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The epitome of comfort food, these Southern chicken and dumplings are so satisfying and delicious!
Rich, savory chicken broth laden with colorful veggies and flavorful chicken. Add to that fluffy dumplings that melt in your mouth - pure deliciousness!
Full of flavor and so hearty! The dumplings are the last step in this recipe and are simply made from biscuit dough dropped by small spoonfuls into the hot soup mixture once everything is done.
The simmering broth cooks the dumplings to where they are moist on the outside and fluffy with a slight doughiness on the inside - the perfect dumpling, in my opinion!
What You'll Need
2 Tbsp olive oil, butter, or bacon fat
¼ cup sweet red pepper
½ cup chopped parsley
1 Tbsp garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbsp dry basil, crumbled
8 cups chicken broth
1 large carrot, sliced about ½ cup
½ cup fresh or frozen peas
2 cups cooked chicken or turkey, in small pieces
½ tsp salt, more to taste
ground black pepper to taste
Homemade Broth
Simply remove the leftover chicken from the bones and simmer all the bones, cartilage, and skin along with the wonderful gelatinized broth that sits on the bottom of the roasting pan.
Add all this to a large pot and cover with water. Simmer for at least an hour (the longer the better).
This makes THE BEST BROTH in the world - much better than store bought.
Homemade will just take the flavor and nutrition up a notch!
How to Make Southern Chicken and Dumplings
This recipe is great for making after you have had a dinner of roasted chicken or turkey, using up the leftovers.
It's also great using a rotisserie chicken that's already cooked.
You can make the broth from the chicken or turkey carcass (as above). However, if you're short on time, you can use store-bought chicken stock or broth.
Whether you use homemade broth or store bought, you will end up with a delicious, satisfying pot of chicken and dumplings.
Basically, you will be making a brothy chicken soup that once cooked you will drop the dumplings into.
While the soup cooks and the flavors meld, you will make the dumplings.
These dumplings utilize biscuit dough. As a result, you will get fluffy biscuit dumplings instead of the noodle type dumpling that is commonly seen.
(I personally prefer fluffy biscuit dumplings over the noodle type.)
Once your soup is cooked and your dough is ready, you will bring the soup to a light boil over medium heat.
Next, you will drop the dough by small spoonfuls into the broth. Do this slowly, and try to space your dumplings apart so you don't end up with large blobs.
You want small biscuit balls that are moist on the outside from the broth, yet fluffy and only very slightly doughy on the inside.
By making them small (about 1 inch across), you will better ensure the dumplings cook through instead of remaining doughy.
Thanks to my wonderful Mom who taught me how to make so many home-cooked dishes, including this amazing Southern chicken and dumplings recipe!
I hope you and your family love it! Let me know in the comments below. Also, let me know whether you used chicken or turkey in the recipe.
Southern Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
Chicken Soup
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, butter, or bacon fat
- ¼ cup sweet red pepper
- ½ cup chopped parsley
- 1 Tbsp garlic, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp dry basil, crumbled
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 large carrot, sliced about ½ cup
- ½ cup fresh or frozen peas
- 2 cups cooked chicken, in small pieces
- ½ tsp salt, more to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Dumpling Dough
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ cup butter, cut in small pieces
- 1 cup milk
Instructions
- In large skillet, add first 5 ingredients. Heat to medium, stirring frequently until veggies are tender (about 5 minutes).
- Add chicken broth, carrots, and peas and bring to a boil.
- Turn down heat to medium and add chicken pieces, salt, and pepper.
- Cover and cook on medium heat until carrots are tender (15-20 minutes)
- While soup is cooking, prepare dumplings.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add butter in smallish pieces.
- With your hands (or a pastry blender), combine flour mixture and butter until butter is pea sized and mixture is crumbly.
- Pour in milk and combine with a wooden spoon until well incorporated, taking care not to over mix.
- Drop dumplings by small spoonfuls into simmering broth, adding a dumpling to each empty spot. Keep dropping and lightly stirring to move dumplings around as they cook to make room for more.
- Once all dough is added, cook approximately 15-20 minutes, gently turning dumplings until they are floating and fluffy on the outside. Note: They will still be a bit doughy inside while done on the outside.
Serve immediately!
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