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Easy Chicken and Dumplings can be thrown together in minutes and can cook in either the Instant Pot or Crockpot. Using Cream of Chicken soups and biscuit dough, this meal is no-prep! Perfect for a busy weeknight dinner.
Easy Chicken and Dumplings are the best dump and start meal!
Chicken and dumplings as a meal that I’ve been making for a long time. This is one of the meals that I always make when we invite someone over for dinner.
Everyone always raves about how delicious it is… But do you want to know a secret? It is honestly the easiest dinner that I could’ve made.
I love that this meal is fancy enough for Sunday dinner, yet fast enough for a night full of running kids to every corner of the earth!
There is absolutely no prep, just dump and go!
I have always made this meal in the crockpot. Generally, I would start it before we went to church that way dinner would be done and ready to scarf down when we got home.
I have had my Instant Pot for almost a year now, so I figured it was about time to convert the recipe.
Boy, was I glad that I did! I will definitely be cooking this meal in my Instant Pot from now on.
Just in case you haven’t hopped on the Instant Pot bandwagon yet, I’ll write the crockpot method out for you too.
P.S. I think you should hop on that Instant Pot bandwagon!! ?
What you’ll need for Easy Chicken and Dumplings with Canned Biscuits
(Printable recipe below)
Easy Chicken and Dumplings can be thrown together in minutes and can cook in either the Instant Pot or Crockpot. Using Cream of Chicken soups and biscuit dough, this meal is no-prep! Perfect for a busy weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 lb chicken breast cut into 1 inch chunks
- 2 tbsp dried minced onion or 1/2 cup fresh minced onion
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 2 cans cream of chicken soup
- 1 7.5 oz can refrigerated biscuits
Substitutions and Variations for Easy Chicken and Dumplings
This is a really great base recipe that can be made again and again with different tweaks and changes so it feels like a brand new meal every time. Consider adding vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, celery, or corn to the stew for added flavor and nutrition.
Try using different herbs and spices to add depth of flavor to the broth. Rosemary, thyme, and sage are all great options. Or you could add some heat to the dish by using hot sauce, chili powder, or cayenne pepper.
How to make this Chicken and Dumplings Instant Pot Recipe
To make chicken and dumplings in the Instant Pot, first cut chicken breasts into 1 inch chunks.
Pour chicken broth into the liner of the Instant Pot. Place the chicken chunks into the broth and then sprinkle with minced dried onion and dried parsley.
Scoop two cans of cream of chicken soup on the top of the chicken chunks. Do not stir.
It is very important to layer food when cooking in the Instant Pot. In order for the Instant Pot to work properly there needs to be a thin liquid on the bottom of the pot.
In this dish, the thin liquid is the chicken broth. The cream of chicken soup is very thick and would burn to the bottom of the liner if the chicken broth was not underneath it.
Now, take canned biscuit dough and cut each biscuit into eight pieces.
Sprinkle the biscuit pieces Into the Instant Pot.
Secure the lid, turn the knob to sealing and cook on Manual HIGH for two minutes. Allow for three minute NPR before quick releasing the pressure manually.
When you open up the lid you will see that all of the biscuit dough has expanded and cooked.
Give the Instant Pot a good stir to mix up the dumplings, chicken and sauce.
Dinner is now ready to be served! Can you believe how easy that was?
How to make Easy Chicken and Dumplings with Biscuits in the Crockpot
To make the chicken and dumplings in a crockpot, pour broth, cream of chicken soup, chicken chunks, parsley and minced onion into the crockpot.
Cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours, or until the chicken is cooked through.
Once the chicken is cooked through, add in the cut up biscuit dough and cook for an additional 30 minutes on HIGH.
Stir and serve.
Easy Chicken and Dumplings with Biscuits Storage
Always store your leftovers in an air tight container in the fridge. It will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days. The dumplings will soak up a bit of the soup so you may need to add a splash of milk when reheating it.
Can you freeze this recipe?
If you want to store your leftover soup for longer, you can freeze it. I suggest letting the soup thaw completely in the fridge before reheating the soup.
How to reheat Chicken and Dumplings
The soup is best reheated on the stovetop over low heat. You may need to add a little extra chicken broth or milk to the pan while you reheat it because the dumplings like to soak up extra liquid while it is in the fridge.
Chicken and Dumplings with Biscuits FAQs
Biscuit dough and dumpling dough are similar in that they are both made with flour, but there are some key differences between the two.
