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 condensed cream of celery soup (10.5 oz)
- 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup (10.5 oz)
- 1 tablespoon 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, defrosted
- 16.3 oz refrigerated biscuits 1 can, Buttermilk, Country, or Homestyle
Instructions
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Add onion to 6 qt crock pot and top with chicken breasts.
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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.
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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
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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
Cuisine American
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This recipe is absolutely delicious and super easy to make!
Easy to make. Definitely stick to the cook time. Will make again
I made this tonight exactly per your recipe. My family of four loved it! It was so easy and quick – you are my go-to gal for quick, delicious dinners! Thank you.
Love this meal! Can you cook it at low for longer?
While I haven’t tried it, many readers have cooked this one on low for 7-8 hours successfully. Then add the biscuits and veggies and turn 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.
Can this recipe be cooked on low in a 6qt slow cooker?
While I haven’t tried it, many readers have cooked this one on low for 7-8 hours successfully.
This was just ok. Followed the directions to a T. This came out very soupy and was hoping for a gravy type texture. i thought it was very bland also. If I would make this again I would definitely cut the broth amount in half or even more. I think it really diluted the flavor. On a positive note, the chicken was very moist and the dumplings came out perfect. I used Pillsbury homestyle biscuits.
Thanks for trying our recipe, Lynn! I am glad you still enjoyed it.
Great tasting meal.. one of our kid’s favorites. It would be helpful to have the temperature setting for the crockpot included. High or low for 5 hrs?
Hi Ken, in step 2, it does include the temperature “cook on high 5 hours.” I’m so glad that your kids love this chicken and dumplings!
if you cut the recipe in half do you cut down on the cooking time? it’s only for my husband and myself.
Hi Lynn, if you use a smaller crockpot so it fill it about ¾ full then you will not need to adjust the cooking time. If using a 6 QT slow cooker you will want to reduce the cooking time slightly. I would check the chicken around 2-3 hours to see how cooked it is before adding in the dumplings. I hope that helps!
This recipe was super easy and came out absolutely delicious!!!
This came out excellent! Can I keep the chicken and dumplings on Keep Warm in the slow cooker until it’s time to be served?
Yes Michelle, you sure can!
i made these to take to work last week and they were delicious. super easy
I ended up with 7 (16 oz) servings with this recipe! Yum! Is there a way to freeze leftovers after it is cooked?
Hi Jessica, a lot of readers have frozen this meal with success. Just freeze in an airtight container and, when ready, thaw fully overnight in the fridge. We reheat it on low on the stove or for single portions you can reheat it in the microwave as well.
what size crock pot did you have to double this recipe
Hi Charles, if you are doubling this recipe you should use a 6qt slow cooker.
My family requested I add this to our rotation!! I had a couple of celery stalks that I chopped and added with the onion and chicken at the beginning, but other than that I followed the recipe exactly.
So great!!
Great easy recipe! We’ve been making it every couple of weeks for awhile now. Perect weekend dinner. Started using frozen mixed veggies instead of just peas. Sometimes add mushrooms. The flavors remind me of chicken pot pie.
SO DELICIOUS and super easy to make!!
Can I use frozen chicken breast?
I haven’t made this with frozen chicken breasts so I can’t say for sure. Increase the cook time by maybe an extra hour. You’ll want to ensure your chicken reaches 165°F. Let us know how it goes!
Make sure you guys don’t do it in a cheap crockpot! Mine had a lightweight lid, and it let too much heat escape. My dumplings weren’t turning out right until I weighed down the lid with a heavy bowl. It kept all the best trapped in and allowed them to finally cook better.
great tip! love this recipe except for my dumplings coming out sub par last time. definitely trying this!
I’ve had some issue with the condensed soup curdling, any advice?
Hi Allie, I have never had that issue so I am not sure what went wrong. You can always try making the condensed soup from scratch using evaporated milk. We have good results with that too.
Can you use chicken thighs, it’s all I have. Can you use smaller biscuts?
You sure can, you’ll need about 1 ½ lbs of skinless boneless chicken thighs. We usually use a can of Pillsbury pre-made biscuits but you can always make homemade biscuits instead! If making them smaller you will just need to watch how long they cook.