Chicken and dumplings recipe with cream of mushroom soup

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My family has been making this Chicken and Dumpling Soup for awhile now and all credit goes to my sister, Emily! My family loves this recipe and now my husband loves it too. It’s in my top 10 foods so that says a lot for the recipe!

When I was home recently I looked in my Mom’s copy of the cookbook that my sister discovered this keeper of a recipe, A Taste of the Country, and hand written in the cookbook it said “Yummy!” and again another note of “Emily made in ’98, Delicious!” My Mom has always written notes by recipes when we really liked a recipe and looking through the cookbooks at my Mom’s house always brings back the memories of the foods and the occasions we had a particular recipe for! I love cookbooks! I love food! I LOVE CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS!

This Chicken and Dumpling Soup recipe says it was submitted by Peggy Bremer of Minnesota in the A Taste of the Country cookbook. Peggy we thank you for this delicious soup that feeds my soul!

I love this soup when it is cold and snowy out. So today was the perfect day to make this recipe and because I am still trying out my new Dutch Oven! This recipe calls for peas but since my husband has an allergy to peas, I substitute green beans to add some more color and we really like the substitution. Feel free to try other vegetables in this soup and let me know what you find that works out well! This soup will feed a crowd with 10 servings and is delicious heated up the next day. My mouth is already watering thinking about tomorrow’s dinner of leftover.

Chicken and Dumpling Soup

Cook time

2 hours 30 mins

Total time

2 hours 50 mins

  • 1 fryer chicken, cut up (2½ to 3 pounds)
  • 6 cups cold water
  • 3 chicken bouillon cubes
  • 6 peppercorns
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1½ cup chopped carrots
  • ¼ cup chopped onions
  • 1 cup chopped potatoes
  • 1 cup frozen peas or green beans or both
  • 1 small bay leaf
  • Cooked chicken, cut in bite-sized pieces
  • Reserved chicken broth, strained
  • 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 1 egg, well beaten
  • 2 Tbsp melted butter
  • ⅔ cup milk

  1. Place the fryer chicken, water, bouillon, peppercorn, and cloves in a large pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is tender. About 1 to 1½ hours.
  2. Cool chicken slightly and cut into bite sized pieces and set aside.
  3. Strain and skim the chicken broth. Add the chicken broth back into the large pot and add cans of cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soups into pot.
  4. Add chopped celery, carrots, onions and potatoes, along with peas or green beans, bay leaf, seasoned salt and pepper into the soup pot.
  5. Put cover on kettle; simmer soup on low heat for 1 hour.
  6. About 30 minutes before serving mix up the feather dumplings. Mix the flour, salt, baking powder and pepper together. Add the egg, melted butter and milk to the dry ingredients. Mix until a stiff batter forms.
  7. Drop dumplings by Tablespoons into the boiling pot of soup. Cook the dumplings in the soup, covered and NO PEEKING for 18 to 20 minutes until the dumplings are done.

 

Chicken and dumplings recipe with cream of mushroom soup

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Jump to Recipe

Believe it or not making Chicken and Dumplings from Scratch is a whole lot easier than you might think! And who wouldn't want to cozy up to a bowl of creamy chicken and mushroom soup topped with a pillowy dumpling or two? This is comfort food at it's finest. 

Chicken and dumplings recipe with cream of mushroom soup

Chicken and Dumplings with Mushrooms

This recipe came to be one chilly fall evening while making a simple chicken and mushroom soup. All of the usual soup suspects when into the pot: onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Chopped chicken thighs (because I've been buying those lately and they are packed with flavor) and a whole lot of chicken stock. I finished it with a drizzle of coconut milk and tasted it. The soup was DELICIOUS and exactly what I was craving...minus one thing. This soup NEEDED dumplings. 

Chicken and dumplings recipe with cream of mushroom soup

Comfort Food Classic Recipes

When you think of comfort food classic recipes, what comes to mind? Growing up in Southern California, some of my comfort foods include Vietnamese Pho but Chicken and Dumplings, homemade Macaroni and Cheese and Chicken Pot Pie are at the top of my list! Which means it's about darn time I had a Chicken and Dumpling recipe here on the blog. Let's get started...

Chicken and dumplings recipe with cream of mushroom soup

Oh, how I love a good one pot recipe! This Chicken and Dumplings Recipe takes one BIG pot, a cutting board, and a bowl to mix the dumplings. Chop all of your veggies at once and throw them into a bowl for later. Do the same for your chicken thighs and toss those into the pot to brown with a good drizzle of olive oil. I love using chicken thighs for this recipe because they are so tender and flavorful in the soup. Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the pot and saute all of the veggies in the drippings. This makes the most flavorful and delicious base for the soup! 

Chicken and dumplings recipe with cream of mushroom soup

A sprinkling of flour cooked down into the veggies creates a roux to thicken your soup just slightly and later the dumplings will thicken it some more. TIP: Continue to season and taste along the way to make sure every step is full of flavor! After you add in your herbs, chicken and stock, the soup is just about ready. At this point you can chose to drizzle in coconut milk (like I did) or whole milk. When I originally made this soup I wasn't planning to add dumplings so I reached for a can of coconut milk. Even after the dumplings were added I loved the subtle coconut flavor so much that I kept it in the recipe. Sure, it's not traditional but it sure is delicious!

