This is my Mom’s Southern Chicken and Dumplings — and it’s hands down the easiest chicken & dumplings recipe you’ll ever make! Filled with fluffy scratch-made dumplings, this chicken soup fed our family (of six) hundreds of times throughout my childhood. With just 6 ingredients (+ salt and pepper) in the entire dish, this is one of our favorite go-to easy fall soup recipes which also happens to be one of the tastiest soups you’ll ever eat!
In its purest (most original form), Southern Chicken and Dumplings is by default simple and unburdened by extra vegetables and herbs. Instead, the flavor of the chicken is the focus while the dumplings round it all out and thicken up the soup to make a delicious hearty meal. This is Southern Cooking at its finest!
If you’re looking for a chicken and dumpling recipe with vegetables and fresh herbs, head over to my Best Chicken and Dumplings recipe (pictured below). It’s also a cinch to make but includes a few more tasty bells and whistles your family will love.
Why We Love This Easy Chicken & Dumplings Recipe
- It uses 6 ingredients (plus salt and pepper)
- Fluffy homemade dumplings take 3 minutes to mix up
- It’s the easiest scratch-made chicken and dumplings recipe you’ll ever make
- It’s a super inexpensive, filling, and delicious soup
- It uses bone-in chicken which equals WAY more chicken flavor in every bowl
- The chicken is super juicy (never dry)
- It’s lower sodium than storebought
- It’s a kid-friendly chicken and dumplings recipe
- You don’t need a box of chicken stock to make it
- 2 ways to cook it: in a pressure cooker or in a pot on the stove
- It’s cozy, comforting, and everything you want in a fall soup recipe
Drop Dumplings — What’s Are They?
Just about everyone I grew up with in the South has some variation of family favorite chicken and dumplings recipe. One of those differences is the type of dumpling added to the chicken soup. Drop Dumplings are feather-light and fluffy and what I’ve used for this recipe. They’re a mix of Flour, baking powder, warm milk, melted butter, salt, and black pepper — and they take about 3 minutes to make from scratch!
They’re scooped (or dropped) by the spoonful into a simmering base of chicken soup, then covered with a lid, and steamed 10-15 minutes until cooked through. Dumplings are also what helps thicken the soup without having to make a roux (butter and flour mixture).
Check out my Best Chicken and Dumplings recipe to learn more about the 3 typical southern dumpling styles (including the difference between drop dumplings, rolled dumplings, and biscuit dumplings). Plus, get all the tips on how to make drop dumplings light as a feather (never dense, chewy, or hard).
Overview: Easy Chicken and Dumplings Ingredients
You don’t need to buy chicken stock or any fresh herbs for this southern chicken and dumplings. Often the tastiest things are made with just a handful of good ingredients so find the best chicken you can and your tastebuds will be rewarded. Don’t let the simplicity of this dish fool you though — it’s absolutely delicious! Here’s an overview of the ingredients you’ll need, but you can find the full measurements and instructions in the recipe card below.
CHICKEN SOUP BASE
- bone-in chicken
- onion
- salt
- black pepper
- water
Optional herbs:
- poultry seasoning, rubbed sage, thyme, or parsley
FOR THE DUMPLINGS
- all-purpose flour (sub 00 flour, cake flour, or whole wheat flour)
- baking powder
- salt
- whole milk (sub evaporated milk)
- butter
- black pepper
Overview: How to Make Easy Chicken and Dumplings
My Mom’s old-fashioned chicken and dumplings recipe is 100% made from scratch and it’s probably the easiest soup you’ll make all winter long. If you’re really short on time, you can turn this into a 3-ingredient chicken and dumplings recipe by popping open a can of biscuits and substituting them for my 3-minute homemade dumplings. You’ll find the full instructions below in the recipe card.
- Cook the chicken soup base for about 1 hour.
- Debone the chicken.
- Mix up the dumpling dough.
- Add the chicken back to the pot, scoop in the dumpling dough, cover and cook dumplings for 15 mintues.
