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Chicken and Dumplings

Southern chicken and dumplings: bone-in thighs simmered into a rich, lightly creamy broth, topped with fluffy drop dumplings that steam under a closed lid until light all the way through.

Prep
25 min
Cook
1 hr 5 min
Rest
5 min
Makes
Serves 6
Jump to the recipe
A bowl of broth with small dumplings and parsley
Photo: StockSnap / Pixabay

There are two schools of chicken and dumplings. Rolled dumplings are flat strips of dough, closer to thick noodles, simmered in the broth until they turn silky. Drop dumplings are spoonfuls of soft biscuit dough that puff on the surface of the stew and steam into something light and fluffy. This recipe makes drop dumplings. Rolled dumplings are the older style in much of the South; drop dumplings are more widespread and easier to get right.

Dumplings sink and go dense for two reasons. The first is overmixing. The dough is a biscuit dough, so the same rule applies: stir only until the flour disappears, and stop. A few lumps are fine. Beating it develops gluten and gives you dumplings that are chewy and heavy in the middle.

The second is lifting the lid. Drop dumplings cook partly by simmering underneath and partly by steaming on top. For the first fifteen minutes the lid stays on, without peeking. Each time it comes off, the steam escapes, the tops stop cooking, and the dumplings collapse a little. Set a timer and leave it alone.

The broth starts with bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. The bones and skin give body and flavor that boneless meat cannot, and thighs stay tender through a long simmer where breasts go dry. Brown the skin first for color, then simmer the thighs in broth with onion, carrot and celery until the meat falls off the bone. Pull the chicken out, shred it, and discard the skin and bones.

What turns chicken soup into chicken and dumplings is the body of the broth. A little butter and flour cooked in the pot before the broth goes in thickens it slightly, and a splash of cream at the end makes it silky. It should coat a spoon without being as heavy as gravy, because the dumplings themselves release starch as they cook and thicken it further.

The broth has to be at a steady simmer when the dumplings go in, not a hard boil and not barely moving. Too hot and the outsides break up before the centers cook; too cool and they sit in liquid and turn gummy. Drop the dough in tablespoon-sized mounds, leaving room between them, because they nearly double.

They are done when they look dry on top and a toothpick in the center of the biggest one comes out clean. Check one by breaking it open if you are unsure; the inside should be fluffy and cooked through, not wet.

The same vegetable base runs through chicken pot pie, which swaps the dumplings for a crust. For a lighter bowl, farmhouse chicken noodle soup keeps the broth clear, Chicken and stars soup is the small-pasta version children ask for, and fried green tomatoes start a Southern supper off right.

A bowl of chicken stew with carrots and potatoes
Photo: Istvan Szabo / Pexels

Chicken and dumplings, printed

Southern chicken and dumplings: bone-in thighs simmered into a rich, lightly creamy broth, topped with fluffy drop dumplings that steam under a closed lid until light all the way through.

The stew pot and the dumpling bowl

For the chicken and broth

  • 2½ lb (1.1 kg) bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
  • 1 tsp fine salt, plus more to taste
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 4 tbsp (55 g) unsalted butter
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 3 ribs celery, sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ⅓ cup (40 g) all-purpose flour
  • 8 cups (1.9 L) low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, or ½ tsp dried
  • ½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

For the dumplings

  • 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ¾ tsp fine salt
  • 4 tbsp (55 g) cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • ¾ cup (180 ml) cold buttermilk or whole milk
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley or chives

Brown, simmer, shred, then steam the dumplings

  1. 1 Pat the chicken dry and season with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and brown the thighs skin side down until golden, 6–8 minutes. Turn and brown 2 minutes more, then transfer to a plate.
  2. 2 Pour off all but 1 tbsp fat. Add the butter, onion, carrots and celery and cook over medium heat until soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic for 30 seconds.
  3. 3 Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the broth, then add the bay leaves and thyme. Return the chicken and any juices to the pot.
  4. 4 Bring to a boil, then lower to a gentle simmer, partly covered, for 30–35 minutes, until the chicken is very tender. Lift out the thighs, discard skin and bones, shred the meat and return it to the pot. Remove the bay leaves. Stir in the cream and taste for salt.
  5. 5 While the chicken simmers, make the dumplings: whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until it looks like coarse crumbs. Add the buttermilk and herbs and stir with a fork only until no dry flour remains.
  6. 6 Bring the stew to a steady, gentle simmer. Drop the dough in heaping tablespoons over the surface, leaving space between them.
  7. 7 Cover tightly and simmer 15 minutes without lifting the lid. Uncover and check that a toothpick in the center of a dumpling comes out clean; if not, cover and cook 3 minutes more.
  8. 8 Rest 5 minutes, sprinkle with parsley and serve in shallow bowls.

Rotisserie chicken, canned biscuits and leftovers

  • Shortcut: use 4 cups (560 g) shredded rotisserie chicken and skip steps 1 and 4. Simmer the broth with the vegetables for 15 minutes before adding the chicken and cream.
  • Biscuit-dough dumplings: one 16 oz (450 g) can of refrigerated biscuits, each cut into quarters, works in place of the homemade dough. Cook them the same way.
  • Make ahead: the stew without dumplings keeps 3 days in the refrigerator. Reheat to a simmer and make fresh dumplings; cooked dumplings go soggy overnight.
  • Thicker broth: mash a few dumplings into the broth at the end, or simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
  • Freezing: freeze the stew without dumplings for up to 3 months.

Dense dumplings, falling apart and slow cookers

The dough was overmixed, the lid was lifted during cooking, or the broth was not simmering. Stir the dough just until combined, keep the lid on for the full 15 minutes, and keep the broth at a steady simmer.

The broth was boiling too hard, which tears the outside before the inside sets. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer before you drop them in.

Yes, but bone-in breasts are better than boneless, and they should come out of the pot as soon as they reach 165°F (74°C), about 20 minutes. Thighs give a richer broth and stay juicier.

Rolled dumplings are rolled thin and cut into strips, then simmered until silky, like thick noodles. Drop dumplings are spoonfuls of soft dough that steam into fluffy biscuits on top of the stew.

Cook the stew on low for 6 hours, shred the chicken, then turn to high, drop in the dumplings and cook covered for 30–40 minutes. They come out a little denser than on the stove.