Easy Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
This delicious Chicken and Dumplings recipe comes together in well under an hour with tender chunks of chicken and fluffy buttermilk dumplings - it's the perfect cozy comfort meal for a chilly day!
Ingredients
For the sauce and chicken:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 medium shallot finely chopped
- 2 medium stalks celery halved and sliced about ¼ inch thick
- ½ cup dry white wine optional
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 5 cups low sodium chicken stock/broth
- ½ cup half and half or heavy cream
- 4 medium carrots sliced in ¼ inch slices
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 medium bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1¾ teaspoons garlic salt
- 2 ½-3 cups cooked diced or shredded chicken
For the dumplings:
- 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary or thyme
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
To finish:
- ¾ cup tiny frozen peas thawed
- finely chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
For the sauce and chicken
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Heat a low large sauté pan (or braiser) with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat. Add the butter and oil and cook until the butter is melted, swirling the pan a few times to coat the bottom. Add the chopped onion, shallots and celery. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the onion is softened.
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If using the wine, add it now, then increase the heat a bit and allow the wine to reduce for 3-4 minutes.
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Add the flour, stirring frequently for 30-60 seconds to coat the veggies.
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Slowly add the chicken broth, stirring to dissolve all of the flour then add the cream or half and half, carrots, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, rosemary and garlic salt. Bring mixture to a medium boil. Once the sauce starts to boil, cook UNCOVERED, for 10 minutes, stirring and scraping the sides of the pan occasionally.
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Remove the bay leaves. Add the chopped chicken and stir to combine. You can add a bit more chicken broth at this point if the sauce seems a little thick. (It will get thicker as the dumplings cook.)
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Add tablespoons of the dumpling mixture (see recipe below) to the simmering chicken mixture. (I like to use a small 1½-2 tablespoon cookie scoop but a spoon can also be used. Don’t make the dumplings too large, they will get significantly bigger as they cook.)
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Cover the pot and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes without removing the cover. The dumplings should be fluffy and float to the top. You can cut one open to make sure it’s cooked. If needed cover the pot and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Don’t overcook the dumplings as they will fall apart.
To finish:
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Add the peas and cover the pot for one minute to warm them. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper and finely chopped fresh parsley. Enjoy!
For the dumplings:
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While the sauce is cooking, make the dumplings by combining the flour, baking powder, baking soda, parsley, rosemary (or thyme) and salt in a medium-size bowl. Make a well in the center.
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Combine the melted butter and buttermilk in a small bowl or measuring cup and set aside.
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When the chicken mixture has cooked for 15 minutes, add the buttermilk mixture to the bowl with the flour mixture. Stir just until the flour is all incorporated. Don’t overmix. Follow the directions above (continuing with step 6) to add the dumplings to the sauce and finish the recipe.
Recipe Notes
See Café Tips above in the post for more detailed instructions and tips to ensure success.
If you prefer to use Metric measurements there is a button in each of our recipes, right above the word “Instructions”. Just click that button to toggle to grams, milliliters, etc. If you ever come across one of our recipes that doesn't have the Metric conversion (some of the older recipes may not), feel free to leave a comment and I will add it.