Recipes > Chicken and Dumplings

- Serves: 6
- Active Time: 1 hr 30 mins
- Total Time: 3 hrs
- Views: 79,198
- Success Rating: 96% (?)
Steps
Method
Place the chicken into a suitable-sized pot and cover with cold water. Blanch the chicken by bringing it to a gentle boil. Skim off any impurities. Drain the murky water and cover again with clean, cold water. Bring to a simmer and skim off any impurities that rise to the surface.
Add the mirepoix (diced onion, carrots and celery), followed by the salt. Add the bouquet garni (bay leaves, thyme, peppercorns, garlic (cut in half crosswise) and parsley).
Simmer the broth for about 45 minutes to one hour, or until the chicken has just cooked through. Remove the legs from the broth. Once cool enough to handle, remove the chicken from the bones. Set the meat aside.
Return the bones to the pot and simmer for another 30 minutes to an hour to extract the flavor. Note: While the broth is cooking, you can prepare your mise en place for Step 2. Once done, remove and discard the solids. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth and place over an ice bath to cool.
Method
First preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius).
To prepare your mise en place, cut the dark green part off of the leeks. Slice in half and wash thoroughly. Slice the leeks into 1/4" pieces. Cut the carrots and celery into medium dice. Note: You should have roughly 1 to 1 1/2 cups of each. Mince the garlic.
Measure out the butter and flour. Note: The amount of flour used will produce a relatively thick sauce; however, if you want the sauce to be really thick, you can use up to 18 tbsp of flour. The roux will just be very thick.
Gather the bay leaves and thyme. Set aside.
Once the broth is cool, you can begin to make the sauce.
To make the sauce, heat a heavy-bottomed pot over medium to medium-low heat. Add the butter, followed by the celery, carrots, leeks and a pinch of salt. Sweat until the leeks are translucent, about 10 minutes or so. Once softened, add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
Singer with the flour to make a roux. Stir to combine. Temper in the cold broth a bit at a time. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Add the bay leaves and thyme and let cook for about 10 to 15 minutes to cook off any starchy flavor. Next, add the cream and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add the reserved chicken pieces and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes.
While the sauce is simmering, prepare the dumpling mixture (see Step 3).
Method
To prepare the dumpling mixture, finely mince the green onions.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt together.
In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a fork. Add a bit of the buttermilk and blend again before adding the rest. Once fully mixed, add the minced green onions and blend to fully combine.
Form a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients over top. Quickly but gently fold the ingredients together until the flour is just moistened. Do not overmix.
Method
Once the chicken has cooked for about 10 minutes, add the peas and continue to cook for about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the cream.
Using 2 spoons, drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling mixture into the hot sauce. The dumplings should cover the surface of the pot.
Cover and place into the oven for about 15 minutes to poach the dumplings. Once done, the dumplings should be puffy and firm to the touch.
To serve, spoon some of the chicken into a warmed bowl and top with one or two of the delicious dumplings.
58 Comments
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This is a very informative video, i enjoyed it and learned a lot from it and can't wait to try it out at home! LOBush, Sacramento, CA
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Any ideas on how to make a vegetarian version?
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Make a veloute using veggies stock. Sweat some vegetables and then proceed with the recipe. Cheers!
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Alright Dawn, this is actually one of my specialties. There are a couple of differences so I'm gonna try it your way and see how it compares. Probably won't be until Tuesday or Thursday. I'll let you know how it turns out.
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Thanks Dawn, think I'm going to try to chuck some tofu in there too.
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Could the is be transferred to the oven to cook the dumplings? I'd prefer a more biscuit-y result to doughy, but maybe I should be fair and steam them once.
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You could certainly place the pot into the oven to finish the cooking process: however, this will not necessarily result it in a more "biscuit-y result". For a more biscuit-like topping you would need to make more of a biscuit mix rather than the one in this recipe. Try doing an online search for "chicken and biscuits" and there you will find many recipes for that dish. Cheers!
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Hi Dawn, I'm planning to make this for supper this weekend - perfect fall weather food! I'll be using broth that I've already made - what quantity of broth should I use to match the veloute? Thanks,
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Good question Sheri, you will need just enough broth to reach your desired consistency. If you want the sauce to be really thick you will need less, if you want it a bit thinner then you will need more. Basically, you how much you need depends on the consistency you are looking for. Does that make sense? Cheers!
