Six sisters instant pot chicken and dumplings

Make this Satisfying Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings Recipe (Pressure Cooker Chicken and Dumplings). Savor this classic hearty comfort food with tender chicken and fluffy homemade dumplings in soul-satisfying chicken broth. All-time family favorite!

Jump to: Recipe | Step by Step Photo Guide

We’ve been experimenting with various Instant Pot Chicken Recipes, and Instant Pot Chicken & Dumplings has got to be one of the most requested recipes from our foodie readers.

So, here we go! Excited to present our final tweaked version to you!!

We invited some friends over to enjoy our big hearty pot of yummy chicken and dumplings.

And they adored those little homemade dough swimming in the sea of chicken deliciousness. To maintain peace & order, we had to fish for the dumplings and made sure everyone had their fair share. 😛

Perfectly light & fluffy with slight firm & spongy core. Love how it was soaked with fragrance & packed with flavors. So filling & satisfying to eat!!

Six sisters instant pot chicken and dumplings

Instant Pot Dumplings Experiment

Some of you may normally make dumplings with Bisquick biscuit dough or canned biscuits, but hey! Try to make your own dumplings from scratch – it’s easy & tasty! Plus, you can probably find the few ingredients in your kitchen. 🙂

Six sisters instant pot chicken and dumplings

We tested cooking the homemade dumplings with 2 methods:

Test #1: Pressure Cooked with Chicken Soup (Left Photo)

Result: light & fluffy outer layer, moist, more flavorful (with more aromatics & flavors soaked into the dough) with denser core than being simmered

Test #2: Simmered in Chicken Soup (Right Photo)

Result: light & fluffy, soft, moist, slightly gooey, slightly dense core

Conclusion: We personally enjoy Test #1‘s dumplings better because it has better mouthfeel texture & greater overall flavors & aroma.

Time for cooking Chicken and Dumplings in Instant Pot!

Six sisters instant pot chicken and dumplings

  • 8 (2.5 pounds or 1135g) bone-in chicken thighs
  • 5 cups (1250ml) unsalted chicken stock
  • 1 tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter or olive oil
  • 1 (380g) large russet potato , bite-size chunks
  • 3 (379g) medium carrots , chopped
  • 2 (170g) celery ribs , chopped
  • 1 (209g) large onion , chopped
  • 3 cloves (11g) garlic , minced
  • 2 bay leaf
  • A pinch dried thyme
  • ½ cup (62.5g) all-purpose flour
  • ½ - 1 cup (60 - 120g) frozen green peas
  • Kosher salt & Ground black pepper
  • Fish sauce or Salt for seasoning

Optional Garnish

  • Fresh flat-leaf parsley , finely chopped
  • Heavy cream (2 tablespoons per bowl)

Dumplings (can substitute w/store-bought dough)

  • 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon (12g) baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon (5g) salt
  • ¾ cup (188ml) milk
  • 2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter , melted
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) olive oil
  • Fresh parsley or chives (optional) , finely chopped

Share this Recipe so We can create more yummy recipes for you.  Thank you 🙂

  • Brown Chicken Thighs:

    Heat up Instant Pot using Sauté More function. Wait until it says HOT. This prevents chicken thighs from sticking to the pot.

    Make Dumplings Dough: While Instant Pot is preheating, mix 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour and 1 tbsp (12g) baking powder (NOT Baking Soda). In a separate container, mix 3/4 cup (188ml) warm milk, 1 tsp (5g) salt, 1 tbsp (15ml) olive oil, and 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter. Pour milk mixture into the flour mixture. Mix well to form a batter. Do not overmix.

    Pat-dry chicken thighs and season skin side with kosher salt & black pepper. Add 1 tbsp (15g) unsalted butter to Instant Pot, ensure the whole bottom is coated with butter. 

    Add 4 chicken thighs (skin side) in Instant Pot and brown for 3.5 minutes. Season the other side with kosher salt & black pepper. Then, flip and brown for 2 minutes. Set aside and repeat for remaining chicken thighs.

  • Saute Onions, Garlic, & Veggies: Add chopped onions, season with a pinch of Kosher salt & black pepper. Saute onions for roughly 2.5 minutes. Add minced garlic cloves and saute for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add chopped carrots & celery, then saute for 2 minutes. Add 2 bay leaves + a pinch of dried thyme, then let it cook for a minute until fragrant.

  • Deglaze: Pour in 1 cup (250ml) unsalted chicken stock and deglaze by scrubbing all the brown bits off the bottom of the pot. Give it a quick mix.

  • Pressure Cook Chicken and Dumplings: Add potato chunks, 4 cups (1000ml) unsalted chicken stock, browned chicken thighs + all meat juice.Drop dumplings on top with a teaspoon (they'll double in size after pressure cooking). With Venting Knob at Venting Position, close the lid and turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position. 

    Pressure cook at High Pressure for 3 minutes + Natural Release for 15 minutes. Then, Gradual Release (turn Venting Knob just enough to release pressure slowly) until Floating Valve drops. (See photo below for reference)

  • Shred Chicken Thighs: Set aside dumplings. In a large bowl, shred chicken and discard the skin & bones.

  • Thicken Chicken and Dumplings: Bring the soup to a simmer. Add in 1/2 - 1 cup (60 - 120g) frozen green peas. Stir and break some of the potatoes to thicken soup. In a mixing bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup (62.5g) all-purpose flour and a few ladles of soup until the flour fully dissolves. Thicken the chicken and dumplings soup to the desired thickness by mixing in the flour mixture one third at a time.

