This homemade chicken and dumplings recipe features light, fluffy drop dumplings, soft and tender chicken, and an incredibly flavorful broth.
This simple, one-pot chicken and dumplings is made entirely from scratch. The dumplings come together in minutes, and you’ll cook the chicken and make the incredible broth all in a single step.
This recipe comes from our friend Richard, who was inspired by his grandmother. His recipe makes a truly incredible, flavorful broth and tender drop dumplings. I can’t wait for you to make it!
Key Ingredients
- Whole chicken: I simmer a whole chicken with aromatics for about 1 hour, which produces the most delicious chicken broth and tender, moist chicken. Once you try making it this way, you’ll never go back. I use the same process to make our easy chicken broth. For making this with leftover chicken, see tips below the recipe.
- Aromatics: For the classic broth, we add an onion top (the part you usually throw away — you can see what I mean by looking at our photos or watching the video), carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, thyme, and salt. These are similar ingredients used for our popular chicken noodle soup recipe.
- Self-rising flour: I use self-rising flour for the drop dumplings. Baking powder and salt have already been added, making the dumpling batter so easy! If you do not have it, I have included a DIY version in the tips section of the recipe.
- Milk: I use whole milk, which brings our dumpling batter together and helps make them tender.
- Butter: Adds flavor and keeps the dumplings moist.
- Spices: I add ground pepper, a bit of extra salt, and fresh parsley to the dumpling batter.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Chicken and Dumplings from Scratch
Tip 1: Cook the chicken and make broth in a one step. For the best chicken and dumplings, we make a broth similar to this chicken broth. It’s easy and so worth it.
Gently simmer a whole chicken in water with a few simple ingredients. It takes 1 hour, but if you are short on time, I have included a speedier option using store-bought broth below.
Tip 2: Use our wet, drop dumpling batter. This Southern-style recipe uses drop dumplings (similar to our easy drop biscuits). I love how light and fluffy the drop-style dumplings turn out. They also make the soup thicker and creamier because some batter will fall into the broth, helping to thicken it. We also have this recipe for more traditional biscuits, but I’d keep those for dipping into the broth, not for cooking on top.
Tip 3: Cooking the dumplings. To cook the dumplings, you will drop the batter by the spoonful into simmering broth. It’s easy, here are a few tips to help you out:
- Use a cookie scoop or spoon to gently drop your dumplings into the gently simmering broth. Don’t worry if the pot looks crowded. Depending on your pot shape, you might even have a few dumplings on top of each other.
- If the dumplings fully cover your soup, use a spoon to make a small hole in the middle to allow steam and some of the simmering bubbles to release.
- Covering the pot with a lid helps the dumplings steam.
- Keep the pot at a gentle simmer. An aggressive simmer or boiling will break the dumplings apart.
More Comforting Chicken Recipes
The Best Chicken and Dumplings
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Our recipe for chicken and dumplings starts with a whole chicken simmered with aromatics to create a rich and flavorful broth. We use self-raising flour for the drop dumplings (DIY self-raising flour is shared in the tips if needed).
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
Chicken and Broth1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds
1 onion top, see notes
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 large carrot
2 stalks celery
3 bay leaves
8 whole peppercorns
1 tablespoon fine sea salt
12 to 14 cups (3 liters) water
1 bunch fresh thyme
Dumplings2 ½ cups (325g) self-rising flour, spooned and leveled, see notes
8 twists black pepper
¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 ½ cups (350ml) whole milk
¼ cup (60g) butter, melted
Directions
- Make Broth and Cook Chicken
1Cut a 3-inch section of the carrot, about ¼ the size of the whole carrot, and set aside. Chop the remaining carrot into small cubes. Cut a 4-inch piece of celery stalk and set aside with the carrot. Chop the remaining celery into small cubes. Save the chopped carrot and celery for later.
2Place the chicken, breast facing up, in a large pot (we use a 9-quart Dutch oven). Then, toss the ¼ carrot, 4-inch piece of celery, onion top, smashed garlic clove, bay leaves, peppercorns, and 1 tablespoon of salt around the chicken.
3Pour in 12 to 14 cups of water, depending on the size of your pot. In the video, we used 14 cups. It is okay if the chicken is not fully covered; an inch or so of chicken breast above the water is okay.
4Cover the pot with a lid, turn the heat to medium-high, and bring to a simmer. Once the broth is at a simmer, reduce it so that it’s a gentle simmer — the bubbles should be slowly dancing around in the pot.
5Cook at a gentle simmer for 50 minutes. Peek under the lid occasionally to see if the heat needs to be reduced.
