Ingredients
½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
3 carrots, cut into ½-inch dice
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
½ cup (60 g) all-purpose flour
5 cups (1200 ml) chicken broth
⅓ cup (80 ml) heavy cream
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1 cup frozen peas
4 cups cooked chicken, diced small
3 tablespoons minced parsley
For the Dumplings:
2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup (240 ml) milk
Instructions
Place the chicken broth in a small saucepan and warm over low heat.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and saute until the onion is translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute. Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Slowly add the hot chicken broth, stirring constantly, and simmer over low heat until thickened, about 1 minute. Stir in the heavy cream, salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaves. Adjust the heat to maintain a slow simmer while you prepare the dumplings.
Make the Dumplings: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the melted butter and milk and stir with a rubber spatula until the dough just comes together.
Stir the chicken, peas, and parsley into the pot. Drop the dumpling mixture by large spoonfuls of dough over the surface of the chicken stew. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Check the dumplings with a toothpick to see if they’re done; if they are still doughy in the middle, flip them over, cover and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
Notes
Equipment: A medium (5.5-quart) or large (7.25-quart) Dutch oven are both perfect for making this recipe.
Onions: You can use yellow, white, or sweet, just not red.
Chicken Broth: Either homemade or store-bought will work just fine.
Heavy Cream: This imparts a wonderful richness to the soup; for a lighter meal, you can substitute half-and-half or whole milk.
Thyme: This recipe calls for dried thyme; if you’d like to substitute fresh thyme, use 1½ teaspoons chopped fresh.
Cooked Chicken – You can use chicken breasts or chicken thighs. The chicken can be cooked fresh, or you can utilize a rotisserie chicken or a quick weeknight meal. If you are cooking it fresh for this meal, prepare any way you’d like – saute in a pan, poach, or roast in the oven, then chop. I typically use about 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs for this recipe.
Milk – This is used in the dumpling batter; whole milk is preferred, but 2% will work, as well.
For uniform dumplings, I like to use a medium cookie scoop, which holds about 1½ tablespoons, for dropping the dough into the pot.
Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings: See the instructions above for adapting this recipe to a slow cooker.
InstantPot Chicken and Dumplings: See the instructions above for adapting this recipe to a pressure cooker.
Storage: The chicken and dumplings can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. When reheating, you may want to add a splash of chicken stock to loosen it up a bit.
Freezing Instructions: You can freeze the chicken and dumplings in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat over low heat on the stove (or in the microwave), adding extra liquid as needed.