Chicken and dumplings recipe with cream of mushroom soup

Next it's time to make and add the dumplings! So what are dumplings? In the case of Chicken and Dumplings, they are simply a quick biscuit that's been simmered and steamed right in the pot of soup until fluffy and puffed. In other words, they are steamed, doughy bites of salty heaven on Earth. Are you hungry yet?

Chicken and dumplings recipe with cream of mushroom soup

How to Make Fluffy Dumplings

It's not difficult to make fluffy dumplings but there are a few tricks to make sure they stay together, don't fall apart in the soup, and puff up nice and fluffy. Trust me when I say, I've had my failed attempts! Here are my tips...

  1. Follow my recipe for dumplings at the end of this post, it's a fail safe recipe.
  2. Don't over mix your dumpling dough. Combine the ingredients one step at a time by lightly folding together with a fork.
  3. Form dumplings by hand being careful to not overwork them. Just scoop up mounds of dough and gather it loosely into balls.  
  4. Let your dumplings rest before dropping them into the soup! This allows air bubbles to form in the dough resulting in fluffier dumplings.
  5. Make sure your soup is set to a low simmer before dropping in the dumplings. Cover and allow them to gently simmer & steam. No peeking! 
  6. Serve immediately after the dumplings have puffed. Sitting in the soup can cause them to become gloopy and that is never delicious. 

Chicken and dumplings recipe with cream of mushroom soup

Of course, if you are gluten or dairy free you can ABSOLUTELY enjoy this soup without the dumplings, I promise, you will still enjoy it. However if you are ready for some down home comfort food dumplings, set aside the extra time to make them...and then invite me over for dinner. 

Chicken and dumplings recipe with cream of mushroom soup

Big chunks of tender chicken, carrots and meaty cremini mushrooms make this a hearty and delicious soup that the whole family will love! My twins loved the broth and veggies especially the carrots and mushrooms. I loved all of it. 

Chicken and dumplings recipe with cream of mushroom soup

This fall or winter, make a pot of this soup. It's comforting and creamy, hearty and warm. Packed with veggies and chicken and down right delicious. You really can't go wrong with this comfort food classic. 

Chicken and dumplings recipe with cream of mushroom soup

Ingredients

  • 3 carrots, cut into half moons
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 3 celery hearts, diced
  • 10 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced ( I use a bag)
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 pounds chicken thighs, cut into 1-2" cubes
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon dried crushed rosemary or 1 sprig of fresh (I prefer dried)
  • ¼ cup flour + more for the dumplings
  • 6 cups chicken stock
  • 1 cup coconut milk (full fat) you can also substitute whole milk
  • kosher salt and pepper
  • olive oil

Dumplings:

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 6 Tablespoons melted butter, I use salted
  • ¾ cup whole milk

Instructions

  1. Add a good drizzle of olive oil to at large stockpot and heat over medium-high. Season chicken thigh chunks with salt and pepper and add to the pot. Cook until golden on all sides, about 2-3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove chicken to a bowl and set aside.
  2. Add a drizzle more olive oil to the chicken drippings if needed and add in garlic, mushrooms, onion, carrots and celery. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Cook, stirring until veggies are tender, about 3-4 minutes.
  4. Add flour and cook, stirring until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
  5. Add in chicken stock, bay leaf, rosemary and cooked chicken thighs (juice and all), scraping bottom of the pan as you cook.
  6. Bring to a simmer.
  7. Stir in coconut milk until heated through. Taste again and season with salt and pepper if needed.
  8. Cover, reduce heat to low and make the dumplings!
  9. In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper.
  10. Drizzle in melted butter and gently incorporate using a fork.
  11. Slowly add in milk and mix with fork until just combined.
  12. Divide mixture into 6-8 large mounds and set aside for 5 minutes.
  13. Carefully drop rested dumplings into soup and cover with a lid.
  14. Let steam/simmer for 12-15 minutes until puffed.
  15. Serve immediately.

Chicken and dumplings recipe with cream of mushroom soup

Can I use cream of mushroom instead of cream of chicken?

Cream of Mushroom is a great stand in for cream of chicken, in a pinch. It doesn't have a very assertive flavor which allows it to mesh well with lots of different dishes. It's also a common pantry staple that many people have on hand.

How does Paula Deen make chicken and dumplings?

Ingredients.
4 quarts water..
1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed cream of celery or cream of chicken soup..
1 teaspoon Paula Deen's House Seasoning..
2 chicken bouillon cubes..
2 bay leaves..
1 large chopped onion..
3 ribs chopped celery..
1 2 1/2 lb chicken..

How do you make broth for chicken and dumplings thicker?

If you want to thicken the soup base on your chicken and dumplings, you'll need to do it BEFORE you add in your dumplings. Take about 1/3 cup of the liquids and place it into a bowl. Whisk 2 teaspoons of cornstarch into this liquid. Once the mixture is smooth, pour it back into the soup pot and stir in.

Do you put eggs in chicken and dumplings?

Ingredients.
1 (3 pound) whole chicken..
4 cubes chicken bouillon..
2 cups all-purpose flour..
4 eggs..
1 teaspoon salt..