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This simple recipe for slow cooker chicken and dumplings will knock your family's socks off – without you slaving away in the kitchen!
Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
Of all the recipes I've posted here on Passionate Penny Pincher, these Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings are consistently the ones people mention to me. In fact, I notice folks searching for them quite a bit too.
It's a great comfort food to have when it is getting chilly outside …. and tastes like it took forever. If you prefer traditional dumplings over the biscuit type, you can easily sub the biscuit step at the end with a pack of frozen flat dumplings instead. In the picture below you can see how it looks with those!
They're just so easy and so stinkin' good . . . in fact they're one of my favorite slow cooked recipes (right next to these Open Faced roast beef sandwiches  . . . mmmmmm.)  Your family will think you’ve spent all day in the kitchen, and they taste just about as good as Cracker Barrel’s, which is a pretty big treat around our house!  (Don't you just love Cracker Barrel's Dumplings?)
🍴 Menu Planning Note: You can also find this recipe in the Slow Cooker Menu Plan: Week 10!
If you don't have time to make real dumplings from scratch, this is a great alternative. Just pull out your crockpot and let it do the cooking for you.
Ingredients for Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings:
- chicken breast
- cream of chicken soup (or make your own substitute for cream of chicken soup)
- chicken broth
- water
- salt
- garlic powder
- pepper
- onion
- inexpensive biscuits (OR Frozen Flat Dumplings)
If you're looking for a deal on chicken for this recipe, you can get this Perdue Chicken Breast delivered right to your door!Â
Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
- 1 - 2 lb chicken breast
- 2 10 oz cans cream of chicken soup
- 14 oz chicken broth
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 cans inexpensive biscuits cut into quarters or smaller
Instructions
- Place chicken breast, soup, broth, water, salt, garlic powder, pepper, and onion in crockpot (everything except your biscuits)
- Cover and Cook on low six to seven hours
- One hour before dinner time, add quartered biscuits to crockpot. Gently stir in biscuits so that they're covered. (I used 1 and 1/2 of the two small cans of biscuits - enough to fill up to the top of my crockpot... you can use any leftover biscuits to bake and enjoy with your meal!)
- Cover and Cook an additional hour on low
- Enjoy!
What type of biscuits are best for crockpot chicken & dumplings?
We love using the inexpensive country biscuits, but really any refrigerated biscuit will do! They brown up nicely and work perfectly for the dumplings in this recipe (and it makes it incredibly easy).
How long do dumplings take to cook in the slow cooker?
Our chicken and dumplings recipe uses cheap biscuits and only takes an hour for them to bake on top of the chicken mixture.
Do you put the lid on when cooking dumplings in the slow cooker?
Yes! You'll want to keep the lid on your slow cooker to keep the heat in and cook the biscuit dumplings evenly.
Let us know if you try these crockpot chicken and dumplings and if your family loves them as much as mine!Â
(You can also try out this Chicken & Dumpling Casserole  . . . can you tell we like some Chicken & Dumplings around here?) 😉
Looking for more yummy meals? This recipe is from week two of our slow cooker menu plans, including this meal + 59 other AMAZING recipes (and 12 desserts too)! You'll also get lifetime membership in our private Facebook group, full of other families encouraging one another to make dinner each night together too.
These are the BEST MENU PLANS on the planet (and, the only menu plan that ship all the grocery lists, menu plans and recipe cards right out to you ~ no downloading or hunting down recipes on your phone at dinnertime ever again!) Go HERE to learn more. I know you're going to love these!
The biscuits have been in for over an hour now and are just a gloopy mess. I wish the recipe card would have said to use 1 1/2 cans of the “cheap, skinny ones that come 4 in a pack“. Instead, I have 2 full 8 pack cans of Pillsbury Grands in there. I suspect they will never finish cooking because more than half of them are buried DEEP in the liquid. We’ll see if I get to eat this today…
Oh gosh, I am so sorry to hear that, Tabitha! The recipe card calls for the 10 oz store brand biscuits, which are the skinny cheap ones. I’ll let the design team know though to see if we can write it a different way. Thank you for letting us know!
