This easy Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings recipe is one of our all time favorites! Easy homemade dumplings cooked in a creamy chicken soup base. Let the slower cooker do all the work!
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Easy Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings
Recently my number one recipe request is for a slow cooker version of my famous homemade Chicken and Dumplings. And I am proud to say, I finally got it right and I am ready to share this killer Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings recipe with all of you.
Just like the original, this Chicken and Dumplings recipe has a deliciously creamy chicken soup base with lots of flavor. Then we whip up a quick batch of big fluffy homemade dumplings and drop them into the soup with a cookie scoop. Read below to find out all the tips and tricks to make it!
Looking for more ways to enjoy Chicken and Dumplings? Try this Homemade Chicken and Dumplings with dumplings made from scratch, Easy Chicken and Dumplings made with canned biscuits, Chicken and Dumplings Casserole, or this Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings!
What You’ll Need
Are you ready to make chicken and dumplings in your slow cooker? Here’s what you’ll need:
For the Dumplings
- Flour: You will want to use all purpose flour. I have tried a mixture of whole wheat and regular flour and the dumplings were too gummy for my tastes.
- Baking Powder: Make sure your baking powder is still good and has not expired. If it is not longer good, your dumplings will be dense and will not rise.
- Salt & Pepper: Freshly cracked black pepper will give them the most flavor.
- Fresh Thyme: I like to use fresh thyme, however you can use dried thyme as well. If you aren’t a thyme fan, you can skip it completely or substitute it for another herb you enjoy.
- Whole Milk: If you do not have whole milk, you can use any type of milk you have on hand. I like to use whole milk because the extra fat gives the dumplings a better texture, but even water can be used.
- Butter: Melted and cooled slightly.
For the Creamy Chicken Soup Base
- Chicken Breasts: As with my original recipe, you could also use Rotisserie chicken.
- Veggies: Yellow onion, carrots, celery and garlic.
- Chicken Stock: You could also use vegetable stock.
- Fresh Thyme: Or 1 teaspoon dried thyme. If you are not a fan of thyme, feel free to leave it out or substitute an Italian herb mix instead. You can also use half the thyme called for in the recipe, if desired.
- Salt and Pepper: Season to taste. I highly recommend using freshly cracked black pepper or the best taste.
- Cornstarch: This helps thicken the soup at the end of cooking. You can skip it if you enjoy your soup thin.
- Evaporated Milk: My “secret” ingredient for extra creaminess! **NOTE** Evaporated milk and condensed milk are not the same. Make sure you use evaporated milk!
Why Use Evaporated Milk?
I do have one very important secret ingredient that is absolutely KEY to making the best chicken and dumplings…evaporated milk!!
Evaporated milk is creamier when compared to whole milk, but not as thick as heavy whipping cream (and a lot less fattening as well). It creates the best broth for this chicken and dumplings recipe.
How to Make Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings Soup
Don’t get nervous, I promise these homemade chicken and dumplings soup is incredibly easy to make. Here’s how to do it:
Cook the chicken and veggies: Add chicken, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, chicken stock, thyme, pepper and salt to crockpot. Cook for 3 hours on high or 7 hours on low. If not already set to high, set crockpot to the high setting.
Shred the chicken: Remove cooked chicken from crockpot, shred and return to crockpot.
Make a slurry: In a small bowl, whisk to combine the cornstarch and 4 tablespoons evaporated milk until smooth. Stir the slurry into the soup, this will help to thicken the soup. Then stir in the remaining evaporated milk.
Make the Dumplings: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, pepper, salt and thyme. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the milk and butter into the center of it. Using a wooden spoon (or rubber spatula), stir together until dough ball forms.
If your dough seems too dry, you can add an extra tablespoon of milk.
Using a medium sized cookie scoop, scoop dough and drop directly into the simmering soup. Place them around the pot, not all in the same place. Once all dumplings have been added, gently press them down so the soup runs over just the tops of them.
Cook the Dumplings: Place the lid on your crockpot, set the crockpot to high temperature and let the dumplings cook for 1 hour. Cut one dumpling in half to make sure they are cooked through. (Your dumplings will possibly bake together on top in your crockpot, if this happens, just gently break them apart into large chunks again with your spatula. They will still taste exactly the same!)
Check the Dumplings & Serve: If the dumplings are cooked through, serve hot and enjoy! If not, cook an additional 15 minutes and check again.
Tips for Success
- Don’t be intimidated: Making dumplings from scratch sounds fancy, but you literally whip all the dough ingredients together in a bowl and then drop it into the soup with a cookie scoop. There are no eggs required, no rolling out of the dough, just mix it and drop them by the scoopful into your crockpot!
- Watch the time: To cook the dumplings, you will need your crockpot set to high and they will take about an hour to cook through. In my crockpot, they took 45 minutes, but it tends to run a little hotter than most. So I’d advise you to start checking them around 45 minutes with a knife to see if they have cooked through.
