Simple Chicken and Dumplings
This simple chicken and dumplings recipe is an easy, one-pot comfort food made with tender chicken, fluffy dumplings, and a creamy stovetop broth—ready in about 45 minutes.
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
For the Chicken Soup
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- 1 large brown or white onion peeled and finely diced
- 1 large celery stick diced
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 4 skinless boneless chicken thighs see note
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 dried bay leaves
- ¼ cup flour
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream or half and half
- ⅔ cup frozen peas
- cracked black pepper to taste
For the Dumplings
- 1 cup flour
- ½ tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup cold heavy cream
- 2 tbsp melted butter cooled
Instructions
- Heat the butter and the oil together in a large, lidded saucepan or Dutch oven over a medium high heat. Once the butter has melted, stir in the carrots, onion, celery and salt. Gently fry for 8-10 minutes until soft, and just starting to color.
- Stir in the garlic, and cook for a further 2 minutes until aromatic before adding the chicken, the thyme and the bay leaves.
- Add the flour, stirring so that the flour coats everything in the pot. Cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Gradually pour the chicken broth into the pan, scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Stir in the heavy cream or half and half, and reduce the heat to a simmer, leaving to cook uncovered for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt with a fork. Add the heavy cream and melted butter, and bring together into a sticky yet uniform dough.
- Remove the chicken thighs from the soup and shred on a cutting board with two forks. Return to the soup and stir.
- Spoon the dumpling mixture into the soup, allowing for 2 dumplings per person. Cover, and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the frozen peas, and stir gently to turn over the dumplings so they cook through. Cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Season to taste with black pepper and more soup if needed before serving.
Notes
- Make sure you use cold cream: If the cream is not refrigerator-cold when you add it to the dumpling mix they will become too sticky to shape. They also won't be as light and tender!
- Don’t over-mix the dough: Mix just until combined to keep dumplings light and tender.
- Keep the broth at a gentle simmer: Avoid boiling—too much heat can make dumplings fall apart.
- Cover and don’t peek: Let the dumplings steam with the lid on so they cook through evenly.
- Keep them evenly sized: Use a spoon or scoop so they cook at the same rate (a large cookie scoop works great here if you have one!)
- Check for doneness: Cut one open—no raw dough in the center means they’re ready!
- Don't microwave the dumplings: Heat leftovers through in the soup on the stovetop instead to stop them turning chewy.
Nutrition
Calories: 751kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 48g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 209mg | Sodium: 1034mg | Potassium: 827mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 6895IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 215mg | Iron: 4mg