What size crockpot is recommended for this recipe?
Hi Krista! I would recommend at least a 6-qt crockpot. Hope that helps! 🙂
If I use Rotisserie chicken can I just add everything including biscuits at the beginning and cook for 1-2 hours?
That should work Ashley. I have not tried this recipe by doing it that way, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work! Let us know if you give it a try. We would love to hear your feedback!
Do you flour the biscuits before adding them to the crockpot?
With this recipe we don’t but we have had some readers that have said that they do add it. It’s more a personal preference. Hope that helps! 🙂
Hi
Has anyone tried this with chicken tenders or in the oven?
Could you use these exact ingredients and amounts but cook it in the instant pot with adjusted times for the different cooking method? Or would you change the amounts of any of the ingredients?
Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of experience with the instant pot yet Jessica. I would suggest maybe seeing if you could find a conversion chart online. Hope that helps! 🙂
What is the calorie count per serving?
It’s 521 calories per serving!
Always happy for another delish slow cooker recipe. I’m sure this dish will be a hit in our household.
So happy you are loving our recipes – Let us know how if this one is a hit in your home!
Can you add carrots and celery as well?
Absolutely! Let us know what you think!
I made this today and added peas and corn. Next time I want to add carrots.
Hi! I plan on making this tomorrow for dinner. The recipe and video says add the biscuits and cook for 1 more hour but in several of the comments it says cook for 2 more hours? Which one is it? Also, if I cube the chicken before cooking would that change the cooking time? Thanks!
Hi Lindsey! We use inexpensive biscuits (the skinny ones that come wrapped in 4 canisters in one at Kroger or Walmart), and they usually are perfect at an hour. If you use a larger biscuit it might take longer (and we like our dumplings on the doughy side!) Hope that helps!
I roll my dough to about 1/8th of an inch and cut them with a pizza cutter. They are not as doughy. Closer to what I would call Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken Pot Pie.
Good to know Jennifer ~ thanks a bunch for the tip! 🙂
Can u cook on high for a shorter amount of time ?
When do you shred the chicken? I watched the video and read the instructions and may have missed it but couldn’t find that step.
Hi Dolly! You can shred the chicken before adding the dumplings ~ hope that helps! 🙂
Totally wish I would have known that because I just added all my biscuits on top of the chicken unshredded because the step wasn’t in there.
Bummer! We will make sure to make that step more clear! Thanks for letting us know!
One onion… Chopped? Diced? I’m tempted to cut it in half and throw it in for flavor and take it out when its all done, since I hate the texture of onions in my food lol.
You can chop or dice it Stephanie ~ whichever size you prefer! 🙂 (Ha ~ or you could go the cut in half route!). Hope that helps!
I plan to do big slices and remove them when I shred the chicken. I do this with my BBQ pulled pork and it works out well.
Thanks a bunch for chiming in Audra! 🙂
Mine is very runny! It still has hour til I put biscuits in? Any suggestions? Is it suppose to be like this?
The biscuits will help absorb some of the liquid ~ hope that helps!
How many servings does this make??
It serves around 6, depending on how big of eaters your bunch is Amy! 🙂 Hope that helps!
My crockpot is over halfway full. No way it’s only 6 servings. I’m gonna have some to freeze.
That’s even better! It does make a good amount (but my bunch devours them!) Hope you all enjoy them!
Can I prep this ahead of time and place in crock pot a day or two later. Just trying to meal prep for the week and don’t want to cook right away?
Thanks so much.
Hi Alli! I probably would just put the ingredients together and dump fast if I were you (you can even use frozen chicken because it cooks so fast!) Hope that helps!
Is that onion powder or chopped and how much?
Since she said 1 onion, I’m assuming that it’s an actual actual onion, probably diced or finely sliced. I’m planning on making it this way anyway, lol
I’m on hour three after adding the biscuits and they are still so doughy and still look like raw biscuits?? They are beginning to “string” and come apart when I stir. I’ve turned the crockpot up to high to see if that helps. Help!
