The Ultimate Easy Chicken and Dumplings with Biscuits Recipe

Is there anything better than a meal that feels like a comforting embrace in a bowl? A dish that gathers the family and fills your kitchen with the most wonderfully welcoming aromas? Your search ends here. We’ve crafted a recipe that captures all the heartwarming essence of a traditional chicken stew, enhanced with a delightfully simple twist: a topping of light, golden biscuits baked directly on top. This all-in-one dish is the perfect antidote to a chilly evening or a hectic weeknight, whenever your soul craves pure, unadulterated comfort.

We understand that classic chicken and dumplings can sometimes seem a little complex, what with rolling dough and long simmering times. That’s precisely why we’ve streamlined the process. By opting for easy drop biscuits, we’ve cut out the fuss, allowing you to create a substantial, deeply satisfying meal that’s ready in under an hour. We’re confident it will become a go-to favourite for your family.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Wonderfully Swift & Simple: The entire meal comes together in a single pot and is ready in around 50 minutes, making it an ideal Weeknight chicken solution.
• Made with Pantry Staples: There’s no need for a special shopping trip. This recipe transforms common vegetables and store-cupboard ingredients into something truly memorable.
• Effortless Biscuit Topping: Put away the rolling pin. Our simple drop-biscuit technique guarantees fluffy, tender dumplings without any hassle.
• The Ultimate One-Pot Dinner: With your protein, vegetables, and carbs all in one comforting dish, you get a complete meal with very little washing up to do afterwards.
• The Essence of Comfort: The combination of a creamy chicken stew and soft, scone-like biscuits is the epitome of Southern comfort food—it’s hearty, warming, and utterly delicious.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large chicken breasts (about 600g), diced into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 celery stalks, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 60g plain flour
• 1 litre good-quality chicken stock
• 150ml double cream
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• A handful of fresh parsley, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 250g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 85g cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 175ml whole milk

Step-by-Step Instructions for Your Perfect One-Pot Meal

We firmly believe that cooking a wonderful meal should be a pleasure, not a chore. We’ve outlined this recipe in clear, easy-to-follow steps to guide you from the kitchen counter to the dinner table. Let’s begin!

Preparing the Creamy Chicken Stew Base

1. Brown the Chicken: In a large, oven-safe Dutch oven or casserole pot, heat the olive oil over a medium-high heat. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and add them to the pot. Cook for 5–7 minutes, stirring periodically, until golden brown on all sides. It doesn’t need to be cooked through at this point. Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken and set it aside.
2. Soften the Aromatics: Add the chopped onion, carrots, and celery to the pot. Cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the vegetables are tender and the onion is translucent. Stir in the minced garlic and dried thyme, cooking for one more minute until you can smell their lovely aroma.
3. Build the Creamy Base: Sprinkle the plain flour over the softened vegetables. Stir this mixture for about two minutes to cook off the raw flour flavour. This simple roux is what will give our stew its wonderfully thick consistency.
4. Meld the Flavours: Slowly pour in the chicken stock, making sure to stir constantly to avoid any lumps. Once the stock is fully combined, add the bay leaf and bring it all to a gentle simmer. Reintroduce the browned chicken to the pot. Turn the heat down to low, pop the lid on, and allow it to simmer for 15 minutes so the flavours can deepen and develop.
5. Finish with Cream and Herbs: After 15 minutes of simmering, fish out and discard the bay leaf. Pour in the double cream and stir through the chopped parsley. Taste the stew and season with a little more salt and pepper if you feel it needs it. Your delicious stew base is now prepared for its fluffy biscuit crown.

Making the Fluffy Biscuit Topping

As the stew simmers away, we can quickly prepare the simple dough for our dumplings. This step is remarkably fast and is the secret to our fuss-free take on this classic comfort dish.

1. Mix the Dry Components: In a medium-sized bowl, use a whisk to combine the self-raising flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. Incorporate the Butter: Add the cold, cubed butter to your flour mixture. Using just your fingertips or a pastry cutter, rub the butter into the flour until you have a texture like coarse breadcrumbs. Don’t worry about a few larger, pea-sized bits of butter; these create pockets of steam for extra flakiness.
3. Form the Dough: Pour in the milk and use a fork to gently bring everything together into a soft, slightly tacky dough. The key here is not to overmix! If you work the dough too much, the dumplings will be tough rather than light and airy.

