Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and dumplings remind me of Sunday dinner at grandma’s house. I loved those days, and I loved chicken and dumplings. I want to make chicken and dumplings for my own children, but making traditional chicken and dumplings from scratch is a time-consuming process (especially following my family’s recipe). Every dumpling is hand-cut to the exact size and the dough kneaded just so as to create the perfect texture.

While I still love making the family recipe for the occasional special Sunday dinner, the truth is I just don’t have time to make it all the time. That’s why I invented this Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings recipe – I was craving some chicken and dumplings and did not have the time or patience to make it from scratch.

This recipe uses several shortcuts to reduce the amount of prep work while still keeping the flavor. For those who make many crockpot recipes with chicken, you may wonder about how long to cook crockpot chicken. This recipe cooks the chicken in about five hours and is now one of my go-to Sunday meals. Sundays just feel like a comfort food day to me, and nothing says comfort food quite like homemade chicken and dumplings. This recipe is the reason I look forward to Sunday nights, especially in winter.

Scroll to bottom for printable recipe card.

Why You’ll Love Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

I think you’ll love this recipe for the same reasons I do: because it cuts out the extra work and produces a dish that’s very similar to old fashioned chicken and dumplings. Put another way, this recipe tastes like a lot of work, even if it isn’t. You can serve this to guests and family members, and they’ll all think you spent more time making this than you really did. You’ll get lots of credit for being a devoted chef, but you’ll get the gift of time as well – time to do whatever you want to do on Sunday nights.

Another reason you’ll love this recipe is the delicious flavor. The ingredients in this dish really meld together. With savory chicken, delicious vegetables like carrots and peas, and the right combination of seasonings, you’ll love every minute you spend eating this food.

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings ingredients

• Onion
• Boneless skinless chicken thighs
• Cream of chicken soup
• Cream of celery soup
• Fresh parsley
• Poultry seasoning
• Chicken broth
• Buttermilk refrigerated biscuits
• Frozen mixed vegetables
• Black pepper to taste

Ingredient Deep Dive

Chicken

Chicken is one of the core ingredients of chicken and dumplings, but every recipe is flexible – even this one! Turkey is a great alternative to chicken if you don’t have chicken on hand. I like using turkey leftovers after 

Thanksgiving to make this dish (and others!). If you’re a vegetarian, you can use meat alternatives like vegetarian meats. I’ve had a very good vegetarian version of this dish at a friend’s house, and would highly recommend it!

Cream of Chicken and Celery

The “cream of” soups help make this delicious recipe what it is, but one of the things I always say when I’m writing these recipes is that you can usually swap “cream of” soups with others almost interchangeably. 

If you don’t have cream of celery but do have cream of mushroom or cream of onion, for example, use it! You can also make your own “cream of” soups using a few basic ingredients (primarily butter, milk or cream, and flour).

Refrigerated Buttermilk Biscuit Dough

My “dumplings” are made from refrigerated buttermilk biscuit dough, which you can purchase at the grocery store in the refrigerator section. You know, those tubes? 

This dough is pre-made goodness that easily transforms into delicious, moist, savory dumplings that I can’t get enough of. Best of all, I often have some of the tube leftover after making this dish, and can use what’s left to make biscuits for my family at the next breakfast.

Frozen Mixed Vegetables

I used frozen vegetables because it’s soooo much easier when I am in a hurry; however, you can certainly use fresh. Just chop them up and toss them in. Make sure you cut them into consistent sizes so they’re all cooking and ready at the same time 

They will need to cook a little longer than frozen, so add them at the beginning instead of the end. Want extra flavor? Place some minced garlic in the bottom of the slow cooker with the onions.

Seasoning

I used poultry seasoning and pepper to make this dish, but you can use whatever seasonings you have at home. A little salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder does the trick. Another one of my favorite seasonings for this recipe is crushed fresh thyme leaves. 

I toss them in with the cream of chicken soup and seasonings at the beginning. Thyme adds a deliciously subtle flavor to the chicken and dumplings with biscuits.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Making  Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

Step 1: Prepare your ingredients and get out your slow cooker.

You want the chicken at the bottom of the slow cooker (on top of the onions) so that any liquid that comes from above keeps the chicken tender and juicy. I like to use a slow cooker that’s wider than it is long. That gives me lots of room on the bottom of the slow cooker for the chicken. If you have a slow cooker that’s taller than it is wide, you may have to put more than one layer of chicken on the bottom.