I'm amazed! I think I make it cheaper! I do 1 10 oz. bag of any mixed vegies you like, 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup, 2 soup cans of water, 2 chicken breasts, cut up. Bring to a boil and then use 1c. bisquick mixed with 1/3 milk and drop by teaspoonfuls into boiling chicken mixture–boil for 10 minutes uncovered, then 10 minutes covered. Dinner in 30 minutes! (I add pepper, but not salt because the soup has enough) Just made it today!
Love those tips Sandie – will try to make it that way next time!
But when you use straight up water and no broth, there is a lot less flavor in my opinion.
I add some of the cream of mushroom soup some parsley flakes and freeze dried onion flakes to the biscuit mixture stir it all up and it gives a little flavor to the dumplings!
Sounds super yummy Joni!
Would it work with my own home made biscuits?
Yes you can make homemade dumplings or use biscuit dough you can use cream of chicken from the can or make it from scratch Scratch is always an option and the recipe will still be fine
Thanks for the tips Ashley! 🙂
Do you dice chicken before putting in crock pot or after? I'm thinking to put this on before work..therefore I'd start with whole,frozen chicken breast.
Hi Laura! Even with whole frozen chicken breast I think it will have plenty of time to cook – just pop them in the crock pot frozen and they should easily shred when you get home!
Hi Laurie! Could you make homemade dumplings with dough and put in the crockpot instead of canned biscuits?
Do you cut the chicken breasts in pieces or cook them whole? Also, dice the onions? Thanks!
I started this late…not realizing it had to cook 2 more hours after adding biscuits. Can I cook on high for less time?
Hi Nicole! Yes – turn it up to high and cook at least 40 minutes to maybe an hour – I did that the last time I made them b/c I was in a hurry too!
Would frozen dumplings work in lieu of the biscuits?
I think they would – you may just need to cook it a little longer. Let me know if it works, I’d love to hear!
Have you ever subbed one cans of cream of chicken ? I have 1chicken broth & 1cream of chicken … To sub I have cream of celery or a golden mushroom??
I think I substituting with cream of celery would work fine Andrea ~ hope that helps! 🙂
How can you tell when this is done…biscuits browned? Thanks
They don’t really brown – they’re more dumplings (so kind of doughy like at Cracker Barrel?) You don’t want them “wet” on the inside, but they will be moist. Hope that helps! 🙂
Do I cook on low for 6 hrs, then add biscuits and cook for an additional 2 hrs for total of 8 hrs? Thanks Trying it now!
Hi Christina! Yup – cook the biscuits for 6 hours on low, then add the biscuits and cook 2 more hours. Hope that helps!
Thanks Laurie!
Hi! Is it one or two more hours after adding biscuits? Recipe says 1 hour and a few of your comments say 2 more hours. Thanks!
Sorry for the confusion! Yes, you cook for an additional hour after adding the biscuits (the skinny ones that come 4 in a pack). If you use a larger biscuit, it might take longer. Hope that helps! 🙂
Cook the biscuits for 6 hrs on low?
Put the biscuits in an hour before you’re ready to serve and continue cooking on low! 🙂
Oh, meant to say THANKS! 🙂
Excellent recipe! Easy to make. Family said its a keeper. Can’t wait to try your other slow cooker recipes.
Just made these and they are delicious. Will definitely make them again and some of the other slow cooker recipes. Thanks for sharing.
Do I cook the biscuits before puttin them in the crock pot?
Nope Tameka – they’ll cook while they’re in the crockpot. Hope that helps! 🙂
Hi Laurie! This recipe looks really good. Question–can I use already cooked, shredded chicken? Should I reduce the cooking time if I do that?
Hi Melissa! You could, but you would definitely reduce the cooking time. Maybe cook on low just 2-3 hours (that should be plenty), and then add in the dumplings and continue the recipe. Hope that helps (let me konw how it goes!) 🙂