Chicken and Dumplings, like most southern 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.
How Chicken and Dumplings Were Served Up In The Ole Days
Back in the day you have a woman who has a house full of kids to feed and likely a few guests after word has gotten out that chicken is on the menu, and one scrawny little chicken. This is where flour comes to the rescue yet again! Back in the old days, flour was an affordable staple and bought in twenty five pound sacks. Flour could easily be used to stretch a meager meal so that an entire family would leave the table feeling full and satisfied by making biscuits, dumplings, hoe cake, or an assortment of other improvisational breads and meal stretchers.
This easy chicken and dumplings recipe was no exception to the rule of stretching the rations out and family and friends were guaranteed to leave feeling like their belly was full.
How to Make An Easy Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
Ingredients you will need to make Chicken and Dumplings:
- Chicken
- One can of Pillsbury flaky layers biscuits
- Flour (self rising or plain, doesn’t matter)
- Chicken broth
- Cream of chicken soup (If you prefer to make a homemade recipe for Cream of Chicken soup it is here)
TIPS About the Chicken
1) I usually stew a whole chicken but today I had boneless skinless breasts 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.
2)Sometimes I cook my chicken ahead of time in water, sometimes I cook it in the broth, sometimes I buy a rotisserie 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 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 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 biscuit and tear it into three layers like this.
- Dip each layer into your flour mixture…
- Making sure you coat both sides…
- Until it looks like this.
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…
- Lower your heat so that your broth is just barely barely barely boiling and drop these pieces in one at a time.
NOTE: 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 broth 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 chicken. If you want to know an easy way to shred meat you can find that here.
- Drop your chicken into the dumplings and very gently stir that up. I really just push it down a bit like I did with the dumplings. Just be gentle.
And there you go y’all! You just make an easy chicken and dumpling recipe your family will LOVE!
Ingredients
- 3 or 4 chicken breasts
- 32 oz Chicken Broth feel free to use water with bouillon cubes added
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 1-10 count can Pilsbury layers biscuits
- salt and pepper to taste
- flour
Instructions
- Cook chicken breasts in approx. 4 c. of water until fork tender, about 45 minutes. Place broth in medium to large sized pot. Stir cream of chicken soup into gently boiling broth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pull biscuits apart into three layers. Dip each layer into flour and then tear each layer into three pieces and drop into gently boiling broth mixture. Do not stir biscuits a lot, or they will cook up, only gently push dumplings down into broth as they float to the top. Cook about ten minutes after last dumplings are added. Add shredded chicken and turn on low until ready to serve. added, Tear up chicken, add to broth mixture.Turn to low until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Thanks for visiting with me today! If you have time, I’d love to hear from you in the comments. 🙂
You might also enjoy these other chicken recipes!
Or if you love dumplings here are a few more dumpling recipes for you:
Sweet Potato Dumplings – Heaven on a plate!
Do you have a problem with your dumplings or cream of chicken soup sticking to the bottom of the pot? If so , what is your solution? If not what do you think the issue is? We like our dumplings done not doughy so I do have to cook them longer.
You could try a couple things, one is making sure you aren’t overloading the pot with the number of dumplings in there and make sure there is enough cream of chicken soup so they can remain immersed and float to the top after you gently push them down as described in the step by step instructions. You may have to cook them in batches or use a bigger pot. The other thing you may want to try is coating the dumplings in a little oil before putting them in the pot. I haven’t tried this but I have seen others online saying they have done that with the oil. Hoping that helps!
Thank you so much for the tip about dipping biscuits in flour now my dumplings will not dissolve in the juice.
No problem, glad it was helpful!
I’m not a cook at all but I did anxiously try these. The chicken and soup was delicious! But my dumplings were super doughy and tasted like pure uncooked dough…still stretchy and gooey. I like my dumplings a little fluffy and even a bit bready in the middle, but small (not like the big drop ones). Are these supposed to be that doughy or what could I have done wrong? I followed everything. I even let the “leftovers” cook longer in the pot to see if they were under cooked and nothing changed with the texture. Just curious if these are meant to be doughy (cause some like that) or if I messed up. Thanks!
I was surprised to see someone else using the biscuit shortcut. I thought that was my own little secret. I think dumplings made this way are better than from scratch. I have found, over years of experimenting, that the best dumplings come from the cheapest biscuits with no butter chunks in them…you know, those small skinny tubes for like a dollar each.
I flour a surface and smash and stretch by hand and then cut into strips. All of the detailed cooking instructions in this recipe are right on the money and very important.
Hi! Have you made this in the crockpot?
Hi Christy, Here is our crock pot recipe: https://www.southernplate.com/slow-cooker-chicken-and-dumplings/
dumplins are better if you use chicking thighs , cheaper also
Iknow you stated before the recipe for anyone who has never had chicken and dumplings….that just broke my heart because I can’t IMAGINE living in a world where I had never had chicken ‘n dumplings! There truly is nothing better and I can’t wait to try your recipe!!