Homemade Chicken and Dumplings
Homemade Chicken and Dumplings is the ultimate "from-scratch" meal. It may feel a bit daunting because there are so many steps, but look at it like you're making three things and combining them. I promise, it will be worth it! It's a southern staple and such a comfort food.
Ingredients
Chicken & Stock
- 1 Whole chicken
- ½ Onion, chopped or use scraps*
- 3 Garlic Cloves, smashed with skins or use scraps*
- 1 Large Carrot, chopped or use scraps*
- 1 Celery Stalk, chopped or use scraps*
- 2 tbsp Salt
- ½ tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar optional
Cream of Chicken Soup
- 1 Stick of Unsalted Butter
- ½ Onion, diced (3/4 cup)
- 1 to 2 Celery Stalk, diced (3/4 cup)
- ¼ cup Soft White Wheat Flour (or all-purpose)
- ½ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper
- 1½ cups Chicken Stock (that you'll make fresh)
- ½ cup Heavy Cream
Dumplings
- 3½ cups Soft White Wheat flour, sifted with the bran removed
- 1 tbsp Baking Powder
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter, melted
- ½ cup Chicken Stock
- ½ cup Milk
Instructions
Chicken & Stock
- In a large stockpot, place the first seven ingredients. Cover with at least 4 quarts of water.** (Feel free to adjust these ingredients and the amount of salt depending on your preference or how much water you're adding.)1 Whole chicken, ½ Onion, chopped or use scraps*, 3 Garlic Cloves, smashed with skins or use scraps*, 1 Large Carrot, chopped or use scraps*, 1 Celery Stalk, chopped or use scraps*, 2 tbsp Salt, ½ tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- Bring entire contents to a boil and then reduce to low and cover. Simmer for 45 minutes or until the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165℉. Carefully remove the whole chicken from the pot and set it on a platter to cool.
- Once the chicken has cooled, pick all the meat off the bone and chop it into bite size pieces. Set the stock and chicken aside.***
- Strain stock to remove veggies and any chicken pieces. Place 8 cups of stock in a large Dutch oven or heavy bottom pot and set on a low simmer. (You'll need 1½ cups of stock for the next step and ½ cup for the last step, so strain that out and set it aside.)
Cream of Chicken Soup
- While the chicken is cooling, you can make the cream of chicken soup. In a medium size saucepan, melt 1 stick of butter over medium heat with the diced onion and celery. Cook until the veggies are soft, adjusting the heat so as not to burn the butter and stir to prevent the veggies from sticking.1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, ½ Onion, diced (3/4 cup), 1 to 2 Celery Stalk, diced (3/4 cup)
- Once the veggies are soft, slowly whisk in the ¼ cup of flour (add a few tsp at a time to make sure the flour is fully incorporated). It will thicken as you stir. Once the flour is incorporated, stir in the salt and pepper.¼ cup Soft White Wheat Flour (or all-purpose), ½ tsp Salt, ¼ tsp Black Pepper
- Add the chicken stock slowly, roughly ¼ cup at a time, whisking well each time. It will turn to a "soup" consistency as you add more stock. Once 1½ cups of stock has been added, stir in the heavy cream.1½ cups Chicken Stock (that you'll make fresh), ½ cup Heavy Cream
- Next, stir in the soup to the Dutch oven that has the strained chicken stock. You will bring these contents to a boil once the dumplings are ready but for now, just keep it warm while you move on to the last step.
Dumplings
- In a large glass bowl, mix sifted flour with baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Make a well in the center.3½ cups Soft White Wheat flour, sifted with the bran removed, 1 tbsp Baking Powder, 1 tbsp Salt, 1 tsp Baking Soda
- Pour melted butter, warm chicken stock, and milk into the center of the well in the flour. Use your clean hands or a small wooden spoon to incorporate the flour into the liquid. Do this slowly, stirring with your hands in a circular motion starting in the center of the well and gradually moving outwards to incorporate more and more flour.2 tbsp Unsalted Butter, melted, ½ cup Chicken Stock, ½ cup Milk
- Once most of the flour is wet (don't try to incorporate all of it), dump the contents of the bowl out on a clean work space large enough to roll out the dough. Use your hands to knead the dough so that most of the flour is incorporated. You want the dough to be pliable and not sticky.
- You can now turn the heat up on the soup and stock mixture that's in your Dutch oven. (You'll want it at a boil when you add the dumplings, but watch it so it doesn't boil over.) Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out as thin as possible without it coming apart (roughly ⅛ inch thick). Use a pizza cutter, bench scraper, or knife to cut the dumplings (see picture in blog post). Cut into squares that are roughly 2x2".
- When the stock and soup mixture is boiling (it must be nice and hot before adding the dumplings or they won't cook properly!), start putting the dumplings in as fast as you can but one at a time to prevent sticking. (I use a bench scraper to scoop them off my counter top and then my hands to drop them in one at a time very quickly.) Stir the dumplings as you add them so they don't clump together.
- Once the dumplings are added, reduce the heat to a simmer and let the dumplings cook for 5 to 10 minutes. (I typically pull the meat off the bones of the chicken while the dumplings are cooking.) You want about 4 cups of cooked chicken meat to add to the pot, so if your chicken is extra large, just use the remaining meat for another recipe.
- Drop the chicken meat (break it up into bite size pieces as you incorporate it) into the pot of dumplings. Turn off the heat and stir well. Taste the dumpling broth and add salt and pepper if it needs it. Serve warm! We love Chicken and Dumplings as a main meal but the leftovers can also be served as a side dish.
Notes
*When I make stock, I use vegetable scraps (discarded ends/peels) that I've saved and frozen. If you don't already save your vegetable scraps, I encourage you to do so! You'll utilize everything and save money. Simply store the skin, peel, and butt end of onions, garlic, celery, carrots, or similar veggies in a freezer bag. I store those types all in the same bag and then dump them into my stock pot when I'm making a batch of delicious broth.
**This first step is how you make chicken stock. When I make Chicken and Dumplings, I use the largest stockpot that I have so I can make plenty of extra stock to freeze. You only need 10 cups of stock for the actual recipe, though. So if you're using pre-made stock or have a smaller pot that won't hold as much just plan to end up with that amount.
***Again, this is the same process for making chicken stock so what you do with the chicken skin and bones depends on you. :) What I do is use the stock needed for this recipe and then place the carcass back in the stock pot, cover with more water, and let it continue to simmer on low. I'll can or freeze the extra stock (which is one reason that I simply love cooking from scratch - you get so much more!).
Nutrition
Serving: 1gCalories: 341kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 19gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 66mgSodium: 2151mgPotassium: 264mgFiber: 4gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 1165IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 118mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!