Why You’ll Love This this Yummy Southern Chicken & Dumplings
This comforting bowl of tender chicken and fluffy dumplings will have you wondering why you ever bothered with the canned stuff, because honestly, homemade just hits different when you’re craving that soul-warming goodness. The recipe keeps things beautifully simple with basic ingredients you probably already have hanging out in your pantry, which means no fancy grocery store runs or mysterious ingredients that sound like they belong in a chemistry lab. Plus, those pillowy dumplings soak up all that rich, savory broth like little flavor sponges, creating the kind of stick-to-your-ribs meal that makes you want to curl up on the couch and forget the world exists for a while.
Ingredients List
Getting your hands on these ingredients is about as easy as falling off a log, since most of them are probably already resting in your kitchen right now.
For the Chicken:
- 1 whole chicken, cut up
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup milk
For the Dumplings:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup vegetable shortening (such as Crisco)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup milk
A Few Things Worth Mentioning:
- That vegetable shortening might make some folks nervous, but you can swap it for butter or even coconut oil if you’re trying to keep things a bit cleaner.
- Using a whole chicken means you’re getting all that good collagen from the bones, which is basically nature’s way of giving you beauty benefits while you eat comfort food.
- The milk adds richness, but if dairy’s not your friend, unsweetened almond milk or oat milk work just fine without making the dish taste like cardboard.
- This isn’t exactly a low-calorie situation, but sometimes your soul needs more than a salad, and that’s perfectly okay.
Step by Step Directions
This down-home recipe takes about an hour from start to finish and feeds a hungry family of four to six people.
Step-by-Step Instructions:
- Place cut-up chicken pieces in a large pot with 1/2 tablespoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, then cover completely with water.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until chicken is fork-tender (about 30-40 minutes).
- Remove chicken from the pot and set aside to cool, but keep that flavorful broth simmering.
- Once chicken is cool enough to handle, remove all bones and skin, then shred or chop the meat into bite-sized pieces.
- While the chicken cooks, make your dumpling dough by mixing 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl.
- Cut in 1/3 cup vegetable shortening using a fork until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
- Stir in the beaten egg and 1/2 cup milk until a soft dough forms.
- Roll the dough out on a floured surface to about 1/4-inch thickness.
- Cut the dough into strips about four inches long using a sharp knife.
- Drop the dumpling strips one by one into the simmering chicken broth.
- Cover the pot and let the dumplings cook for about 15 minutes without lifting the lid.
- Add the shredded chicken back to the pot along with 1 cup milk.
- Simmer everything together for another 10 minutes, stirring gently to combine.
For those who love making fresh dough from scratch, consider investing in a professional pasta maker to elevate your cooking with perfectly rolled and consistent results.
Substitutions and Variations
- Chicken thighs only instead of a whole bird – More flavor, stays juicier, and honestly, who’s time to wrestle with a whole chicken when you’re already making dumplings from scratch
- Add vegetables to the pot – Carrots, celery, onions thrown in with the chicken make this more of a complete meal, though purists might give you the side-eye
- Heavy cream instead of that final cup of milk – Because sometimes you just need to go all in on the comfort factor, and your waistband will understand later
- Drop dumplings instead of rolled – Skip the rolling, just drop spoonfuls of slightly wetter dough right into the broth for rustic, cloud-like results that taste just as good with half the fuss
Additional Things to Serve With This Dish
This hearty dish practically begs for some classic Southern sides that won’t compete with all that dumpling goodness.
- Green beans with bacon – Because vegetables feel less like vegetables when there’s pork involved, and the smoky flavor plays perfectly with the creamy chicken broth.
- Simple buttermilk biscuits – Yes, more carbs, but sometimes you need something to soak up every last drop of that incredible broth, and your dinner guests will thank you for the excess.
- Coleslaw with a tangy vinegar dressing – The crisp, acidic crunch cuts through all that rich, creamy comfort food like a palate cleanser that actually tastes good.
- Cornbread – Whether you like it sweet or savory, cornbread and chicken and dumplings are basically childhood friends who grew up in the same neighborhood.
- Roasted root vegetables – Carrots, parsnips, or sweet potatoes add some earthy sweetness and make you feel like you’re getting your vitamins, even if you’re mostly here for the dumplings.
- Apple butter or cranberry sauce – A small dollop of something fruity and slightly tart on the side provides a nice contrast, though some folks might call this fancy for comfort food.
Cooking Tips & Tricks (Chef’s Notes)
These dumplings can make or break the whole dish, so let’s talk about the secrets that separate the pros from the kitchen disasters.
- Don’t overwork that dough – Mix just until it comes together, because tough dumplings are nobody’s friend, and you’re not kneading bread here.
- Keep your broth at a gentle simmer – A rolling boil will turn your beautiful dumplings into sad, torn-up pieces floating around like they gave up on life.
- Roll the dumplings thicker than you think – They’ll puff up and get tender, but if you roll them paper-thin, they’ll dissolve faster than your willpower around leftover dessert.
- Drop them in one at a time – Don’t just dump the whole batch in there like you’re feeding ducks at the park, because they’ll stick together and create one giant mega-dumpling.
- Resist the urge to peek – I know it’s tempting to lift that lid every five minutes, but steam is what makes these beauties fluffy, and you’re letting all the magic escape.
- Save some plain broth – Before you add that final cup of milk, ladle out a little extra broth just in case things get too thick, because nobody wants concrete instead of comfort food.
- Taste as you go – That chicken broth is doing all the heavy lifting for flavor, so adjust your salt and pepper before the dumplings go in, when you can still fix things without fishing around.
Nutritional Facts
This hearty comfort food packs substantial nutrition along with its soul-warming satisfaction.
- Calories: Approximately 485 per serving
- Protein: 32g – excellent source from the whole chicken
- Carbohydrates: 35g – primarily from the flour dumplings
- Fat: 24g – combination of chicken fat, shortening, and milk
- Fiber: 1.5g – modest amount from all-purpose flour
- Sodium: 890mg – significant portion from added salt and natural chicken sodium
- Calcium: 180mg – contributed by milk and flour
- Iron: 3.2mg – good source from chicken and enriched flour
- Vitamin A: 240 IU – from milk and chicken
- Cholesterol: 95mg – from chicken, egg, and milk
- Saturated Fat: 8g – about 40% of daily recommended value
- Potassium: 420mg – natural electrolytes from chicken broth
Fun “Did You Know?”
Did you know that chicken and dumplings wasn’t originally a Southern dish? It actually traces back to ancient Rome and medieval Europe, where cooks stretched expensive meat with simple flour-based dumplings.
I find it fascinating that Southern cooks perfected this comfort food during the Great Depression, making hearty meals from affordable ingredients. The dish became a Sunday staple because you could simmer it while attending church.
Here’s something cool: different regions use varying dumpling styles – some flat like noodles, others fluffy like biscuits.
That’s why my grandma’s recipe creates those perfect pillowy dumplings we all crave today.