  • Season & Serve: Return shredded chicken and dumplings to pot. Taste and season with fish sauce or salt. Mix well and serve with finely chopped parsley and heavy cream if desired.

Baking Powder: Double-check you're using Baking Powder, NOT Baking Soda for this recipe.

Chopped Onions: We diced half of the onions and sliced remaining onions for better texture. 

*Rate Recipe: If you've tried the recipe, don't forget to Rate the Recipe in the Comments Section. Thank you!

Calories: 578kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 131mg | Sodium: 496mg | Potassium: 1071mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 8330IU | Vitamin C: 11.6mg | Calcium: 152mg | Iron: 3.9mg

Step-by-Step Guide: Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings

Six sisters instant pot chicken and dumplings

Prepare Ingredients for Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings.

Six sisters instant pot chicken and dumplings

1

Brown Chicken Thighs


Heat up Instant Pot using Sauté More function.

Six sisters instant pot chicken and dumplings

*Tip: For older version, press “Saute” button, then “Adjust” button. For newer version, press “Saute” button twice.

Wait until it says HOT (takes roughly 8 minutes). This prevents chicken thighs from sticking to the pot.

While Instant Pot is preheating, mix 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour and 1 tbsp (12g) baking powder in a large mixing bowl.

*Note: Double-check you’re using Baking Powder, NOT Baking Soda for this recipe.

In a separate container, mix 3/4 cup (188ml) warm milk, 1 tsp (5g) salt, 1 tbsp (15ml) olive oil, and 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter together.

Six sisters instant pot chicken and dumplings

Pour milk mixture into the flour mixture. Mix well to form a batter. Do not overmix.

*Tip: You can skip the above steps for making dumplings if you’re using store-bought dough.

Pat-dry chicken thighs with paper towels and season the skin side with kosher salt and black pepper.

Add 1 tbsp (15g) unsalted butter to Instant Pot, then ensure the whole bottom is coated with butter.

Six sisters instant pot chicken and dumplings

Place 4 chicken thighs (skin side) in Instant Pot and brown for 3.5 minutes.

Season the other side with kosher salt & black pepper. Then, flip and brown for 2 minutes.

Six sisters instant pot chicken and dumplings

This is the color you are looking for. Set aside the browned chicken thighs and repeat for remaining chicken thighs.

2

Saute Onions, Garlic, & Veggies


Six sisters instant pot chicken and dumplings

Add chopped onions, season with a pinch of Kosher salt & ground black pepper. Saute onions for roughly 2.5 minutes.

*Pro Tip: We diced half of the onions and sliced the other half for better texture.

Add minced garlic cloves and saute for another 30 seconds until fragrant.

Six sisters instant pot chicken and dumplings

Add chopped carrots & celery to Instant Pot and saute for another 2 minutes.

Add 2 bay leaves and a pinch of dried thyme and let it cook for roughly a minute until the fragrance release from the spices.

3

Deglaze Instant Pot


Six sisters instant pot chicken and dumplings

Pour in 1 cup (250ml) unsalted chicken stock and deglaze by scrubbing all the flavorful brown bits off the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Give it a quick mix.

4

Pressure Cook Chicken and Dumplings


Add potato chunks, 4 cups (1000ml) unsalted chicken stock, 8 browned bone-in chicken thighs in Instant Pot. Don’t forget the meat juice from the browned chicken thighs!

Six sisters instant pot chicken and dumplings

Drop the dumplings on top with a teaspoon. They will double or triple in size after pressure cooking 🙂

With Venting Knob at Venting Position, close the lid and turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position.

Six sisters instant pot chicken and dumplings

  • Pressure Cooking Method: Pressure cook at High Pressure for 3 minutes + Natural Release for 15 minutes

After 15 minutes, do a Gradual Release by turning Venting Knob just enough to slowly release pressure.

Six sisters instant pot chicken and dumplings

If you don’t want to keep your hands at the Venting Knob as you do a Gradual Pressure Release, you can use a wooden spoon to hold the Venting Knob (as shown in above photo).

When the Floating Valve drops, turn Venting Knob fully to Venting Position and open the lid carefully.

5

Shred Instant Pot Chicken Thighs


Six sisters instant pot chicken and dumplings

Carefully set aside the dumplings.

Six sisters instant pot chicken and dumplings

In a large bowl, shred the chicken meat and discard the skins & bones.

Six sisters instant pot chicken and dumplings

6

Thicken Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings


Bring the soup to a simmer by pressing Cancel button, then Sauté button. Add in 1/2 – 1 cup (60 – 120g) frozen green peas.

Six sisters instant pot chicken and dumplings

Stir and break some of the potatoes to thicken the soup. In a mixing bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup (62.5g) all-purpose flour and a few ladles of soup until the flour is well dissolved.

Six sisters instant pot chicken and dumplings

Thicken the chicken and dumpling soup to the desired thickness by mixing in the flour mixture one third at a time.

7

Seasoning & Serve Chicken and Dumplings


Return shredded chicken and dumplings to pot. Taste and season with fish sauce or salt.

Mix well and serve with finely chopped parsley and heavy cream if desired.

Six sisters instant pot chicken and dumplings

Enjoy your Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings!~ 🙂

Some Useful Tips & Resources

50+ Instant Pot Recipes

All Our Pressure Cooker Recipes

*Disclosure: We are an Amazon Influencer/Amazon Associate. This means that if you decide to purchase items or services on Amazon through our links on Pressure Cook Recipes to Amazon, Amazon will send a small commission to us at no additional costs to you. Thank you!