The Best Chicken and Dumplings

This one comes from my teammate Beth, who said it best: “It tasted like love in a bowl—so soothing, comforting, and SO delicious!” Made from scratch without being overwhelming, this recipe is hearty, cozy, and perfect for when you need a little comfort food.

Ingredients:

Chicken and Broth

1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds
1 onion top, see notes
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 large carrot
2 stalks celery
3 bay leaves
8 whole peppercorns
1 tablespoon fine sea salt
12 to 14 cups (3 liters) water
1 bunch fresh thyme

Dumplings:

2 ½ cups (325g) self-rising flour, spooned and leveled, see notes
8 twists black pepper
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 ½ cups (350ml) whole milk
1/4 cup (60g) butter, melted

Directions:

Make broth and cook chicken

Cut a 3-inch section of the carrot, about 1/4 the size of the whole carrot, and set aside. Chop the remaining carrot into small cubes. Cut a 4-inch piece of celery stalk and set aside with the carrot. Chop the remaining celery into small cubes. Save the chopped carrot and celery for later.
Place the chicken, breast facing up, in a large pot (we use a 9-quart Dutch oven). Then, toss the 1/4 carrot, 4-inch piece of celery, onion top, smashed garlic clove, bay leaves, peppercorns, and 1 tablespoon of salt around the chicken.
Pour in 12 to 14 cups of water, depending on the size of your pot. In the video, we used 14 cups. It is okay if the chicken is not fully covered; an inch or so of chicken breast above the water is okay.
Cover the pot with a lid, turn the heat to medium-high, and bring to a simmer. Once the broth is at a simmer, reduce it so that it’s a gentle simmer — the bubbles should be slowly dancing around in the pot.
Cook at a gentle simmer for 50 minutes. Peek under the lid occasionally to see if the heat needs to be reduced.
After 50 minutes, the broth will be aromatic, and the chicken will be cooked through (you can test this with an internal temperature thermometer — it should read above 165 °F).
Carefully transfer the chicken to a plate and allow it to cool until you can handle it.
Strain the broth, wipe any foam stuck to the sides of the pot, and then pour the strained broth back into the pot used to make it. Place the pot back over medium heat, add the thyme, chopped carrots, and chopped celery.

Finish Chicken & Dumplings

When it is cool enough to handle, shred the chicken by hand, removing all the bones and skin. Shred as big/little as you like. We keep the chicken in larger pieces.
To make the dumpling batter, melt the butter. In a medium bowl, stir the flour, pepper, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, parsley, milk, and melted butter until mixed.
Remove the thyme from the soup, scraping a few leaves off the bundle as you remove it.
Stir the shredded chicken and any juices left on the plate into the soup.
Bring the broth to a gentle simmer, and then use a spoon to scoop golf ball-sized portions of the batter into the soup, scraping them off with your finger. (If you have a large cookie scoop, scoop balls of batter into the soup.) Do this until all the batter is in the soup — it will look crowded. Some might sink.
Cover with a lid and cook the dumplings at a low simmer for 5 to 7 minutes or until they look like they are firming up on the bottom. Then, carefully turn each one over to simmer the other side. If there’s no space for the liquid to bubble up past the dumplings, use a spoon and make a small hole in the middle of the pot.
Once they are all turned over, simmer over low heat with the lid on for another 8 to 10 minutes. You can test a dumpling to check they are done — The center should look cooked through and fluffy, not doughy. When cooking the dumplings, keep the pot at a gentle simmer. An aggressive simmer or boiling will break them apart. Keep the heat low and keep your pot covered so that they steam. The dumplings can cook longer than the suggested times without issues, but agitating them with an aggressive simmer will make them fall apart.

Notes & Tips

Onion top: We are only looking for a mild onion flavor in our broth. Slice an onion at the top, keeping the skins on. Use the top (what you would normally throw away) to make the broth, and save the onion for another recipe. You can also use a 1-inch slice of onion in its place.
Self-rising flour: Unlike all-purpose flour, self-rising flour adds baking powder and salt. For 2 ½ cups of homemade self-rising flour (what you need for this recipe), whisk 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour with 3 ¾ teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Measuring your flour: Fluff the flour in its container, then gently scoop it into your measuring cup until slightly mounded. Level off the top with a knife for accurate measuring. For even more accuracy, use a scale and measure the flour by weight (in grams).
Pot size: The perfect size for this recipe is a 9-quart Dutch oven, which is large enough to make the broth and cook all the dumplings. I have also used a 7 ½-quart Dutch oven with this recipe and found that I could only fit 12 cups of water with my chicken. If you don’t have either of these, make sure the pot is large enough to hold at least 12 cups of water with the chicken.
Shortcut: I highly recommend the homemade broth, but if you are short on time, use 10-12 cups of store-bought broth. Bring your chicken broth to a low simmer, and add chopped carrot and celery. Stir in 3 to 4 cups of shredded cooked chicken. Make the dumpling batter and cook by gently simmering them covered with a lid, per our instructions above.
Storing: Homemade chicken and dumplings are at their best when fresh, but you can store them in the fridge for a couple of days and gently reheat them. The dumplings will be slightly more moist and might fall apart, but the flavors will all be there. We do not recommend freezing them.
Make ahead tips: To reduce the preparation time of the recipe, you can make the broth and chicken up to three days in advance. When you are ready to serve, reheat the broth, add your carrots and celery, and then make your dumpling batter.