Dutch Oven Chicken and Dumplings

Dutch Oven Chicken and Dumplings is the most comforting dinner! This homemade chicken and dumplings recipe involves fresh herb dumplings, which take the dish to another level of delicious. All you need are about an hour and a handful of ingredients to make this delicious meal. Makes 6 servings.

Last year, my sister sent my older daughter Raddish kits for Christmas, and we spent time every month cooking from the boxes that arrived.

The first box we received was about comfort food, and the first recipe we made was their Chicken and Dumplings, which were surprisingly delicious and comforting.

This past year, I’ve been tweaking and changing their recipe because we loved it… but I wanted to elevate it even further. And I finally figured out how — fresh herbs.

Why I love this recipe:

Chicken and Dumplings is the ultimate comfort food, but it’s not something I grew up eating at home. (If we did, I don’t remember. Sorry, Mom.)

However, I remember eating it at Southern restaurants and being obsessed with the combination of fluffy dumplings (which are NOT the same thing as biscuits), a creamy, thick chicken stew with chunks of chicken AND the best veggie mixture.

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And this recipe… well, it’s something special.

My husband, my perennial taste tester, told me it was a home run. And I knew I needed to recreate it for us here because it was THAT good.

If you’re in the market for the flat dumplings that you find in many Southern states, these aren’t them.

However, if you’re in the market for a fluffy dumpling that soaks in a luscious broth with chicken and veggies, this could be it.

One of the biggest things I love about this recipe is that we’re using shredded rotisserie chicken to make it easier to make any given evening. (Which is a big deal in my world since, you know, kids and life and activities keep us out late most evenings.) 

Other comforting dinner recipes to try: Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup | Cajun Chicken Alfredo | Easy Broccoli Cheddar Soup | Instant Pot Gumbo | Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

What you need to make this recipe:

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• Sharp knife and cutting board
• Dutch oven
• Wooden spoon or rubber spatula
• Liquid measuring cup
• Mixing bowl

Here’s what you need:

• Extra virgin olive oil — this is the oil that we’ll be cooking the veggies in. While you could use another neutral oil, I really like EVOO best.
• Onion — a yellow or white onion would be fabulous in this recipe. We use them interchangeably at our house
• Carrots — you can use regular carrots or baby carrots, depending on what you’ve got on hand.
• Garlic — please don’t skip this. It adds excellent flavor and aroma to the overall dish.
• Kosher salt — fine grain kosher salt is my go-to for cooking these days. You could use a fine grain sea salt, too.
• Shredded rotisserie chicken — this recipe calls for a pound of shredded chicken, so you’re going to have extra left over from your chicken. Use the chicken breasts or the chicken thighs or a mixture of both. If you like a meatier chicken and dumplings, feel free to throw all the protein in here. If not, save it for later (and make Rotisserie Chicken Salad.)
• Fresh thyme — we’re going to need a boatload of this for the soup and the dumplings themselves. I’ve found that the removing of the thyme from the stems is the most time-consuming part of this recipe, so take the time to do that! You could also use some fresh parsley in the dumplings and garnish, if desired.
• Garlic powder — for a little extra garlic flavor
• Black pepper — freshly cracked!
• All-purpose flour — we keep unbleached AP flour in the house, but any AP flour should work. I have not tried this recipe with a gluten-free substitute, so please do not attempt to change this ingredient, as I do not know how that would work. We use this in both the soup and the dumplings.
• Chicken stock or broth — I like to use a lower salt variety if I can get my hands on it, but you can use whichever kind you can find. Just be aware that you might want to add less salt to the dish because the stock is salted.
• Frozen peas — for a pop of green and sweetness! I keep a bag of these beauties in my freezer at all times.
• Salted butter — this serves as the fat and a base of our dumpling recipe. While you could use unsalted butter here, I really like the additional salt these butter gives the dumplings.
• Whole milk — this is the liquid in our dumplings. I strongly suggest using whole milk. While this works with lower fat milks, it won’t be the same or nearly as decadent. You could also use half of a lower fat milk and half heavy cream to balance it out.
• Baking powder — baking powder is the leavener in our dumplings and gives them their fluffy texture.

Substitutions and variations on this recipe:

Roast your own chicken. It’ll take more time, but it will no doubt be delicious if you’re looking for something that is completely from-scratch.

Add different veggies. Celery play well with these flavors, so chop up a few ribs of that.

How to make Dutch Oven Chicken and Dumplings

Prep the ingredients. This means to chop the onion and carrots. Mince the garlic. Shred the chicken, too. Your prep time will be dependent on how you work through this chopping and shredding.

While you can bake your own chicken breasts or thighs for this recipe, I like using a rotisserie chicken from the store to make life easier on me for a busier weeknight.

Warm the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat.

Add the diced onion, carrots, garlic and salt to the pot. Cook until soft, about 8-10 minutes.

Add the chicken. Season with thyme, garlic powder and black pepper. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until fragrant.

Sprinkle in the flour. Use your spoon to stir it to coat all the ingredients, and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Pour in the chicken broth. Bring to a boil, and let the liquid thicken. This will take about 10-15 minutes.

Add the peas, then make the dumpling dough.

How to make Herb Dumplings for Chicken and Dumplings

Combine the melted butter and milk in a medium bowl. Stir to combine. If the combination solidifies because the milk is too cold, pop them back into the microwave for a few seconds until it’s totally liquid.

Measure in the flour, baking powder, thyme and salt. Stir until combined into dumpling batter. It will be sticky, and you’ll want to work fast for the fluffiest dumplings.

Use a cookie scoop to dollop 1-tablespoon dumplings into the Dutch oven.

When all the dumplings have been formed, cover and cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes at a simmer.

Your Dutch Oven Chicken and Dumplings are done when the dumplings have almost doubled in size and are tender and cooked through.

Serve immediately with extra thyme leaves!

Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips

A big ‘ol pot of Creamy Chicken and Herb Dumplings might be the perfect comfort food to share during the winter months.

This would also make an excellent Sunday supper to share with friends.

Here are some things you can do if you want to serve these to a crowd:

• Prep the ingredients beforehand. This means shred the chicken. Chop the veggies. Pull the thyme leaves from the sticks. This part adds up, so get it done early.
• Cook it until you add the peas and herb dumplings. If you want to cook ahead, you definitely can! However, I do not recommend adding the peas (their color won’t be as brilliant if they sit for a while) or the dumplings (or even mixing the dumplings) until it’s just about dinnertime. The dumplings soak up the liquid, and the longer they sit, the less liquid there will be.
• Pair it with more comfort foods. While this chicken and dumplings recipe is a meal until itself, feel free to pair it with some crusty bread and herb butter, a bottle of white wine and more.

Frequently Asked Questions

The best tricks and tips for homemade chicken and dumplings

• Make it easy on yourself. Purchase a rotisserie chicken, shred it and use it here instead of baking and shredding chicken breasts or thighs.
• Don’t mix the herb dumpling dough until it’s time to put them in the liquid. When the baking powder hits the milk-butter mixture, it will activate. We want this reaction to happen while the dumplings are mostly submerged in the water for the fluffiest dumplings imaginable.
• How to store: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days.

Here’s how you can make this recipe at home…