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I made this dish last night and it was the best.. How ever, I found some errors in the directions. Like when making the sauce it told me to preheat my oven. Thank you for the best chicken and dumpling recipe ever. Judy S.
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Glad you liked the dish. It sure if perfect for this time of year. The reason in step one it says to preheat your oven is because in step 4 the directions say to "Cover and place into the oven for about 15 minutes to poach the dumplings." This dish can be finished on the stove top; however, we found that there was less potential of scorching the bottom of the pot if finished in the oven. Cheers!
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This was great, although I found the dumplings a little too delicate, slightly bland in flavour - any suggestions for livening them up or brining out the flavour of the onions more?
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I feel lost without any suggested guideline amount of broth that should be used.
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Perhaps add more green onions and/or salt or maybe try adding some other herbs or spices. Alternatively, perhaps you may just want to use a different dumpling recipe if this one is not your thing. Cheers! p.s. When titling your questions it is better to use a descriptive title, that way when other users are searching through the forum for help they can find potential answers/questions easier. Hope you don't mind me saying that, it just makes it easier for everyone :-)
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If you follow the recipe for the broth (Step 1) you will end up with about 6 to 8 cups of broth. The amount you end up with in the end,depends on how much water you added while it was cooking etc. Again, it's hard to say exactly how much you will need as the final consistency is up to you. Start with about 3 to 4 cups, adding more as needed. Once you reach the desired consistency for the veloute base stop. For me, I like the sauce to be a bit thick but still a bit soupy. Others however, like their chicken and dumplings much thicker. Hope this helps. Cheers!
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I made this without traditional flour and used all-purpose gluten free flour instead. It was absolutely fantastic!
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That's super, thanks for taking the time to share your results. I am sure all of the folks with gluten sensitivities will really appreciate it. Cheers!
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Hello can't wait to try this with our friends. Can the chicken part be made a day before then reheated and finish with the dumpling before serving it? Thank you for such wonderful lessons :-)
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Good question. Indeed the broth and chicken part can be done the day before. That's a great way to turn this into a quick meal the next night. Cheers! Note: When titling your questions, it is better to use a descriptive title, that way when other users are searching through the forum for help they can find potential answers/questions easier. Hope you don't mind me saying that, it just makes it easier and more helpful for everyone :-)
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RE :Prepping Chicken and Dumplings Ahead Thank you for getting back to me so soon :-) and no I don't mind at all that is how to learn the right way to do something :-) Have a great day!
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Following the recipe above, how long will it take for the chicken to cook through and be removed from the pot?
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Depending on the size of the chicken legs, the heat source and how long you decide to cook the broth after the bones have been added back, it should take anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 hrs, or so. Cheers!
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I made this last Sunday and I'm feeling a bit conflicted. There were things I definitely liked better than my recipe (the broth was stellar) and things I didn't (dumplings were bland & chicken was tough). Obviously there are things I can change to improve the last two. I tried to follow the recipe as faithfully as I could but alas I didn't have everything it called for. I substituted rosemary for thyme and that was not a problem. I only had chicken thighs so that should have been OK. I usually cook the chicken much longer and I think I will return to that next time. I think the dumplings were the big disappointment. They don't absorb any liquid when they cook and it was difficult to get them to absorb the liquid afterwards. If they had it would have counteracted their bland taste. That seemed to make a big difference in how I felt about the dish overall. I'm not sure how to correct this. I think I'll try to work out a compromise between this recipe and my old one and see if I can improve my results.
