Description

This homemade Chicken and Dumplings recipe makes a perfectly creamy chicken soup filled with feather-light fluffy dumplings (made 100% from scratch). This version is based on my Mom's easy chicken and dumplings we grew up eating, but with a few tasty upgrades.

Ingredients

Units

For this chicken dumpling soup, I've used my Mom's basic chicken and dumplings recipe and added diced vegetables, fresh herbs, and a quick 30-minute pressure cooker chicken broth to get even more delicious chicken flavor into each bowl. Save time and skip making the broth, and instead use store-bought chicken broth or just use water. FOR CHICKEN SOUP BASE

3lbs whole chicken or bone-in chicken pieces (1.5kg)
2 quarts of homemade chicken broth, or enough to cover the chicken (sub water or store-bought broth)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (14g)
1 onion (7 ounces), diced (200g)
1 carrot (3 3/4 ounces), diced (100g)
1 rib of celery, diced (50g)
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning or other favorite dried herbs like thyme or rosemary (optional but recommended)
1 small dried bay leaf (optional)
salt and black pepper, to taste
chopped fresh parsley, to taste (optional but recommended)

FOR THE DUMPLINGS

2 cups all-purpose flour (sub 00 flour, cake flour, or whole wheat flour) (240g)
1 tablespoon baking powder (15g)
1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (6g)
1 cup whole milk, heated until warm (245g)*You may need up to 1/3 cup more milk depending on the flour type you use. *See note below.
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (45g)
3 to 4 tablespoons finely chopped chives, or more or less to taste (14g) (sub parsley or omit herbs altogether)
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
freshly grated nutmeg to taste (about 8 quick bursts on a Microplane) (optional)

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark even when your hands have flour all over them

Instructions

Make the chicken soup base. Over medium-high heat, drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a large soup pot, add the onions, carrots, celery, and salt to taste, and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until tender and onions are translucent. Add the whole chicken and pour enough broth (or water, if using) over it to cover the chicken completely (about 8 1/2 cups total). Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and a little black pepper to taste. Bring the mixture up to a steady simmer (do not boil), cover with a lid, and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes, or just until the chicken is cooked through and tender. Remove the chicken to a plate to cool slightly. Continue simmering the soup with the lid slightly ajar while you debone the chicken which will further concentrate the flavor of the broth.
Debone the chicken. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and debone it. Shred or chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
Make the dumplings. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, black pepper, (and nutmeg if using) to a bowl and whisk to combine; set aside. Melt the butter in a small pot, add the milk, and heat over medium until nice and hot, but not boiling. Turn off the heat, add the chives, and stir to combine. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and use a fork to stir everything together just until combined. *Do not overmix the dough or stir it too vigorously or the dumplings will be dense and chewy.
Steam the dumplings. Add the chopped chicken to the pot then using a portioning scoop or 2 large spoons, add the dumpling dough directly to the gently simmering soup until the top is covered with dumplings. Cover the pot with a lid, and steam the dumplings on a low simmer for 15 minutes. Serve hot and, Enjoy!

Notes

Watch the chicken dumpling video to see how easy this recipe is to make.
Make dumplings as large or as small as you like, just be sure to give larger dumplings (like I've made for this post) at least 15 minutes to fully steam.
If you want make ahead chicken and dumplings prepare the chicken soup portion of the recipe and refrigerate it or freeze it. You can freeze the chicken separately and add it to the soup just before you steam the dumplings which will help it from overcooking. When you're ready for chicken and dumplings, reheat the chicken soup, add the chicken, make the dumpling dough, and steam them for 15 minutes.
I usually end up making a new batch of dumplings for this soup base when we eat the leftovers the next day. It really all depends on how many dumplings each person eats and how much of the chicken soup is left over. You may not have enough leftover chicken soup base, but if you do make extra dumplings. It'll be slightly thicker and just as delicious.

30-MINUTE PRESSURE COOKER CHICKEN BROTH:

If you're interested in making a quick homemade chicken broth using the same chicken you're using for this recipe, here are the instructions:

2 chicken wings (cut from the whole chicken used in the soup base below)
1 chicken back (spine and neck) (cut from the whole chicken used in the soup base below)
2 drumstick joint tips (cut off from the ends of the legs) (cut from the whole chicken used in the soup base below)
8 1/2 cups water
1/2 inch piece of cinnamon stick (or sub a pinch of cinnamon) (optional but highly recommended)
leftover vegetable ends and peels including celery tips, onions with skin, and carrot peels (or sub 1 carrot, 1 onion, 1/2 rib of celery).

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Category: Soups + Stews
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: Southern

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 Bowl