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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Hey :-) I am making this tonight and I can’t wait. However I just noticed I used the frozen veggies and totally forgot… :-( can I use canned veggies instead? Would it alter anything?
Hey Amanda, canned veggies will work just fine in this recipe. Hope you enjoy it!
Seeing as chicken breasts vary so much, could you give an idea of the total weight of the chicken you used? I love this recipe and I can’t remember how much I used last time!
Hi Eileen, an average boneless skinless chicken breast is about 6 ounces. For this recipe, we use 4 of them. Hope that helps!
What is the best way to reheat if you make the night before?
Hi Ashley, I have reheated this recipe but not in the slow cooker. It does reheat well though. For leftovers, we reheat this casserole in the microwave.
I made this as written except I cut my chicken breasts in half, then put them in slower cooker. My dumplings were done after the last hour. So easy and very delicious!
Can I cook this on low and for how long?
While I haven’t tried it, 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 so they’ll likely have to cook a little bit longer.
I have never replied to any post anywhere before, but I always end up choosing to make your recipes.Thank you for your time, energy and expertise. Much appreciated!
I made this today. It was sooooo delicious, and easy! Thank you for the recipe! I’ll look at your other postings.
You’re welcome Patty! Enjoy!
I have made this recipe several times and it is always delicious. I usually buy a rotisserie chicken and pick the meat off the bones. Then I stew the chicken bones, skin etc and use that broth instead of boxed/canned broth.
Great idea, Nancy! That would be delicious.
good
Omgoodness! So good.
Instead of suggested biscuits i used honey butter biscuits. And a sweet onion. Lord have mercy. So effing yummy
Can I use frozen chicken breasts? If so, should I increase the cooking time or keep it the same?
Hi Christy, While I haven’t made it with frozen chicken, I’m sure it would work just fine! The increase in cook time will be very minimal, maybe an extra hour. You’ll want to ensure your chicken reaches 165°F before serving. Let us know how it goes!
Made this tonight. So delicious! Instead of strips of biscuit dough, I cubed. Worked great
Looking forward to this tonight!!! However, where did you use the 2c chicken broth.
In step 2.
Top with chicken broth and cook on high 5 hours.
Delicious! Can this be frozen?
Hi Marian, I haven’t tried freezing this recipe (before biscuits) but many readers have had success freezing this recipe. We would love to hear how it turns out for you!
I love this recipe, so tasty, but I just tear the biscuits into small pieces before adding. Easier, and it makes perfect dumplings. I also am a veggie fan, so I add more veggies.
This looks delicious! Can I cube the chicken into bite-size pieces before adding instead of waiting to shred it? If so, would that alter the cooking time or anything else? Thanks so much!
Hi Katherine, that should work well!
Question. Did you actually use all 8 biscuits in there?
Hi Jenny, yes we did. :)
What about using a whole chicken?
Hi Denise, we have not made this recipe with a whole chicken but other readers have with great results. Some have added it shredded and other have used the whole chicken broken down. We would love to hear how it turns out for you!
I would love to make this but I need enough for 5 adults. 1 is a lite eater. I know the recipe says it serves four but do you think I could stretch it to 5.
Hi Mandy, you may be able to stretch it to five servings. A serving is approximately 2 cups if that helps!
You could also serve it over mashed potatoes or egg noodles… that way it will feed more people.
Great suggestions, Gena, thank you!
Hello,
I’m excited to try this recipe! Is there an option of utilizing already cooked rotisserie chicken? If so I let it cook the whole time with the rest of the ingredients or put it in later? Would I make any other adjustments? Thank you
Hi Marie, we have not tried using rotisserie chicken but other readers have with great success. They did reduce the cooking time to approximately an hour before adding the biscuits. We’d love to hear how yours turns out!