Chicken and Dumplings (From Scratch)
My mother-in-law's chicken and dumplings was the first American dish that reminded me of home. The first time she set a bowl in front of me — creamy broth, shredded chicken, and these fluffy, pillowy dumplings floating on top — I almost cried. Not because it was sad. Because it tasted like rosol and kopytka had an American cousin I'd never met. The flavours were different, but the feeling was identical: someone made this with love, and you can taste it.
Ingredients
For the Soup
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 carrots, diced
- 3 celery stalks, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup whole milk or heavy cream
- 3 cups cooked shredded chicken rotisserie chicken is perfect
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- Salt and pepper
- Fresh parsley
For the Dumplings
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped optional but nice
Method
Build the Soup Base
- Melt butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Cook 5-6 minutes until softened. Add garlic and thyme, cook 1 minute. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and stir for 2 minutes — this creates a roux that thickens the broth. Pour in the chicken broth gradually, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Add the milk. Bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Add the shredded chicken. Season with salt and pepper.
Make the Dumpling Dough
- While the soup simmers, mix the dumpling dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt. Add the milk and melted butter. Stir until JUST combined — lumpy is good, smooth is overworked. If you want herb dumplings, fold in the parsley now. The batter should be thick and shaggy, not smooth like pancake batter.
Drop and Steam
- Drop the dumpling batter by large spoonfuls onto the simmering soup — you should get about 8-10 dumplings. They'll look messy and uncooked on top. That's fine. Put the lid on and DO NOT OPEN IT for 15 minutes. The steam cooks the dumplings from the top while the broth cooks them from the bottom. After 15 minutes, they'll be puffed up, fluffy, and cooked through. Test one with a toothpick — it should come out clean.