Why You’ll Love This this Yummy Crockpot Chicken & Dumplings
This recipe practically cooks itself while you’re busy doing literally anything else, which is exactly what we all need on those chaotic weeknights when dinner feels like an impossible task.
The tender chicken falls apart beautifully, creating this rich, hearty base that gets even better when those fluffy biscuit dumplings soak up all that creamy goodness.
It’s comfort food at its finest, the kind of meal that makes your kitchen smell like a warm hug and fills everyone up without requiring you to stand over a hot stove.
Ingredients List
This crockpot chicken and dumplings recipe calls for simple, pantry-friendly ingredients that you probably already have hiding somewhere in your kitchen cabinets.
- 4 boneless chicken breasts
- 2 (15 ounce) cans chicken broth
- 1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 (15 ounce) can peas
- 1 (15 ounce) can carrots
- 1 (8 count) can biscuits
- Salt, pepper, seasoning salt, and onion powder to taste
A Few Things to Reflect On About These Ingredients:
- This recipe leans heavily on canned ingredients, which means it’s higher in sodium than homemade versions, but honestly, sometimes convenience wins and that’s perfectly okay
- You can absolutely swap in fresh vegetables if you’re feeling ambitious, just add them earlier in the cooking process so they’ve time to get tender
- The cream of chicken soup is doing a lot of heavy lifting flavor-wise here, so don’t stress about finding the fanciest brand, any decent one will work just fine
- Those refrigerated biscuits are the real MVP, turning into fluffy dumplings without any of the fuss of making them from scratch
Step by Step Directions
This simple crockpot recipe transforms basic ingredients into a comforting, home-style meal that practically cooks itself.
- Slice the 4 boneless chicken breasts into bite-sized chunks.
- Add the chicken chunks to your crockpot along with 2 cans of chicken broth, 1 can of cream of chicken soup, chopped onion, canned peas, and canned carrots.
- Season the mixture to taste with salt, pepper, seasoning salt, and onion powder.
- Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours, or until the chicken is tender and easily shreds with a fork.
- Cut each refrigerated biscuit into quarters (fourths).
- Add the biscuit pieces to the chicken mixture in the crockpot.
- Cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
- Gently stir the mixture once after the 30 minutes – this helps thicken the broth.
- Continue cooking covered until the dumplings are fully cooked through and fluffy, about 15-30 minutes more.
For easier preparation and cleaner cuts when slicing your chicken, invest in a quality premium kitchen knife set that will make your cooking tasks more efficient.
Substitutions and Variations
- Herb garden raid – Fresh thyme, rosemary, or sage transform this from basic to brilliant, though dried herbs work fine if your herb garden consists of forgotten packets in your spice drawer.
- Spice it up – A dash of garlic powder, paprika, or even a pinch of cayenne wakes up those sleepy taste buds without overwhelming anyone.
- Make it lighter – Use low-sodium broth and light cream soup, plus load up on extra vegetables to bulk it up without the guilt.
Additional Things to Serve With This Dish
This hearty bowl of comfort practically begs for some friends on the side to make it a proper feast.
- Crusty bread or dinner rolls – Something to soak up every last drop of that creamy broth because letting it go to waste should be illegal in most states.
- Simple green salad – Crisp lettuce with a light vinaigrette cuts through all that richness, plus it makes you feel like a responsible adult who eats vegetables.
- Roasted vegetables – Brussels sprouts, green beans, or broccoli add color and crunch to balance out all those soft, snug textures.
- Cranberry sauce – Sounds weird but trust the process, that tart sweetness plays beautifully against the savory chicken.
- Cornbread – Because sometimes you need carbs on top of your carbs, and cornbread’s slightly sweet flavor pairs like they were meant to be together.
- Pickles or pickled vegetables – The acidic bite cuts through the cream sauce like a palate cleanser, waking up your taste buds between bites.
Cooking Tips & Tricks (Chef’s Notes)
A few sneaky tricks can turn your good crockpot chicken and dumplings into something that’ll have people asking for the recipe in hushed, reverent tones.
- Don’t peek too often – I know it’s tempting to lift that lid every hour like you’re checking on a sleeping baby, but every peek releases steam and adds about 15 minutes to your cook time.
- Season in layers – Salt and pepper the chicken chunks before they go in, then taste and adjust the broth halfway through, because under-seasoned dumplings are basically just sad, flavorless clouds.
- Pat the chicken dry first – Wet chicken creates extra liquid in your pot, and nobody wants watery chicken and dumplings that taste like chicken-flavored disappointment.
- Cut biscuits with kitchen shears – Way easier than wrestling with a knife, and you get more irregular shapes that actually hold onto that creamy sauce better.
- Let it rest before serving – Give it 10 minutes after cooking to let everything settle and thicken up properly, though waiting might feel like actual torture when your kitchen smells that good.
- Taste the broth before adding biscuits – This is your last chance to fix the seasoning, because once those dumplings go in, you’re committed to whatever flavor situation you’ve created.
- Don’t stir too aggressively – Those biscuit dumplings are tender little things that’ll fall apart if you treat them like they owe you money.
Nutritional Facts
- Calories: Approximately 485 per serving
- Protein: 32g – thanks to that generous helping of chicken breast
- Carbohydrates: 45g – mostly from the biscuit dumplings and vegetables
- Fat: 18g – combination of chicken fat and cream soup
- Fiber: 4g – peas and carrots doing their nutritional duty
- Sodium: 1,240mg – the canned ingredients pack a salty punch
- Cholesterol: 85mg – primarily from the chicken and cream soup
- Potassium: 680mg – vegetables contributing essential minerals
- Vitamin A: 184% DV – those carrots aren’t messing around
- Iron: 15% DV – decent boost from the chicken and fortified ingredients
- Calcium: 8% DV – modest contribution from the cream soup and biscuits
Fun “Did You Know?”
While chicken and dumplings might seem like an all-American comfort food, it actually traces its roots back to European peasant cooking, where resourceful cooks stretched expensive meat with simple dough to feed large families.
I find it fascinating that during the Great Depression, this dish became a staple because it could feed many people affordably.
The crockpot version we’re making today would’ve amazed those early cooks – they’d love how we can achieve the same tender results without constantly tending a fire.
It’s amazing how comfort food traditions evolve while keeping their soul intact.