- Evaporated Milk NOT Condensed Milk: Evaporated milk and condensed milk are not interchangeable. Condensed milk (also commonly called sweetened condensed milk) has sugar and is used for sweet recipes.
Can I Use Canned Biscuits For The Dumplings?
Yes, absolutely! If you don’t have the time to make the dumplings from scratch, you can use canned biscuits instead to make the dumplings. I recommend using 1 large can of buttermilk biscuits.
- Cut each biscuit into quarters (so each biscuit will become 4 dumplings).
- Add them to the crockpot, press them down with a spoon to have them covered in the sauce.
- Replace the crockpot lid and then turn the slow cooker to high and let the dumplings cook for 1 additional hour.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
You can store leftover chicken and dumplings in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I usually store the dumplings and chicken soup base separately. You don’t have to do this but the dumplings will soak up extra liquid if stores with the soup.
To reheat, spoon the amount you want to eat into a pot and reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat until warmed through. You can also reheat in the microwave. Spoon the chicken and dumplings into a bowl, cover with a plate, then reheat for about 3 minutes, stopping halfway to stir the soup.
Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1 cup matchstick carrots
- 1 cup diced celery
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 32 oz (1 quart ) chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper, or to taste
- salt, to taste
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
Dumplings:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon, baking powder
- 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
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Instructions
- Add chicken, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, chicken stock, thyme, pepper and salt to crockpot. Cook for 3 hours on high or 7 hours on low.
- If not already set to high, set crockpot to the high setting. Remove cooked chicken from crockpot, shred and return to crockpot.
- Make a slurry: Place cornstarch in a bowl and add 4 tablespoons evaporated milk, whisking until smooth. Stir the slurry into the soup, this will help to thicken the soup. Add any remaining evaporated milk to the soup and stir to combine.
- Dumplings: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, pepper, salt and thyme. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the milk and butter into the center of it.
- Using a wooden spoon (or rubber spatula), stir together until dough ball forms. If your dough seems too dry, you can add an extra tablespoon of milk.
- Using a medium sized cookie scoop, scoop dough and drop directly into the simmering soup. Place them around the pot, not all in the same place. Once all dumplings have been added, gently press them down so the soup runs over just the tops of them.
- Place a paper towel or two over the top of the crockpot and then place the lid on top. This will help to catch any condensation from falling on to the tops of your dumplings. Cook dumplings on high heat for one hour. Cut one dumpling in half to make sure they are cooked through. (Your dumplings will possibly bake together on top in your crockpot, if this happens, just gently break them apart into large chunks again with your spatula. They will still taste exactly the same!)
- If the dumplings are cooked through, serve hot and enjoy! If not, cook an additional 15 minutes and check again.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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This is a really good recipe for a family. My toddler actually ate it lol!! So thank you!! We will probably be adding this to our monthly or so meals:)
This is the second time making this recipe and I do love when the biscuits make a crust I usually flour the biscuits a little before adding to the soup so the don’t all stick together but I also use the canned biscuits cuz it’s quicker and easier. Also I leave out the thyme and onion and substitute the onion for onion powder because of texture issues with onion. Comes out delicious. Love this recipe
I really like this recipe! I love chicken and dumplings and this easy crockpot recipe makes it possible on busy weekdays! My only issue with it is the thyme. Way too much thyme! I read some of the comments and so I decreased the thyme to 1/2 tablespoon, and it’s still extremely overpowering. Maybe next time I will try 1 tsp!
I made this because I love chicken and dumplings, however, mine turned out more like chicken crock pie. Certainly not complaining the biscuit dough formed a beautiful crust over the top and I’m sticking with it.
I must try it
I made this today for Dinner. I didn’t have Thyme, Carrots, and celery. I substituted 1 tsp. of Italian Seasoning for thyme. and at the tail end of cooking, I added frozen peas and corn. My husband and kids loved it and ate seconds. I will cook this recipe again.
About how long do I cook the dumplings after adding? I want to have ready after church for company. Also, has anyone tried doubling the recipe?
1 hour after adding the dumplings. You can double the recipe, but will need to use two separate crockpots.
I also use half the time, and just sprinkle some pepper in. The dumplings taste better if added earlier cooked for longer. My favorite slow cooker recipe so far.
I was very disappointed in this dish. I LOVE chicken and dumplings, but this was just gross. Bad flavor and WAY too spicy. If you make this dish, I suggest using only half the black pepper it calls for and half the thyme.
I made this recipe today (added evaporated milk right before adding the dumplings, left out the thyme after reading all the comments) and I’m not sure where I went wrong…. The dumplings cooked together and made a crust at the top??
