Chicken and Dumplings
A whole chicken simmered low and slow with celery, carrots, and onion until tender enough to fall off the bone, then topped with light, fluffy drop dumplings. The kind of Sunday dinner that fills the whole house with the best smell.
- 1 large broiler-fryer chicken, cut up
- 2 celery ribs, sliced
- 4 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 - 1 teaspoon pepper
- Water, to cover
- 2 cups flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup milk
- 4 tablespoons oil
- Combine the chicken, celery, carrots, onion, chicken broth, dried parsley, chicken bouillon granules, salt, and pepper in a large pan or Dutch oven. Add enough water to fully cover the chicken.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 2 hours, or until the chicken is fully cooked and tender enough to fall apart easily.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and let it stand until cool enough to handle.
- Remove the skin from the chicken and tear the meat away from the bones, discarding both the skin and bones.
- Return the shredded meat to the soup and bring it back to a simmer. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, milk, and oil for the dumplings, mixing well to form a stiff dough.
- Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls directly into the simmering soup.
- Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the dumplings are cooked through and no longer doughy in the center. Avoid lifting the lid too often during this step — dumplings steam as much as they simmer, and losing that trapped heat can leave the centers underdone.
- Serve immediately, while the dumplings are still light and hot.
Chef's Note: These are true drop dumplings — light, tender, and closer to a biscuit dough than a rolled noodle — and they only need one thing from you to turn out right: a stiff enough dough that a tablespoon dropped into the simmering broth holds its shape rather than dissolving into the soup. If your dough seems too wet to hold together on the spoon, a little extra flour, a tablespoon at a time, will fix it.
For a heavier, chewier dumpling in the Southern style, swap the dumpling ingredients above for 2 cups flour, 1 cup chicken broth, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and 2 beaten eggs, mixed into a stiff batter and dropped the same way. Both versions simmer for the same 15 to 20 minutes — it really just comes down to whether you prefer a lighter, fluffier dumpling or a denser, more substantial one.
A few tools that make this recipe easier to get right.
As an Amazon Associate, Salt & Simmer earns from qualifying purchases made through these links, at no extra cost to you.