6After 50 minutes, the broth will be aromatic, and the chicken will be cooked through (you can test this with an internal temperature thermometer — it should read above 165 °F).
7Carefully transfer the chicken to a plate and allow it to cool until you can handle it.
8Strain the broth, wipe any foam stuck to the sides of the pot, and then pour the strained broth back into the pot used to make it. Place the pot back over medium heat, add the thyme, chopped carrots, and chopped celery.
- Finish Chicken and Dumplings
1When it is cool enough to handle, shred the chicken by hand, removing all the bones and skin. Shred as big/little as you like. We keep the chicken in larger pieces.
2To make the dumpling batter, melt the butter. In a medium bowl, stir the flour, pepper, ¾ teaspoon of salt, parsley, milk, and melted butter until mixed.
3Remove the thyme from the soup, scraping a few leaves off the bundle as you remove it.
4Stir the shredded chicken and any juices left on the plate into the soup.
5Bring the broth to a gentle simmer, and then use a spoon to scoop golf ball-sized portions of the batter into the soup, scraping them off with your finger. (If you have a large cookie scoop, scoop balls of batter into the soup.) Do this until all the batter is in the soup — it will look crowded. Some might sink.
6Cover with a lid and cook the dumplings at a low simmer for 5 to 7 minutes or until they look like they are firming up on the bottom. Then, carefully turn each one over to simmer the other side. If there’s no space for the liquid to bubble up past the dumplings, use a spoon and make a small hole in the middle of the pot.
7Once they are all turned over, simmer over low heat with the lid on for another 8 to 10 minutes. You can test a dumpling to check they are done — The center should look cooked through and fluffy, not doughy. When cooking the dumplings, keep the pot at a gentle simmer. An aggressive simmer or boiling will break them apart. Keep the heat low and keep your pot covered so that they steam. The dumplings can cook longer than the suggested times without issues, but agitating them with an aggressive simmer will make them fall apart.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Onion top: We are only looking for a mild onion flavor in our broth. Slice an onion at the top, keeping the skins on. Use the top (what you would normally throw away) to make the broth, and save the onion for another recipe. You can also use a 1-inch slice of onion in its place.
- Self-rising flour: Unlike all-purpose flour, self-rising flour adds baking powder and salt. For 2 ½ cups of homemade self-rising flour (what you need for this recipe), whisk 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour with 3 ¾ teaspoons baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt.
- Measuring your flour: Fluff the flour in its container, then gently scoop it into your measuring cup until slightly mounded. Level off the top with a knife for accurate measuring. For even more accuracy, use a scale and measure the flour by weight (in grams).
- Pot size: The perfect size for this recipe is a 9-quart Dutch oven, which is large enough to make the broth and cook all the dumplings. I have also used a 7 ½-quart Dutch oven with this recipe and found that I could only fit 12 cups of water with my chicken. If you don’t have either of these, make sure the pot is large enough to hold at least 12 cups of water with the chicken.
- Shortcut with leftover chicken: I highly recommend the homemade broth, but if you are short on time, use 10-12 cups of store-bought broth. Bring your chicken broth to a low simmer, and add chopped carrot and celery. Stir in 3 to 4 cups of shredded cooked chicken. Make the dumpling batter and cook by gently simmering them covered with a lid, per our instructions above.
- Storing: This dish is best when fresh, but you can store it in the fridge for a couple of days and gently reheat. The dumplings will be slightly more moist and might fall apart, but the flavors will all be there. We do not recommend freezing them.
- Make ahead tips: To reduce the preparation time of the recipe, you can make the broth and chicken up to three days in advance. When you are ready to serve, reheat the broth, add your carrots and celery, and then make your dumpling batter.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Definitely recommend weighing the flour. We’re at sea level, and when I measured both ways, I had at least a half-cup too much when using a measuring cup. Dumplings came out light and fluffy when I measured by weight.
I’m making these a second time, (they were so good the first time!), but I have a question about the thyme. How long is the bundle supposed to remain in the soup? All I can determine from the recipe is long enough for the chicken to cool and be shredded. Does that sound about right or did you have a specific time in mind? Thanks!
You are correct. Remove the thyme in the step that starts with “Strain the broth, wipe any foam stuck to the sides of the pot…”
Will gluten free flour work?