Biscuit dough is a flaky, tender dough made with flour, fat (usually butter), and a liquid (such as milk or buttermilk). Dumpling dough, on the other hand, is a soft and tender dough made with flour, water or milk, and a leavening agent (such as baking powder).
So while both biscuit dough and dumpling dough can be used to make similar dishes, they are not the same thing and the end result will be different. Biscuits are typically flakier and richer in flavor, while dumplings are soft and tender and used primarily to thicken stews and soups.
The key to good homemade dumplings is to not overwork the dough. We don’t need to worry about it with this recipe though because we are using canned biscuits as a shortcut so they will be light and flakey every time.
If your chicken and dumpling soup needs to be a bit thicker, you can thicken with a cornstarch slurry.
This depends on the particular recipe that you are using. This recipe is meant tot be thick.
Take a peek at some of my most popular recipes!
Instant Pot Creamy Ziti
Cheesecake Fruit Dip
Classic Cinnamon Rolls
I love seeing my recipes come to life in YOUR kitchen! If you make one of my recipes, take some photos and post them onto my facebook page!
Easy Chicken and Dumplings with Biscuits
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups (236g) chicken broth
- 1 lb chicken breast, cut into 1 inch chunks
- 2 tbsp dried minced onion, or 1/2 cup fresh minced onion
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 2 10.5 oz cans cream of chicken soup
- 1 7.5 oz can refrigerated biscuits
Instructions
- For the Instant Pot: place the chicken broth into the liner.2 cups (236g) chicken broth
- Add in the chicken breast chunks, minced onion and dried parsley.1 lb chicken breast, 2 tbsp dried minced onion, 1 tbsp dried parsley
- Scoop the cream of chicken soup out of the can and gently put it into the Instant Pot on top of the chicken chunks. DO NOT STIR. (see post above for exactly why.)2 10.5 oz cans cream of chicken soup
- Cut each biscuit into 8 pieces. Sprinkle the biscuit pieces into the Instant Pot.1 7.5 oz can refrigerated biscuits
- Close the lid, turn the knob to sealing and cook on Manual HIGH for 2 minutes allowing for a 3 minute NPR before manually releasing the pressure.
- Stir the pot and then serve!
- For the Crockpot: place the chicken broth, chicken chunks, onion, parsley and cream of chicken soup into the crockpot.2 cups (236g) chicken broth, 1 lb chicken breast, 2 tbsp dried minced onion, 1 tbsp dried parsley, 2 10.5 oz cans cream of chicken soup
- Cook on high for 3-4 hours, or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Cut each biscuit into 8 pieces.1 7.5 oz can refrigerated biscuits
- Stir the contents of the Crockpot then sprinkle the biscuit pieces into the Crockpot.
- Cook for an additional 30 minutes and then serve.
Can you use thawed chicken tenderloins cut up instead of breasts?
Yes! Just cook for 3 minutes with a 6 minute NPR. I do this often myself.
Tried this tonight and it was amazing. We used chicken tenderloins and buttermilk biscuits. My boys devoured it. I had two instant pots going as I wasn’t for sure with the biscuits rising if I doubled the recipe to all fit in one. I have two 6 quarts.
Hi, I made this recipe this morning and after a minute of the cook time I got the burn notice. I did not want to stir so I let it cook for another minute. Some of the chicken had burned and stuck to the bottom of the pot. I used chicken thighs I had cut up and 10 biscuits. Everything else was exactly as recipe states. Would 2 cans of broth made a difference?
Very strange, I don’t think two cans of broth would make a difference. Have you had the burn notice before?
Did anyone have an issue with the biscuits being under done?
I had the opposite problem I used the grands old-fashioned biscuits and chopped them into quarters unfortunately I was so worried about getting them cooked through when I looked at them after I left them an extra 10 minutes they disintegrated! Excellent recipe note to self do not cook the dumplings to death!
I had the same problem! Not sure how to fix it.
Very easy and delicious Made this 3 times already. Me and my family loves it.
Would this work with frozen chicken tenders?
Yes- just change the cook time to 6 minutes HP and a 6 min NPR.
Could this be doubled in a 6 qt pot?
I haven’t ever personally doubled this in a 6 qt, but others have with success. Good luck!
Going to try cooking this dish tonight. Hope to prevent mistakes of those that have prepared this dish. Gonna try and follow each step of the instructions explicitly.
Can you use already cooked chicken breast?
Sure- that would be fine.
I altered your recipe a little, added mushrooms and green onions. Made my own dumplings, this recipe was absolutely amazing! My dish came out amazing, definitely will use this again, thanks!