Anyone from the South has probably had chicken and dumplings at some point. It’s a quick way to handle leftover chicken and sometimes vegetables by throwing them into a pot with dough balls and broth. Scarcely are the measurements precise — you’ll know it’s right by look and taste — a general approximation of “that’s enough.” Every family makes chicken and dumplings a bit differently, but it’s a low-effort meal that can feed several guests for any event. Food is meant to be shared, after all.
To get chicken and dumplings thick and creamy enough to satisfy a table full of friends and family, you won’t want to skimp on the dough. By rolling the dough chunks on an extra-floured surface, they’ll pick up enough to thicken the broth and hold their shape while simmering. Some recipes call for a mix of buttermilk, baking soda, and flour to make the dough from scratch, but plenty of folks use the canned biscuit shortcut when making chicken and dumplings as well.
Give your broth extra body with these simple ingredients
Chicken and dumplings can either have a clear broth or a more opaque yellow color with a creamier consistency. Flour is a great thickening agent, but it’s not the only tool in your arsenal. Dairy products with a higher fat percentage like heavy cream, half-and-half, buttermilk, or milk can help make the chicken broth richer depending on how much fat you’d like to add to the recipe. If you’re real old school, stir in cornstarch instead.
There are plenty of ingredients that might already be sitting in your pantry that will cut down the cooking time for your chicken and dumplings. Canned cream of chicken with store-bought chicken broth (or bouillon cube) diluted with water skips the step of having to chop up a bunch of vegetables and cook the chicken from raw — just pour and go. Even the chicken itself could come in a tin. Chicken and dumplings is a dish anyone, anywhere can cook with affordable ingredients that are easy enough to find at the local dollar store.
