Chicken and dumplings is pure comfort in a bowl. Tender pieces of chicken and vegetables swim in a creamy broth, and on top sit soft, fluffy dumplings that soak up all that goodness. It is the dinner I make when the weather turns cold and everyone needs a little extra warmth.
Ingredients
For the soup:
- 1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
- 3 celery stalks, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup milk or half and half
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup frozen peas
For the dumplings:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
- 3/4 cup milk
Steps
1. Start the soup base
Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion, carrots, and celery, and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and the vegetables start to smell sweet. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. This vegetable base gives the whole soup its flavor, so let it get nice and tender.
2. Make the thickener
Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir constantly for 2 minutes. The flour will coat everything and look pasty. This step cooks out the raw flour taste. Keep stirring so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot. It should smell a little toasty when it is ready.
3. Add the broth and chicken
Slowly pour in the chicken broth while stirring, which keeps the soup smooth instead of lumpy. Add the milk, salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf. Lay the chicken thighs into the pot in a single layer. Bring the soup to a gentle boil, then lower the heat so it simmers softly. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
4. Shred the chicken
Take the chicken out of the pot and put it on a cutting board. Use two forks to shred it into bite-size pieces. It should pull apart easily. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, along with the frozen peas. Let it keep simmering gently while you make the dumplings. Fish out the bay leaf.
5. Mix the dumpling dough
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the cold butter using a pastry cutter or your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with some pea-size bits of butter. Pour in the milk and stir just until a soft dough comes together. Do not overmix. A few lumps are perfectly fine and actually make fluffier dumplings.
6. Drop the dumplings into the soup
Make sure the soup is at a gentle simmer, not a rolling boil. Scoop tablespoon-size portions of dough and drop them right onto the surface of the soup. You should get about 12 dumplings. They will look small now, but they puff up as they cook. Space them out a little so they have room to grow.
7. Steam the dumplings with the lid on
Put the lid on the pot and cook for 15 minutes. Do not lift the lid during this time, no matter how curious you are. The trapped steam is what cooks the dumplings through and makes them fluffy. When the time is up, a toothpick poked into a dumpling should come out clean with no wet dough.
8. Serve hot
Ladle the soup into deep bowls, making sure everyone gets plenty of dumplings. Spoon some of the creamy broth over the top. This is best eaten right away while the dumplings are at their fluffiest. It does not need anything on the side, though a simple salad is nice if you want one.
Tips
Keep the soup at a gentle simmer when the dumplings go in. If it boils hard, the dumplings can fall apart. Leftovers keep in the fridge for 3 days, though the dumplings will soak up broth overnight, so you may want to add a splash of broth when reheating.
Conclusion
I hope this chicken and dumplings warms you up from the inside out. It is simple, filling, and the kind of meal that makes everyone linger at the table a little longer. This one is a keeper for cold nights.
