I’m thoroughly obsessed with this chicken and dumplings recipe. This is some serious comfort food. We’re talking tender chicken thighs cooked in a rich gravy, a medley of colorful vegetables, topped with tender, fluffy, and flavorful dumplings. This recipe is so cozy that eating a bowl of these homemade chicken and dumplings feels like being wrapped up in a big warm hug. And the best part? It’s made 100% from scratch. 🙌 Ugh, brb, I need to go make another batch because my mouth is WATERING.
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What Are Chicken and Dumplings?
Chicken and dumplings can take on many forms depending on where you live, but they’re always super cozy, filling, and comforting. While they usually always have tender chicken smothered in a savory gravy as their base, the dumplings can either be a thick noodle, or a pillowy biscuit steamed on top of the gravy. I love both versions, but today we’re making the pillowy cloud dumplings!
Ingredients for Chicken and Dumplings
Here’s what you’ll need to make this delicious chicken and dumplings recipe:
- Chicken: I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs because they’re almost impossible to overcook and they always stay moist and tender, making this recipe foolproof. You can use chicken breast if you prefer, just be careful not to overcook the chicken.
- Vegetables: A mix of onion, garlic, carrot, and celery provides the flavor base for the gravy, as well as adds a ton of color and texture to the dish.
- Butter and Flour: A butter and flour roux is used to thicken the gravy and add a ton of rich flavor to the dish.
- Herbs: Parsley, thyme, rosemary, sage, and pepper create a classic chicken soup flavor profile that makes this chicken and dumplings recipe extra warm and cozy.
- Chicken Broth and Milk: The gravy is made with a combination of broth and milk for tons of flavor and a creamy finish.
- Dumplings: The dumplings are made with a simple mix of flour, milk, melted butter, herbs, baking powder, salt, and sugar. They come together in minutes with very little mixing required!
Dumpling Variations
We use a “drop biscuit” style dumpling for this chicken and dumplings recipe, but there are several other variations you can try. Here are some popular options for chicken and dumplings:
- Pre-Made Biscuits: If you want a shortcut, buy a can of ready-to-bake biscuits and simply place them on top of the simmering gravy, then steam until cooked through.
- Biscuit Mix: Skip the from-scratch biscuits listed below and use a pre-made biscuit mix, like Bisquick, to make your biscuit/dumpling topping.
- Thick Noodles: Either make your own homemade thick noodles or “sliders” to simmer in the gravy or buy a pre-made dried “dumpling noodle”. If using a dried noodle, you may want to add an additional cup of broth to allow for the noodle’s absorption.
Tips for Fluffy Dumplings
- Make sure the dumpling batter is moist enough. It should be a soft, sticky, scoopable dough. If it’s too dry, the dumplings won’t be able to puff up as much.
- Make sure the gravy is simmering before adding the dumplings. The dumplings need the steam action from the simmering gravy to cook and fluff up.
- Keep the lid on the pot the entire time the dumplings are cooking (this holds in the steam and ensures they cook from all sides.
- Don’t make the dumplings too big. They’ll double in size as they cook and larger dumplings will take much longer to cook.
How to Store the Leftovers
Leftover chicken and dumplings are SO delicious, so make sure to save some for lunch the next day! Simply divide the leftovers into single-serving containers and refrigerate. The gravy will get quite thick when refrigerated, but they’re still delicious! Chicken and dumplings will stay good in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days.
You can also freeze the chicken and dumplings. Once chilled in the refrigerator, transfer the chicken and dumplings to the freezer and store for 2-3 months. To reheat the frozen chicken and dumplings either thaw in the refrigerator overnight before microwaving until hot or use the defrost function on the microwave.
Chicken and Dumplings
Servings 6 (about 1.5 cups each)Ingredients
Chicken and Gravy
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 lb.) ($3.29)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.12)
- 1 yellow onion, diced ($0.32)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 2 stalks celery, diced ($0.50)
- 2 carrots, diced ($0.31)
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour ($0.04)
- 4 Tbsp butter ($0.50)
- 1 tsp dried parsley ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp dried sage ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 2 cups chicken broth ($0.34)
- 1 cup whole milk ($0.48)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
Dumplings
- 1 cup all-purpose flour ($0.16)
- 1.5 tsp baking powder ($0.09)
- 1 tsp dried parsley ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp sugar ($0.01)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 1/2 cup milk ($0.24)
- 2 Tbsp butter, melted ($0.25)
Instructions
Chicken and Gravy
- Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Once hot, add the chicken thighs and brown on each side. The chicken does not need to be cooked through at this point, just make sure they get very brown on the outside. Transfer the partially cooked chicken to a clean bowl.
- After removing the chicken from the skillet, add the diced onion and minced garlic and sauté over medium heat until the onions have softened. Stir to dissolve the browned bits off the bottom of the skillet as the onions cook.
- Add the diced carrot and celery to the skillet with the onion and garlic and continue to sauté for about five minutes more.
- Add the butter and flour to the skillet and stir until the butter has melted and created a paste with the flour that coats the vegetables. Continue to cook and stir this mixture for about two minutes.
- Add the parsley, thyme, rosemary, sage, salt, pepper, chicken broth, and milk to the skillet. Turn the heat up to medium-high and continue to stir and cook until the mixture comes up to a simmer and thickens into a gravy.
- Dice the chicken and add it back to the skillet with the vegetables and gravy. Cover with a lid and let the chicken simmer in the gravy over medium heat while you prepare the dumplings.
