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Creamy Homemade Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

Creamy Homemade Chicken and Dumplings

This classic Southern comfort food features tender chicken swimming in a rich broth with fluffy homemade dumplings. The recipe uses bone-in chicken for maximum flavor development and combines sour cream and cake flour for light, tender dumplings that melt in your mouth.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 450
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 lbs. bone-in skinless chicken breast or thighs
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 5 tablespoons butter
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced
  • 1 cup carrots, diced
  • 2 sticks celery, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce (Franks hot sauce)
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 4 ½ cups chicken broth
  • 1 chicken bouillon cube (optional)
  • 1 ½ cups half and half
  • ¾ cup frozen peas
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon dried basil
  • ½ teaspoon dried parsley
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
  • ½ teaspoon mustard powder
  • ¼ teaspoon ground sage
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 cups cake flour (or all-purpose flour)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • ¾ cup cold sour cream
  • ¼ cup cold milk
  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted

Equipment

  • Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot

Method
 

Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season chicken generously with salt and pepper. Sear chicken skin-side down for 5-7 minutes until golden brown, then remove from pot.
  2. Add butter to same pot and melt. Add diced onion, carrots, and celery, cooking for 5 minutes until softened. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
  3. Sprinkle flour over vegetables and stir constantly for 2 minutes. Slowly pour in chicken broth while whisking to prevent lumps.
  4. Add Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and chicken bouillon cube if using. Return seared chicken to pot, bring to simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes.
  5. While chicken cooks, prepare dumpling dough: Whisk together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, garlic powder, and sugar.
  6. Combine cold sour cream, cold milk, and melted butter. Make well in dry ingredients, pour in wet mixture, and stir gently until just combined.
  7. Remove cooked chicken from pot, shred or chop, and return to pot along with half and half and frozen peas.
  8. Bring soup back to gentle simmer. Drop tablespoon-sized portions of dumpling dough into simmering soup, spacing them out.
  9. Cover pot and cook dumplings for 15-20 minutes without peeking to let them steam and become light and fluffy.

Notes

Handling the dumpling dough as little as possible prevents toughness. Keep liquids cold for light dumplings. Don't overcrowd the pot when adding dumplings and don't lift the lid while steaming. For thicker broth, mix cornstarch with water and stir in at the end.