The Best Chicken & Dumplings Recipe – Easy, Hearty & Delicious!

 

I am a person who loves watching food programs and food videos on YouTube. There is a lady that I follow on YouTube called Colleen. Her channel is called Our Silver Moments.  She is a Canadian like me and cooks delicious, simple meals.

I happened to catch one of her older videos the other day for Chicken & Dumplings and I saved it as something that I wanted to make for myself. I have made Chicken & Dumplings many times in my lifetime but there was something about the way that she made them that inspired me to want to do them her way.  

Simple ingredients, and not a lot of them.  A simple manner of putting them together, nothing complicated.  Wholesome and classic.

I am at a stage in life where if a recipe asks for a bazillion ingredients or looks overly complicated, I look for something else. I am not lazy, just particular.  That's my story anyways!

I took the liberty of cutting the recipe in half so that it made only 2-3 servings depending on how hungry you are.  I also converted the measurement to include British measures.  I do that with all the recipes that I share so that people can enjoy them on both sides of the pond.

What you have here is a delicious classic chicken and dumpling recipe, made from simple ingredients.  Deliciously soul warming, with fragrant herbs, some simple vegetables and buttery dumplings that melt in the mouth.  Don't get me started on the gravy. A one-pot wonder that is pure magic.  Each spoonful feels like a warm and cozy hug from grandma.

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS, SMALL BATCH

A few simple ingredients. I don't do complicated if I can help it these days.  I bet you have all that you need to make this in your kitchen right now!

For the chicken and gravy:

• 3 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (the bone and skin add flavor)
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 TBS light olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 stalk celery, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp summer savory
• 1 bay leaf broken
• 2 TBS all purpose, plain flour, unsifted
• 2 cups (480ml) chicken stock

For the Dumplings:

• 3/4 cup (94g) all-purpose, plain flour, unsifted
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 tsp salt
• 1/2 TBS dried parsley flakes (optional)
• 1 1/2 TBS (22g) cold butter
• 1/3 cup (80ml) whole milk

 

You could use boneless, skinless chicken, but trust me when I tell you that the skin and bones add tons of flavor to the gravy. They can always be discarded when serving, which I chose to do.

I used a sweet Vidalia onion which added a lovely flavor. They are the sweetest onions without any harshness.

Summer Savory is an herb that is unique to the Maritime Provinces and which figures prominently in a lot of our cooking down here. It can be a bit difficult to find in other places, but no worries, if you cannot find Summer Savory you can substitute an equivalent amount of sage, marjoram, winter savory, herb de province, or just increase the amount of thyme used.  I would not use any more than 3/4 of a teaspoon of thyme altogether though.

Breaking a bay leaf in half helps to release its oil and flavors. This is important in a dish like this where the cook time is so short.

The original recipe called for shortening in the dumplings. People used vegetable shortening in dumplings for years and years. I no longer like to use shortening in anything if I don't have to, so I used butter in its place. Shortening might have made a lighter dumpling, but butter made a richer dumpling. My dumplings were still light, just not as light as they might have been with the shortening. I did not mind. They were delicious all the same.

HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS, SMALL BATCH

This is a really simple to make supper dish and comes together very quickly! If you follow the directions completely you can be assured of chicken and dumpling success!

Trim any excess fat from the chicken thighs and discard. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Heat the oil in a deep saucepan large enough to hold everything over medium high heat. Mine holds about 4 cups of liquid.

Once the oil is hot add the chicken thighs, skin side down. Brown well, then flip over and brown the other side. About 5 minutes per side.

Remove the chicken from the pan to a plate and add all of the vegetables. Turn down to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have begun to soften, about 5 minutes.

 

Add the flour, stirring to coat all of the veggies and absorb all of the flour.

Add one cup (240ml) of the stock, whisking and scraping the bottom of the saucepan to get up the fond. Add the remaining stock.

Add the thyme, savory and bay leaf. Bring to the boil. Reduce to a quick simmer and add the chicken thighs and their juices back to the saucepan, nestling them down into the sauce.

Cover tightly and cook at a slow simmer for about 20 minutes.

 

To make the dumplings whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Drop in the butter and cut everything together until the mixture resembles dry bread crumbs.

Stir in the parsley, if using.

Stir in the milk, mixing only together until no dry streaks remain.

