Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings
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With winter coming, you will undoubtedly love this easy, creamy, and rich chicken and dumplings recipe in the crockpot. Set it and go; the seasoned chicken breasts are fork tender, while the biscuits use pre-made dough, keeping the whole recipe easy.
Chicken and dumplings are a minimal prepped recipe (but with all the rewards) that makes dinner time a breeze.
Why you will love this slow cooker chicken and dumplings recipe!
The perfect comfort food, this slow cooker recipe is so super simple. And using canned refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (in place of homemade dumplings with biscuit mix) combined with seasoned chicken breasts keeps the dish super simple.
Picky eaters? Picky no more! The creamy chicken soup base incites a warm and fuzzy feeling, perfect for curling up on the couch and watching a family movie.
And do not wait until the fall months to enjoy. This meal is perfect year-round.
Simple Ingredients
- Fresh chicken breasts: Thawed, boneless, skinless chicken breasts work best.
- Onion – I always use white onion with my dishes because I prefer the flavor, but it’s OK to use diced yellow onion.
- Cream of chicken soup + cream of celery soup – Creamy chicken soup and cream of celery make this classic chicken dish taste like the best homemade chicken meal ever!
- seasonings – parsley, thyme, poultry seasoning, salt & black pepper
- Frozen peas and carrots (keep frozen) – Peas and carrots make some of the best and prettiest vegetables to add to this dish, but frozen green beans are commonly used. Any frozen veggies that you love will go great in this family favorite.
- Chicken broth – I have tasted my fair share of chicken and dumpling recipes that use water, and I highly recommend using chicken stock. I purchase low-sodium chicken broth boxes, but you can also make your own with chicken bouillon. While water would bring moisture to the dish, the chicken broth brings excellent seasoning and flavor to the biscuit dough and acts as a secret ingredient for the BEST dish.
- Biscuits – We prefer to use crescent rolls from a can and cut them down. This is incredibly easy to do for even fast cooking and doesn’t require any time at all.
How to make Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings with Biscuits.
- Add thawed boneless skinless chicken breasts to a large 6-quart slow cooker and top with chopped onions.
- Combine creamed soups, parsley, thyme, poultry seasoning, kosher salt, and black pepper in a small bowl, and mix all ingredients well.
- Spread the cream of soup mixture on top of the chicken breast in a single layer.
- Add frozen vegetables to the slow cooker and pour the chicken broth on top.
- Cover the crockpot and continue to heat on high for 4 hours. Do not stir.
- After four hours, flatten each canned biscuit and cut it into thin strips, approximately 1/4″ strips.
- Quickly open the lid and place the biscuit strips on top of the mixture.
- Replace the lid very quickly (Do not let additional heat out) and continue to cook for another 1 hour. Stir well and shred chicken and dumplings with two forks. Chicken should fall apart, and cooked dumpling dough (biscuit pieces) will begin to break apart.
- Serve this chicken and dumplings using canned biscuits immediately while hot.
Helpful items in the kitchen
- Crockpot: Every kitchen should have a few reliable slow cookers. I keep a 6-quart and an 8-quart in my kitchen. This particular dumpling recipe makes 6 quarts.
- Meat Thermometer: Although you should not need a cooking thermometer with this dish (the chicken should easily tear apart once fully cooked), it never hurts to keep one on hand to make sure meats are cooked to their safety level.
- Crockpot Liner: Soups and stews can wreak havoc on a clean crockpot. Keep cleanup accessible by adding a disposable slow cooker line before adding food. Then, once done, toss and put your crock pot away. Get some liners here.
- Onion chopper – Tears no more! Once I discovered how to chop an onion, it made chopping up onions a breeze. I add slices to the chopper, which does all my work. Single-handedly my favorite kitchen gadget. This is the one we have in our kitchen.
Expert Biscuits and Chicken Tips
- Flatten canned biscuits out so they cook quickly. Biscuits can also be rolled out in some flour to prevent over-sticking in the crockpot (optional).
- Biscuits should be cooked in an hour, but some cooking times may vary slightly depending on the heat in your slow cooker. While I always say it’s best to check food timing, lifting the crockpot lid too much can cause steam to escape and longer cooking times for the biscuits.
- Add only thawed-out chicken to this dish, not frozen.
- If you prefer NOT to use canned biscuits, use frozen egg noodles.
Recipe FAQ’s
Can canned vegetables over frozen be used?
While drained canned vegetables CAN be used, canned vegetables will tend to get a lot mushier in the crockpot. Although a quick solution, we always recommend using frozen vegetables in slow cooker dishes.
Can chicken thighs be substituted for chicken breasts?
Any dark or light meat can be used, but be aware not to add proteins with bones, or they can get lost and be a choking hazard.
Can I use rotisserie chicken in a chicken and dumplings recipe?
You can use rotisserie chicken instead of boneless, skinless breasts; however, you would need quite a bit to add as much meat as the original recipe.
How long do crockpot chicken & dumplings keep?
All leftover chicken should always be sealed in an airtight container and placed in the fridge. This crock pot recipe of chicken and delicious dumplings should keep approximately three days. Remember that the chicken mixture has a creamy sauce, and that may continue to soften any of the dumplings as it sits in the fridge.
Can canned crescent rolls be used over canned biscuits?
Yes, but crescent rolls tend to be a flatter dough already. Just cut them into quarters before adding them to the dish.
