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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Can I make this in my instant pot?
Holly, I have it in the crockpot now. There sure are some idiots out there. Very well written and simply explained. Just tell people to read. If they are too dumb to figure it out, let them starve. You will be doing the world a favor.
I just saw this recipe today. I’ve never been a fan of cream of celery so could I substitute it with cream of mushroom?
Yes, that would work fine.
How many people does this serve? I want to add it to my Weight Watchers plan.
This serves 4 people.
can sub chicken breast for boneless chicken thighs?
Yes, that would work perfectly in this recipe!
I didn’t sift through all the comments so I apologize if I missed this in the recipe or if it was asked/clarified later on but at what point do you add the chicken broth?
Never mind, I found it! Sorry! :)
I’m new to the crock pot cooking.
I am making mine with precooked chicken. Will I have to let it cool for four hours still before putting in the dough? Or could I cook the sauce and onions until it bubbles then put in the chicken and dough for an hour? Also during step two when it is heating up, do I stir at any point or just leave it be until putting in the dough.
Items cooked in the slow cooker do not require stirring. I haven’t tried this recipe using precooked chicken however you will want to make sure your slow cooker is very hot when adding the dough so it cooks completely.
I am so glad I found this recipe. I made it for the lady i work for and we both really liked it. I only made one change when I made it at home. I doubled the chicken broth to 4 cups and added about 1/2 cup of water to the soup mixture to make it smoother. I found that by the time it got done the gravy was pretty thick. So the extra broth helped and it’s still a really good consistency. Thanks for a really easy meal!
I am so glad you and your friend enjoyed the recipe!
if I am using gnocchi instead of biscuits, when should I add them and how long do I let them cook?
I would add them at the 4 hour mark, like you would the biscuits, then continue to cook for another 4 hours.
Biscuits are not dumplings. This looks like a good chicken and biscuit recipe. I will say the way you treat the biscuits is closer to proper dumplings than I normally see in chicken and biscuits recipes.
Has anyone tried this reheated? I want to drop this off for a family after a hospital stay. Thanks!
Just made this and OMG so yummy! It was so easy to make and your instructions were spot on. It really does taste like a chicken pot pie.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
I made the crockpot chicken pot pie. It was good, but next time I will cut back on the poultry seasoning. The amount specified was too much.
Thank you for sharing your idea.
Jeesh.. these ladies sure have a problem reading. It is very clear in the instructions to cook for 4 hours then add veggies and biscuits and cook another hour. It’s not you. I find literacy in America is slowly decreasing.
Made it tonight and was amazed! Loved it and my husband did too. A question, I cut the biscuits up and they stayed at the top. They cooked just fine but they didn’t mix in the soup like yours did. What did I do wrong?
Mine didn’t mix it until I stirred them, they will stay on top (even if you stir them in). I’m so glad you and your husband both enjoyed this.
How do I know when the biscuits are done? They still look pretty gooey, but they’ve been in there for over an hour at this point.
Since they are cooked in liquid, they will be a soft on the outside but the centers will be cooked through. You can try one to see if they are done.
Can this be frozen for multiple meals?
This may sound like a dumb question but can I add frozen chicken breast and possibly adjust the time?
Yes, frozen chicken breasts will work fine in this recipe.
I was planning on using leftover shredded chicken, would i need to change the time or heat setting since im not using raw chicken?
Thank you, cant wait to give this a try!!!
I would reduce the cooking time slightly. You will want to allow enough time for the flavors to blend (and the onions to cook) but don’t want to dry the chicken out.
I made this tonight for my family and they loved it I’m going to try making it again as the winter goes on. It was very filling, delicious, and tasty thank you for sharing this recipe.
I’m so glad you loved it!