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Rouxbe Staff
This is the beauty of cooking. Once you understand the basics, you are free to make your own changes/adjustments to any recipe you come across...and it is great that you are doing just that. Sorry that you found the dumplings bland. If you have suggestions for improvements, we (and other students) would love to hear them, so feel free to share the changes/tweaks you made and prefer. Cheers! -
I am attempting to make the chicken and dumplings but, it does not say anthing about covering askew (sp). What are your thoughts on it. Thank you so much :-)
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Rouxbe Staff
Not sure what step your question is referring to. The last step does indicate to cover the pot after the dumpling batter has been added. The trapped steam will help to cook the dumplings. Cheers! -
Thank you for getting back to me. I ment the cooking the broth I looked again at the broth lesson and made it without covering it. Thanks again :-)
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In England we don't have buttermilk, so really don't know what it is. Is there something else I can use, great recipe for using up extra stock from the chicken pot pie recipe! Look forward to trying it, cheers Jill
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Rouxbe Staff
Anytime you are looking for information on ingredients, etc., you can search Rouxbe in the search bar at the top right of any page. There are several discussions on buttermilk in the forum that you may want to check out. Here is a link to another great reference site for food substitutions that you also may want to bookmark. Cheers! -
Hello agian, had friends over for lunch today and everyone raved about the Chicken and Dumplings :-) It was delicious! I made part of the recipe yesterday then finish with the peas, cream and dumplings today. It made it very easy to finish for company, no stress lol thank you again for this great meal and teaching me all the steps to make it :-) What will I fix next ???
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Hello, First, I want to say that your site is fantastic! Been a subscriber for only a month, but I learned so much! From knife maintenance to making stock & broth (and knowing the difference) to making the "mother sauces", RouxBe has helped me become a better cook! Which brings me to this: I made my first RouxBe dish, the chicken & dumplings, which turned out very well. The only complaint is that it's too much for my husband and me—can I freeze the leftovers? Thanks!
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Rouxbe Staff
Hmmm, I have never had the problem of leftovers with this dish :-) We usually finish it over the next couple of days. I would assume that the chicken part of the dish would freeze fairly well, but not too sure about the dumplings. As with most things that are frozen, I don't think this dish would be too bad but, of course, not as good as when first made. Thaw it in the refrigerator before slowly heating over medium/medium-low heat along with a touch of water. Add a touch more water or stock if the sauce seems too thick. Let us know how you like it. Cheers! -
Thank you for your quick response. Leftovers may not be a problem after all—hubby went for seconds and taking some for lunch at work; I have as well. This delicious dish will last until I get a chance to go to the grocers later this week. Again, this is a fantastic site! Thank you so much!
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I made this yesterday with a Buttermilk substitution, 1 tablespoon white vinegar into a cup of 2% milk, it worked Great! Simply Delicious. As with most Rouxbe recipes, There were no leftovers. Thanks!
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hi The text recipe calls for 1head of garlic. Is this correct? Seems like a lot of garlic for a broth.
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Rouxbe Staff
For this dish, we did use 1 small head but feel free to adjust the amount to suit your tastes. The type of mirepoix you use in a broth is up to you. Cheers! -
I spent the better part of the afternoon preparing this dish. If I may say so myself, it was delicious. I'm particularly happy that it had the same consistency and appearance compared with the dish in the video. But knowing myself, it was probably beginner's luck. This recipe is a great integration of so many skills covered in the lessons. Some modifications I plan to use in the future to save time would be to cook this only after I have leftover chicken (roasted most likely) and some already prepared stock. I also intend to cut this recipe in half. We're only two people and there is a lot left over. Not that I mind! I'm going now to the chicken pot pie recipe and see if I can experiment with that using some of these leftovers. Thank you for adding this to my winter comfort food repertoire.
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Rouxbe Staff
Excellent job on tackling the dish from beginning to end. Now that you know, you are exactly right when you say that you can use leftover roast chicken and an already-made stock. This will make the dish that much quicker to prepare (while still using excellent ingredients). Great job on linking the techniques together. Cheers! -
I needed a "kitchen therapy day" so I made this dish for dinner tonight. Had the kids and grandkids over and it was a rousing success. I followed the instructions to the T and the aroma that permeated my house was exquisite! Thank you for making me a success in my kitchen.
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I have a family member with celiacs disease in the house. Can I make the dumplings with rice flour? I looked on the substitution link that was suggested and there weren't any for flours.
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Rouxbe Staff
As far as I know rice flour does not contain gluten, yet you may want to do your own research. In regards to making the recipe with rice flour, it is likely to be more difficult to handle due to the lack of gluten which gives "stretch" to the dough itself. Hope it helps -
I made this recipe yesterday and I had a semi success. The chicken mixture turned out wonderful, full of flavor, rich and thick just the way I like it. My only problem was the dumplings. I prepared them exactly the way the recipe and video said but when I baked them in the oven they didn't cook through. They were cooked on top but the rest of them were raw. Any suggestions on what I did wrong? I even cooked them 10 minutes longer then what it suggested.
