Easy Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings.
Juicy chicken breasts cooked to tender perfection in the slow cooker in a rich creamy sauce.
Shortcut dumplings make this deliciously comforting meal effortless for a family favorite everyone will agree on.
Chicken and Dumplings are probably the ultimate comfort food. Tender juicy shredded chicken and soft dumplings in a rich creamy brothy gravy.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Old Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings from scratch but having a busy household with kids, I know that sometimes time is short and I don’t have hours to spend cooking a full Sunday dinner from scratch.
This recipe uses a few little short cuts to make it really quick and easy to put together while not skimping on flavor.
The best part about this recipe is that it cooks up in the slow cooker all day long.
That means you can spend about 5 minutes prepping and head on out and run your errands (or go for lunch with your friends which sounds much more fun).
The slow cooker does all of the work but the results are just as amazing as a from scratch recipe (there’s a reason this recipe has a five star rating ★★★★★)!
Quick prep with optimal results is my kind of cookin’.
I use a can of premade biscuits to make the dumplings to make this dish totally effortless.
You’re going to want to roll them extra thin as they do puff up a little while they cook.
If you don’t want to use (or don’t have) canned biscuits, feel free to mix up a batch of your favorite homemade biscuits to create your own dumplings (or use Biscuit Mix).
Once you shred the chicken and stir it back in, your dumplings will break up a little bit but don’t worry; the edges soak up a bit of the sauce making for a perfect bowl of comfort.
While I know not everyone likes vegetables with their chicken and dumplings, I sure do!
I love the addition of frozen veggies for color, flavor and some extra nutrients (plus frozen veggies are pretty effortless).
If veggies in your chicken and dumplings isn’t your thing, feel free to leave them out (but don’t skip the onion, it adds lots of flavor)!
How to Make Perfect Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings
As easy as this recipe is, here are a few tips to make sure it turns out perfectly for you!
- This recipe is best made in a 6QT crock pot.
- While this chicken and dumplings recipe uses frozen veggies, they should be defrosted before adding to the slow cooker.
- My biscuits are always perfectly cooked after 60 minutes however some slow cookers may require extra time to cook the biscuits.
- Open the lid as little as possible as the slow cooker can lose heat quickly and this can cause your biscuits to not cook properly.
- Boneless chicken thighs make an excellent addition to this recipe.
- Once the biscuits are cooked through they should still have a soft, slightly doughy dumpling-like texture.
- Depending on the size of your slow cooker, this recipe may not double well. To double this recipe, cook the chicken portion as directed. Additional dumplings can be cooked on the stovetop or baked in the oven as biscuits.
Dairy (such as cream or milk) doesn’t always do well in the slow cooker; it can often separate or curdle so I’ve subbed in condensed soup in this recipe.
Condensed soups make a great addition to crock pot recipes as they tend to hold up very well in the slow cooker (plus they add lots of flavor to this recipe) without the risk of curdling.
Once you try this easy recipe, it’ll quickly become your go to for slow cooker chicken and dumplings.
Ensure your slow cooker is on high and the liquid should be bubbling along the edges when you open the lid to add your vegetables and biscuits.
It’s really important that you open the lid for as little time as possible and that your vegetables are completely defrosted.
Note: Buttermilk, Country or Homestyle Biscuits work best in this recipe. When adding the vegetables/biscuits ensure the lid is left off as little as possible. Leaving the lid off for long periods of time will drastically increase cooking time.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large onion diced
- 10.5 ounces condensed cream of celery soup 1 can
- 10.5 ounces condensed cream of chicken soup 1 can
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- black pepper to taste
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups frozen vegetables or peas and carrots, thawed
- 16.3 ounces refrigerated biscuits 1 can, Buttermilk, Country, or Homestyle
Instructions
- Add onion to 6 qt crock pot and top with chicken breasts.
- In a small bowl, combine cream of celery soup, cream of chicken soup, parsley, poultry seasoning and pepper. Spread over chicken breasts. Top with chicken broth and cook on high 5 hours.
- Approximately 1 hour (I allow 60 - 90 minutes) before serving (after 4 hours of cooking time), roll each biscuit thin and flat. Cut into 4 strips. Add vegetables to the slow cooker and stir. Add biscuit strips on top. Replace lid as quickly as possible.
To Serve
- Remove chicken breasts and slightly shred. Add back into slow cooker and stir (this will break up the dumplings somewhat which is ok). Let cook an additional 10 minutes and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner
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These look amazing.
This looks like a easy and tasty recipe that I will be making soon, like tomorrow.
Can’t wait to try this! Sounds and looks absolutely delicious. Always looking for new things to try with chicken.
