Easy Southern Chicken and Dumplings
This easy Southern Chicken and Dumplings recipe is rich and creamy, full of flavor and there’s no rolling out dough! It makes about 8 cups and takes around 40-minutes.
Many years ago, my Grandmother shared her secret “dumplin” recipe with me and I’ve used it ever since. Now I’m sharing it with you!
Soup ingredients
The ingredients for this Southern classic are simple and there’s no condensed soups or cream cheese involved.
You need chicken, chicken broth, onion, garlic, celery, carrots, heavy cream, bay leaves, a few aromatics, salt and pepper.
Dumpling ingredients
Now before you scoff at the notion of not making homemade dumplings from rolled out dough, let me offer this school of thought. Dumplings are flour and water, right? Well, so are flour tortillas and biscuit dough.
Cut 6 flour tortillas into strips and add them to the soup when it is at a rolling boil. Allow the “dumplings” to cook at a rolling boil for about 3-5 minutes, then turn the stovetop off and let simmer for 10-15 minutes uncovered.
I like flat dumplings, so I use flour tortillas; if you want fluffy dumplings (or drop dumplings) you can use biscuit dough
How to make it
This Southern chicken and dumplings recipe is really all about the creamy chicken broth and those delicious chewy dumplings!
Shred or cut cooked chicken into cubes. Saute vegetables in a little oil. Add chicken broth, chicken and aromatics. Add room temperature heavy cream and chicken.
Cut the flour tortillas into 1″inch strips or cut the biscuit dough into 8 small pieces.
Bring soup to a rolling boil and add in the strips of flour tortillas or small pieces of raw biscuit dough to the boiling broth. For best results, don’t stir them! Let them boil for 3-5 minutes, and when they float to the top, gently stir.
Turn off the heat on the stovetop and allow the chicken and dumplings to rest, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Taste for seasonings and consistency. To thicken, add a flour slurry in one tablespoon increments. See details in the recipe notes below
Recipe tips
- A combination of white and dark meat tastes best, but you can use all white or all dark — your call
- If you elect to add milk or heavy cream, let it come to almost room temperature before adding to the broth; cold dairy curdles when added to hot liquid
- Bring the soup back up to a rolling boil before you add the flour tortillas or biscuit dough
- Add the thickening slurry last
Storage and reheating
Store leftovers in a secure airtight container for up to three days in the refrigerator and up to a month in the freezer. You may need to add more water or broth, as it thickens upon storage. For best results, I recommend reheating on the stovetop.
Serve a big bowl of these easy chicken and dumplings as your main course! If you want a side dish, consider a crisp green salad, green beans and new potatoes, homemade cornbread or a side of collard greens!
Chicken and Dumplings is a Southern classic! Creamy chicken soup with the right amount of flavor, tender bites of chicken and a doughy-dumpling!
More soup recipes
- Wisconsin Beer Cheese Soup
- How to Fix Over Salted Foods
- Louisiana Seafood Gumbo
- Easy Restaurant-Quality Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Roasted Red Pepper Corn Chowder
- Southwestern Navy Bean Soup
Related recipes
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- Creamy White Bean Soup
- New Mexico Green Chili Chicken Soup
- Maple Pecan Carrot Souffle
♥ If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and rating below! Thank you!
Easy Southern Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
- 1½-2 pounds cooked chicken , white or dark, shredded or cubed
- 1 tablespoon oil , vegetable, canola
- 1 cup diced sweet yellow onion
- 1 cup diced carrots (about 2 large carrots)
- ½ cup chopped celery
- 2 tablespoons Bouquet Garni (see recipe notes for substitution)
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- chicken broth (see recipe notes) (enough to cover chicken; this will be different for everyone)
- ½ cup heavy cream ; room temperature
- 6 flour tortillas (or 5 rounds of raw biscuit dough) ;cut tortillas into strips or use small pieces of biscuit dough
- ½ cup flour, all-purpose (for thickening slurry) ,optional
- ½ cup water (for thickening slurry) ,optional
- salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Prep
- Remove milk or heavy cream from fridge Cut 6 tortillas into strips or cut 5 biscuits into small piecesDice vegetables; set all this aside1 cup diced sweet yellow onion, 1 cup diced carrots, ½ cup chopped celery, ½ cup heavy cream, 6 flour tortillas (or 5 rounds of raw biscuit dough), 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- In a large stockpot, on medium heat, add oil; add vegetables and saute 4-5 minutes then add garlic and cook another minute.1 tablespoon oil, 1 cup diced sweet yellow onion, 1 cup diced carrots, ½ cup chopped celery, 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- Add chicken broth, cooked chicken, bay leaf and Bouquet Garni; turn heat to low, add heavy cream and cook on low heat for 5-6 minutes.1½-2 pounds cooked chicken, 2 tablespoons Bouquet Garni, 2 dried bay leaves, chicken broth (see recipe notes), ½ cup heavy cream
- Bring creamy broth to a rolling boil and add flour tortilla strips or biscuit dough; allow to boil for 3-5 minutes: DO NOT STIR (see recipe notes: dumplings)6 flour tortillas (or 5 rounds of raw biscuit dough)
- Turn off the heat and let rest on the stove for 10 minutes, covered
- At this point, taste and adjust seasonings; if you want it thicker, add the thickening slurry: In a one-cup measuring cup, add flour and warm water; stir together with a fork and add to the chicken and dumplings in one-tablespoon increments; turn the heat up to medium-low or medium and gently stir it until it thickens to you liking. (See Recipe Notes). Season to taste. Remove bay leaves and serve.½ cup flour, all-purpose (for thickening slurry), ½ cup water (for thickening slurry), salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Notes
- Bring soup to a rolling boil; place sliced tortillas or pieces of biscuit dough in a single lay on top of the soup
- Boil for 3-5 minutes; do not stir yet!
- When you see the dumplings begin to puff up, you can stir gently
- If you want a thicker version right now, make a thickening slurry and add it to the warm soup
- How to make a slurry: Combine 1/2 cup flour + 1/2 cup warm water; combine well with a fork and add to warm chicken and dumplings
- After you add the slurry, taste again; you may need to adjust your seasonings a little
- If you find you’ve thickened it too much, add in a little water, chicken broth or milk and re-adjust seasonings again
It turned out really good, my husband loved it!
Oh Jackie, that’s wonderful! Thank you for sharing your kind comment. Happy Holidays!
Delicious! I should have salted and peppered the tortillas first!! Second time I’ve made this, using this recipe!!
The chit and dumplings is amazing!!! Who knew? Tortillas sliced as dumplings! Genius!!! Makes a time- consuming dish super easy and fast!!! I love it!
Thank you! I’ve been substituting flour tortillas for “dumplings” for years!