It was absolutely delicious and no one complained, but I have NO idea how to fix that next time
I make this at least once a month I have never had the milk curdle but I put broth with milk then add it to pot I make it with the dumplings and egg noodles everyone loves it
I also did not see the amendment for the evaporated milk and mine did curdle as well, but I just pulled the chicken out and whisked the soup base for a few minutes and it was fine after that. As far as the spices being too heavy in the recipe I disagree. I actually had to add more than was listed on the recipe. However, I generally always use a lot of pepper in my cooking. I had to switch from the fresh thyme to ground thyme because I couldn’t taste it with the fresh. I had to add an additional 1/3 cup of milk in the dumpling mixture to get it to mix completely. I cooked on low for 6 hours, made another slurry with a mix of corn starch, heavy cream and whole milk to thicken the soup as it was to thin for my liking, then bumped the crockpot to high before adding the dumplings. Definitely not my favorite chicken and dumplings, these are very different from the recipe I normally use, and I prefer the stove top cooking method. To be honest, I’m not sure that this is a recipe that saves time or is easier in the crockpot, it actually wouldn’t take much more time than it takes to prepare and cook the dumplings to just make the whole dish. But if the crockpot is your chosen method, this recipe is a solid base and then you can customize to your preferences.
The dumplings would be so good if not for the overpowering taste of thyme. Unfortunately I read some of the comments too late. I even used less than the recipe called for because it looked like a lot and it’s still too much.
First of all, the dumplings in this recipe are phenomenal and really easy to make. I’ve made this 3x’s. The first time, the Thyme (dried) was overpowering, as was the pepper. My milk curdled. So, the second time, I used half the amount of Thyme and added the milk right before I added the dumplings. The Thyme was still too overpowering and it was still way too peppery. 3rd time was the charm! I personally recommend NOT using THYME in this recipe. I don’t think
it’s a good addition to this dish (unless you really love Thyme, which I don’t). Here’s what I did, instead:
In the broth mix: I used a half Teaspoon of pepper, a full Teaspoon of garlic powder, a full Teaspoon of salt. Cooked on low for 5 hours (6 hrs. is too long in my crockpot). Then made the dumplings (omitting the Thyme entirely). I used a half Teaspoon of salt, half Teaspoon garlic powder, and just a few shakes of pepper to the flour for the dumplings. I turned crockpot to high and cooked an additional hour (for a total of 6 hours cooking time). I cooked frozen peas and added them at the end. It adds a pop of color. I changed nothing else about this recipe except for the spices, and it is reminiscent of chicken pot pie if you take out the Thyme. My family loved it!! Overall, this is a great recipe, but it just needed to be un-spiced up a bit, haha!!
I totally think this recipe is perfect. And. Personally without the thyme and pepper it’s bland. So. I even added a little poultry seasoning haha. My family said it was the best I ever made. So. Thank you for this perfect dumpling recipe for chicken and dumplings. It doesn’t taste like my Mema’s without the thyme. It makes the dish. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Did you leave the baking powder out of the biscuits?
Thanks, I too thought the thyme to be an odd taste. But know what to do next time!
I made this tonight. I suck at cooking for the most part but this was very easy and really delicious. I do wish recipes would put how much salt to add in, like even a ballpark. I got it right this time but I have no idea how much I used. I did the modification with the milk added in later. Did not have a problem with curdling. Kids and husband loved it and it is definitely bookmarked.
Quick question.. did you use a genuine crock pot? Or did you use an “InstaPot”? I ask, because my girlfriend said if you used an instapot then that could be why the milk curdled. Apparently those are known for curdling milk.
If you use the Slow Cooker setting on the Instant Pot I think it will work the same as a Crick Pot. Just my opinion.
Too much thyme
Made this last night and was very good. I added a little more vegetables but otherwise followed recipe as posted. My husband really loved it.
this was horrible. not only did the milk curdle, making it visually unappealing and unappetizing , but it was very bland. i added a lil salt and italian seasoning and it just got worse. i kept it on low to avoid the curdling, but it curdled anyways and the veggies were still hard after FIVE hours. to top off the nightmare, the biscuits were fully cooked on the top and in the middle but underneath where it sat in the soup they became a sludge of flour and gross soup. this is most likely to being cooked on low. ive used other similar recipes that came out perfect every time, i should have just used one of those instead of this one. NOVICE is right.
Quick question.. did you use a genuine crock pot? Or did you use an “InstaPot”? I ask, because my girlfriend said if you used an instapot then that could be why the milk curdled. Apparently those are known for curdling milk.
i was really excited to make this and prepared the soup part this morning to cook it up tomorrow. as i was reviewing the dumpling part of the recipe, i finally saw the note at the bottom about the evaporated milk. PLEASE amend the actual recipe to include the addition of the milk at the end. it was my mistake i didn’t see the note but an actual correction seems more appropriate than just a note for something like that. this is a large portion and the chicken breast is too expensive for it to be ruined, and now i’m worried the dish won’t come out right.
Did it come out right? Just curious. Did you use a crockpot? Or instapot?
I’m currently trying the recipe with the evaporated milk added at the end. I will update on how it turns out!
maybe make a change to the recipe in general about the evaporated milk I didn’t see until I was at the last steps… I read recipes while I do them… my milk curdled .. atleast next time I make this I’ll know