Hi Patti, I have not done this myself, but I believe you should be able to use a standard 1:1 GF all-purpose blend as a substitute for the flour in the recipe. The trick is to get the right amount of baking powder and salt (since we call for self-rising flour). Here’s our tips from below the recipe for making your own self-rising flour (in your case, you’d use the GF flour): Unlike all-purpose flour, self-rising flour adds baking powder and salt. For 2 ½ cups of homemade self-rising flour (what you need for this recipe), whisk 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour with 3 ¾ teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
I followed to a T. It came out so good! I made it for a family gathering and everyone loved it! I will use the recipe for the chicken broth for other recipes as well.
I am am making this right now. Everything fri. Scratch.following recipe exactly. Could find self rising flour in store so thank you for the recipe for that. I haven’t had chicken and dumplings since I was a young child…..feeling nostolgic…hope its as good as my memory of it.
Wanted to use chicken breast we had, started out using the first part of your Best Chicken Noodle Soup recipe, then switched over to The Best Chicken and Dumplings recipe.
Dinner was delicious, easy to make. We now have enough for another meal.
THANKS
The flavors are all here in this recipe. One tip to make it easier…My mother in law taught me if you boil your soup in a big, 6 quart chicken frying pan (straight sides not flared) you will gain a larger surface area for your dumplings Also, she dropped the dumplings I the boiling soup and then set her flame to a strong simmer for 10 min to cook the bottom of the dumplings. Then rather than messy turning, she simply covered with a lid and cooked another 10 min to steam the tops. Light, fluffy and delicious every time. I’ve been doing it 40 years, and it’s a family favorite.
Great tips, Angel!
Love these dumplings! These are what I was familiar with, not the dumplings that look like noodles. We prefer dark meat so I use four chicken thighs instead of a whole chicken. Also, when it’s done, I remove the dumplings and add a flour mixture to make it creamy. I don’t have access to my recipe at this moment or I would share it.
We are thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Jacqueline. I love homemade noodles with chicken, but I also love these soft and fluffy dumplings!
I am going to try this tomorrow for lunch. Has anyone used dried Thyme instead of fresh?
I usually use fresh thyme, but dried thyme will work! Use 2 to 3 teaspoons for the broth.
These are amazing dumplings! I have been making rolled out firm dumplings for 20 years and dread the mess when my family asked for them 😆. These are way easier and much better flavor and texture! Thank you so much for sharing
OMG! This looks so delicious! It’s time for chicken and dumplins in my house, I believe! And one more thing. It’s SO satisfying to see a cook actually scrape the bowl and not leave any good morsels behind! Thank you! My great-grandmother was a stickler for scraping the bowl. If you didn’t scrape the bowl, she’d tell you about it. 😂
This recipe was delish!!! I had always rolled out the dumplings like my Mom. These dumplings were light and tasty! I will use this one from now on! Thank you!
Today it snowed in south Texas, so I decided to make a new comfort food. I followed the recipe exactly and it was Delicious (yes, with a capital D!). The dumplings were fluffy and perfect and the soup is very flavorful. Thank you!
I’d lost my old favorite recipe for chicken and dumplings and have tried several different ones with fluffy dumplings with disappointing results. This was absolutely perfect!! Flavorful broth, tender chicken and delicious dumplings that didn’t dissolve into the soup! We like extra veggies, so I added a bag of frozen peas and carrots before the dumplings. Even though I made 1.5x the recipe there was nothing left. 100% a keeper, thank you!!!
I made this chicken and dumpling recipe the other night. My husband and my daughter said this was the best chicken and dumpling recipe that I’ve made to date. They absolutely loved it. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us. We really appreciate it so much.
Hi Jessica, I’m so sorry the dumplings weren’t as good as you expected them to be! To help figure out what happened, could you tell me if you used self-rising flour (which has baking powder and salt added to it) and how you measured it? Using a different flour or scooping directly from the bag can sometimes lead to chewy, gummy dumplings. I highly recommend taking a look at our tips for measuring flour below the recipe.
My husband and I loved this comfort food recipe…Flavor was so good, dumplings perfect! My first time ever making Chicken and dumplings. Highly recommend.
That’s amazing, LaVonne. Thank you so much for coming back and letting us know.
This was unbelievably good!!!
Making chip in and dumplings. This was my first attempt at making chicken and dumplings. Everybody raved about it easy to follow and directions easy to follow and directions. Thank you so much we will make it again soon.
was just wondering do you have an idea about how many servings your chicken dumplings would
make???
This serves 6 (maybe slightly more).
My dumplings were dense and doughy. Not sure why. I was so hopeful. Otherwise it was a yummy dish.
Hi Cindy, Since your dumplings were dense, it’s possible you might have used a bit too much flour. Did you use the “spooned and leveled” method for measuring the flour like the recipe suggests in the notes section? That helps prevent accidentally packing too much flour into the measuring cup. If you scooped directly from the bag, that might explain the dense texture.
