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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.
Do you put cooked or raw chicken in the instant pot version? Just wondering if 2 minutes is long enough to cook raw chicken?
Hi Felicia- The cook time of 2 minutes only refers to the amount of time the food is cooking while under pressure. It doesn’t take into account the time it takes for the Instant Pot to come up to pressure and the food is heating up and cooking that entire time. I hope that helps explain!
So I’m sorry I have the same question. So chicken is put in raw?
Yes, that is correct.
This recipe is still fantastic with veggie stock instead of chicken stock and substituting the chicken with just more veggies! Thanks for the inspiration with this tasty recipe that reminds me so much of my childhood!
Delicious! Thanks for the feedback, Devin!
When doubling this recipe, do you use the same amount of biscuits ? Seems like if you doubled the biscuits, it would be way too crowded. Just wandering. Thanks!
Hi Robert- I would keep the amount of biscuits the same and double everything else, personally.
Hi there- just a follow up- id say if you do double it, you need to at least add 1.5x the normal amount of biscuits. I made it doubled but with normal amount of biscuits and there was way way way too much liquid when it was done.
I’ve made this recipe several times now and it’s wonderful! Two tweaks that I use: first thing I sauté the fresh onion with 1 T of butter in the Instant Pot, mostly as an excuse to add butter lol. I also add about 1 t of celery salt to the broth. Good stuff!
What about cook time when doubling. Should you double cook time or keep the same. I have an 8qt pot and a big family. I need a full pot bc they want leftover too. Ha. Thank you
Hi Melinda- when doubling a recipe in the Instant Pot, the cook time will always stay the same as long as you are doubling exact ingredients. The only case where you’ll need to add extra time is if you are using a 4 lb roast instead of two 2 lb roasts. Hopefully that makes sense. 🙂
Also wondering if with an 8qt you could even triple the recipe?? Your pot doesn’t look real full. Thoughts??
Hi Melinda- I am not sure about tripling the recipe in an 8 qt, I haven’t tried or tested it so I can’t say for sure how it would turn out. If you give it a try, let me know how it turns out!
When cooking in the crockpot, do you put the lid back on after you put the biscuit dough in?
Yes, you’ll want to replace the lid while the biscuit dough is cooking. 🙂
Delicious! Added celery seeds at the end before serving. The kids loved it too!
Making a double batch tonight for 5 people. Will that be enough? About how much does a double batch make?
Hi Jordan, that should be plenty for 5 people.
Do you double the time in the instant pot version if you double the recipe?
No need to double the cook time when doubling recipes in the Instant Pot.
My chicken and a vegetables are frozen (I prepped extra from the last time I made this recipe). How much longer do you think I should cook the chicken?
It is hard to say because it will depend greatly upon whether the chicken is in one large chunk or each piece is frozen individually. Your best bet would be to let the chicken defrost in the fridge overnight and then cook it as usual.
I was curious I am new at this my instant pot had a burn notice when I made this recipe any idea I did exactly what the recipe said
Was your vent set to sealing the entire time? If that was forgotten, too much liquid boiled out before it came to pressure which is why it would give you the burn notice. Hope this helps a bit!
Omg that was delicious! On my second bowl! I used soup base added to two cups of water because I didn’t have stock, chopped up rotisserie chicken, and cream of chicken with herbs because that all I had. Oh, I added sliced carrots for color. Absolutely fantastic!
Sounds perfect!! Thanks for the comment!
My instapot also said burn. I followed the recipe to a T. My vent was sealed and I have an 8 qt. When I opened the pot, it appeared the biscuits had dropped to the bottom and that was the possible reason it was saying burn as there was plenty of liquid.
I am so sorry about that, did you check your seal to make sure it wasn’t stuck at all?