Chicken and Dumplings and Biscuits
This chicken and dumplings recipe with canned biscuits is the well-balanced comfort food weeknight meal. With the use of biscuits, you have a satisfying shortcut for one of your favorite warm, cozy meals.
Why You’ll Love Southern Chicken and Dumplings With Canned Biscuits
You will come back to this straightforward chicken and dumplings recipe. It’s a true Southern comfort food classic.
Chicken and dumplings are a creamy, chicken soup style stew with soft dumplings.
There are so many reasons to love a classic chicken and dumplings recipe. Traditional chicken and dumplings uses from-scratch biscuit dough for the dumpling. This one has a shortcut of refrigerated biscuit dough to give you quick results for busy nights.
- Straightforward to cook – making chicken and dumplings with canned biscuits is a great alternative to making them from scratch. It’s straightforward and requires little effort.
- Family friendly – the combination of chicken soup with soft dumplings is a meal that everyone loves.
- Hearty and comforting – chicken and dumplings are the well-balanced cold weather food. It’s hearty and the well-balanced comfort food meal.
- Quick – this entire dish is ready in less than 30 minutes from start to finish.
- Great for busy weeknights – because you don’t need to make from-scratch dumplings for this recipe, it is suited to busy weeknights. With the cooked chicken and canned biscuits, it makes for quick and straightforward comfort food.
Follow it up with a scoop of Cherry crisp with fresh cherries.
Ingredients for Chicken and Dumplings Made With Biscuits
- Water – we don’t recommend subbing broth for this unless you plan to use unsalted broth.
- Cooked chicken – you can use any cooked chicken you have on hand. Whether that’s shredded chicken, rotisserie chicken, or leftover chicken you have on hand.
- Cream of chicken soup – we like to use reduced sodium cream of chicken soup so that the salt content is less. The chicken bouillon will have enough salt for the entire dish.
- Chicken bouillon – you can find this in your grocery store usually on the soup aisle.
- Ground black pepper – you can use black or white pepper for this recipe. You’ll want to be sure it’s finely ground so that you aren’t biting into a big chunk of peppercorn.
- Refrigerated canned biscuits – we like using Pillsbury Grands biscuits. You can use either the southern style or the layered layers kind. Remember that the layered layers kind will puff up much more than the southern style.
Kitchen Tools to Make Chicken and Dumplings with Rotisserie Chicken and Canned Biscuits
Dutch oven
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Wooden spoon
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Measuring cups
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The great thing about this recipe, is that you don’t need any special tools or equipment. A large pot or dutch oven works evenly.
Preparing the chicken
This recipe utilizes cooked chicken. The great thing about it is how versatile it is when it comes to which chicken to use. You can use:
- Store-bought shredded chicken
- Leftover chicken from another meal
- Make your own shredded chicken
- Use store-bought rotisserie chicken
- Pan sear chicken and chop it up
- Use canned chicken that’s been drained
- Use whole roasted chicken or cooked chicken from From-scratch chicken broth (can be done with boneless skinless chicken breast)
Use whichever version is easiest for you and your family. That’s one of the great things about this recipe. It’s versatile so you don’t have to make the chicken in any specific way.
Making the broth
Having a flavorful broth that isn’t overly salty is key to a great chicken and dumplings recipe.
- Place the water, chicken, cream of chicken soup, chicken bouillon, and ground pepper in a large deep pot or dutch oven.
- Turn the heat on medium-high and bring to a boil.
- Stir until it’s smooth and combined.
- Turn the heat down to a low boil before adding in the dumplings.
The chicken bouillon will give the chicken and dumplings broth extra flavor. The cream of chicken soup will give a creamy, thicker texture.
You can also use chicken broth in place of the water, but we'd recommend using unsalted broth. The chicken bouillon contains enough salt for the dish and using salted broth may cause it to be overly salty.
You can always add additional vegetables to your broth to bulk it up and make it heartier. Some great options include carrots, peas, green beans, celery, and onion. Fresh thyme is also another great addition.
Preparing the canned biscuit dumplings
The great shortcut with this recipe is using canned biscuits. Rather than making a dough from scratch, we’ll be using canned biscuits.
We prefer to use Pillsbury Grands style biscuits. You can use either the Southern Style or the Layered Layers. Keep in mind that if you use the layered layers version, the dumplings will puff up much more than the Southern style.
To make the dumplings, you’ll simply tear or cut the biscuits into bite-sized pieces and place them in the boiling broth.
Once you’ve placed the biscuit pieces in the broth, begin gently stirring them so that some of the broth coats all sides of the dumplings.
Allow them to boil for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are cooked through.
You can make the chicken and dumplings even more indulgent by adding 1 cup of heavy cream at the end to make it extra creamy.
What to eat with chicken and dumplings
The great thing about chicken and dumplings is that it is a meal all on it’s own. Sides aren’t necessary.
If you do decide to serve it with a side, we'd recommend a side salad or some Breadsticks To sop up the extra broth.
The key to serving up great chicken and dumplings is to be sure to scoop a good serving of chicken with the dumplings and broth and serve it hot.
How to keep leftover chicken and dumplings with biscuits
To store leftover chicken and dumplings, first allow it to cool.
Once cooled, place them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When stored properly, they will stay fresh in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
How long do chicken and dumplings last in the fridge?
When stored properly, chicken and dumplings will stay fresh for up to 3 days. You’ll need to be aware that the dumplings will start to soak up some of the broth.
You may need to add additional broth when reheating.
Why are our chicken and dumplings gummy?
Your dumplings can end up gummy for two reasons. They’re either undercooked or overcooked. It’s important that you keep an eye on them to avoid this.
Prep 5 minutesCook 20 minutesTotal 25 minutesMakes 8 servings
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 3 cups chicken cooked
- 2 cans cream of chicken soup
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 can refrigerated biscuits
Method
- Place water, cooked chicken, cream of chicken soup, pepper, and bouillon in a large deep pot or Dutch oven .
- Bring to a boil and turn it down to a simmer.
- Begin adding small bite-size pieces of the refrigerated biscuits.
- Allow biscuits to boil for several minutes until cooked through.
Notes
- Allow the broth/soup to simmer longer before adding the biscuits to give it better flavor
- Can add peas and carrots to bulk it up
- The biscuits will grow once they’re in the broth, so be sure to tear them into smaller pieces
- Mix the biscuits as you’re adding them in letting the broth run over all sides of them. It will help them not stick together.
