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Dutch Oven Chicken and Dumplings

Homemade chicken and dumplings soup is the south's ultimate comfort food. This easy recipe is completely from-scratch, including the herbaceous drop dumplings and creamy soup, and it's made in under an hour.

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
45 mins
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 368 kcal
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Chicken and Dumplings Soup
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil or olive oil
  • 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 tsp kosher salt & 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 4 carrots well washed and cut into 1/2 inch-thick coins
  • 2 stalks celery cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 1 yellow onion medium dice
  • 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 tsp fresh rosemary leaves finely chopped
  • 1 tsp fresh sage finely chopped
  • 1 tsp fresh parsley finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic pressed or minced
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 5 tbsp flour
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • salt and pepper to taste
Dumplings
  • 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves sage, and parsley
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk OR whole milk with juice of 1/2 lemon

Instructions

Chicken Soup
    Cup of Yum
  1. In a large dutch oven pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Pat dry and season your chicken thighs generously with salt and pepper on both sides.
  2. Place 3 chicken thighs into the hot oil to sear, about three minutes on both sides. Make sure the thighs aren't over crowding the pot. Remove the seared thighs and place on a plate. Repeat with the rest of the chicken thighs.
  3. Lower the heat to medium and add in the diced onion, carrot, and celery along with the herbs and a teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Stir occasionally and cook for 4 minutes to soften the mirepoix and gain some color. Add the minced garlic and stir together until garlic is fragrant, about a minute or two.
  4. Add the three tablespoons of butter into the pot and let it melt, then shake in the flour and stir to coat the vegetables and herbs.
  5. Pour in chicken broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well between each addition so the flour doesn't clump. After 1 1/2 cups, stir in the rest of the broth.
  6. Add the bay leaves and the chicken thighs back into the pot. Bring the heat to medium and simmer covered for 20 minutes.
  7. At 20 minutes, add in the heavy cream, remove the chicken to shred or chop, and drop in the dumpling dough.
Make the Dumplings
  1. In a medium sized mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, kosher salt, and herbs. Add in the buttermilk and stir just until the ingredients have come together without dry bits, don't work it too much.
Put it All Together!
  1. Use a spoon or small cookie scoop to drop the dumplings into the pot. You can move them around and mess with them while in the pot, this results in a thicker stew and smaller sized dumplings, because they do fluff up to become pretty big if you don't.
  2. After adding the dumplings, place the shredded chicken back into the pot to warm up.
  3. Cook the dumplings in the soup pot covered for 5 minutes then flip the dumplings over using a large spoon and cook for 10 minutes, covered again.
  4. Taste the soup and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper before serving. Serve hot with crusty bread!

Notes

  • Chicken and dumplings is simple to store, keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. You can easily rewarm it in a microwave-safe dish until hot or over medium-low in a small saucepan until warmed through.
  • To freeze, portion out your soup into single servings and put each serving into a freezer safe container or zip-top bag. Freeze (freeze the bags flat for easy thawing) for up to six months; to thaw, leave in fridge overnight before reheating using the same methods as above.
  • Dumplings not Fluffy?
  • Two reasons: either your baking powder is dead (no longer lifting) or you overcooked the dumplings and you did so without the lid on the pot.
  • How to thicken chicken and dumplings
  • If your chicken and dumplings soup isn't as thick as you want, make a cornstarch slurry of 1:1 ratio cornstarch and cold water (I use about 1 tbsp of each) in a small bowl and whisk it into the simmering stew. It'll thicken up as the stew simmers.
  • Short on time? Use canned biscuits for the dumplings and shredded rotisserie chicken. Easy peasy!
  • Make sure your baking powder is less than 6 months old. Baking powder has a short lifespan and loses its lifting powers as it ages. After 6 months, it gets a little iffy so use fresh baking powder.
  • If you don't have buttermilk, a great sub is whole milk/heavy cream/half and half with about 2 teaspoons of lemon juice or white vinegar to help sour the milk up and give it more acidity.
  • Don't have fresh herbs? Use half of the amount in dried poultry seasoning or the dried herbs instead!
  • Chicken breasts can be used but don't overcook them or they'll become dry and mealy.
  • I've added frozen peas to the stew plenty of times as another tasty veg, do it at the end of cooking time so they don't overcook. Let it cook for a few minutes and serve.

Nutrition Information

Serving 1g Calories 368kcal (18%) Carbohydrates 29g (10%) Protein 22g (44%) Fat 18g (28%) Saturated Fat 8g (40%) Polyunsaturated Fat 2g Monounsaturated Fat 6g Trans Fat 0.2g Cholesterol 115mg (38%) Sodium 1065mg (44%) Potassium 445mg (13%) Fiber 2g (8%) Sugar 4g (8%) Vitamin A 5549IU (111%) Vitamin C 5mg (6%) Calcium 134mg (13%) Iron 3mg (17%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 8servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 368

% Daily Value*

Serving 1g
Calories 368kcal 18%
Carbohydrates 29g 10%
Protein 22g 44%
Fat 18g 28%
Saturated Fat 8g 40%
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g 12%
Monounsaturated Fat 6g 30%
Trans Fat 0.2g 10%
Cholesterol 115mg 38%
Sodium 1065mg 44%
Potassium 445mg 9%
Fiber 2g 8%
Sugar 4g 8%
Vitamin A 5549IU 111%
Vitamin C 5mg 6%
Calcium 134mg 13%
Iron 3mg 17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.