Old Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings

This easy Chicken and Dumplings Recipe is just like mom used to make! This recipe will teach you how to make chicken and dumplings that’s full of old fashioned homemade goodness. 

Chicken and Dumplings is a classic American comfort food. It consists of a chicken and vegetable soup base, topped with a biscuit dough dumpling. You can find a wide variety of methods and preparations out there for chicken and dumplings, particularly when it comes to the dough for the dumpling itself.

• Drop Biscuit vs. Flat Noodles

  Dumplings vary from being flat and noodle like, to being more like a drop biscuit. This will depend on your region and personal preferences. This particular recipe uses the drop biscuit type dough. It’s a simple dough with only a handful of ingredients. Buttermilk is used to interact with baking powder to form a puffy dumpling. The dough is dropped into the simmering liquid in various sizes for a rustic, homestyle look.

• How do you make chicken and dumplings from scratch?

  For a true from scratch chicken and dumplings recipe, you’ll want to use a whole chicken that you have butchered up into individual pieces (IE breasts, wings, thighs, drumsticks). Sear those in some olive oil at the beginning of the recipe. Once seared, remove them from the pan and continue with the recipe. Because you seared the chicken and have the whole chicken in there, you can use water instead of chicken broth, as the chicken itself will create it’s own chicken broth. You will need to simmer your broth for much longer, 45 minutes to 1 hour, in order to make sure you chicken is cooked through. The disadvantage of using a whole chicken is that the skin and bones will need to be discarded. This, along with the searing, adds additional work and cooking time.

• How do you thicken up chicken and dumplings?

  If you want to thicken the soup base on your chicken and dumplings, you’ll need to do it BEFORE you add in your dumplings. Take about 1/3 cup of the liquids and place it into a bowl. Whisk 2 teaspoons of cornstarch into this liquid. Once the mixture is smooth, pour it back into the soup pot and stir in. Then, you are ready for dumplings. The soup base will thicken as the dumplings cook.

Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, Facebook Watch, or our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.