Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings (Creamy, Cozy, Hands Off)

Chicken and dumplings is the kind of dinner that makes a chilly evening feel taken care of. Tender shredded chicken, sweet carrots and celery, a creamy broth and soft dumplings that soak up everything around them.

The slow cooker version asks very little of you. The chicken and vegetables simmer for hours while you are at work or out running errands, and the dumplings steam right on top in the last hour.

There is no canned soup here and no shortcut biscuit dough. A quick from scratch drop dumpling takes five minutes to mix and turns out lighter and more flavorful than anything from a tube.

Why this recipe works

A few small decisions make the difference between soupy, bland chicken and dumplings and a bowl you want seconds of.

• Boneless skinless chicken thighs stay juicy through a long cook and shred into soft, meaty pieces instead of dry strings.
• The broth is thickened at the end with a flour and butter paste, so it turns silky instead of gluey and never scorches on the bottom.
• Dumplings go on top of a bubbling, fully cooked base, which means they steam evenly and come out fluffy all the way through.
• Frozen peas and fresh herbs are stirred in at the very end so they keep their color and bright flavor.
• Everything happens in one pot, so cleanup is a single insert and a mixing bowl.

Ingredients you’ll need

The full measured list lives in the recipe card below. These are the ingredients that matter most and why.

Chicken thighs. Boneless skinless thighs have enough fat to stay tender through six or seven hours on LOW. Breasts work, but they need less time and are easier to overcook.

Onion, carrots and celery. The classic trio gives the broth its sweet, savory base. Cut the carrots a little thicker than the celery so they finish at the same time.

Chicken broth. Use a low sodium broth so you can control the salt. The dumplings and the vegetables both pull seasoning out of the liquid, so you will adjust at the end.

Butter and flour. Mashed together into a paste and whisked into the hot broth, these thicken the base into a light gravy without lumps.

Heavy cream. Half a cup at the end gives the broth that creamy, old fashioned richness. It goes in before the dumplings so it has time to warm through.

Dumpling dough. Flour, baking powder, salt, cold butter and milk. That is all. A little chopped parsley or chives folded in is optional but pretty.

Ingredient notes and smart substitutions

Chicken

Swap 2 lb of thighs for 2 lb of boneless skinless breasts, but reduce the base cook time to 5 hours on LOW or 2 1/2 hours on HIGH. Check that the thickest piece reads 165°F before shredding. Bone in thighs also work if you remove the skin first and pull the bones out before adding dumplings.

Broth

Homemade stock is wonderful here if you have it frozen. If your broth is fully salted rather than low sodium, cut the added salt in the base to 1/2 tsp and season to taste at the end.

Heavy cream

Half and half works in the same amount for a slightly lighter broth. Whole milk is fine too, but stir it in gently and do not let the cooker sit on HIGH for long after, or it may look slightly grainy. Evaporated milk gives a similar richness without dairy fat separating.

Flour for the dumplings

All purpose flour is the standard. If you have self rising flour, use 2 cups of it and leave out the baking powder and salt in the dumpling dough. For a gluten free version, use a cup for cup blend and add 1/2 tsp xanthan gum if the blend does not already include it. The dumplings will be a little denser but still good.

Vegetables

Frozen mixed vegetables can stand in for the fresh carrots and celery in a pinch. Add them in the last hour along with the dumplings rather than at the start so they do not turn to mush. Mushrooms, parsnips or a diced potato are all welcome additions.

How to make it

1. Layer the base

Scatter the diced onion, carrots, celery and garlic in the bottom of a 6 quart slow cooker. Lay the chicken thighs on top in a single layer and season them with salt, pepper, dried thyme and a bay leaf. Pour in the broth.

Make sure the chicken is fully thawed before it goes in. Frozen chicken keeps the whole pot in the unsafe temperature zone for too long and throws off the timing.

2. Cook low and slow

Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours. Leave the lid alone. Every time you lift it, heat escapes and you add 15 to 20 minutes to the cook time.

3. Shred and thicken

Transfer the chicken to a plate and shred it with two forks. Discard the bay leaf. Mash the softened butter and flour together with a fork until smooth, then whisk the paste into the hot broth a spoonful at a time until it dissolves.

Stir in the cream and the shredded chicken. Taste the broth and add salt and pepper now, before the dumplings go in, because you will not be able to stir after that.

4. Mix the dumplings

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Cut in the cold butter with your fingers until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs, then stir in the milk just until a soft, shaggy dough forms. Do not overwork it. Lumpy dough makes light dumplings.

5. Drop and steam

Turn the cooker to HIGH. Drop the dough by heaping tablespoons onto the surface of the stew, leaving a little space between each one. Cover and cook for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours, until the dumplings are puffed and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean.

Resist peeking for the first 45 minutes. The dumplings need trapped steam to rise.

6. Finish and serve

Stir the frozen peas gently around the dumplings and let them sit for 5 minutes with the lid on. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve hot in wide bowls.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Gummy dumplings. The dough was overmixed, or the lid came off too early and the steam escaped. Stir the dough just until it comes together and keep the lid closed for at least 45 minutes.

Dumplings that are raw in the middle. They were dropped too large or the broth was not hot enough. Keep them to a heaping tablespoon each and make sure the cooker is on HIGH and bubbling at the edges before you add them.

Thin, watery broth. The flour paste needs a few minutes on HIGH to thicken. If it still looks thin after 10 minutes, whisk 1 tbsp cornstarch with 2 tbsp cold water and stir it in.

Dry, stringy chicken. This usually means breasts were cooked as long as thighs. Stick to thighs for a long cook, or pull breasts early at 165°F.

Bland flavor. Salt is the fix nine times out of ten. Taste the broth after the cream goes in and adjust generously. A squeeze of lemon also wakes everything up.