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Glad to hear that you liked the flavor but sorry about the dumplings. Cooking a recipe "exactly" is not always possible or desired. I say this because things are not always the same. For example, your oven could be hotter or cooler, the dish before adding the dumplings could have been cooler, the dumplings could have been bigger or smaller; therefore, it's often necessary to adjust a recipe and/or the cooking time according to what is happening in the dish. Next time, I would suggest that you take one of the dumplings out, once you think that they are done and test it. If it still seems a bit raw in the middle, keep cooking the dish until they are cooked through. I hope that helps Patti. Cheers!
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easily the tastiest dish I've made so far.... maybe that's the mojito talking! lol. Loved it. Really learned a lot too, about what Dawn says earlier re working to what's happening in the recipe. Get a feel for the roux, more or less flour? Less garlic? I got nervous for a bit there because individually the broth and stew mirepoix mix smelled amazing and, more importantly distinctive, and when I added the garlic it totally killed the other aromas/flavours. so I (a garlic lover) suddenly realized how a great singer can ruin a harmony. Not to worry, the gentle simmer calmed it down and I just had a sample bowl and I virtually licked it clean. Going home to Ireland tomorrow, will have to make this for everyone. x
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So glad that you liked the recipe Kevin, And even more glad that you seemed to really absorbed the process and different stages as you cooked—that's what takes cooking from be a chore or something that we have to do, to something that is so much more enjoyable. Keep up the good work. I am jealous that you are going back to Ireland. We went a few years ago and I felt like I had gone home—it was fantastic!
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We have made this dish several times in the past and it always tastes terrific. It's so good we decided to made it again today, for Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks Dawn T!
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You are most welcome Jody — glad you like the recipe. Cheers!
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I am preparing to make this stew but as I was going through the recipe and videos I noticed a discrepancy. In the video for preparing the velouté it says to add the cream (approx 1:00 in) but there is no mention of this in the text recipe. Am I just missing it?
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Nice catch Joe — the recipe has been updated. Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Cheers!
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I made this last night for my beloved bride, and she loved it. Her biggest criticism was, "There wasn't enough!" Thanks for what will become staple in our household.
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I do have two quick questions. The first is the best way to reheat the dumplings... I know how to warm up a roux-based soup, but I'm not sure the dumplings will survive a short session in the microwave. The second is about using a commercial chicken stock... what's the best way to kick it up? I was thinking about using the stock (I use Swanson's unsalted chicken stock), but simmering the veggies in it for an hour or so, just to give the flavor more dimensions.
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Rouxbe Staff
Hi Matthew- Hahah... we'll take that critique any day! That's an easy one to fix. ~Ken -
I am about 75% through the Roadmap course and found this dish to be a perfect task to utilize the cooking techniques I have learned. I used a whole chicken and was generous with the veggies while making the stock. Boned the chicken and threw the bones back in the stock pot to cook longer for deeper flavor as directed. I made the velour sauce on the thicker side (17 tbs of flour) which was a good call. I used a bit more green onions and salt in the dumplings and put the whole pot in the preheated oven as directed. After 15 minutes, I turned the oven off and let the pot sit in there covered until serving time. The dumplings were moist with little pocket of air that were perfect to break apart and and gather the chicken and sauce for a perfect bite. Can't say enough about how good this was. Thanks, Rouxbe!
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Rouxbe Staff
Thanks John- I am glad that the dish worked out so well for you. It's so simple, yet amazing how much there is going on. ~Ken -
I love this recipe! Thanks Rouxbe! But I do have one question: When I poach the dumplings I leave it on the stove top and don't put it in the oven. But it scorches at the bottom of the pan. Does that mean I should put it in the oven in order not to burn the bottom of the pan?
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Rouxbe Staff
Good to know you enjoy this recipe, Dan! It is a popular one. The stove top provides relatively intense heat from one contact point, so scorching is pretty common. On the other hand, the oven provides a softer, enveloping heat that won't burn food nearly as quickly as the stove top will. Try out the oven and see what kind of results you get. -
I love finding out that I knew what to do rows down to every type of food to eat I also love all the herbs
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This was delicious, my husband loved it,the dumplings were so fluffy. This recipe is a keeper.
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