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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My go-to recipe when I don’t have all day to make homemade stock and shred a whole chicken. Love the simplicity of this recipe!
Do I need to reconstitute the condensed soups or add them as is?
Just use them as is.
I have been mailing these for about 4 years now and my husband and family love them!!!! This is a go to recipe of mine. Thank you so much!!! I add the Montreal chicken seasoning instead of the poultry seasoning and it is to die for!!!!
I can’t wait for more recipes. It’s so good to see HOMEMADE recipes being shared like our grandmother’s made. Thank you!
Is the chicken thawed or frozen ?
The chicken is thawed.
Can’t wait to try this! Got my crockpot today!!
i’ve made this recipe so many times and i love it so much! i just got a pressure cooker, i am wondering if i could make this with that. have you ever tried that, or know the timing?
Hi Stephanie, we have never tried this recipe in a pressure cooker, but you can check out our Pressure Cooker section for some great inspiration!
For the nutritional values, is it based on 1 cup? Thank you!
Hi Jona, the nutritional value is based on a serving which is closer to 2 cups than one.
Can you used homemade cream of chicken soup or is the canned better for consistency?
I find that dairy can sometimes separate in the slow cooker so in this instance, I prefer the canned.
Made this yesterday for me and my Husband. It was comforting and delish! He even liked it and is bringing leftover of this for his work lunch! :)
That is great Jennifer! So happy you both loved it!
My son does not like carrots at all! Do you all think adding frozen peas and corn would taste okay?
That would be delicious Tina! Enjoy
Please email me the crock pot chicken and dumplings recipe.
Hi Sheila, you’ll find the Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings recipe right on this page, on the recipe card. At the top of the post, you can click the “Jump to Recipe” button and it will take you right to the recipe. Enjoy!
Love about the crock pot chicken & dumplings.
Thanks Beverly!
One of my household’s favorite meals!! This recipe always comes out perfect. My kids LOVE it and eat it up! Thank you!
Thanks Amanda! I am so glad your family has enjoyed the chicken and dumplings.
I love love love this recipe!! I added some chicken thighs and shredded the chicken before adding the biscuits. But when I reheat, the dumplings seem to disintegrate. I would like to share leftovers with a friend, any idea how I can do that without losing the dumplings?
Hi Kelly, thank you so much! If you find that to be an issue for you, you may want to reheat the dumplings only at the end once the rest is heated through. It’d be a tiny bit to take the dumplings out before reheating (or separate before refrigerating) but this may work for you. Enjoy!
Can you use raw diced carrot with frozen peas/ does it change cooking time at all? Can’t seem to find frozen peas and carrots
Hi ML, we have only made this recipe as listed. If using raw carrots you will want to add them in sooner than the frozen peas to make sure they are cooked all the way through.
I just had the same experience. Made the chicken and dumplings as a Thanksgiving workaround for just my husband and I – biscuits have been in over and hour and a half and the dumplings are most raw on the inside. Not sure what to do to salvage…
So sorry that happened Cara. This recipe works perfectly for us every time, so I can’t say for sure why yours didn’t work out. What type of biscuits did you use?
Came out great. I replaced raw chicken with a rotisserie chicken meat. Placed everything in pot including biscuits and was done in an hour and a half.
That is great Leslie! So happy to hear that.
Genius!!
Yummy!
This recipe was good and I did use some chicken thighs, but I kept getting made fun of because everyone said I didn’t make chicken and dumplings, I made chicken pot pie haha! Regardless, it was tasty and something I would make again.
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe Lettie!
Can this recipe work in a 4qt crockpot? I’ve made it several times in my 6qt and i love it!
Hi Kari, we have only made this recipe in a 6 qt but other readers have tried it in a 4 qt and mentioned the crockpot was filled to the brim!
I Love love love this recipe! It is perfect and easy! But I had trouble reheating, the dumplings disintegrated. And I would like to make and share leftovers with a friend. What can I do?