Easy Slow Cooker Chicken & Dumplings Recipe
This is the easiest chicken and dumplings recipe you will ever make! Best of all, this simplified slow-cooker version can be put together in a few minutes.
How do you make chicken & dumplings from scratch?
By scratch, I mean there are no condensed soups used in this recipe and you’ll also be adding fresh onions, celery and carrots. Oh yes, and boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs (your preference) and lastly, homemade cornbread dumplings. No canned biscuits here! Not that those recipes are bad, they’re really very good. 🙂 But, if you’re looking for a homemade recipe that’s super easy, look no further!
How do you make chicken and dumplings in a slow cooker?
Glad you asked! I’ve used this recipe for years and it’s amazing! However, it was also a little time consuming so, I set out to make an easier version without sacrificing any of the incredible taste. Here’s how: First of all, the crockpot eliminates the need to cook things separately, including the chicken. Some of the steps in the traditional recipe such as sautéing the onions, celery and carrots have been cut out to save time, chicken breasts are added whole and the dumplings are dropped in one hour before you’re ready to eat. So there you have it!
Easy Slow Cooker Chicken & Dumplings Recipe… Southern Style Chicken & Dumplings
Chicken and dumplings and cornbread…does it get any better than that?! The addition of cornmeal makes these dumplings amazing! What I really like about this recipe is that the dumplings don’t get gummy because of the extra texture that the cornmeal adds. Not only that, it adds a little bit of sweetness and a bit more southern.
How do you make dumplings from scratch?
My favorite way (also the easiest way) to make dumplings from scratch is to make drop dumplings. You can make these up in a few minutes using ingredients you most likely already have.
3 easy steps:
- Mix dry ingredients
- Cut in butter and milk
- Drop by tablespoons full into soup
More super simple chicken recipes to try:
Easy Basil Parmesan Chicken Bake
Easy Slow Cooker Chicken & Dumplings Recipe
Equipment
- Slow Cooker/Crock-pot
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter divided
- 1 cup onions chopped
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 2 cups carrots chopped into small rounds
- 2 Tbsp flour plus ½ cup (added later in dumplings)
- 3 ½ cups chicken broth
- ¾ tsp salt divided
- 2 chicken breasts boneless skinless
- ½ cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ cup buttermilk * diy recipe below
- 1 Tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried tarragon optional
Instructions
- Set 4-quart slow cooker on high setting. Add 2 tbsp. of butter and allow to melt.
- Chop onions, celery and carrots and add to slow cooker.
- Stir in 2 tbsp of flour.
- Add chicken broth and ½ tsp salt. Stir well.
- Cut chicken breasts into 4 large pieces and submerge into slow cooker.
- Cook on high setting for 3 hours or until chicken is cooked. Once chicken is cooked, separate into smaller chunks by using two forks.
Last hour before serving:
- Whisk ½ cup flour, cornmeal, baking powder, soda and ¼ tsp salt in a medium size mixing bowl.
- Add cold butter (2 Tbsp) in small chunks and cut in using a fork. Mix with hands until mixture resembles small crumbs. Stir in buttermilk, parsley, and tarragon. Mix well.
- Drop by tablespoons into crockpot broth. Do not stir! You want to allow dumplings to maintain a biscuit-like shape. Put the lid back on the pot and don’t open it for the next hour. Cook for 1 hour.
- After an hour, dumplings should be cooked through. Use a large serving spoon to separate dumplings. (Dumplings will crumble a bit; that’s okay! It will add to the creaminess of the mixture.)
- Fill individual bowls with soup and top with a few dumplings.
What can I use if I don’t have buttermilk?
The easiest substitute for real buttermilk is to add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice per 1 cup of milk. Mix and allow to thicken (and curdle) for about 10 minutes. I prefer white vinegar mostly because I always have it in the house.
*For this recipe you’ll add ½ tbsp of white vinegar or lemon juice to ½ cup of cow’s milk (whole or 2% is fine).
Did you make this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below.