Rolled out Chicken and Dumplings straight from a Southern gramma’s kitchen. A truly southern Chicken ‘n’ Dumplins recipe from the Mississippi Delta. Easily double to serve a crowd.
I have this friend. Although she’s not even 30 years old, she has three (almost four!) kids and a husband to feed. This is no problem for her because she is an amazing Southern cook. She grew up in the Mississippi Delta. Have you seen or read The Help?
Almost two years ago (wow, has it been that long?) she invited us over for some good ol’ Southern cooking. She served us this Chicken and Dumplings recipe along with a few southern sides. I really can’t remember the sides (although I do remember they were also delicious) because this dish blew me out of the water and stole the show.
Right then I knew I had to add this recipe to my new Southern collection (that is still pretty bare-bones). But, it took me until now to finally share it with you.
This is a slight adaptation from her grandmother’s recipe. I’m sure her grandmother boiled an entire chicken and made her own homemade stock. You can very easily do that, too, if you want! Since I boil chicken breasts at least once a month, I did use homemade stock and the shredded chicken in my recipe. You can use store-bought stock and a rotisserie chicken instead, but I highly recommend doing it all homemade. It is really very simple.
Let’s talk about the dumplings. A quick floury mixture rolled out flat and cut up into squares or rectangles or whatever you want, really. Maybe you want to take some cookie cutters and cut them into fun shapes for your kids? 🙂 Don’t let my photos deceive you. I’ll be honest and admit that I photographed the reheated leftovers the next day, so it doesn’t look quite as good. Then again, are chicken and dumplins’ ever pretty?
This is the real deal, friends. Good ol’ Southern comfort right in your bowl.
Southern Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
- 10 cups (80 ounces) chicken stock or broth
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cups cooked shredded chicken
For the dumplings:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
For the thickener:
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Bring the chicken stock to a rapid boil in a large pot over high heat. Add the lemon pepper, salt, basil, bay leaves, garlic powder and pepper; stir. (Make sure you season it to your tastes...the above measurements are to our liking but might not necessarily be yours.)
For the dumplings:
- Prepare the dumplings dough while waiting for the stock to come to a boil above. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the melted butter and buttermilk until a dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface generously dusted with flour. Roll the dough to about 1/8 inch thick, then cut into 2-inch squares or rectangles. Drop dumplings into the boiling stock then allow to boil, while stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes or until dumplings are cooked through.
- Once the dumplings are cooked, add the 3 cups of shredded chicken and heat through while stirring. If the soup needs to be thickened, mix together the 1/4 cup buttermilk and 2 Tablespoons cornstarch in a small bowl. Slowly stir into the soup until desired consistency is reached.
- Discard the bay leaves and serve immediately in bowls with a side of warm cornbread and southern greens!
Oh my gosh, does it get any more perfect than this??
The answer is no. No it does not.
Yum! I think I’ll make this tonight!
Hated “The Help,” but love Southern food! I moved to California from North Carolina last month, and I miss NC food already.
You just can’t beat this. I don’t like those fluffy type dumplings of no substance. I prefer the slick dumpling every time. Thanks for this recipe.
Hi, Nikki! I’ve been following your wonderful blog for a while now. Callie is actually the one who introduced me to it. She was my favorite babysitter growing up, and when she found out how food-obsessed I am (it’s no joke. I plan on majoring in nutrition in college), she told me to check out Seeded at the Table. I love reading your posts, especially when they involve MS and letting people know how it’s not such a bad place to live- most of the time. Keep up the great work!
Mary Clay Kline
Yum!! This is not at all how I my Mom made chicken and dumplings growing up. But that is one of the things I love most about southern cooking, the various adaptations of the same meal…and all of them delicious!
I made this tonight and the taste was very good. But my dumplings boiled away by 8 minutes in. Not sure why. I guess my dough was too thin. But I will try it again.
Thank you Finally perfectly seasoned dumplings and easy my life is complete
Just made these tonight!! They where great!! Sticking with this recipe.
Thanks, Bryanna!
This is pretty much how I make mine ! 🙂 I’m a Pennsylvania girl but lived in the south for about 10 years and learned a brand new way of cooking-ya’ll have to try this it’s one of the best !!!!
Thanks, Val! Living in the south is definitely teaching me a few things, especially in the cooking area! 🙂
I happened upon this recipe scrolling through Pinterest and just had to stop by and comment. I’ve noticed that most dumplin’ recipes that I have ran across online look nothing like what I have been accustomed to. In my small section of the rural south the creamy, white, rolled out dumplin’s are more common and are right on spot for me. Although this recipe isn’t the same as mine, the method is very much the same. I think this is a more traditional recipe that has been handed down by our ancestors. Awesome recipe!