Step 2: Layer the bottom of the Crock Pot with diced onion, then place chicken on top of the onion.

The only thing that goes underneath the chicken in your slow cooker is the onion. You’re going to place the onion and then place the chicken on top of the onion to seal in that delicious flavor. In a separate bowl, combine cream of chicken and cream of celery soups along with seasonings.

Placing the chicken on top of the onion.

Combining the soup mixture with seasonings.

Step 3: Pour the soup mixture over the chicken in the slow cooker, then add chicken broth.

Place the slow cooker on high and let it sit for several hours. The broth and chicken will warm up and mix a little bit while it’s sitting, but you should still stir from time to time. When you’re about an hour from the chicken being fully cooked and ready to serve, add the defrosted veggies. Don’t add them too soon because the texture will be off and they will be mushier and not as tasty.

Adding the chicken broth.

Adding the defrosted vegetables.

Step 4: Flatten the biscuits.

On a cutting board, cut each one into 4 long pieces. You can choose other shapes for your dumplings, but I like the organic boat-like shapes that result from cutting the biscuits this way. Make sure they’re all about the same size so they cook consistently. Layer the biscuit dumplings on top of the other ingredients. While the dumplings are cooking, they will hover on the top layer. That is perfectly normal.

Layering the biscuit dumplings on top.

Step 5: When the chicken, veggies, and biscuits are finished cooking, Give it a good stir so the dumplings get nicely combined with the other ingredients.

Doesn’t it look gorgeous and make you hungry? It’s time to enjoy this pot of delicious comfort food, chicken and dumplings. I promise, your family will eat this dish so fast. There won’t be many leftovers unless you make a double batch (which, I sometimes do).

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings video

Pro-Tips & Technique

I took lots of time-saving shortcuts in this recipe. The “broth” is actually a combination of cream of chicken soup and cream of celery soup. This allows for a creamier broth than some traditional chicken and dumpling recipes, and the combination of chicken soup and celery soup add an extra flavor to the meal.

Then, instead of chopping up vegetables, I used a bag of frozen mixed vegetables that I had defrosted. Frozen mixed vegetables are our friends when we’re saving time in the kitchen. The taste is exactly the same as if I had spent half an hour chopping and dicing when really all I did was pour a bag into the crockpot. Score.

But the genuinely time-consuming part of traditional chicken and dumplings that I cut out in this Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings recipe is making the dumplings from scratch. Instead of making the dough and cutting the individual dumplings myself, I just used refrigerated buttermilk biscuits.

I chose buttermilk biscuits over any other type of biscuit because I felt they had the closest consistency to traditional dumplings. To make dumplings out of buttermilk biscuits, just roll each biscuit flat and cut them into equal-sized pieces. I cut each biscuit into four long slices.

Serving & Pairing

Typically, when I make this chicken and dumplings slow cooker recipe, I plan on it being a one-pot meal. I don’t usually serve anything with it, but if you want to add more to your meal, you certainly can. Bread makes a great accompaniment to this dish, as do mashed potatoes or salad.

FAQs & Troubleshooting

How do I know when the dumplings are done?

The easiest way to know if dumplings are done is by piercing them with a toothpick. When they are ready, the toothpick should come out clean when inserted into the dumpling. If anything is sticking to the toothpick, then they need to cook a little longer.

Can you overcook dumplings?

When making this easy chicken and dumplings recipe, it’s hard to overcook the dumplings. As long as you follow the directions, you shouldn’t have an issue. If you do happen to overcook the dumplings, they will become pretty frail and will be mushy. Don’t worry; you can still eat it, they just may not have the same texture as you had hoped for.

Can I make homemade dumplings for this recipe? 

Absolutely, you can make homemade dumplings if you want to. If you love homemade dumplings and have the time to make them, then they will go perfectly with this simple chicken and dumplings recipe. Once you have the dumplings prepared and cut, then you can put them in the slow cooker when there is around an hour left. The homemade dumplings will take around 45 minutes – 1 hour to cook.

How do I store leftover chicken and dumplings? 

Yes, you can refrigerate any leftover chicken and dumplings. It lasts around 3-4 days as long as it’s stored in an airtight container. Perfect for a quick grab and go lunch or dinner. You can warm it in the oven, on the stovetop or the microwave.

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