Using two soup spoons, drop the dumpling dough by spoonfuls onto the top of the simmering stew. Replace the lid and cover tightly.

Cook for a further 15 minutes, no peeking. DO NOT LIFT THE LID.  Serve hot with some mashed potatoes on the side.

 

I pulled the chicken from the bone and discarded the skin to eat it. The chicken was so tender and juicy and the gravy was rich and loaded with bags of flavor!

This was fabulously tasty!  I enjoyed it with some fluffy mashed potatoes. Nothing else was needed.  Tender chicken.  Delicious gravy, fluffy dumplings. It doesn't get much better than this!

 

If, like me, the chicken thigh portion is your favorite part of the chicken, then you may also want to consider the following two tasty options.  They are also simple and delicious!

LEMON AND HERB ROASTED CHICKEN THIGHS -  Chicken, herbs and lemon are a wonderful trinity of taste, especially when you throw garlic into the mix! The chicken pieces are seasoned and marinated in the marinade for at least an hour and up to four hours. Roasted to crispy skinned perfection in the oven with garlic and lemon. You can squeeze the juice from the roasted lemons over top for serving which will give them a lovely additional flavor note! I like to serve this with some veggies on the side.

 STICKY BBQ CHICKEN THIGHS - Skin on, bone in thighs are rubbed with a flavor filled dry rub, then partially grilled/roasted.  A fabulously sweet and sticky glaze is applied. A mix of your favorite BBQ sauce, fruity chutney and honey. The thighs get basted with this mixture from time to time until the chicken is juicy and tender and sweetly glazed to tasty perfection!  Serve with a mix of roasted veggies and a salad!

RECIPE HERE

Yield: 2- 3 servings

Author: Marie Rayner

Chicken & Dumplings (small batch)

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 5 M

This simple and yet very comforting supper goes together in minutes and is something you are sure to enjoy. Tender pieces of chicken and vegetables in a gravy filled with flavor, topped with fluffy buttery dumplings. What's not to love!

Ingredients

For the chicken and gravy:

• 3 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (the bone and skin add flavor)
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 TBS light olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 stalk celery, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp summer savory
• 1 bay leaf broken
• 2 TBS all purpose, plain flour, unsifted
• 2 cups (480ml) chicken stock

For the Dumplings:

• 3/4 cup (94g) all-purpose, plain flour, unsifted
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 tsp salt
• 1/2 TBS dried parsley flakes (optional)
• 1 1/2 TBS (22g) cold butter
• 1/3 cup (80ml) whole milk

Instructions

1. Trim any excess fat from the chicken thighs and discard. Season generously with salt and pepper.
2. Heat the oil in a deep saucepan large enough to hold everything over medium high heat.. Mine holds about 4 cups of liquid.
3. Once the oil is hot add the chicken thighs, skin side down. Brown well, then flip over and brown the other side. About 5 minutes per side.
4. Remove the chicken from the pan to a plate and add all of the vegetables. Turn down to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have begun to soften, about 5 minutes.
5. Add the flour, stirring to coat all of the veggies and absorb all of the flour.
6. Add one cup (240ml) of the stock, whisking and scraping the bottom of the saucepan to get up the fond. Add the remaining stock.
7. Add the thyme, savory and bay leaf. Bring to the boil. Reduce to a quick simmer and add the chicken thighs and their juices back to the saucepan, nestling them down into the sauce.
8. Cover tightly and cook at a slow simmer for about 20 minutes.
9. To make the dumplings whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Drop in the butter and cut everything together until the mixture resembles dry bread crumbs.
10. Stir in the parsley, if using.
11. Stir in the milk, mixing only together until no dry streaks remain.
12. Using two soup spoons, drop the dumpling dough by spoonfuls onto the top of the simmering stew. Replace the lid and cover tightly.
13. Cook for a further 15 minutes, no peeking. DO NOT LIFT THE LID.
14. Serve hot with some mashed potatoes on the side.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @marierayner5530 on instagram and hashtag it #marierayner5530

This content, written and photography, is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com. 

 Thanks for visiting! Do come again!! 

 If you like what you see here, why not consider signing up for my newsletter and/or subscribing/following me on Grow. You can also bookmark my recipes via the Grow platform. Check out the heart on the right-hand side of the screen.