Soul Food Chicken and Dumplings 

This soul food chicken and dumplings recipe is the ultimate comfort food! Tender chicken in a creamy broth and from-scratch fluffy dumplings make this a satisfying, delicious, easy meal.

Hey, fam! Today, I’m sharing a recipe that defines comfort food – Southern homemade chicken and dumplings! Who doesn’t love chicken and dumplings?! Okay, I’ll admit, I actually didn’t care for this dish until I got older. It wasn’t until then that I experienced the real homemade thing. Sadly, I had only tried the canned and microwavable version until I moved out on my own.

I remember being on break at work, overhearing a coworker saying how much they were craving chicken and dumplings. I immediately turned my nose up because I couldn’t figure out who would crave such a horrible, bland dish?! After my shift, I went home and searched for Southern-style chicken and dumplings recipes and found hundreds of options. Over the next couple of weeks, I tried some of the best-sounding recipes, and I really liked some of them! I knew I had to put my own Cousin Rosie spin on the recipe to make it a family favorite. So, after playing around with this dish for many years, I’ve mastered my favorite homemade Southern chicken and dumplings recipe!

This soul food chicken and dumplings recipe is so full of flavor and super comforting – one of those meals that makes you want to snuggle on the couch and watch TV while you eat! So, snuggle in, cousins, and let me tell y’all how to make this comforting dish!

Ingredients for Soul Food Chicken and Dumplings

Now, it may seem like you need a lot of ingredients for this homemade chicken and dumplings recipe, but I assure you they are all simple ingredients! Below is a list of everything you need, as well as some helpful ingredient substitutions. Be sure to check out the recipe card for exact ingredient measurements.

• Chicken: I make a whole chicken for this recipe and use white and dark meat.
• Water or Chicken Broth: I cook my whole chicken in water, making my own chicken broth. However, you can also choose to use chicken stock or broth.
• Peas, Carrots, Onions: you can use fresh or frozen vegetables – whatever is easiest for you!
• Cream of Chicken Soup & Heavy Cream: these two ingredients help make the thick soup base extra creamy and delicious.
• Seasonings: this is a very hearty, well-seasoned recipe! I use garlic powder, seasoning salt, black pepper, and poultry seasoning throughout the dish.
• Self-Rising Flour: the base of the homemade dumplings.
• Buttermilk: pulls together the dumpling dough and gives it that light and fluffy texture.
• Butter: the final ingredient in the homemade dumplings makes them extra rich and buttery.

Simple Ingredient Substitutions for Homemade Chicken and Dumplings:

• If you don’t want to cook a whole chicken, use whatever chicken pieces you prefer! If you decide to cook only chicken breasts, cook them in chicken broth for 15-20 minutes. You could also use leftover chicken or store-bought rotisserie chicken for ease.
• Cream of chicken soup can be replaced with cream of celery or cream of mushroom soup.
• Watching your sodium? Swap out the seasoning salt with a salt-free seasoning. I love Mrs. Dash’s salt-free seasoning blend.
• Self-rising flour can be made by combining all-purpose flour with 2 tablespoons of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of salt.
• Make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to regular milk and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
• If you want to skip homemade dumplings, grab a can of biscuit dough for biscuit-style dumplings.
• The veggie blend I use isn’t the one you have to stick with! I use frozen peas and carrots because it’s easy, but you can use any mixture of veggies – peppers, onions, celery, green beans, and even corn would be delicious.

Soul Food Chicken and Dumplings Video Tutorial

Want to see how I make this Southern-style chicken and dumplings recipe from scratch? Watch my YouTube video below! Follow along step by step, and you’ll be amazed at just how easy this homemade comfort food recipe is. Be sure to subscribe to I Heart Recipes on YouTube to catch all my video updates.

How to Make Homemade Chicken and Dumplings 

Okay, cousins, let’s get down to the good stuff – how to make this tasty old-fashioned chicken and dumplings recipe. This creamy, hearty Southern comfort food isn’t anything like that bland Cracker Barrel dish y’all may have grown up on. My homemade chicken and dumplings are packed with flavor. Here’s how to make ‘em.

