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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Can I use Frozen Dinner Yeast Rolls (ready in 5-10 minutes) instead of biscuits?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Karen. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
Is that the nutritional information for the entire pot?
Nutritional information is per serving.
This is an absolutely fantastic recipe! Couldn’t be easier or more delicious!!
Great base recipe, but I agree with others it’s a bit bland. I used 2 cans of cream of chicken and cut up about 1/2 cup of fresh celery. Texture was great, “dumplings” cooked just right, but had to add garlic powder, black pepper and a bit of salt at the end. I will make again with those adjustments (or maybe fresh garlic!).
Super bland. Loaded it with pepper and still eh. Nobody in my family liked.
I’m making this now, the ingredients called for 2 cups of low sodium broth but didn’t see that mentioned anywhere in the directions? Can i do it without the broth?
The broth is added in step 2. I have not tried this without the broth, so I’m not sure there would be enough liquid.
I swear I read that like 6 times I have no idea how I missed that, I apologize for my brain! Biscuits are in there now my family is patiently waiting
This is delicious I’ve made it several times. I always wonder if it’s four full chicken breasts or four half. I think I’ve been using four full.
I use 4 full chicken breasts Barbara. I am so glad you are enjoying this recipe!
Crock-Pot Chicken-Dumplings
Cooking time states 5 hours 10 min
is this on LOW?
I have yet to find a C&D recipe that I can cook I always have trouble with the Dumplings
Thank you.
You can find more specific details on the cook time in the numbered instructions in the recipe. This recipe cooks on high for 5 hours and then after the chicken is removed, shredded, and added back in, it is cooked for another 10 minutes on high. I hope this helps Kathy!
Thank you for responding every time I make it it gets better because I add a little more broth I let the dumplings cook a bit longer etc. etc. my husband loves it too!
I am so happy to hear this recipe is a hit!
I am making this right now! I put the chicken in raw, was that wrong? I thought it cooked in the soup! I am also curious if I should mix the soups and broth…it is not mixed if you follow the directions. It is layered. I hope it turns out good. Hopefully I did it right, I want to add the veggies and biscuits after 3 hours, though.
The chicken goes into the slow cooker uncooked in step 1! No need to mix the soups and broth. For any more questions there is a video right above the recipe that should be able to answer most of them. I hope this helps Autumn!
Made this recipe on a Friday night, finished it by the next night and now I’m making it again the next Tuesday. It’s so delicious and so easy. I used what I had on hand, chicken thighs, cream of celery and threw in some celery as well. I also used a roasted garlic rosemary seasoning blend that I put in everything and it came out so so good. I’m doubling the recipe, using cream of chicken, mushroom, celery and potato just for fun and more veggie flavor. I’m also mixing chicken thighs and breast this time as well. So happy I found this recipe. It WILL be a forever staple for me.
Can I use Mary B’s frozen dumplings instead of biscuits?
I haven’t tried them, but I don’t see why not. I would suggest checking the package for cooking directions.
Delicious!!! I poured in the seasonings without measuring since others said it was bland. It turned out great! I will definitely make this again. I will use less broth next time though as mine came out really soupy. Thank you for sharing!
I absolutely love this recipe! I’ve made it so many times! I’m curious though if you can make this with leftover chicken like rotisserie chicken or leftover thanksgiving turkey? How could you tweak the recipe for this?
In step 3 when you add the vegetables to the slow cooker to heat up I would also add the shredded chicken to allow it time to heat up as well! We would love to hear how it turns out for you, Ashley!
This is so wonderfully easy and tasty. We ate all of it. I will make it again and most likely often.
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Mary!
What type of refrigerated biscuits work best? I bought southern style country biscuits but realized it says to flatten them out. does it need to be more of a crescent roll?
I find buttermilk, country or homestyle Biscuits work best in this recipe, so those should work just fine Ashley!
I’m making this now. Biscuits are already in. How do i know if they are done?
Once the biscuits are cooked through they should still have a soft, slightly doughy dumpling-like texture. Enjoy Kristi!
Has anyone tried with two cans of cream of chicken instead of celery? Will it make a big difference in taste? Thank you!
Any “cream of” will work just fine in this recipe Emily, so you can swap the cream of celery for chicken no problem! If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
This is my third time make it. We use extra cans of cream of chicken instead of celery! We love it.
Our family really didn’t care for this recipe. it wasn’t as creamy as advertised, and the canned soups made it taste over-processed. It was also very, very bland, so if you do decide to try it, consider doubling the spices and really upping the black pepper. We won’t make this recipe again.
This is my go to recipe every time hands down.My whole family loves it. Sooooooo easy!
While the taste is delicious, the cooking time for the biscuits just doesn’t work. I placed the biscuits in for the last hour and they still were not done. I cooked them for another 30 minutes and it still wasn’t done. it’s now been over an hour and they just aren’t cooking. Same biscuits as presented in your video and the crockpot is brand new so its not that. Unfortunately, I think the whole meal is botched now.