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Cozy Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings – Best Easy Comfort Food

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This slow cooker chicken and dumplings features pillowy, cloud-like dumplings in a rich, creamy broth with fall-apart tender chicken and perfectly melted vegetables. It’s the ultimate comfort food that tastes like a hug in a bowl.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 6–8 thighs)
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 medium yellow onions, diced (about 2 cups)
  • 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds (about 1½ cups)
  • 3 celery stalks, sliced (about 1 cup)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
  • ¾ cup whole milk
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup frozen peas
  • Fresh parsley, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Prep your vegetables. Dice the onions, slice the carrots and celery, and mince the garlic.
  2. Layer everything in the slow cooker. Place the chicken thighs in the bottom. Top with the diced onions, sliced carrots, sliced celery, and minced garlic. Add the bay leaves, dried thyme, dried rosemary, salt, and pepper.
  3. Pour in the chicken broth and water. The liquid should just barely cover the chicken and vegetables.
  4. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours until the chicken is tender enough to shred.
  5. About 45 minutes before serving, make the dumplings. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and garlic powder in a large mixing bowl.
  6. Cut in the cold butter cubes using a pastry cutter or two forks until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with some pea-sized butter pieces remaining.
  7. Pour in the milk and stir with a fork just until the dough comes together. It will be sticky and shaggy. Stir in the chopped parsley.
  8. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 5-10 minutes.
  9. Use tongs to transfer the cooked chicken thighs to a cutting board or plate. Leave the broth and vegetables in the slow cooker.
  10. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it using two forks. Discard any visible fat or gristle.
  11. Stir the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
  12. Using a cookie scoop or two spoons, drop rounded tablespoons of dumpling dough evenly over the top of the hot broth. Do not stir them in.
  13. Cover the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 30-40 minutes until the dumplings are puffed up and cooked through.
  14. While the dumplings cook, make the roux. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of flour and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until golden and nutty.
  15. Carefully ladle about 1 cup of hot broth from the slow cooker into the roux and whisk until smooth. Pour this mixture back into the slow cooker and stir gently to combine.
  16. Stir in the frozen peas and let everything cook for another 5 minutes.
  17. Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with fresh parsley, and serve immediately.

Notes

Don’t peek at the dumplings while they cook—the steam is essential. Keep the butter cold for the dumpling dough. Size dumplings consistently for even cooking. Season in layers. Make the roux at the end, not the beginning. If dumplings turn out dense, the dough was likely overmixed.

Nutrition

Keywords: slow cooker chicken and dumplings, comfort food, chicken dumplings, easy dinner, Southern recipe

Find it online: https://twinkletaste.com/cozy-slow-cooker-chicken-and-dumplings-best-easy-comfort-food/