Step 1: Prepare the Chicken

First things first – get that chicken going! If you’re going my route, we make a whole chicken on the stovetop:

• Rinse and pat dry the chicken, then season with seasoning salt, pepper, garlic powder, and poultry seasoning.
• Place the chicken in a pot with at least 8 cups of water.
• Boil the chicken over medium-high heat for 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked to temperature. The thickest part of the chicken should be cooked to 165 degrees.
• Remove the chicken from the pot, but SAVE ALL THAT BROTH! Shred the chicken apart and set it aside.

If you’re using cooked chicken, shred the cooked rotisserie chicken and set it aside.

Step 2: Make the Creamy Soup Broth

Now it’s time to make the base of our chicken and dumplings – the soup! I like to strain the broth to remove any fat or other nasty bits left over from cooking the chicken. In my video tutorial, I skimmed the fat from the top of the broth while cooking. Either way, we want gunk-free broth!

• Place 8 cups of the strained broth in a large pot. Add more seasoning salt and garlic powder, then stir in the cream of chicken soup and heavy cream.
• Add the peas, carrots, onions, and shredded chicken to the soup.
• Place the pot on medium heat and bring the soup to a simmer while you prepare the dumplings.

Step 3: Make the Dumplings

This is my favorite part – the fluffy homemade dumplings! These dumplings are so soft and buttery; oh my goodness, fam! You’ll love them!

• In a medium mixing bowl, combine the self-rising flour and poultry seasoning.
• Add the room-temperature butter (not melted, just softened) and buttermilk. Mix the flour mixture until it comes together into a soft dough.
• Use a tablespoon or a small ice cream scoop to scoop dumpling dough balls and carefully drop them into the boiling broth. You want them to be a little smaller than ping-pong balls because they will puff up while cooking.
• Cook the dumplings for about 15 minutes or until done.

If you want to make flat dumplings instead of round dumpling balls, you can do so by rolling out the dumpling dough on a floured surface. Cut the dumplings into flat squares and place them into the broth.

How do you tell when dumplings are done cooking? 

The doughy dumplings will float to the top of the pot when they’re just about done cooking. After that, you can use a knife to cut into the dumpling. If it’s light and fluffy in the center, it’s done! If it’s still raw and doughy, give them a few more minutes to cook.

Your soup should have thickened up nicely after adding the dumplings. So now, the only thing to do is dish yourself up a nice big ol’ bowl of comforting chicken dumpling soup, snuggle up on the couch, and dig on in!

Quick Recipe Tips for Easy Southern Chicken and Dumplings

• If you wind up with tough dumplings, you probably overcooked them. Soak them in the creamy soup to loosen them up and they should be just fine.
• If you stir the dumplings while they cook, they’ll fall apart! Let them do their thing in the pot and very gently move them around with a wooden spoon or spatula if they stick together.
• Leftover chicken and dumplings will last 3-4 days when stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat leftovers in the microwave or on the stovetop.
• This comforting recipe doesn’t need much to make it a satisfying meal! Serve along with garlic bread or breadsticks for a simple side. If you want a fresh element, make a simple side salad.
• You can also make this with shredded turkey if you have that on hand! This is a great way to use up leftover turkey from a holiday meal.

That’s it, fam! A hearty, satisfying, comfort food meal. This old-fashioned chicken and dumplings recipe is perfect for Fall, so keep it around to try when the weather gets cold! The stick-to-your-bones soup, hearty dumplings, and tender chicken is the perfect remedy for just about anything.

If you tried this recipe, leave a comment below and let me know how you liked it!

More Comforting Soul Food Favorites from I Heart Recipes

• Southern Smothered Chicken Recipe
• Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuits
• Homemade Slow Cooker Chicken Stew
• Slow Cooker Smothered Roast
• Easy Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup

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