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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.
I made this tonight with boneless chicken thighs and it was delicious thank you for the great and easy recipe. The only thing I was not sure of was the amount of chicken broth I just used enough to cover the chicken.
I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe!!
I have whole frozen chicken breast, would that change my cooking time? Frozen chicken breast say it takes about 10 minutes to cook. but that’s a big difference for the dough. What do you think?
Hi Amber- I wouldn’t suggest making this recipe with whole, frozen chicken breasts. I would suggest thawing the chicken breasts and then following the recipe as written.
If I double the recipe, do I need to double the cook time? I tried looking through the comments regarding a double batch, but didn’t see anything about cook time.
Thank you so much for this delicious recipe!! My husband and son say it’s their favorite!! They eat it all and there are no leftovers. Hence the reason for needing instructions for a double batch lol!
No need to double the cook time. When doubling recipes in the Instant Pot the cook time will stay the same. 🙂 Glad you and your family love this recipe so much!
Absolute banger!! Add carrots or peas, or as is. Cannot tell you how good this is. Thanks so much!
—Luke
This comment made me so happy!! Glad you enjoyed the recipe. 😊
This is so good, we are bringing it on a 7 day boat trip. Do you think it is ok to freeze a couple days before we use it, or will this diminish the quality of the dish? Thanks in advance!!
I am happy to hear you love this recipe, Luke! I wouldn’t suggest freezing this recipe and then reheating because the dumplings will be extra mushy. Sorry about that!
I forgot to cut up the chicken. I realized I was prepping for a crockpot and not instant pot until the cooking. Should I increase cook time?
Yes, you’ll need to increase the cook time in order for the chicken to be cooked through. Are you using breasts or tenders?
Woe is me. I used your recipe and used the slow cooker setting. I love the recipe. I followed it to a tee…until the last hour. The time was set for four hours. I used a glass lid made for
My instant pot. I could see that the gravy or broth wasn’t bubbling even tho it was set on high. ??? The outside didn’t feel hot to the touch. Nevertheless I added five canned biscuits cut in to four pieces. I cooked the dumplings for an hour. The chicken was great. The dumplings didn’t cook at all. No bubbling liquid I would guess was the problem. Is my IP faulty or do you have any suggestions?
Beverly, I am so sorry to hear this!! The Instant Pot’s slow cooker function does not work as well as a regular crock pot. The settings are a bit different than you’d think. Low on the Instant Pot is close to the keep warm on a crockpot and the high on the Instant Pot is close to the crockpot’s low setting. The heat settings are different and with a crockpot the insert is heated from the sides, with an Instant Pot the insert is only heated from the bottom which makes a big difference. I’d give this recipe another try using the pressure cooking method or dust off your old crock pot if you’d rather use the slow cooker method. 🙂 Hopefully this helps a bit!
You are a genius. I will follow your advice. Thank you.
I have never had Chicken & Dumplings and always wondered how the dumplings would taste…like dough? Well, let me tell you, this recipe is sooooo good ….. and easy. My husband really like it too and he’s not always easy to please.
This will always be a ‘go to’ recipe for sure. Thank you!!!!
This makes me so happy! Thanks Rose!
Amazing recipe!! A word of caution though: Do not use the butter flavored store biscuits. My instant pot made it RAIN butter during the manual release. I wish I could posit the picture lol
Ahh, that is the worst! I’m so sorry that happened! Glad you still enjoyed the meal. 🙂
hey quick question.. Is that really all you need to cook the chicken 5 minutes? I’m so confused and feel like you’d need to cook it longer but maybe I’m wrong.. Im talking about the instant pot method.
Hi Lacey- Sorry it has taken me a bit to reply, I’ve been at a family reunion! So with the Instant Pot, the cook times do not include the time it takes for the Instant Pot to come to pressure. While the Instant Pot is coming to pressure, the contents are boiling (and cooking) until enough steam is created to seal the Instant Pot. That is why things can cook so ‘quickly’ because the cook time is only referring to the time spent under pressure, not the time it takes to come to pressure. I hope this helps and makes sense! Reach out if you have further questions. -Karli
I’ve used this recipe with the crock pot before and it was so yummy! This time, I tried with my instant pot. I put everything into the pot in the order instructed, making sure not to stir. Still, as soon as it was heated up and started to countdown the 2 mins, my instant pot said “burn.” I opened it and some chicken was stuck to the bottom, so I unstuck it and tried again. It said “burn” again. Now, I’m not sure what to do? Is there still a way to salvage this attempt?
Hi Lexie- Sorry I wasn’t able to reply right away! Did you stir the broth in with the cream of chicken soup? That will cause the burn notice because the mixture is too thick. If not, we can look at other variables that may have caused the burn notice. 🙂