Description
Chicken and dumplings is the dish Southern grandmothers made when someone needed feeding — a thick, creamy chicken stew topped with pillowy biscuit dumplings that steam right on the surface. This is not refined cooking. It is warm, starchy, soul-deep comfort that turns a cold Tuesday into something bearable.
Ingredients
Units
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- 3 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 3 medium carrots, sliced into rounds
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Place the chicken thighs in a large Dutch oven and cover with the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and cook 25 minutes until cooked through. Remove the chicken, shred the meat, and discard skin and bones. Reserve the broth.
- Wipe the pot and melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots. Cook 6 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds.
- Sprinkle 1/3 cup flour over the vegetables and stir 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the reserved broth and milk. Add thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes until thickened.
- Return the shredded chicken to the pot. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Make the dumplings: whisk 2 cups flour, baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter or your fingers until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the buttermilk until just combined — do not overmix.
- Drop heaping tablespoons of dumpling dough onto the surface of the simmering stew, spacing them about an inch apart. Cover tightly and cook 15 minutes without lifting the lid — the steam is what cooks the tops of the dumplings.
- Remove the bay leaf, sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately.
Notes
- Do not lift the lid while the dumplings steam. Every peek releases steam and adds cooking time.
- Bone-in thighs produce a much richer broth than breasts — the bones and skin add body and flavor to the liquid.
- If the stew is too thick after adding the dumplings, stir in a splash of warm broth to loosen it.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Southern
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 480
- Sugar: 5
- Sodium: 820
- Fat: 20
- Carbohydrates: 38
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 35
- Cholesterol: 110