Creamy with soft thin dumplings and chunks of chicken. Stick to your ribs filling in a good way. However you define southern comfort, this is it.
I love to make chicken and dumplings for friends who aren’t from the south or didn’t grow up eating them. It’s fun to watch them experience something so “southern comfort” for the first time and correct them every time they actually pronounce the G at the end of dumplings. This recipe is a mashup of the way my grandma and mother in law make dumplings. My husband and I couldn’t agree on which was better so I found a middle ground.
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Ingredients
- Homemade Chicken Bone Broth, or store bought
- cooked chicken, cubed
- cream of chicken soup
- butter
- all purpose flour
- white pepper
- salt
- baking soda
- milk
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Step One: Make dumpling dough. Melt the butter in a large microwave safe bowl. Mix ½ cup of flour into the melted butter. The flour and butter should become clumpy. Keep adding flour ½ cup at a time, mixing after each addition to make sure little chunks of butter are mixed evenly throughout. Add salt, white pepper and baking soda. Add milk and mix until a crumbly dough begins to form.
Step Two: Roll out dumplings. Dump the dough out onto a floured surface. Use your hands to knead the dough slightly into a ball. If it is totally falling apart add a little bit of water, if it’s sticky add a little flour. This will not be smooth like bread dough, nor should you knead it a ton. You just want it to stay together while rolling. Roll the dough out into a ¼ in thick rectangle, then sprinkle flour on top and smooth it out. You want a nice thin layer of flour across the dumplings. This flour will help thicken the broth without creating clumps.
Step Three: Cut dumplings. Now hopefully you were able to roll the dough out into somewhat of a rectangle. I personally am a professional amoeba shape roller. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to carefully cut your dumplings into rectangles. I’ve found about 2 inches x 3 inches to be a good size, but honestly I’m not getting out a ruler.
Step Four: Cook dumplings. Add chicken broth and a can of cream of chicken to a large stockpot. I prefer to use Homemade Chicken Bone Broth, but store bought works too. Bring to a boil and start dropping in dumplings, stirring after every 10 or so to keep things from sticking. Once all of the dumplings are in the pot, drop the cook to a slow boil and cook the dumplings for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Be sure to check that none are sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Step Five: Add chicken. Turn off the heat and stir in chunks of cooked chicken. Spoon out a dumpling, taste and adjust seasoning add more salt or white pepper if needed. Allow the pot sit for about 15 minutes before serving to let the broth thicken.
Hint: Chicken broth is going to create your base flavor. I use my Golden Chicken Bone Broth. Jump on over to that recipe to make your own or you can always grab some from the store.
Give yourself the gift of prep!
In this section I will give you ways to freeze, re-purpose and/or use some of your ingredients for another meal. Save yourself some time and effort next time you’re in the kitchen!
Make a the broth and cook the chicken ahead of time and keep it in the freezer to make this recipe quicker and easier. Bonus: you’ll have broth and chicken ready for other recipes.
- Make broth ahead of time: Use Golden Chicken Bone Broth as your base. Keep some in the freezer.
- Roast a chicken: Roast a whole chicken and use some of it for this recipe. Freeze the rest in pieces to use later for Chicken Noodle Soup or Creamy Chicken Grilled Cheese.
Equipment
You need a really large pot to cook the dumplings. I use an All-Clad 12 qt stock pot. I also use a large slip mat the roll the dumplings. You can roll straight onto your countertop, just be careful when cutting the dumplings.
Storage
Store chicken and dumplings in the fridge for 2 days. The broth will get really thick in the fridge. Reheat it with a little more chicken broth to help thin it out.
Top Tip
Getting the dough thin enough is crucial to the final texture. Too thick= too chewy. Halve the dough and do two rounds of rolling if you are tight on counter space. You’re going to need a decent amount of space to roll them out thin enough.
Related
Looking for other chicken recipes? Try these:
Bone Broth
Other recipes that use chicken bone broth:
Recipe
Southern Chicken and Dumplings
Course: Dinner, MainCuisine: American, Southern4
servings15
minutes30
minutes15
minutes1
hourCreamy with soft thin dumplings and chunks of chicken. Stick to your ribs filling in a good way. However you define southern comfort, this is it.
Ingredients
- Broth Ingredients
8 cup Homemade Chicken Bone Broth
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 can cream of chicken soup
- Dumpling Dough
5 tablespoon butter
3 cups all purpose flour, plus additional for rolling
½ teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup milk
Directions
- Melt the butter in a large microwave safe bowl. Mix ½ cup of flour into the melted butter. The flour and butter should become clumpy. Keep adding flour ½ cup at a time, mixing after each addition to make sure little chunks of butter are mixed evenly throughout. You are looking for a sand like texture.
- Add salt, white pepper and baking soda. Add milk and mix until a crumbly dough begins to form.
- Add chicken broth and a can of cream of chicken to a large stockpot. Bring to a boil.
- While the broth is heating up, dump the dough out onto a floured surface. Use your hands to knead the dough slightly into a ball. If it is totally falling apart add a little bit of water, if it's sticky add a little flour. Roll the dough out into a ¼ in thick rectangle, then sprinkle flour on top and smooth it out. You want a nice thin layer of flour across the dumplings.
- Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to carefully cut your dumplings into rectangles. I’ve found about 2 inches x 3 inches to be a good size, but no need to get out a ruler.
- Start dropping dumplings into the hot broth mixture, stirring after every 10 dumplings or so to keep things from sticking. Once all of the dumplings are in the pot, drop the heat to a low boil and cook the dumplings for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Be sure to check that none are sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Turn off the heat and stir in chunks of cooked chicken. Spoon out a dumpling, taste and adjust seasoning add more salt or white pepper if needed. Allow the pot sit for about 15 minutes before serving to let the broth thicken.