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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Just made this and it was tasty! I didn’t have poultry seasoning, so I just did a mix of sage, thyme and rosemary. I used quite a bit of seasoning and it ended up almost tasting like a Thanksgiving stuffing but in soup form! Delicious! My rolled biscuits stuck to the cutting board so I just stretched and ripped the rest. I could only fit 6 of the large biscuits in. I also only cooked it 3 hours before adding the biscuits, although I had a little less chicken than the recipe called for. Overall it was great! I’ll definitely make it again.
I have made this recipe before and absolutely love it! I plan on making it today, but I only have chicken tenderloins instead of breasts. Should that be okay? What adjustments do I need to make?
Hi Addison, I haven’t tried this recipe with chicken tenderloins but other readers have had good results!
I REALLY cannot be home in 4 hours to add the vegetables and biscuits can there be an option for it to cook on low for longer then add the vegetables and biscuits and put it on high for the remaining hour? I’ve been really wanting to make this
Hi Breely, many readers have cooked this one on low for 7-8 hours successfully. When adding the biscuits and veggies, you’ll want to turn in up to high. It may need a little bit of extra time to heat up.
the taste was great but it seemed watery is there a way to thicken the fluids
The biscuits do help thicken it up as they absorb some of the broth. If it still isn’t thick enough you can always try adding a roux to it. I would start just adding a little bit of the mixture and go from there, it will thicken quickly with a roux.
Love, love, love this recipe! I add a stalk of celery as well. And , I sprinkle a little chicken seasoning to the chicken breast. DELICIOUS! Thank you!
Does this recipe do well as leftovers?
Hi Nadine, we think this recipe tastes yummy as leftovers! Hope you enjoy it!
My crockpot cooked this a bit faster, so I only needed about 4 hours. Amazing recipe, although I cut the biscuits smaller into 4’s and didn’t roll them out. Love this!
This one is a definite keeper for us! The biscuits turned out so good. They’re so much easier than homemade dumplings and very similar in texture. I actually think I liked it better this way. ;) I only had to use 2 chicken breasts, but they were on the larger size.
This had amazing flavor and was super easy to make… perfect fall slow cooker meal! Thank you!
This came out perfect. I did do a few modifications. I diced the chicken breast (2) and chicken thighs (2). Added sliced celery ribs and shredded carrots. Cooked on high 3 hours since meat was in chunks. Added a corn starch slurry when adding veggies. Didn’t have canned biscuits, but made homemade biscuits and did small teaspoon full drops over the top.
The whole time I was making, my husband said he wasn’t a fan of chicken and dumplings. He ate 2 bowls and took a serving for lunch. That itself should say it all.
Thank you for sharing your recipe.
I love that Tanya! You made a chicken and dumplings fan out of him, after all. Glad you both enjoyed it!
I’m currently making this as I type…I keep seeing to cook on HIGH for 5 hrs. Could I set the crockpot on LOW 8-10 hrs? I am at work and normally away for 9hrs a day. Will it turn out ok?
We have not tried this recipe on low in the slow cooker but other readers have with success. When adding the biscuits, you’ll want to turn in onto high. It may need a little bit of extra time to heat up.
Can this be made on on the stovetop?
Hi Chari, for a stovetop recipe we have this delicious Old Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings that you could try.
This was so yummy!! I couldn’t stop eating it I had to stop myself after my second serving. 10/10 recommend.
Are frozen biscuits ok to use so long as you defrost them?
Hi Shannon, that should work well. Enjoy!
Love this recipe! I’ve made it a few times.
I have pilsbury flaky rolls in the fridge. Do you think I can use it as a substitute to the country rolls?
Hi Denise, I think that should turn out fine. Let us know what you think!
No. I’ve made this mistake before. They flake and just become mush. Not worth it.
Good to know! Thanks for sharing Joy.
In Step 3, after adding the veggies & biscuit strips, how long do you have to cook it?
I do this step approximately 1 hour (I allow 60 – 90 minutes) before serving, so for at least one hour. Enjoy Angelina!
This turned out really well. I got my 2 cans of condensed soup at Aldi and used one regular cream of chicken and one lower salt/lower fat can of cream of chicken to lighten it up a little. (They don’t have cream of celery!) I used chicken thighs instead of breasts and sauteed in my instant pot with the onions and spices, and then added the soups. After slow cooking on high for 4 hrs, I added the butternilk biscuits and the thawed peas and carrots. I flattened the biscuits by hand and cut each into about 7 pieces to get thinner dumplings. After 5 hrs the dumplings still weren’t done, so I switched to high pressure manual cooking for 5 minutes with a quick release. The dumplings were perfect and the chicken thighs shredded nicely as I stirred the whole thing together, no need to remove to shred. For spices, I added black pepper, garlic powder, thyme and sage since I didn’t have poultry seasoning. Thanks for a great recipe!
You’re welcome Cathy! Thank you for sharing!
Love your recipes!!
Fantastic! Wish I could find an instapot recipe this good.
So glad you love the chicken and dumplings Leslie!
I don’t have fresh parsley can I just omit the parsley?
Yes, you can. You can also use dried parsley if you don’t have any fresh on hand!
Love it it was good
Complete torture when you smell the aroma of the chicken and dumplings cooking in the crock pot and you haven’t eaten yet lol. I know it will be great, can’t wait!!!!