Thank you for taking the time to stop by and comment, Miranda! I’d love to see your recipe, too! 🙂
The secret is serving them in a McCarty bowl! LOL
This is my second time making your recipie, OMG YUM! Thank you for sharing, we love it. I will say it does taste better the next day after the chicken broth has been soaked up by all the goodness. The first time I made it for my brother and his family fighting a cold and my brother said it was one of the best meals I’ve ever made. I will continue to make this, thank you again!
Thank you, Lisa! Glad to hear your feedback and also how much your brother liked it! 🙂
This is so good!! I make this every Sunday for my husband and I, and we can take it for lunch all week (Usually it doesn’t make it past Tuesday). I put it on a bed of mashed potatoes.. DELISH!! Thanks for sharing Nikki!!
I’m definitely trying over mashed potatoes next! Thank you for sharing that tip. 🙂 How fun that you take it for lunch! Trying that, too!
My mother always made the best chicken and dumplings and I’ve never been able to make them as good as her. I made this recipe tonight and it was fantastic. It was a big hit and my family said it was as good as my mom used to make! Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you Virginia! That makes me smile! So glad you now have a recipe to reflect your mom’s! 🙂
WOWWWW! I have tried many recipes and non of them been good, I made this yesterday and OMG I thought my mother in-law made the best dumplings (she is the expert) but I have to say mine are way better! Thanks to this recipe so THANK YOU!
I made the dumplings with 1/4 cup canola oil instead of the butter and I used Whole milk.
Trust me this is the recipe that you need for the best chicken and dumplings. Thanks again!
Thank you!! I love your review of this recipe. 🙂 Hoping your mother-in-law doesn’t see! haha!
I don’t have Buttermilk could I substitute it?
Do you have milk? You can make a buttermilk substitute by adding 1 tablespoon of white vinegar to 1 cup of milk — stir and let sit for 5 minutes.
I don’t like any of the food at Cracker Barrel! And it’s not real dumplings unless they’re made with ice water and rolled out thinly and sliced
Hi Lynda, Have you tried this recipe? It’s not appropriate to rate it unless you’ve tried it and have any constructive tips. Thank you.
This is a family favorite for sure. My kids actually mourn the “last time until fall” when they know it’s getting too warm out for me to make this in our un-airconditioned home. Our favorite is using smoked chicken or turkey. I do 1.5 times the recipe so there is plenty for leftovers but I find that it’s too much liquid so I usually reduce it by about 2 cups broth.
I love hearing this, Angie! Thank you for sharing. What a great idea to use smoked chicken!
My oldest sister has Alzheimer’s the other day she mentioned our Mothers homemade dumplings and chicken so I made them for her, now if only I can keep my fork out of the pot she will get her wish
Hi Janet,
That is so sweet of you!! (That is, if you did eventually share. ha!) What a great and thoughtful thing for you to do for your sister!
Thank you she means the world to me, she was my support system when I was growing up, you see I had a large family, six sisters and five brothers. Only one brother left who’s 88 with Alzheimer’s and three older sisters. The sister I am cooking for is only 73 with Alzheimer’s, I was the baby of our family and she spent a lot of her time with me while growing up. I’m sure she’s going to love these dumplings, I had to make extra ones since I ate a few of them . Thank you for sharing and God bless you
Thank you for sharing this, Janet!
She was so happy too see them I will let you know her thoughts tomorrow sometimethanks once again for the delicious recipe
My sister was in awe last night she called me and said she cleaned her plate, my brother in law told me she had two helpings of the chicken and dumplings. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe it will definitely be prepared again. yum
Thank you for coming back to tell me, Janet! I love this so much!
I just made this for my family of 9…everything came out delicious except for the dumplings…did I make it wrong? As I was placing them into the boiling water, they looked delectable, but when they got served and eaten, they were a heavy doughy ball. What did I do wrong? What can I do to fix it in this already made batch?
Hi Kuulei,
Is it possible you were expecting a different type of dumpling? These are heavier doughy dumplings, like thick noodles consistency. Some other types of dumplings recipes create a more biscuit dough, but that’s not this recipe.
Thanks!
These were wonderful. I have been cooking chicken and dumplings for 78 years. We always used crisco but butter was great. We always dried the dumplings awhile on the counter top. Old tricks. Love your recipe.
Thank you so much, Martha! 78 years! I’m humbled you cooked my recipe! God bless you, as well.
God bless you. I forgot to say that.