Related Slow-Cooker Recipes
- Slow Cooker Baked Beans
- Slow Cooker Cinnamon Almonds
- Slow Cooker Olive Garden Chicken and Pasta
- Slow Cooked Spicy Baked Beans
- Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas
- Slow Cooker Refried Beans
- Slow Cooker Collard Greens
- Slow Cooker Velveeta Dip
- Slow Cooker Chocolate Peanut Clusters
Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings with Canned Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. chicken breast boneless, skinless, thawed
- 1 onion chopped
- 10.5 oz cream of chicken soup
- 10.5 oz cream of celery soup
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 2 tsp. dry thyme
- 1 tsp poultry seasoning
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 16 oz. peas and carrots frozen bag, leave frozen
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 cans refrigerated biscuits 7.5 oz each/10 count each
Instructions
- Add boneless, skinless and thawed chicken breasts to a large 6 quart slow cooker and top with diced white or yellow onions.
- In a small bowl, combine cream of soups, parsley, thyme, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper and mix well. Spread creamy soup mixture on top of chicken breast.
- Add frozen peas and carrots and pour chicken broth on top. Cover and heat on high for 4 hours. Do not stir, it releases heat.
- After four hours, flatten each canned biscuit and cut into thin, about 1/4" strips. Open the crockpot lid and QUICKLY place the uncooked biscuits on top of the mixture.
- Replace the slow cooker lid and continue to cook chicken and dumplings for an additional 1 hour. If biscuits/dumplings are not all the way cooked, please check article for tips. The crockpot must keep heat and steam inside to cook them.
- Stir well to combine the cooked biscuits and shred chicken with two forks. Chicken should fall right apart and biscuits will begin to break apart. Serve dinner immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer: The nutritional data provided here is auto-calculated and intended for your convenience only. As it’s generated via automation, its accuracy may be compromised. For precise nutritional insight, please compute the values utilizing the actual ingredients in your recipe through your chosen nutrition calculator or application.
Did You Make This Recipe?
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I’m a little worried @ the canned biscuits and how do I know when the biscuits are done. Guess I will cook them a hr take the lid off a taste one. The reviews were not glowing. Talked @ tasted like raw dough. Stringy and totally not cooked! Take my chances and pray they cook all the way through! I know my crock pot well and I think mine cooks hot!
I agree about the biscuits. When I 1st did a recipe like this, the biscuits just turned to Mush and basically melted away. The next time, I bakes my biscuits 1st, chopped them up and then added them.
This was delicious exactly as written, and very easy to make.
Having the same issue, after 1 hour my biscuits were doughy and stringy. I will continue to cook but I feel like this entire pot is ruined.
Melissa, if the dough wasnt cooked, its likely your pot wasnt as hot OR too much steam and heat escaped removing the lid. If you stir the chicken and veggies, it releases the heat and therefore the temperature needed to steam the biscuits. Its important to flatten and cut the biscuits and lay quickly on top of the mixture and replace the lid so all that heat and steam stays trapped inside. Remember that they cook like dumplings, not like biscuits. Biscuits are dry and dumplings are softer. Overall, it has to do w/ the heat inside and may need to cook longer. I have a section in the article addressing issues that may arrive. Of course, an easy way to add dumplings to this dish is to use the frozen egg noodles by REAMEs. When I want a really old fashioned taste like my mom used to make homemade, I use those.
Turned out pretty great! I would not add more salt as it was a little salty for us. Heavy handed all the other spices, added about 2 tsp Dan-Os original. Not a fan of onions- substituted about half tablespoon onion powder. Added about a cup frozen mixed veg before bicuits. Only had buttery grands big biscuits at my local store, cut them into 6 pieces each. Pushed the whole layer of biscuits down a bit to “dunk” them in the stew. Left on high for about 90 minutes- it was perfect!! Thanks!!
Nicole, thanks for the detailed comment. You are right – salt is such a personal choice. My husband always wants more, but I could use a little less. So glad you added some personalization’s on the recipe as well; always make it your own! Thanks again and I appreciate the time you took to respond.
Trisha
Should I cook on high or low?
HI susan, its high. And on the last hour with the biscuits, resist the temptation to open the lid or it resets the heat.
Trisha
Amazing
I love this recipe. Next time I will half the poultry seasoning to make it more kid friendly. Also, I was short on time and my crockpot had been on warm for about an hour when I got home to add the biscuits so I transferred it to a pot and simmered on med low and then low for 20 minutes and the biscuits were perfect. Just stir every few minutes on the stove.
This was so conveniently easy because of it cooking in crockpot, and the using of the 2 cans of creamed soups. My family loved it. Plus I took a co-worker some and the next day the guy was asking me for the recipe. Thankyou for taking the time to share this! Good food makes life better!
I used to love this recipe but my husband is a vegetarian and I’m wondering if I can sub potatoes instead of chicken? But I’m not sure how/if that’s going to affect the cook time? I was going to do cream of mushroom instead of cream of chicken and vegetable broth instead of chicken broth as well.
You can def do that but without testing, I couldnt give you a time. I would look up a potato soup recipe and see what the timing is on getting those potatoes soft for guidance.
I’ve made this several times for my family and it is picky eater-approved! I tweak mine slightly by using two cans of cream of chicken soup rather than the cream of celery soup the recipe calls for. I also do not add any salt. I use Kinder’s Buttery Poultry seasoning blend in place of the salt and poultry seasoning. I still add the dried thyme and parsley. I always use the 99¢ Great Value canned biscuits because they’re the exact amount/weight the recipe calls for. Comes out perfect every single time!
I have made this several times following the recipe exactly and it always turns out perfect! It is currently in the crockpot right now and has about 45 minutes to go before I add the biscuits. It’s cold here in Florida tonight so it was the perfect dish to make for dinner.
I am in Florida too – it IS cold this week!
Can I use fresh vegtables instead of frozen?
I dont see why not. They just might take longer to cook so I would put them in sooner.
AWESOME!!