Chicken
$1.13per plate
Prep
15 min
Chicken · Chicken and Dumplings
Chicken and Dumplings
Chicken and dumplings is old-fashioned comfort food, and it is one of the cheapest big dinners you can make: tender chicken and vegetables in a creamy broth topped with soft, fluffy dumplings dropped right into the pot. These are from-scratch drop dumplings, made with flour, baking powder, milk, and butter, so there is no jar, no biscuit can, and no mix, and it still feeds six for about a dollar fifty a plate. It is thicker and heartier than a brothy soup like our chicken gnocchi soup, and it is the stovetop cousin of our baked chicken pot pie, trading the crust for pillowy dumplings. It joins the rest of our cheap chicken recipes, price up front. See it with the rest of our soup recipes.
$1.46per plate
Estimated recipe total
$8.79 · serves 6
Cook
40 min
Total
1 hr
Serves
6
Recipe from Budget Plates · https://www.budgetplates.com/chicken-and-dumplings
Equipment
- Large pot
- Tight-fitting lid
Variations
- Stir in a handful of frozen peas or corn with the vegetables for extra color.
- Finish with chopped fresh parsley or a little black pepper before serving.
- Add a splash of heavy cream at the end for an even richer broth.
1 How to make it
1
Poach the chicken gently
Bring the chicken broth to a gentle simmer in a large pot and add the chicken breasts. Simmer softly, not a hard boil, for 12 to 15 minutes until cooked through to 165 F on an instant-read thermometer. A gentle simmer keeps the chicken tender and juicy; boiling it hard is what turns the meat tough and dry. Lift the chicken out onto a plate, then pour the broth into a bowl and set it aside; you will build the creamy base in the same pot and whisk the broth back in.
2
Shred the chicken
Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it into bite-size pieces with two forks. Shredding after it has poached, rather than dicing it raw, keeps every piece moist and lets it soak up the broth when it goes back in.
3
Build the creamy base without lumps
In the same pot, melt the butter and cook the onion, celery, and carrots for 6 to 7 minutes until softened. Sprinkle in the 1/3 cup of flour and stir for a minute or two to cook off the raw taste, then whisk in the reserved broth a little at a time so it stays smooth and lump-free. Stir in the milk and the thyme, salt, and pepper and bring it to a gentle simmer.
4
Thicken to a light gravy
Let the base simmer for a few minutes until it thickens to a light gravy, thick enough to coat a spoon but still loose and soupy, since the dumplings need liquid to steam in and will thicken the pot further as they cook. Stir the shredded chicken back in.
5
Mix the dumpling dough, do not overwork it
Whisk together the 2 cups flour, baking powder, and a half teaspoon of salt. Stir in the melted butter and the 3/4 cup milk just until a shaggy, lumpy dough comes together. Stop as soon as there are no dry patches; overmixing develops the gluten and gives you tough, dense dumplings instead of light, fluffy ones.
6
Drop the dumplings
Drop the dough by heaping tablespoons onto the surface of the simmering stew, spacing them apart since they puff as they cook. Keep them about that size; dumplings much bigger than a tablespoon are what end up raw and gummy in the center.
7
Cover and steam, lid closed
Cover the pot with a tight lid and simmer gently for 15 minutes without lifting the lid. The dumplings cook by steaming, so every time you open the lid you let the steam out and they turn dense and undercooked. Keep the heat at a gentle simmer, not a hard boil.
8
Test and rest
After 15 minutes, check a dumpling with a toothpick; it should come out clean and the dumpling should be puffed and cooked through. Let the pot rest off the heat for 5 minutes to settle, then serve. It thickens as it sits, so loosen leftovers with a splash of broth or milk when you reheat.
2 Cheaper ingredient swaps
- Rotisserie or leftover cooked chicken. Skip the poaching step and stir in about 3 cups of shredded cooked or rotisserie chicken with the shredded-chicken step. Use store-bought or homemade broth for the base.
