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5 from 3 votes

Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and Dumplings is comfort food in a bowl with flavorful homemade chicken soup and large, plump dumplings.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time2 hours
Total Time2 hours 15 minutes
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Chicken and Dumplings
Servings: 10
Calories: 393kcal
Author: Amanda Rettke--iamhomesteader.com

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 1 whole chicken, 3 1/2-4 pounds
  • 10 cups water
  • 2-3 large carrots, peeled and cubed (about 2 cups)
  • 1-2 stalks celery, chopped (about 1 cup)
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped (about 3 cups)
  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 bay leaf

Stock

  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more for spice
  • 1 cube chicken bouillon, crushed (about 1 teaspoon)

Dumplings

  • 1 cup sour cream
  • ½ cup milk
  • 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped, plus extra sprigs for garnish (optional)
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Chicken

  • Place the chicken in an 8-quart Dutch oven, or a large, heavy-duty pot with a cover.
  • Add the water, carrot, celery, onion, thyme, and bay leaf to the chicken. Bring to a boil (uncovered).
  • After the mixture has come to a boil, cover the Dutch oven, reduce heat to low, and let simmer for 1 hour.
  • Remove the chicken from the Dutch oven and transfer to a large bowl. Set the chicken aside to cool.

Stock

  • Increase the heat and bring the stock to a simmer.
  • Skim off, and reserve in a bowl, as much chicken fat as you can that is at the top of the stock.
  • In a small bowl, mix the 2 tablespoons flour with 2-3 tablespoons of the reserved chicken fat to make a paste. (Add more flour if needed.)
  • Add the fat and flour paste to the stock. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
  • After the 15 minutes, remove the skin from the chicken and shred it with forks. Add the shredded chicken to the stock.
  • Add salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and chicken bouillon. Remove the bay leaf, and continue to simmer for 10-15 minutes as you prepare the dumplings.

Dumplings

  • In a large bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, thyme leaves, and eggs. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
  • Add the flour mixture to the sour cream mixture. Stir until just incorporated; do not overmix.
  • Using a ¼-cup scoop, scoop large dollops of the dumpling mixture on top of the simmering chicken stock.
  • Increase to medium-high heat, cover, and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or the dumplings are light and fluffy. (To check for doneness, an inserted toothpick should come out clean.)
  • Serve immediately, garnished with extra thyme sprigs (optional).

Nutrition

Calories: 393kcal