Easy Chicken and Dumplings With Biscuits

When you think of Southern comfort food, I bet chicken and dumplings rank up there with the best. This recipe is simple, scrumptious, and packed full of flavor.

How To Make Quick Chicken and Dumplings

A Southern favorite, easy chicken and dumplings is basically a thick and creamy chicken stew paired with pillow-like dumplings. The dish, like most Southern comfort food, evolved out of necessity and practicality. Back in the day, chicken was a treat and not something offered or even available on a regular basis. Whenever it was, the chicken was more often than not on the scrawny side.

Thankfully, today chicken is a staple in many people’s diets. So for your next chicken dinner, why not try this homemade chicken dumpling recipe with biscuits? A family favorite, this recipe may be simple, but it’s also scrumptious and the perfect creamy dish for a cozy winter dinner (or as cozy as it gets around here).

If you’re in a dumpling mood, make sure you check out these other delectable dumplings from scratch recipes too: sweet potato dumplings and apple dumplings.

Chicken and Dumplings ingredients

Recipe Ingredients

  • Chicken
  • One can of Pillsbury flaky layers biscuits
  • Flour (self-rising or plain, doesn’t matter)
  • Chicken broth
  • Cream of chicken soup –  here is a homemade recipe for cream of chicken soup if you prefer.

 How to Make Chicken and Dumplings

Poaching chicken breasts

Now, I usually stew a whole chicken but today I had boneless skinless chicken breast and no chicken so this is what we got. Feel free to drop a few chicken bouillon cubes into your water in place of the broth.

Sometimes I make crockpot chicken ahead of time in water, sometimes I cook it in the broth, sometimes I use chicken thigh, and sometimes I buy a rotisserie chicken already cooked. Go with your mood on this, just get your chicken cooked, then set it aside.

Pouring broth into large pot.

Pour your broth into a pot.

Adding cream of chicken soup to broth in pot.

Add cream of chicken soup.

Boiling broth and cream of chicken soup.

Stir and let it come to a very gentle boil while you prepare the dumplings.

Flour and salt and pepper in mixing bowl.

To prepare the dumplings, put a little bit of flour (about a cup) in a large bowl. Add some salt and pepper – about 1/2 a teaspoon each or whatever you prefer.  Stir that up a bit.

Biscuits on plate.

Take all of your biscuits out of the can and set them on a plate.

Tearing biscuit into three layers.

Now, we’re going to take each canned biscuit and tear it into three layers like this.

Dipping biscuit layers into flour mix.

Dip each layer into your flour mixture…

Biscuit layers in flour mix.

Make sure you coat both sides until they look like this.

Now, make sure you don’t skip this step. If you do, your dumplings will completely dissolve in the broth. That is exactly what I did the very first time I ever made a chicken and dumplings recipe. I ended up with a delicious dumpling-flavored soup!

How To Make Quick Chicken and Dumplings

Now, take each layer and tear it into three pieces.

Dumplings in pot.

Reduce heat so that your chicken stock is just barely barely barely boiling and drop dumpling pieces in one at a time.

It is important that you DO NOT STIR. We are not going to stir these as we don’t want our dumplings cooking up. If you do stir, you will basically cause your dumplings to dissolve.

Dumplings in pot.

Instead of stirring, what we are going to do is just gently push the dumplings down into the chicken stock as they cook.

This is going to take ten minutes or so. Your dumplings will take shape and stop looking doughy as they firm up a bit. 

Continue simmering your dumplings while you shred the cooked chicken. If you want to know an easy way to shred meat you can find that here.

Pouring shredded chicken into pot with dumplings.

Drop your shredded chicken into the dumplings and very gently stir that up. I really just push it down a bit as I did with the dumplings. Just be gentle.

Quick Chicken and Dumplings

And there you go y’all!  You just make an old-fashioned chicken and dumpling recipe your family will LOVE!

Storage

  • Store your chicken and dumplings in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. They’re even better the next day as the dumplings continue to soak up the broth. You can reheat the dish either on the stove or in the microwave.
  • You can also freeze leftovers in an airtight container for up to five months.

Recipe Notes

  • If you want to add some vegetables to this Southern chicken dumplings recipe, you can add a can of carrot and peas to the broth when you add the chicken. Another option is to add some sauteed onion.
  • If you prefer to make homemade dumplings with homemade biscuit dough, check out my recipes here and here.
  • If you’d like to add some seasoning, cook the chicken in fresh thyme, fresh parsley, or poultry seasoning.

Recipe FAQs

What do you serve with chicken and dumplings?