Overview: How to Make Chicken and Dumplings in a Pressure Cooker
This is already the most uncomplicated and easiest chicken and dumplings recipe you’ll ever make, but if you want to speed things up even more, use your pressure cooker or Instant Pot to make these chicken and dumplings. It shaves off at least half of the cooking time and I promise, the chicken will never be dry! You can find the full instructions in the recipe card below.
- Cook the chicken soup base in a pressure cooker for 30 minutes at high pressure and allow a natural release.
- Remove and debone the chicken.
- Mix up the dumpling dough.
- Add the chicken back to the pot, scoop in the dumpling dough, cover and cook dumplings for 15 mintues.
Easy Chicken and Dumplings recipe step-by-step photos
Below in Photos: Raw Dumplings Vs. Fully Cooked Dumplings
Looking for a Few More Easy Fall Soup Recipes?
Here are some of our family’s favorite fall soup recipes that will warm you up from the inside out without breaking your budget!
- Maggie’s Famous Turkey and Wild Rice Soup (A Family Favorite)
- Italian Cicerchie & Ventricina Soup (Zuppa di Fagioli Cicerchie e Ventricina)
- Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup (With a Ramen Twist)
- Egg Drop Soup with Crispy Fried Wonton Strips (Danhuatang 蛋花湯)
Let’s get started!
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ . Tag me @BitingAtTheBits on Instagram and I’ll repost your beautiful Chicken and Dumplings!
Easy Homemade Chicken and Dumplings (6-Ingredients)
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 to 10 servings 1x
Description
This is my Mom’s Southern Chicken and Dumplings — and it’s hands down the easiest chicken & dumplings recipe you’ll ever make! Filled with fluffy scratch-made dumplings, this chicken soup fed our family (of six) hundreds of times throughout my childhood. With just 6 ingredients (+ salt and pepper) in the entire dish, this is one of our favorite go-to easy fall soup recipes!
Ingredients
CHICKEN SOUP BASE
- 1 (3lb) whole chicken (1.5kg)
- 2 1/2 quarts of water, or enough to cover the chicken by 2 inches (1800g)
- 1 medium onion, diced (200g)
- salt and black pepper to taste
Optional herbs:
- 1/2 teaspoon of poultry seasoning, or rubbed sage, thyme, or parsley
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)
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Make the chicken soup base. Add the onion and chicken to a large pot and add enough water to cover the chicken by 2 inches (about 8-10 cups). Season with 1 teaspoon of salt, cover with a lid, and bring the pot to a slow steady simmer (do not boil). Simmer for about 1 hour or until the chicken is tender and cooked through skimming the top as necessary. Remove the chicken to a plate and continue cooking the soup without the lid to reduce and concentrate the flavor.
- Debone the chicken. After about 5 to 10 minutes 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 while you make the dumpling dough.
- Make the dumplings. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and black pepper to a bowl and whisk well to combine. Melt the butter in a small pot, add the milk, and heat over medium until hot, but not boiling. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and gently stir everything together using a fork just until combined. *Do not overmix or mix too vigorously or the dumplings will be dense and tough.
- Cook the dumplings. Add the chicken back to the soup and adjust the seasonings. Use a portioning scoop or two spoons to add the dumpling dough to the gently simmering soup. Cover with a lid and steam the dumplings on a low simmer for 15 minutes. Serve piping hot, and Enjoy!
Notes
- You will end up with anywhere from 6 to 8 cups of chicken broth after cooking the chicken. For a slightly thicker soup base, remove all but 6 cups of the chicken soup broth before you add the cooked chicken back to the pot and start cooking the dumplings. Reserve or freeze any leftover chicken broth to use in other recipes. You may also double the dumpling dough and make extra dumplings which will add more flour to the soup base. Just be sure you have enough room in the pot for them to properly cook.
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Sub your favorite bone-in quartered chicken pieces for the whole chicken if preferred.
- Do not open the lid when the dumplings are steaming or you’ll let out the steam which is what’s cooking them!
- For a creamier soup, substitute 1 cup of whole milk, evaporated milk, heavy cream, or half and half for 1 cup of chicken broth.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 75 minutes
- Category: Soups & Stews
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Southern
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/8 of the recipe
