Our quick chicken and dumplings recipe makes it easy to enjoy this classic comfort food on a weeknight. Though the dish tastes like it simmered long and slow, it starts with cooked chicken and store-bought stock to streamline the prep. The rich chicken stew is packed with vegetables and crowned with fluffy drop dumplings, so it's a complete meal. And those dumplings; they are a magical combination of pantry ingredients; flour, baking powder, butter, and milk is transformed into tender dumplings.
Best of all, this cozy, nostalgic dinner comes together in about 45 minutes and uses one pot, so break out that Dutch oven—and be prepared to field weekly requests for this hearty meal.
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The Secrets to Fluffy Dumplings
Light, tender drop dumplings are easy to make, as long as you follow our recipe and keep these tips in mind:
Don't Overwork the Dumpling Dough
Just like when you make pancakes, mix the dumpling dough just until it comes together. First use a whisk to combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Then, cut in the butter and stir in the milk just until there are no patches of dry flour. It's okay if the dough looks a little lumpy.
Mixing the dough more than this is called overworking and will result in tough dumplings.
Cook the Dumplings With the Lid On
Drop heaping spoonfuls of the dumpling dough over the simmering chicken mixture and they will steam—as long as you put the lid on the pot. Putting the lid on means that the moisture that the stew creates stays in the pot and steams the dumplings. Steaming is key to producing light, airy dumplings; without the lid, dumplings are drier and harder. Let the dumplings steam for 12 minutes—no peeking.
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Directions
Cook vegetables:
In a large saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium-high. Add onion, celery, and carrots and cook until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes.
Add flour, then broth and simmer:
Add 1/4 cup flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Gradually add broth, stirring constantly, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.
Stir in chicken and beans:
Stir in chicken and green beans and season with salt and pepper.
Make dumplings:
Whisk together 1 cup flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon coarse salt, and 2 tablespoons parsley.
Add butter and milk:
Cut in 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in milk.
Drop batter over chicken mixture:
Drop heaping spoonfuls batter on top of chicken mixture.
Cook dumplings:
Cover and simmer until dumplings are cooked through, about 12 minutes. Serve topped with additional chopped parsley.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my chicken and dumplings watery?
If you follow our One-Pot Chicken and Dumplings recipe, the liquid for the chicken and dumplings should be rich and comforting, not watery. Adding too much liquid, whether that is water or broth, is the main reason the dish would be watery. You can thicken it by mixing a teaspoon or 2 of flour, or cornstarch with cold water, and then stirring in some liquid from the stew, then adding the slurry to the stew and heating it through until it thickens to the consistency you want.
Why are my chicken and dumplings hard?
There are two main reasons that the dumplings in chicken and dumplings turn out hard. One is the cooking; the dumplings will be hard if they are cooked too long or if they are cooked with the lid off so they simmer rather than steam and do not get the moisture from the stew as they cook.
The other reason for dry dumplings is overmixing the dough so that it doesn't rise as well, and the dumplings are dense not airy and will seem dry.
What goes with chicken and dumplings?
We think chicken and dumplings is a one-dish dinner, you really don't need to serve anything else with it. There's no need for bread or a starch because there are dumplings. If you want to add another vegetable, try sautéed broccoli or braised kale or go with roasted butternut squash or sweet potatoes.
Other Stew and Dumpling Recipes to Try:
- Test Kitchen's Favorite Chicken and Dumplings
- Mushroom-and-Dill Chicken and Dumplings
- Green-Chile Chicken and Dumplings
- Old-Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings
- Cornmeal Dumpling Dough for Chicken and Dumplings
