Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (2024)

FAQs

How do I thicken up my chicken and dumplings? ›

Use Cornstarch to Thicken Chicken and Dumplings

To give that a little thicker texture we're going to add 1 cup of cool water to 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and stir it up well. Make sure the soup is brought back to a good boil and go ahead and stir in the cornstarch mixture.

The dumplings are just three ingredients and are simply added into the bowl of the slow cooker, atop the casserole, during the last hour of cooking.

There are two main reasons that the dumplings in chicken and dumplings turn out hard. One is the cooking; the dumplings will be hard if they are cooked too long or if they are cooked with the lid off so they simmer rather than steam and do not get the moisture from the stew as they cook.

Lower your heat so that your broth is just barely barely barely boiling and drop these pieces in one at a time. It is important that you DO NOT STIR. We are not going to stir these as we don't want our dumplings cooking up. If you do stir, you will basically cause your dumplings to dissolve.

Cover and bring to a vigorous boil. Add roughly one cup of cold water and return to boil while covered. Repeat this step again. The dumplings will be completely cooked and ready when they float on the surface of the boiling water.

Don't Overwork the Dumpling Dough

Stir everything together until the wet and dry ingredients are combined and you don't see any more dry flour. The dough might look a little lumpy, but that's okay! Overworking the dough is one of the easiest ways to end up with tough dumplings.

If the biscuit pieces feel gooey or mushy, they are not thoroughly cooked—give them more time to simmer in the rapidly boiling liquid until perfectly pillowy and fluffy.

Can you cook dumplings in a slow cooker? You “can” but they don't ever come out like dumplings should because most slow cookers don't get hot enough for the dumplings to get proper raise so they come out thick and heavy.

Certainly, foods will cook faster on high than on low. However, for all-day cooking or for less-tender cuts, you may want to use the low setting. It's safe to cook foods on low the entire time -- if you're leaving for work, for example, and preparation time is limited.

Overworking the mixture, thus having heavy dumplings is a common mistake people make. Dumplings need very gentle handling, so mix only until the ingredients are just combined, and if your recipe involves rolling them out with extra flour, avoid using too much.

Do you cook dumplings with lid on or off? ›

Once your water comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium or medium-low. You want a gentle boil that won't disturb your dumplings as they steam. Make sure you cover them! This allows for as much steam as possible so that your dumplings can definitely get cooked.

Cover and simmer until dumplings are cooked through, about 15 minutes. Once you have covered the pan, do not uncover and peek while the dumplings are cooking! In order for the dumplings to be light and fluffy, they must steam, not boil. Uncovering the pan releases the steam.

The dumplings will float to the top of the broth, even though at first they may plop under the broth. It's okay if they cook on top of the chicken pieces. If you removed the chicken, they'd still float to the top, though.

You can make a slurry out of flour and cold water, add to the chicken mixture and cook until thickened (you need to cook this to cook the raw taste out of the flour). Alternately, you can make a slurry of cornstarch and cold water and add to the chicken gravy.

You can thicken this dish by adding more flour, or even cornstarch. Create a slurry with either of these ingredients and milk or water, then stir into your broth base until you get your desired consistency.

If you find that your filling has too much liquid, I recommend draining the entire mixture in a colander. Another trick that I learned from my mother is to add a teaspoon of cornstarch or breadcrumbs to help soak up the liquid.

To thicken chicken and dumplings soup (or any soup for that matter), add about 2 to 3 tablespoons of flour to a mixing bowl. Stir in enough cold water to form a thin paste with no lumps when whisked together. Stir in the mixture to the soup to thicken it up slightly.

Add Flour Or Cornstarch

Instead, ladle a small amount of broth into a separate bowl and let it cool. Add a few tablespoons of flour or cornstarch to the bowl and whisk until it's blended smooth. Next, bring the soup to a simmer and add the mixture back to the pot. Pro tip: Don't dump in the entire mixture at once.