Print

Print Recipe

A creamy, comforting one-pot dish featuring tender shredded chicken and big, fluffy homemade drop dumplings in a rich broth made with evaporated milk, ready in under an hour and serving 6 people.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup diced yellow onion
  • 1 cup matchstick carrots
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk or half and half
  • 1 (32 oz) quart chicken stock (+1 extra cup broth if using raw chicken)
  • 4 cups shredded cooked chicken or 1.5 lbs raw skinless chicken breasts or thighs
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme (optional)
  • 2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper, or to taste
  • Salt, to taste
  • Dumplings: 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme (optional)
  • 3/4 cup (6 oz) whole milk
  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted

Instructions

  1. Melt butter in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add diced onion, carrots, and celery; cook about 5 minutes until softened. Add minced garlic and cook 1 minute more.
  2. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly to avoid burning.
  3. Slowly add evaporated milk and chicken stock while stirring until smooth and lump-free.
  4. If using raw chicken: add 1 extra cup chicken broth or water, add raw chicken to pot, simmer gently until cooked through (about 20 minutes). Remove and shred chicken, return shredded chicken to pot, reduce heat to low and keep soup simmering.
  5. If using cooked chicken: bring soup to a boil, stir in shredded chicken, thyme, black pepper, and salt. Lower heat to a gentle simmer and keep uncovered.
  6. In a medium bowl, whisk together dumpling flour, baking powder, black pepper, salt, and thyme. Make a well and pour in milk and melted butter.
  7. Stir dumpling mixture gently with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until a soft dough forms, adding up to 1 tablespoon more milk if dry. Do not overmix.
  8. Using a medium cookie scoop or two spoons, drop dollops of dumpling dough into simmering soup, spacing them evenly. Gently press dumplings down so liquid covers just their tops.
  9. Lower heat to a low simmer, cover pot, and cook dumplings for 15 minutes. About halfway through, gently push dumplings under broth and separate any stuck together.
  10. Stir soup and cut a dumpling to check doneness. If doughy, cover and cook an additional 3–4 minutes. Serve when dumplings are cooked through.

Notes

Use a wide heavy pot like a Dutch oven for even cooking and easy cleanup., Dice vegetables uniformly for even cooking., Cook flour with vegetables before adding liquid to eliminate raw flour taste., Measure flour correctly by fluffing and leveling to avoid dense dumplings., Simmer gently; avoid rolling boil to prevent burning and breaking dumplings., Dumplings are done when fluffy, not doughy or raw., Soup base can be made 2 days ahead or frozen (without dumplings) for up to 3 months., Reheat soup gently to avoid breaking dumplings and add fresh dumplings after reheating frozen soup base., Shortcuts: Use rotisserie chicken or canned biscuit dough for dumplings if desired.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://gingerbaking.com/best-chicken-dumplings-recipe-with-easy-fluffy-homemade-dumplings/