Timing and make ahead plan

Chop the onion, carrots and celery the night before and store them in a container in the fridge. In the morning, tip them into the cooker, add the chicken and broth, and turn it on. That takes about five minutes.

If you set the cooker on LOW at 8 a.m., the base is ready around 2 or 3 p.m. Most cookers switch to WARM automatically. The base holds well on WARM for up to 2 hours, then you switch to HIGH, thicken and add dumplings when you are about 90 minutes from dinner.

The dry ingredients for the dumplings can be whisked together and kept in a zip top bag for days. Cut in the butter and add the milk right before dropping them in.

For a weekend, start on HIGH at noon and you will be eating by 5:30 p.m. with time to spare.

Tips for the best slow cooker chicken and dumplings

Cut the dumpling dough with a spoon dipped in cold water. The dough slides right off and the dumplings hold a nicer shape.

Keep the dumplings small. A heaping tablespoon looks tiny going in, but they roughly double in size as they steam.

Use a 6 quart oval cooker if you have one. The wider surface gives the dumplings more room and they cook more evenly than in a tall round pot.

Add the cream before the dumplings, not after. Stirring cream into the finished pot means breaking up the dumplings.

Variations

Herbed dumplings. Fold 2 tbsp chopped chives, parsley or dill into the dry ingredients before adding the milk.

Cheddar dumplings. Stir 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar and a pinch of black pepper into the dough.

Cornmeal dumplings. Replace 1/2 cup of the flour with fine yellow cornmeal for a slightly sweet, sturdier dumpling.

Extra vegetables. Add 8 oz sliced mushrooms or 2 diced Yukon Gold potatoes to the base at the start.

Lighter version. Skip the cream and thicken with the flour paste alone. The broth will be more like a light stew than a chowder.

Equipment that makes this easier

A 6 quart slow cooker is the right size for this recipe. A 4 quart works if you cut the recipe by a third, but the dumplings will be crowded.

An instant read thermometer takes the guesswork out of the chicken. You want 165°F in the thickest piece.

A small cookie scoop or two soup spoons make dropping the dumplings fast and even.

Two forks, or a pair of meat claws, make quick work of shredding the chicken while it is still hot.

Scaling up or down

To halve the recipe, use a 4 quart cooker and keep the times the same. The vegetables and chicken will still need the full cook to turn tender.

Doubling is tricky in a slow cooker because the dumplings need surface area. If you have an 8 quart oval cooker, you can increase the base by half and make the full dumpling batch. Do not stack dumplings on top of each other.

For a crowd, make two cookers rather than one overfilled pot. Never fill a slow cooker more than two thirds full or it will not come up to a safe temperature in a reasonable time.

What to serve with it

This is a complete meal, so keep the sides simple. A crisp green salad with a sharp vinaigrette cuts through the richness.

If you want something warm alongside, the roasted vegetables in our fall side dishes roundup are an easy pick. For another hands off chicken dinner, try the slow cooker chicken and rice, or go all in on comfort with homemade chicken pot pie on a weekend.

How to store, freeze and reheat

Cool leftovers within 2 hours and refrigerate in a covered container for up to 4 days. The dumplings will soak up broth overnight and turn softer, which many people consider the best part.

To freeze, portion the base without the dumplings into freezer containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Dumplings do not freeze well, so make a fresh half batch when you reheat.

Reheat on the stovetop over medium low heat, adding a splash of broth or milk to loosen the sauce. Bring leftovers to 165°F before serving. Microwave individual portions covered, stirring halfway through.

To reheat a frozen base, thaw it overnight in the fridge, bring it to a simmer in a pot, and drop fresh dumpling dough on top. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Leftover ideas

Thin the leftover base with extra broth and you have a creamy chicken soup. Add cooked egg noodles or rice.

Spoon the chicken and vegetables into a baking dish, top with biscuit dough or puff pastry, and bake at 400°F until golden for a quick pot pie.

Reheat a portion and serve it over a split baked potato or a pile of mashed potatoes for a heavier meal.

Nutrition notes

A serving with dumplings lands somewhere around 480 to 560 calories, with roughly 30 grams of protein. That number varies with the cut of chicken, the type of broth and how much cream you use.

Swapping in half and half and skipping the butter in the dumplings trims about 80 calories per serving. This is comfort food, so enjoy it as such and pair it with a big salad if you want balance.

Every ingredient is naturally free of nuts and eggs, which makes it an easy choice for many allergy conscious households. Check your broth label if you need it gluten free and use the flour swap above.

Frequently asked questions

Can you put raw chicken in a slow cooker?

Yes. Raw chicken is safe in a slow cooker as long as it is fully thawed and the cooker runs for the full time so the meat reaches 165°F. Never start with frozen chicken, because it keeps the pot in the danger zone too long.

Why are my slow cooker dumplings gummy?

Gummy dumplings usually come from overmixed dough or from lifting the lid too early. Stir the dough just until it comes together and keep the lid on for at least 45 minutes so the steam can cook them through.

Can I use canned biscuits for the dumplings?

You can. Cut each refrigerated biscuit into quarters and drop the pieces on top of the hot stew. Cook on HIGH for about 1 hour with the lid on. The texture is denser than from scratch drop dumplings but still tasty.

How long do chicken and dumplings take in a slow cooker?

The chicken base takes 6 to 7 hours on LOW or 3 to 4 hours on HIGH. The dumplings then need 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours on HIGH. Plan on about 7 1/2 hours total on LOW or 5 hours on HIGH.

Can I make chicken and dumplings without cream?

Yes. Thicken the broth with the butter and flour paste alone and skip the cream. The result is closer to a light stew than a chowder. Half and half or evaporated milk also work as lighter swaps.