I guess it is my job now! Thank you for Sharing the recipe.
Lynda says
Thanks for sharing your experience. I am so glad that you and your family enjoyed them. 🙂
Jess says
How many boneless chicken breasts should I use for this recipe?
Lynda says
I would say 3-4. It all depends on how big the breasts are.
Jess says
Ok. Thanks so much! I think I’m going to make this for our dinner tonight. My hubby loves chicken and dumplings and this recipe is a bit easier than making everything from scratch so I’m excited to try it!
Star Patricia Gaeckler says
How many would this feed? Can I double this I have 6 adults.
Lynda says
It might feed 6. Serve it with some sides and it will go further.
I haven’t tried doubling it, so I cannot honestly tell you.