Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings
Hearty and wholesome, my Slow Cooker Chicken & Dumplings has shredded chicken, lots of vegetables, and tender dumplings - an easy, mostly hands-off recipe.
Servings: 10
Calories: 367kcal
Equipment
- 6-quart slow cooker
- pastry cutter
Ingredients
Chicken Soup
- 2 ½ pounds chicken breasts or thighs
- 1 onion (chopped; 10 ounces)
- 4 stalks celery (chopped; 8 ounces)
- 2 cups carrots (chopped; 10 ounces)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (6 cloves)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper (ground)
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 cups chicken broth
Vegetables
- 24 ounces frozen peas
Dumplings
- 2 ¼ cups flour (270 grams)
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon table salt
- 5 tablespoons butter (diced into small cubes)
- 1 ⅛ cups milk (260 grams)
Instructions
Cook the Chicken Soup (10-15 minutes prep; 4 hours cooking)
- Combine chicken, vegetables, spices, salt, and broth in a 6-quart slow cooker. Cook on low for 4 hours.
- While the chicken cooks, place the frozen peas in the refrigerator to begin thawing.
Shred Chicken/Prep Dumplings (15-20 minutes prep)
- At the end of cooking time, taste the soup and add salt or adjust seasonings as necessary. Shred the chicken; if it doesn't break apart, it needs to cook longer.
- Stir in the frozen vegetables. Replace the lid, and switch the slow cooker to high while you prepare the dumpling dough.
- Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Use a pastry cutter to cut in butter, until the mixture looks like small crumbs.
- Use a fork to stir in the milk, tossing the flour around until everything is a mass of dough. (It's okay, though, to have some dry flour leftover or stuck to the sides.)
- Use the fork to drop portions of dough into the soup. If you have trouble, submerge the fork and swish it around to ease the dumplings off. Spread them along the entire surface, not just in one spot, and leave space between them if possible. They will merge together as they cook, so size isn't important.
Cook the Dumplings (2 hours)
- Replace the lid, and cook on high for 2 hours. The tops of the dumplings will look set and almost dry when they're done. Use a fork to tear under the surface of one to be sure it's done.
Serving
- Mix together the chicken and dumplings; this helps dissolve some of the dumplings into the soup to make it creamier and more gravy-like. This also submerges the dumplings, which is okay. Serve immediately.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. Since the soup contains dairy, reheat gently.
Notes
I typically use bouillon plus water, in place of broth.
Frozen onion, carrot, and celery will all work fine, but add at least 30 minutes to the soup's cooking time. Add vegetables other than peas if desired, or omit them entirely.
I cannot recommend gluten-free flour or non-dairy milk in this recipe.
Cooking the soup on low keeps the chicken tender; cooking on high doesn't save much time and can make the chicken tough.
Dumpling recipe adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.
Calorie count calculated in MyNetDiary and is an estimate only.
Nutrition
Calories: 367kcal