Question…..approximately how many people does this serve? BIG FAMILY here. Thanks!!
This recipe serves 4.
I see mushrooms in the picture of the chicken and biscuits but I don’t see them on the recipe list. Did you add mushrooms.
There are no mushrooms in this recipe or in any of the photos.
Made This Tonight. It was excellent!
Have you ever tried cooking on low for 10-12 hours? Reason I asked is both my Wife and I work. Was hoping to find a recipe for chicken and dumplings that would allow me to turn the slow cooker on in the morning. Then add the dumplings when I get home from work.
Thanks
I haven’t tried cooking this on low for 10-12 hours. If you do cook it on low, the biscuits will take much longer to cook (even if you turn it up to high) as it will take a while for the slow cooker to reach a higher temperature.
I’ve found cooking chicken breasts that long, even on low, will result in them being very dry.
If I froze half of this, would it still be good? If so, how would you recommend re-heating it?
I haven’t tried freezing this recipe before so I can’t say for sure. I have reheated leftovers in the microwave.
Can 5 hours on high be converted to a low setting time? 10 hrs? I’m new to crock pot cooking. Thanks!
This recipe does look good however, this is not chicken and dumplings. This is more of a chicken pot pie. Chicken and dumplings does not contain peas and carrots. I am a traditionalist when it comes to chicken and dumplings. Chicken, broth, dumplings, salt and ground black pepper.
Would someone please explain what ‘refrigerated biscuits’ are?
Refrigerated biscuits are available in most North American grocery stores in near the cheese or dairy. They would be similar to an Australian Scone.
Hi Holly,
Probably a dumb question but I don’t bake the biscuits before I throw them in right?
Great question. No, I didn’t bake the biscuits before adding them to the slow cooker.
Hi Holly! Just wanted to ask you & I haven’t seen it here on any of the comments that I have been looking through, is with the can of biscuits. Are those supposed to be regular biscuits or flaky? Thank you soooo much for your time!!!!
I used regular country biscuits. :) Enjoy Lisa!
Should I use the same time if I double the recipe?
The biscuits will likely take longer to cook if you double the recipe.
How would you recommend increasing the recipe if I am cooking it for 4 adults and 4 kids? This days it only serves 4 so I am worried it is not enough. Thanks!
You could certainly add in a couple of chicken breasts and serve with some fresh bread and a large side salad.
Made this tonight for dinner. It got two thumbs up from my husband, and I thought it was pretty darn good myself, considering the substitutions I had to make (cream of mushroom instead of chicken and an alternative to the poultry seasoning). My two-year old even ate the vegetables. This one is a keeper.
I’m so glad you loved it!!
I have this cooking right now. I am already impressed with the wonderful smell. Can’t wait to eat dinner!
Ok, so I made this last night. I only did 1/2 recipe cuz there are only 2 of us and my husband won’t eat much leftovers. He really liked it and would like me to make it again. I liked it. It was easy, though you have to have the time & forethought to do it or have ingredients on hand. I could have soup. I guess biscuits keep a while. I am not an onion person, so I would have to be sure to keep some. I used frozen peas and fresh carrots, probably as much as the full recipe, therefore doubling the amount. Oh I skipped the parsley. I don’t have anything against it other than I hate buying it for a little amount and throwing the rest away. I need to plant some next year. I’m not sure how much I like the rolled out muffins. I guess it is supposed to be chicken & dumplings. May be next time i may just try patting them down a bit with my hands before cutting them. I might like them a little fluffier. Also, I do have some left over. I saved some muffins to bake for today. I figured the “dumplings” would be really soggy. Not sure as this is my first time, but that was my idea. Thanks for the recipe.
I’m glad both you and your husband liked this recipe! For the parsley, you could always use dried. If you ever do buy fresh, wash and dab dry the leftovers. Set them on paper towels to dry out completely (a few days) and the dried parsley will keep in your pantry for months. :)
Wtf, I went through a half a reem of paper printing the whole deal. It sounds like a good crock pot meal. But fuck Holly and all that shit.
Nice Barry… thanks. LOL.
The other option would be that you could use the print button to the right of the ingredients and it would simply print on one nice little sheet. :)
Hey there,
Is there a way I can make this without chicken? I know I would need to trade out the broth and cream of chicken with a vegetarian stock and a vegetarian cream soup, but would the cooking time change since I don’t need to cook the chicken thoroughly?
Thanks!
I haven’t tried this recipe without chicken so I can’t say for sure.
Is the Chicken and Dumplings recipe supposed to be creamy or more soup based? I have the chicken in the crockpot now and still have to add the veggies and biscuits.
It should be thicker and creamy.