My husband asked me to try chicken and dumplings at home after he had some on vacation. I’ve never had a recipe, but checked Inspired Taste right away. Your directions were easy to follow, and your tips on making the dumplings were such a help! We enjoyed them, even on a hot August night, and look forward to making them again when fall arrives–they will be perfect for cooler weather. Thanks!
Amazing and delicious in its hearty simple way!!! My whole family loved it and my 3 year old ate a whole bowl without any fuss and asked more veggies 🤭!! Thank you for sharing this.
I have been trying to find a dumpling recipe that was just like my grannies, she passed away over 27 yrs ago. & since I was only teenager I thought to ask her as she kept all her recipe in her head, she was born & raised in the south & up until tonight I thought I would never again get to taste her wonderful chicken n dumpling. So your recipe has made so happy & now I have got to finally show my son what he’s been missing. Together we ate the whole pot. YUMMIEST. THANK YOU, For making my whole year that much better.
Aww, this made my day, Amber. I am so happy that you found our recipe! Thank you for sharing this with us.
I am going to make this this week. However as seniors there are 2 of us. I am going to simmer half a chicken. Can I cut dumpling recipe in half. Thank you! We can hardly wait!
Absolutely!
We just finished eating this and it was so delicious! The only thing is that some of my dumplings came out gummy. Maybe I overworked the dough or maybe my dumplings were too large? Im not sure but still delicious. Also, I was wondering if you can freeze the leftovers with the dumplings?
I’m thrilled you enjoyed most of the recipe! Gummy dumplings can be frustrating, but there are a few potential causes. Overworking the dough can make them tough, so try mixing it only until it just comes together. Also, smaller dumplings cook through more evenly than larger ones. You can freeze this, but keep in mind that thawed and reheated dumplings might not have the same texture as fresh.
Delicious! This is my go-to chicken and dumplings recipe from now on.
That’a wonderful, Lane. Thanks for coming back and letting us know!
This was SO delicious and super easy to follow directions! This will definitely be something I make more often for my family! My kids loved the dumplings!
I am so happy you found our recipe and that you found it to be helpful! Thank you for coming back and letting us know.
I just made this recipe and it turned out great, my picky teenagers love it. It’s perfect for a snow day. Thank you for sharing all your wonderful recipes, keep them coming !!!!
This soup is perfect for a snow day! We are thrilled you loved it. We have tons more recipes coming your way 🙂
This is THE best chicken and dumpling receipe hands down. It is soooo tasty and comforting. I am addicted to this. I want it every night. Thank you so much for sharing the receipe with us!!
We agree 🙂 We are thrilled that you love it!
This is probably the best chicken and dumpings recipe!!
We are so glad you loved it 🙂
I made this homemade chicken and dumplings last night and not only my boyfriend, but my brother, sister, and neighbor, raved about it all evening!! Of course I am reheating it (what little I have left) so my botfriend, can enjoy another bowl, before heading into work!! Thank you Adam & Joanne for a great recipe, I love Inspired Taste! I will continue to look any, and all, recipes I am looking for, up on your site!! Thanks again 🙂
This makes me so happy! It sounds like your chicken and dumplings were a total hit. Thanks so much for the kind words, it truly means a lot. Enjoy the leftovers!
This recipe was easy and the dumplings were delicious. The only thing I changed was that after turning them after 5 minutes, I turned them off and waited a few minutes and they were so light and fluffy.
Great idea. We are thrilled that you loved the recipe 🙂
I followed the recipe exactly, but even though my dumpling were fluffy and looked perfect, in the end they were hard and doughy. Did I not cook them long enough, or over cooked them?
I’m sorry the recipe didn’t work well for you! Is your self-rising flour fresh? Or if you made your own, was your baking powder fresh? Also, did you gently simmer the dumplings in the soup?
Easy to follow directions and it came out delicious. Everyone loved it.
Yay! So glad you loved it 🙂
I made this recipe exactly like the directions and it was the best thing I ever tasted! My entire family loved it and yes these biscuits were as light as air. Bonus- after the dumplings are gone you are left with a little bit of rich, buttery chicken soup.
Yay! We are thrilled that your family loved it 🙂 We really appreciate you taking the time to leave a review!
Made this recipe last night. Followed it to the T except I used gluten free 1 to 1 flour for the dumplings. I was truly impressed. They came out light and fluffy and so good. It reheated well today as well.
Yay! We are so glad that the gluten free substitution worked for you. That is a great tip for other home cooks. We are thrilled you loved it 🙂