Dumplings
- To prepare the dumplings, combine the flour, parsley, sugar, salt, baking powder, garlic powder, and pepper in a bowl.
- Pour the milk and melted butter into the flour mixture, then stir until a soft, scoopable batter is formed. Do not over stir.
- Remove the lid from the chicken and gravy and drop the dumpling batter onto the surface of the gravy in 2 tablespoon dollops. You should get about 12 dumplings.
- Make sure the gravy is still simmering, then place the lid back on the skillet and allow the dumplings to simmer for 15 minutes. Make sure they're simmering the entire time. After 15 minutes the dumplings should have doubled in size and will be fluffy and cooked in the center. Serve hot and enjoy!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Deep Stainless Steel Skillet
Nutrition
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How to Make Chicken and Dumplings
Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to a large deep skillet and heat over medium. Once hot, add four boneless, skinless chicken breasts to the pan and allow them to brown very well on each side. The chicken doesn’t need to cook through at this point, just make sure it gets very brown. Remove the browned chicken to a clean cutting board and set aside.
Add two minced cloves of garlic and one diced yellow onion to the skillet and sauté over medium heat until the onions are softened. Add two diced carrots and two diced celery stalks and continue to sauté over medium for 2-3 minutes more.
Add four tablespoons of butter and ¼ cup of all-purpose flour to the skillet. Continue to stir and cook over medium heat. The butter will melt and combine with the flour to create a sort of paste that coats the vegetables. Continue to cook this mixture for about two minutes more.
Add 1 tsp dried parsley, ½ tsp dried thyme, ½ tsp dried rosemary, ½ tsp dried sage, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, 2 cups chicken broth, and 1 cup milk to the skillet. Whisk the ingredients together, making sure to dissolve any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Turn the heat up to medium-high and allow this mixture to come back up to a simmer, at which point it will thicken into a gravy.
Once the mixture has thickened to a gravy, dice the chicken thighs and stir them back into the skillet. Cover with a lid and allow the chicken to simmer in the gravy while you prepare the dumplings.
To make the dumplings, stir together 1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ tsp salt, 1.5 tsp baking powder, ⅛ tsp garlic powder, ⅛ tsp pepper, 1 tsp dried parsley, and ½ tsp sugar in a bowl. Melt 2 Tbsp butter and combine it with ½ cup milk. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture.
Stir the wet and dry ingredients together until it forms a soft, sticky dough. It should be soft enough that you can easily scoop it with a spoon.
Make sure the gravy is fully simmering, then drop the dumpling dough into the gravy in 2 Tbsp portions. The dumplings will expand quite a bit as they steam, so don’t worry that they don’t fully cover the surface.
Place the lid on the skillet and allow the dumplings to steam in the simmering gravy for 15 minutes without lifting the lid. Make sure the gravy is simmering the whole time. After 15 minutes they should be about double in size. Cut one open to make sure it’s fluffy all the way through.
Serve the chicken and dumplings hot and enjoy! (shown garnished with parsley for color)
It was my first time making chicken and dumplings — and it certainly won’t be the last! This was so delicious. Followed the recipe as described, except I used ~580g of chicken thighs (what they sold in store) and used low sodium chicken broth, salting to taste at the end.
Followed exactly as written, delicious. Budget Bytes portions are normally pretty big, but this was 4 entree-sized servings for us (which I prefer, dinner and lunch the next day!)
I’ve never made chicken and dumplings before. This was super easy and very tasty. I had to make a substitution with the flour ingredients to make a gf version, and the results were great. I can see why this would be a budget friendly meal: chicken thighs chopped and mixed with veggies, goes a long way. Going to be using this site a lot since the price of groceries keeps climbing! Thank you for all of your recipes! (I signed up to get your newsletter, too)
Can the dumplings be made with gluten-free flour or do you recommend adding something else?
We haven’t tried it, but other readers have commented that they successfully used GF flour! It’s worth a shot I say!
This meal was delicious and easy to make! I used chicken breast instead only because that was what was thawed. So good! Thank you!
I new to this site but I will be using it again!! The cost of the ingredients right there with the recipes!
SO SO GOOD!
I have made this several times. Everyone always loves it.
SO SO GOOD!
I have made this several times. Everyone always loves it.
I cooked it in a Dutch oven and there was maybe 1 cup of liquid left and the bottom was really burnt. If you cook in a Dutch oven medium heat is too hot
Thank you for the recipe. It tasted great! I did have to double the liquid/gravy and i made extra dumplings because they were so good. I will be making this again.
I’m making these right now and I also had to double the milk and broth in the gravy! It tastes very similar to the chicken pot pie soup on here and I mean that in the absolute best way
I cubed my chicken breasts before cooking. Absolutely delicious!
Yum! I don’t recall if I’ve ever made chicken and dumplings before, but I was already in love with the idea of it. I didn’t have milk in the house, but I used an organic can of cream of chicken soup with water to make the milk. I used Bob’s Gluten Free 1:1 mix for the flour. Veggies were frozen mixed veggies (corn, peas, leeks, carrots, green beans, plus kale) because that’s what I had available.
I added a small packet of green beans, cut in half, and was missing dried parsley, but otherwise followed the recipe and it was delicious and well received by my family!
Holy smokes, this dish was phenomenal. An easy A+ for this one😊😊😊.
I was not familiar with chicken and dumplings until today. I had all the ingredients, so I did something new.
SO,SO, SO good. This could enter hit the monthly meal rotation.
Thanks for sharing!