Warm and cozy chicken and dumplings comes together in 25 minutes with a few easy prep tips. This delicious chicken soup has savory fluffy dumplings that cook perfectly right on your stovetop thanks to the design of a Dutch oven.
PREP TIME 10 minutesminutes
COOK TIME 25 minutesminutes
TOTAL TIME 35 minutesminutes
YIELD 8servings
Ingredients
For the Chicken Soup
1rotisserie chickenskinned and shredded, about 3 cups of chicken
1onionchopped
3carrotschopped
2stalks of celerychopped
1tbsp olive oil
1tspthyme
Sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper
8cupschicken stock
1tspdried parsley
1/4tsp cayenne
1/3cupflour
1cupfrozen peas
For the Dumplings
1cupall purpose flour
2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp kosher salt
2tablespoonschivesminced
1/2cupbuttermilk
1egg
Instructions
Prepare the Chicken Soup
Shred the rotisserie chicken meat. Discard the skin and shred both the white and dark meat from the legs and thighs. This adds tons of flavor to the soup.
Chop the onion, carrots, and celery.
Place a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Add the onion, carrot, celery, thyme, salt and pepper, and stir them together. Cook the vegetables for 5 - 7 minutes or until the onions are softened and translucent.
Pour the chicken stock into the pot and scrape the bottom of the Dutch oven to release any browned bits that may have developed. Add the parsley and cayenne. NOTE: The cayenne will NOT make this a spicy dish, it simply adds a delicate boost of flavor and truly enhances the entire recipe.
While the broth warms up in the Dutch oven, place the 1/3 cup of flour in a small mixing bowl. Once the chicken stock starts to steam, use a ladle to add about a cup of broth to the flour. Whisk it together until smooth and then scrape the mixture back into the Dutch oven.
Add the shredded chicken and frozen peas and stir.
Prepare the Dumplings
Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and chives to a mixing bowl and whisk them together.
Measure the buttermilk in a liquid measuring cup. Add the egg to the buttermilk and whisk them together till smooth.
Pour the liquid into the dry flour bowl and stir everything together with a spatula until the dough comes together and there are no dry pockets of flour. Be careful to not over mix the dough or the dumplings will be tough.
Drop the Dumplings and Cook
Use a spoon to scoop portions of the dumpling dough and drop them into the chicken soup. They may sink a little but will rise as they cook. Scatter them evenly over the surface of the soup in a single layer. They can be as small as you like but should not be larger than a golf ball.
Immediately place the Dutch oven lid on the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook the chicken and dumplings for 18 - 20 minutes. DO NOT PEEK, the dumplings need the steam to build up inside the Dutch oven to cook properly. You can use a toothpick to prick a dumpling to check for doneness. If it comes out clean, the dumpling is cooked through.
Recipe Notes
Prep Ahead Tips
You can make this an easy 25 minute meal on a busy night by prepping the chicken and dumplings several days in advance:Shred the chicken and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months. If frozen, thaw in the fridge overnight.Chop the onions, celery, and carrots up to 48 hours in advance and store in an airtight container in the fridge. Don't freeze the vegetables, the celery will lose texture in the thawing process.