Pair this Southern main dish with other great Southern side dishes, like cornbread, fresh green beans, and fried okra. You could also just serve it with a simple side salad or some roasted brussels sprouts.

You might also enjoy these other chicken recipes:

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

Cheesy Chicken and Rice

Fuss Free Fried Chicken

Sticky Chicken

Easy Chicken and Dumplings

This easy chicken and dumplings recipe, like most Southern comfort food, may have evolved out of necessity but they stuck around because they are delicious!
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken
Servings: 4
Calories: 464kcal

Ingredients

  • 3 or 4 chicken breasts
  • 32 oz chicken broth feel free to use water with bouillon cubes added
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup
  • 1 can Pilsbury layers biscuits 10 individual
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • flour

Instructions

  • Cook chicken breasts in approx. 4 c. of water until fork-tender, about 45 minutes.
    3 or 4 chicken breasts
  • Place broth in a medium to large-sized pot. Stir cream of chicken soup into gently boiling broth. Add salt and pepper to taste.
    32 oz chicken broth, 1 can cream of chicken soup, salt and pepper to taste
  • Pull biscuits apart into three layers. Dip each layer into the flour and then tear each layer into three pieces and drop into gently boiling broth mixture.
    1 can Pilsbury layers biscuits, flour
  • Do not stir biscuits a lot or they will cook up. Only gently push dumplings down into broth as they float to the top. Cook for about ten minutes after the last dumplings are added.
  • Tear up the chicken and add it to the broth mixture. Turn to low until ready to serve.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 464kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

 

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506 Comments

  1. I have been reading your blog and making lots of your recipes for years. For some reason, beginning today (9 Oct 13), your tutorial pictures aren’t coming thru (white box with red x in upper left corner). Am I doing something wrong; is it my computer or did the computer “demons” decide I was having too much fun?

    1. I am having the same problem. Hope it gets corrected soon cause the pictures make it so much easier to follow.

  2. Hello Christy, As you know I am a faithful follower of your blog, I love it! loved the menu ideas to help with a budget. I do have a question though. I have always made my dumplings the old fashioned way where you make them from scratch and roll them out, I have never taken the time to figure out the cost of doing it that way, which way do you think is cheapest the biscuits or the old fashioned way? I know most people probably have the ingredients on hand for the old way. Keep the recipes coming and the stories are wonderful! They feel like sitting and chatting with an old friend and catching up on all that’s been going on.

    1. Hey Marsha! I have never costed it out myself but I am pretty confident that your mother’s way of doing it would be the least expensive. I make mine this way because it is how my mother did it and what my family prefers. But you know what I always say “How YOUR Mama did it is the right way!”.
      I’m so glad you’re here 🙂

  3. I’m in the navy and only get to come home maybe once a year. My mother makes me chicken n’ dumplings every time I do. Well that’s just not enough, so I made this with my girlfriend. Delicious! I told my mom how good it was and she was disappointed saying “Now I’ll never get to see you”.

  4. ok, i forgot to add i followed step by step,but i used pillsbury frozen biscuits. they worked great!

  5. Are you kidding me??? Although I’m sure making it with canned biscuts is good but this is not what I call Chicken and Dumplings. All you need is 2 cups of all-purpose flour, pinch of salt, some pepper and some ice cold water. Just add enough water till dough forms then add about a tbs at a time to the simmering broth done in about 5-10 minutes. Easy and only few ingredients instead of what you find listed on the side of can. Also feel free to add herbs too.

    1. I think you’re thinking of the northern dumplings. This is southern style where the dumplings are a pastry noodle. Try it- so yummy

      1. My father-in-law made the dumplings his mother taught him and her mother taught her and so on. They were from Austin, Texas. He would make a biscuit recipe and then roll it out and cut it in strips and put it on top of the chicken. I think he made the chicken with carrots and onions, like a stew, but no cream of chicken soup. I’m gluten free, so I am going to make it this weekend like he did, but make my biscuits gluten free. Thanks for the inspiration, Southern Plate!

  6. I love this recipe for chicken and dumplings. I don’t always have canned biscuits on hand and there is only me & my husband and they go bad on me. I follow your recipe, except I use Mary B’s frozen buttermilk biscuits instead of the canned biscuits. If I forget to take them out when I take the chicken out to thaw, I just zap them in the microwave and hit defrost. I only do this for very short times and check because you do not want to cook them. Now when I am craving my chicken and dumplings I do not have to make a special trip to the store and can use as many biscuits as I need and we will not have left overs for a week. 🙂

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