Sometimes you can be a gourmet chef, and sometimes you just want to make a giant pot of hearty, filling goodness that’ll feed a bunch of people at once and not cause you any stress at all.
Enter my world famous crockpot chicken and dumplings recipe!
- Is it fancy? It’s very much not fancy.
- Is it healthy? Nah. This is not that kind of cooking show.
- Is it easy and cheap and yummy? Now you’re catching on.
What’s the deal with Chicken and Dumplings?
Chicken and Dumplings are a Southern staple, and I know this because I used to eat them at Cracker Barrel with my grandparents as a kid! This creamy, hearty stew is complemented with chunky dough balls we Southern gals call dumplings, My Mom used to make homemade dumplings from scratch (or from Bisquick – does that count?) but for this incredibly easy recipe, we’ll be taking all the shortcuts.
How to Make the Easiest Chicken and Dumplings in the World
- Start with frozen or thawed boneless, skinless chicken breast or tenders. As long as you’re putting everything in the crockpot for 4-5 hours or so, chicken can go from freezer straight to crockpot with no worries.
- Dump in a bag of frozen veggies. I like the mixed vegetables with carrots, corn, peas and green beans, but it’s really up to you which mixture you go for.
- Add a cup or two or three of chicken broth or stock, depending on how big a pot you’re making. The stew will thicken considerably while cooking, so you can be pretty liberal with this.
- Now for the secret ingredient – Campbell’s soup! I like to mix a bunch of flavors together, like Cream of Chicken, Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Celery. Whatever you want.
- Stir everything together and cover.
- Once the chicken is cooked (give it 3-4 hours), scoop out the pieces and either cut into bite-sized cubes or shred. Return to crockpot.
- For the dumplings, wait until about 60-90 minutes left of cook time – or an hour or so until you’re ready to eat. I crack open the can of biscuits and make 1-2” diameter dough balls and drop right on top of the bubbling concoction. You can also slice with a knife as long as the biscuit dough is nice and cold.
- Once you’ve dropped the dough balls in, re-cover and set the table. It’s almost time!
Tip: smaller dumplings cook faster. They’ll expand once dropped into the bubbling mixture!
To test if the dumplings are ready, insert a fork or toothpick into one. If it comes out clean and not doughy, they should be good. Note that some of the dumplings may smoosh together during cooking – that’s ok! You can separate them with a spoon once you’re ready to serve.
Cheap and Easy Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings
Chicken and Dumplings are a Southern staple, and I know this because I used to eat them at Cracker Barrel with my grandparents as a kid! This creamy, hearty stew is complemented with chunky dough balls we Southern gals call dumplings, My Mom used to make homemade dumplings from scratch (or from Bisquick - does that count?) but for this incredibly easy recipe, we’ll be taking all the shortcuts.
Ingredients
- 1 - 2 lbs. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 16-32 oz. Frozen peas, carrots, green beans mixture
- Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Chicken and Cream of Whatever-You-Like
- 32 oz. Chicken broth
- Pepper and lots of it
- Salt (Only if you need it. The soup has quite a lot of sodium.)
- 2 Cans of biscuits
Instructions
- Start with frozen or thawed boneless, skinless chicken breast or tenders. As long as you’re putting everything in the crockpot for 6 hours or so, chicken can go from freezer straight to crockpot with no worries.
- Dump in a bag of frozen veggies. I like the mixed vegetables with carrots, corn, peas and green beans, but it’s really up to you which mixture you go for.
- Add a cup or two or three of chicken broth or stock, depending on how big a pot you’re making. The stew will thicken considerably while cooking, so you can be pretty liberal with this.
- Now for the secret ingredient - Campbell’s soup! I like to mix a bunch of flavors together, like Cream of Chicken, Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Celery. Whatever you want.
- Once the chicken is cooked (give it 3-5 hours), scoop out the pieces and either cut into bite-sized cubes or shred. Return to crockpot.
- For the dumplings, wait until about 60-90 minutes left of cook time - or any hour or so until you’re ready to eat. I crack open the can of biscuits and make 1-2” diameter dough balls and drop right on top of the bubbling concoction. You can also slice with a knife as long as the biscuit dough is nice and cold.
- Once you’ve dropped the dough balls in, re-cover and cook until the dumplings are done.
Notes
Tip: smaller dumplings cook faster. They’ll expand once dropped into the bubbling mixture!
To test if the dumplings are ready, insert a fork or toothpick into one. If it comes out clean and not doughy, they should be good. Note that some of the dumplings may smoosh together during cooking - that’s ok! You can separate them with a spoon once you’re ready to serve.
Angie’s Cheap and Easy Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
Must-Have Ingredients
- 1 – 2 lbs. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 16-32 oz. Frozen peas, carrots, green beans mixture
- Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Chicken and Cream of Whatever-You-Like
- 32 oz. Chicken broth
- Pepper and lots of it
- Salt (Only if you need it. The soup has quite a lot of sodium.)
- 1-2 Cans of biscuits
Optional ingredients, if you’re feeling fancy
- Fresh yellow onion, carrots, celery, corn, etc.
- Minced garlic
- Fresh herbs
- Scratch-made biscuits (Ok, Paula Deen, hold your horses)
What I love about this chicken and dumplings recipe is how easy it is to adjust to fit your crockpot and serve however many hungry mouths you need to. And this is the ultimate everything-and-the-kitchen-sink recipe, so portion sizes are approximate and anything goes. Want more veggies? Double dumplings? You can have it all in Angie’s kitchen.
More Easy Recipes from Angie’s Kitchen
Once you make it the typical way listed here, the next time you go wild with variations —use bone broth or fresh carrots or a shredded rotisserie chicken — and you’ll still get a flavorful vat of creamy chicken and dumplings by dinner time. Also, if you don’t have all day to let this recipe simmer in a crockpot, using a pre-cooked chicken will cut your cook time by 2-3 hours.
Shop the Crockpot store on Amazon.
- In my 8-quart Crockpot, I get enough for 15 big servings.
- In a 5-quart Crockpot, you’d get about 10 servings.
- In a 2-quart Crockpot, you can fit around 4 servings.
For the 2-quart size, reduce ingredients to the below:
- 1 large chicken breast
- 1-2 cans of Campbell’s Cream of _____ soup
- 2 cups of frozen veggies
- 1 cup of chicken broth
- 2 biscuits
Variations for Easy Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings
- Make it spicy. Depending on who I’m making it for (usually Rick, my brother and a handful of their friends), I’ll add red pepper flakes to give it a kick. Rick usually puts hot sauce on it, too. (What can I say? He’s a spicy guy.)
- Make it healthy. Healthier, ok. There’s nothing healthy about this recipe but you could opt for the lower sodium soups or add more veggies.
- Make it pretty. Chicken and Dumplings isn’t exactly photogenic, but if you’re going for nice presentation, garnish with parsley or little basil leaves.
Prep time: less than 5 minutes | Cook time: 5 hours or so
Serve heaping helpings in a big ceramic bowl and garnish with basil or rosemary for a fancy flourish. Or you can just dive right in like we do.