- Chicken thighs for breast. Boneless skinless thighs are usually cheaper and stay especially tender. Poach them the same way; they may need a couple of extra minutes.
- Old-fashioned rolled dumplings. For flat Southern-style dumplings, roll the same dough thin, cut it into strips, and drop them into the simmering broth instead of spooning drop dumplings. They come out denser and noodle-like.
- Refrigerated biscuit shortcut. In a hurry, cut a can of refrigerated biscuits into quarters and simmer them in the broth in place of the from-scratch dumplings. It is faster but not as light as scratch dumplings.
3 Budget tips
- From-scratch drop dumplings are just flour, baking powder, milk, and butter, so they turn one pound of chicken into a filling dinner for six for pennies.
- Rotisserie or leftover chicken makes this faster and cheaper and uses up odds and ends instead of buying more meat.
- Bone-in chicken or thighs are cheaper than breast and make an even richer broth if you have the time.
- A few cups of broth stretch the whole pot, so you can feed more people from the same batch without adding much cost.
- See more recipes priced per serving in the Budget Plates Index.
4 Storage, freezing & reheating
Fridge
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The dumplings keep soaking up broth, so the pot thickens in the fridge and needs loosening when you reheat.
Freezer
Chicken and dumplings is best fresh, because cooked dumplings turn soft and soggy once frozen and thawed. If you want to make it ahead, freeze the chicken-and-broth base without the dumplings for up to 3 months, then reheat it and cook fresh dumplings on top.
Reheating
Reheat gently over low heat, stirring in a splash of broth or milk to loosen it back up, since the dumplings thicken the pot as it sits. Do not boil it hard, which can break the creamy broth and toughen the dumplings.
5 Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
420
Protein
26g
Fat
14g
Carbs
50g
Estimates per serving, calculated from standard ingredient data. Not a substitute for medical advice.
6 Frequently asked questions
What kind of dumplings are these?
These are soft, fluffy drop dumplings made from scratch with flour, baking powder, milk, and butter, spooned right onto the stew and steamed. They are different from flat, rolled Southern-style dumplings and from canned-biscuit shortcuts, both of which you can use as variations.
Why are my dumplings gummy or raw in the middle?
Usually they were made too big, the lid was lifted while they cooked, or the heat was too high. Keep them about a tablespoon each, keep the lid closed so they steam, and hold a gentle simmer for the full 15 minutes.
Can I use rotisserie or leftover chicken?
Yes. Skip the poaching step and stir in about 3 cups of shredded cooked chicken when you add the chicken back to the base. It makes this a fast weeknight dinner and a great way to use up leftovers.
How is $1.46 a plate figured?
About $8.79 for the whole pot, six servings, so roughly $1.46 each. The chicken is most of the cost; the dumplings, broth, and vegetables are cheap. A salad or bread to serve is figured separately.
Helpful Tools for This Recipe
As an Amazon Associate, Budget Plates may earn from qualifying purchases.
- 12-inch nonstick skillet. A wide nonstick skillet browns ground meat, fries rice, and builds a one-pan sauce with less oil and easier cleanup. Best for everyday stovetop dinners like skillet meals, fried rice, pasta sauces, and patties.
- Cast iron skillet. Cast iron holds heat for a deep sear and moves from stovetop to oven, and it lasts for decades with basic care. Best for searing chops and chicken, and recipes that start on the stove and finish in the oven.
- Chef's knife. One sharp chef's knife handles almost all the chopping, from onions to chicken, and replaces a drawer of gadgets. Best for all-purpose prep in essentially every recipe on the site.
- Cutting board. A large, stable cutting board makes prep faster and safer, which matters when you cook most nights. Best for everyday chopping of onion, garlic, and vegetables across nearly every recipe.
This recipe also belongs to our Easy Family Dinner Recipes collection and our American Comfort Classics collection.
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