Assembling and Baking Your Biscuit Topped Stew

Now for the truly satisfying part, where the stew and biscuit topping unite to become one magnificent meal.

1. Prepare the Oven: Make sure your oven is preheated to 200°C (180°C Fan/Gas Mark 6).
2. Top the Stew with Dough: Using a tablespoon or a small ice cream scoop, drop dollops of the biscuit dough across the surface of the simmering chicken stew. We suggest aiming for 8–10 dumplings, leaving a bit of room between each one as they will puff up and expand as they bake.
3. Bake Until Golden: Transfer the uncovered pot to the preheated oven. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until the biscuit tops are a lovely deep golden-brown and a skewer inserted into the middle of one comes out clean. The bottoms of the biscuits will steam beautifully in the stew, while the tops become crisp and golden.
4. Allow to Rest Before Serving: Very carefully take the pot out of the oven. Let it stand for 5–10 minutes before you serve it up. This short rest allows the stew to thicken just a little more. Spoon the creamy stew and a couple of biscuits into each bowl, and garnish with some extra fresh parsley if you wish.

Tips for the Best Quick Chicken and Dumplings

We want your chicken and dumplings to be a phenomenal success every single time. Here are a few of our most trusted tips and tricks to guarantee a perfect outcome:

• For a Shortcut, Use Cooked Chicken: To make things even quicker, feel free to use shredded meat from a supermarket rotisserie chicken. You can skip the initial browning step and add the cooked chicken into the stew just before simmering.
• Handle the Dough Gently: The key to beautifully light biscuits is minimal handling. Mix the dough just until it comes together; a lumpy texture is what you’re aiming for!
• Maintain a Gentle Simmer: Ensure the stew is simmering gently, not boiling vigorously, when you add the biscuit dough. This helps the dumplings cook through perfectly without breaking apart.
• Customise with Extra Vegetables: Don’t hesitate to adapt the stew with your preferred vegetables. Sliced mushrooms, sweetcorn, or frozen peas make wonderful additions. Just stir them in during the final 10 minutes of simmering.

What to Serve With Your Chicken and Dumplings

While this recipe is a wonderfully complete meal in itself, a touch of green on the side can be a lovely addition. We suggest serving it with a crisp green salad tossed in a simple vinaigrette, or perhaps some freshly steamed green beans. If you’re looking for more comforting chicken ideas for the week ahead, our Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta Recipe is another firm family favourite.

FAQ

A Comforting Classic Made Effortlessly

So there you have it—our simple and utterly delicious Easy Chicken and Dumplings with Biscuits recipe that is big on flavour, comfort, and ease. It’s the perfect proof that you don’t need to devote hours to the kitchen to produce a truly memorable, soul-warming meal. This dish is designed for sharing with the people you love, creating new memories with every spoonful.

We are so excited for you to give this recipe a go and adapt it to your own tastes. Please let us know how you get on in the comments section below—we always enjoy hearing from you! Remember to rate the recipe and share it with anyone who could use a bowl of comfort this week. For other comforting dinner inspirations, why not take a look at our much-loved Low Carb Chicken Casserole.

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Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 40 mins
Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large chicken breasts (about 600g), diced into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 celery stalks, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 60g plain flour
• 1 litre good-quality chicken stock
• 150ml double cream
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• A handful of fresh parsley, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• For the biscuits:
• 250g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 85g cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 175ml whole milk

Instructions

1. Make the Stew Base: In an oven-safe pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Season and brown the chicken; set aside. Sauté onion, carrots, and celery until tender (8-10 mins). Stir in garlic and thyme, then sprinkle over the plain flour and cook for 2 mins. Gradually whisk in the chicken stock. Return the chicken to the pot with the bay leaf and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Prepare the Biscuit Topping: While the stew simmers, whisk together the self-raising flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Using your fingertips, rub in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Gently stir in the milk to form a soft, tacky dough, being careful not to overmix.
3. Assemble and Bake: Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C Fan). Remove the bay leaf from the stew and stir in the double cream and parsley. Season to taste. Drop spoonfuls of the biscuit dough over the surface of the simmering stew. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown and cooked through. Rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition (per serving): Information not available.