When the weather gets cold and rainy we all start craving warm, hearty soups and stews to warm us up from the inside out. The weather here in northern California has finally taken a turn for the cold. The perfect weather for a warm hearty stew for dinner. So my bestie Cindy shared her fabulous Chicken & Dumplings recipe with me. We spent a lazy afternoon together in the kitchen cooking up her favorite chicken & dumpling recipe. I’ve eaten a lot of chicken & dumplings in my lifetime, and I can honestly say, hands down, this is the best version I’ve ever eaten! It’s an easy to make meal that produces a rich, thick savory gravy, packed with loads of tender chicken in every bite. Add flavorful root vegetables and the fluffiest, light as air dumplings, and you will think you have died and gone to Chicken & Dumpling heaven!
This recipe is made from scratch, uses common easy to find ingredients, and nothing goes to waste! You can easily feed 6-8 peeps for only about a couple dollars per serving. A great tasting, nutritious meal that’s healthy and affordable? You gotta love that! And leftovers, if you’re lucky enough to have any, taste even better the next day, reheated! Wanna learn how to make it? Keep reading…
Start by removing all the skin and chicken meat from a rotisserie chicken. Reserve all the meat for later.
Place the chicken skin and chicken bones in a large stockpot. Add the chopped onion, celery leaves, carrot peels, parsnip peels and a bay leaf to a large stockpot.
Add enough water to cover all the ingredients and bring to a boil over high heat.
Simmer, covered for 90 minutes.
Remove chicken bones, skin and all the vegetables from the broth and discard them.
Add sliced celery, carrots and parsnips to the strained chicken stock. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once the broth comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer gently until carrots and parsnips are tender, about 15-20 minutes.
Combine corn starch with half cup chicken broth to make a lump free slurry. Once the vegetables are tender, add the cornstarch slurry to the simmering broth, stirring constantly. Pour remaining chicken broth into the pot.
Add the reserved shredded rotisserie chicken meat and chicken bouillon to the pot and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer on low until gravy thickens, about 10-15 minutes.
Chop some fresh parsley. Use fresh, not dried parsley if you have it for best flavor.
Place Bisquick in a small mixing bowl.
Stir together Bisquick, chopped parsley and milk just until combined. Dough will be quite sticky.
Drop large spoonfuls of the dough into the simmering gravy, to make about 8-9 dumplings.
Simmer dumplings in the stew over low heat for 10 minutes, uncovered.
Cover the pot and simmer dumplings and stew for an additional 10 minutes over low heat; dumplings will puff up as they cook.
To serve, scoop out a dumpling and cover it with a generous amount of the chicken, vegetables, and gravy. Dig in and try not to make a pig of yourself!!!
OMGosh! This is a fantastic meal! Perfect when it’s cold outside and you’re craving something warm and comfy for dinner! It cooks up in one pot, you use every part of the rotisserie chicken (nothing goes to waste), the gravy is savory, rich and thick and the vegetables add more flavor to round out this stew. It’s perfection in a pot! This was the stew your grandmother cooked and you are going to LOVE it!!!
Thank you Cindy for this fabulous recipe, it’s going to make an appearance at our table many times this winter for sure! I look forward to cooking and eating more amazing meals with you! You’re the bomb girl!!!
Cindy’s Old Fashioned Chicken & Dumplings
Ingredients
- 1 large Rotisserie chicken
- 3-4 stalks celery, and leaves sliced
- ½ onion, cut into chunks
- 5-6 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 medium parsnips, peeled and sliced
- 1 bay leaf
- water
- 1 tsp chicken bouillon
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 14.5 oz chicken broth
- ½ cup corn starch
For the dumplings:
- 2 cups Bisquick mix
- ⅔ cup milk
- 3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Remove skin and chicken meat from the rotisserie chicken. Reserve meat for later.
- Place chicken skin and bones in a large stockpot. Add the chopped onion, celery leaves, carrot peels, parsnip peels and bay leaf to the stockpot. Add enough water to cover all the ingredients.
- Bring to a boil and simmer on low, covered for 90 minutes.
- Remove chicken bones, skin and all the vegetable peels from the broth and discard them.
- Add sliced celery, carrots and parsnips to the strained chicken stock. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots and parsnips are tender, about 15-20 minutes.
- Combine corn starch with half cup chicken broth to make a lump free slurry. Once the vegetables are tender, add the cornstarch slurry to the simmering broth, stirring constantly. Pour remaining chicken broth into the pot.
- Add the reserved shredded rotisserie chicken and chicken bouillon to the pot and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer on low until gravy thickens, about 10-15 minutes.
- In a small bowl stir together Bisquick, chopped parsley and milk. Dough will be quite sticky.
- Drop large spoonfuls of the dough into the simmering gravy, to make about 8-9 dumplings.
- Simmer dumplings in the stew over low heat for 10 minutes, uncovered.
- Cover pot and simmer dumplings and stew for an additional 10 minutes over low heat; dumplings will puff up as they cook.
- To serve, scoop out a dumpling and cover the it with a generous amount of the shredded chicken, vegetables and gravy. Dig in!
Did You Make This?
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Romans 15:13.
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This is such a great recipe Barbi! It’s honestly the first dinner I cooked for my husband, 32 years ago. ❤️ Thank you for posting such a delicious recipe.