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
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Can you suggest a cook time in a electric roaster?
I haven’t tried this in an electric roaster before so I can’t say for sure.
When do you add the chicken broth?
It is added at the end of step 2.
Hi there. I wish you would have specified the cream of chicken and cream of celery soups, should be condensed (without adding water). I added non condensed soups and it’s way too runny.
Sorry for the confusion Phil. Perhaps adding a bit of cornstarch slurry would help thicken it to your liking. (Equal parts cornstarch & water mixed well and added to the boiling liquid until thickened).
I dusted the biscuits with flour before and after rolling and cutting them. You will be surprised how a little extra flour thickens this or any recipe. The trick is flour must be cooked to do its thing.
Hi! I am not a cooker and I am trying this for the first time (right now). I forgot to use parsley.. could I add that with the veggies and still have the same flavor. As well as I mixed the broth with the soups will this have a major affect you think?
I’m sure it’ll turn out just perfectly Liz! Enjoy!
Wow!!! I made this for tonight, tasted it and I am in love with this recipe!! I never write comments but I have been searching for the perfect chicken and dumpling recipe and this one is it!!! Followed the directions as they were and everything came out amazing!
I am so glad you loved it, we can’t get enough of these chicken and dumplings either!
This was yummy and three thumbs up!
I used 3 boneless thighs and it didn’t seem like enough chicken. What would you suggest? Thanks!
Tammi
3 boneless thighs have a lot less meat than 4 boneless breasts. I would suggest adding 6 thighs next time.
i have made this and my hubby loves it i flour the biscuits before putting them in it helps make the broth thick not so soupy
So glad he loved it!
Regrettably, this dish doesn’t taste very good. I suspect the culprit is that teaspoon of “Poultry Seasoning”, which overwhelms the flavor (not to mention the unpleasant aftertaste it imparts.) I’d like to try to make this again and completely leave out the seasoning. That should make the dish more edible.
60 minutes was plenty of time for the biscuit dumplings and the chicken beautifully falls apart for shredding.
I hope I have better luck next time.
I totally agree about the poultry seasoning. I used very little but it still was too much. I’m omitting it completely on the next try and use other herbs.
I agree! This must be one of those seasonings that certain people are ‘sensitive’ to? I know I love cumin, but my SIL says it tastes like soap. Yummy and SUPER easy recipe, but next time, I’m leaving out the poultry seasoning!
Omg this was so delicious! Turned out perfect. I cooked 90 more min after putting biscuits on top. Sooo good!!
OMG. This was absolutely delicious. The whole family loved it and went back for seconds. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
So glad you loved it, this is one of our go-to recipes too!
The biscuits took forever to cook for me! They are super doughy, took two hours on the high setting. Still actually waiting for them to be fully cooked ATM.
I used a whole chicken (on sale, cheaper thanjust buying the breasts) that I cut up and removed skin and excess fat. After 5 hours pulled chicken out, removed all the bones, and tossed the meat back into the crock along with a bay leaf and veggies and dumplings. Was a hit.
Sounds perfect Pete! So glad to hear you love it.
I have an 8.5 quart crockpot, should I adjust anything?
I’ve only made this in a 6QT slow cooker so I can’t say for sure but I do think it would be just fine.
how much parsley and poultry if i used the small biscuits should 1 can or 1 and a 1/2 can thank you holly you rock….
Hi Donnie, I have only made the recipe as written. If you half the recipe, I would suggest halving all of the ingredients and seasonings. Enjoy!
Can I use this recipe on the stove top as is?
I haven’t tried it but I think it would work! You’ll want to ensure your chicken reaches 165°F. Let us know how it goes.
Made this tonight and it was very good. I couldn’t even get the chicken out of the crock pot to shred it because it was so tender! I would definitely make this again. Great for busy week nights!
So glad you enjoyed it Ashley!
Made this recipe last night, OMG! so yummy! hubby approved. Instead of doing it in the crock-pot, I made it on the stove using a rotisserie chicken also instead of putting the biscuits inside the mixture, we put the mixture on-top of cooked biscuits. There isn’t a thing I would change about this recipe.
I am so glad you guys loved it Carrie! It’s one of our favorites too!
Is there something else I could sub for the cream of chicken and celery soups? I have 2 people that can’t do dairy in my house
As I don’t follow a dairy free lifestyle, I can’t say for sure what you can use instead. Hopefully another reader might have a suggestion for you.
I have rotisserie chicken already shredded, do I need to adjust anything if using?
I haven’t tried it that way but I would suggest cooking the chicken and sauce for at least an hour before adding the dumplings.
So good and so easy! Will definitely make again.
So glad you loved it Brittany!