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.
Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 can cream of celery soup (10.5 oz)
- 1 can cream of chicken soup (10.5 oz)
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- black pepper to taste
- 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups frozen vegetables or peas and carrots, defrosted
- 1 can refrigerated biscuits (8 pieces) 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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When do we add the chicken broth? The recipe doesn’t state when to incorporate it.
Hi Heather, the chicken broth is added in step 2 on top of the chicken breasts. Enjoy!
Delicious and easy comfort food. Thank you for another great recipe.
Hello. Wondering if I can use homemade dumplings and not biscuits? Do you know if the time will be the same. Homemade dumplings are so easy and taste so much better (my option.)
Thanks
We haven’t tried this recipe with homemade dumplings but I think it should turn out well. We would love to hear how it goes for you and any adjustments you needed to make, Nicole.
I ran out of time to see if the homemade dumplings would have finished cooking in the crock pot. My family needed those dumplings asap. Lol. I finished them on the stove. It only took about 15 minutes to finish them on medium boil, gently stirring so they wouldn’t stick. Your recipe is super easy and taste amazing! Next time I’ll give myself extra time to finish the dumplings in the crockpot. I did have to use 2 extra cups of chicken broth because the flour from the dumplings soaked up a lot.
Thanks!
Thank you for sharing! I’m so glad your family enjoyed this recipe.
Did you use the jumbo biscuits or the small ones?
Hi Amanda, the large ones (or the Grands!) work great for this recipe.
How could you add potatoes to this recipe?
You could serve it over mashed potatoes! Or if you’re adding them in, I would add the potatoes in right at the beginning. The cooking time may need to be adjusted slightly to ensure the potatoes are cooked through.
This recipe is great, however, for my crockpot cooking the chicken on high for 5 hours is a little too long. The chicken came out chewy and overdone. With my crockpot chicken cooks within 3 hours on high so I’ll be taking an hour off the cooking time next time. Otherwise it’s a great recipe and tastes really good!
Delicious- toddler approved. I used leftover rotisserie chicken, a bag of mixed veg, and complete seasoning and the rest of the ingredients as listed in recipe. Cooked on low all day added the biscuits cranked to high and it was warm and bubbly. Toddler ate it, husband ate it. Made it in a crockpot liner which made cleanup a breeze. This is way too easy to not do again. Thank you!
Oops my first time I rolled and cut the biscuits threw them all in and stirred!! I hope they still cook might leave them in over a hour..
Is it okay to use frozen chicken ??
I read somewhere that if the meat is frozen to just add 1 hour to the cooking time. Your thoughts?
I haven’t made this with frozen chicken breasts so I can’t say for sure Joyce. But the increase in cook time will be very minimal, maybe an extra hour. You’ll want to ensure your chicken reaches 165°F. Let us know how it goes!
This has been my fave recipe for YEARS but I just want to emphasize the frozen veggies HAVE TO BE THAWED! The biscuits will not cook if they go in frozen! I know the recipe says this but I sometimes forget and it is CRUCIAL to the success of the recipe. So so so so so delish. <3
This was AMAZING! I did make some adjustments, though- I’m not a huge fan of poultry seasoning, so I only did 1/4 tsp of it, then added 1/2 tsp of a delicious polish seasoning called Vegeta (which has salt in it, too). This was so delicious and SO easy to make!!! I definitely recommend it!!!
This sounds so good and I want to make it this weekend! I just wanted to ask, when you say 4 boneless chicken breasts, how big should each one be? How much chicken by weight would four breasts approximately come to? I bought this pack of chicken breasts and they are huge
Hi Elke, an average boneless skinless chicken breast is about 6 ounces. For this recipe, we use 4 of them. Hope that helps!
can I add white rice to this?. I did not know how the rice would work in the crock pot.
I have not tried rice in this recipe so I can’t say for sure. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out Elizabeth!
We love this comfort food dish! Just as described and very easy which is what I look for.
soooo good, and sooo easy!! always a hit with my family, so much so, that they’ll argue over who ate the leftovers. quite a few times, my step-daughter who “doesn’t like dumplings ” has requested this for dinner.
My boyfriend loved this meal!! I used the cauliflower blend of veggies bc I’m not a fan of green beans and added more seasonings of my liking. Definitely a new fall staple! Thank you! Your website as a whole as been a game changer for me! Keep doing what you love cause you’re great at it!
It doesn’t say when to add the chicken broth. Can you clarify for me, please?
It is added in step 2.
Hello,
I was looking at this as an option for longer than 4 hours because we will be traveling around the area for our trip and I am not sure we will be back after 4 hours to our cabin or not.
Has anyone tried this on low for longer possibly and then when we get back switch to high and add the biscuits and veggies and let it cook for about and hour?
Any input is appreciated! Thank you!
While I haven’t tried it Tiffany, 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 am so glad you have been loving this recipe!
This was delicious. Only thing, I was not sure if the dumplings were done or not. I think they were but it was hard to tell. How do you know they are done?
Once the biscuits are cooked through they should still have a soft, slightly doughy dumpling-like texture. I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Sofie!
Big hit!! The biscuits in the crockpot cooked similar to dumplings then I made some in the oven as well. I also added an extra can of cream of chicken to thicken it up.
I cooked this for my work and it was a great big HIT! People came back for seconds people asking me to cook them personally some and some asking for the recipe. It was simple and easy and a crowd pleaser. In fact I ran out before my bosses got some and they told me that better never happen again, so I cooked some just for them. Great flavor super easy. Thanks
So raw carrots I should put in at the same time as the onion?
Other readers have made this recipe with fresh carrots with great results, Cassandra. I would definitely recommend adding them at the beginning to ensure they have enough time to fully cook.
This recipe is delicious! It’s my go to recipe at least three times a week.