When you think of Southern comfort food, I bet chicken and dumplings rank up there with the best. This recipe is simple, scrumptious, and packed full of flavor.

A Southern favorite, easy chicken and dumplings is basically a thick and creamy chicken stew paired with pillow-like dumplings. The dish, like most Southern comfort food, evolved out of necessity and practicality. Back in the day, chicken was a treat and not something offered or even available on a regular basis. Whenever it was, the chicken was more often than not on the scrawny side.

Thankfully, today chicken is a staple in many people’s diets. So for your next chicken dinner, why not try this homemade chicken dumpling recipe with biscuits? A family favorite, this recipe may be simple, but it’s also scrumptious and the perfect creamy dish for a cozy winter dinner (or as cozy as it gets around here).

If you’re in a dumpling mood, make sure you check out these other delectable dumplings from scratch recipes too: sweet potato dumplings and apple dumplings.

Recipe Ingredients

Chicken
One can of Pillsbury flaky layers biscuits
Flour (self-rising or plain, doesn’t matter)
Chicken broth
Cream of chicken soup – here is a homemade recipe for cream of chicken soup if you prefer.

How to Make Chicken and Dumplings

Now, I usually stew a whole chicken but today I had boneless skinless chicken breast and no chicken so this is what we got. Feel free to drop a few chicken bouillon cubes into your water in place of the broth.

Sometimes I make crockpot chicken ahead of time in water, sometimes I cook it in the broth, sometimes I use chicken thigh, and sometimes I buy a rotisserie chicken already cooked. Go with your mood on this, just get your chicken cooked, then set it aside.

Pour your broth into a pot.

Add cream of chicken soup.

Stir and let it come to a very gentle boil while you prepare the dumplings.

To prepare the dumplings, put a little bit of flour (about a cup) in a large bowl. Add some salt and pepper – about 1/2 a teaspoon each or whatever you prefer. Stir that up a bit.

Take all of your biscuits out of the can and set them on a plate.

Now, we’re going to take each canned biscuit and tear it into three layers like this.

Dip each layer into your flour mixture…

Make sure you coat both sides until they look like this.

Now, make sure you don’t skip this step. If you do, your dumplings will completely dissolve in the broth. That is exactly what I did the very first time I ever made a chicken and dumplings recipe. I ended up with a delicious dumpling-flavored soup!

Now, take each layer and tear it into three pieces.

Reduce heat so that your chicken stock is just barely barely barely boiling and drop dumpling pieces in one at a time.

It is important that you DO NOT STIR. We are not going to stir these as we don’t want our dumplings cooking up. If you do stir, you will basically cause your dumplings to dissolve.

Instead of stirring, what we are going to do is just gently push the dumplings down into the chicken stock as they cook.

This is going to take ten minutes or so. Your dumplings will take shape and stop looking doughy as they firm up a bit.

Continue simmering your dumplings while you shred the cooked chicken. If you want to know an easy way to shred meat you can find that here.

Drop your shredded chicken into the dumplings and very gently stir that up. I really just push it down a bit as I did with the dumplings. Just be gentle.

And there you go y’all! You just make an old-fashioned chicken and dumpling recipe your family will LOVE!

Storage

Store your chicken and dumplings in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. They’re even better the next day as the dumplings continue to soak up the broth. You can reheat the dish either on the stove or in the microwave.
You can also freeze leftovers in an airtight container for up to five months.

Recipe Notes

If you want to add some vegetables to this Southern chicken dumplings recipe, you can add a can of carrot and peas to the broth when you add the chicken. Another option is to add some sauteed onion.
If you prefer to make homemade dumplings with homemade biscuit dough, check out my recipes here and here.
If you’d like to add some seasoning, cook the chicken in fresh thyme, fresh parsley, or poultry seasoning.

Recipe FAQs

What do you serve with chicken and dumplings?

Pair this Southern main dish with other great Southern side dishes, like cornbread, fresh green beans, and fried okra. You could also just serve it with a simple side salad or some roasted brussels sprouts.

You might also enjoy these other chicken recipes:

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

Cheesy Chicken and Rice

Fuss Free Fried Chicken

Sticky Chicken