A big bowl of Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings is pure delicious comfort food. Ready in a flash with an “it cooked all day” taste, you’ll flip over this tasty recipe!
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This is a “dump and cook” kind of recipe. There is no sauteing of the veggies, no browning of the chicken and you’re going to cook the dumplings with everything else in the Instant Pot.
Push the button, walk away, and become a dinnertime hero.
And if you love this soup (and you will), you’ll adore our Creamy White Bean Soup and Instant Pot Matzo Ball Soup! Looking for a plant-based option? Check out this Vegetarian Dumpling Soup.
What to serve with Chicken and Dumplings?
I save this easy recipe for busy school nights because it is a complete meal in just one bowl. It has protein, veggies, starch, and enough depth to keep you full for hours.
But, if you wanted a few sides to serve with the soup, a simple plate of roasted veggies is delicious. Check out this post on how to roast frozen vegetables for a fast and easy option.
Even with the dumplings in the soup, you might want a bread option for the side. Check out Cheesy Garlic Bread, Air Fryer Texas Toast, Stuffing Biscuits, Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits from scratch, and Pretzel Buns.
How to Tell if the Dumplings Are Done
The dumplings will rise to the surface of the pot when they are cooked through. They’ll be smooth on the outside but have a bread-like texture when cut in half.
The dumplings will be soft but shouldn’t be undercooked or overly doughy.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- If you’re in a pinch, you can sub in a store-bought can of biscuits instead of making your own dumplings. Use one can of biscuits and cut each into four pieces.
- Feel free to add in peeled and cubed russet potato for extra flavor.
- Stir in frozen peas once the soup has cooked. Let sit for 1-2 minutes and then serve.
- Sub in buttermilk for the regular milk in the dumplings for a homestyle flavor.
- This soup will naturally thicken up over time. If making this as part of your easy healthy meal prep, consider adding 1 extra cup of chicken stock or add it when you’re reheating.
- If using leftover chicken that is already cooked, add it after the soup has finished cooking.
- Make your prep even easier by learning how to freeze celery, how to freeze garlic, and how to freeze onions.
More Soup Recipes You’ll Love
- Instant Pot Chicken Pot Pie
- Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana
- Spicy Vegan Butternut Squash Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Instant Pot Beef Tips and Gravy
- Whole30 Potato Soup
- Instant Pot French Onion Soup
- Instant Pot Jasmine Rice
- Instant Pot Tortellini
- Instant Pot Lasagna Soup
- Whole30 Beef Stew
- Instant Pot Tortilla Soup
- Check out all my Instant Pot Soup Recipes
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS
One serving has 4 WW Freestyle SmartPoints.
Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
Soup Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast {cut into small pieces}
- 3 cups carrots {peeled and sliced ~7 carrots}
- 2.5 cups celery {sliced ~6 stalks}
- 1 cup onion {chopped ~1 medium onion}
- 4 cloves garlic {minced}
- 1 tsp dried parsley {or 1 tbsp chopped fresh}
- 1/2 tsp dried sage {or 1.5 tsp chopped fresh}
- 4.5 cups chicken stock
Dumplings Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp butter {melted}
- 3/4 cup milk
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- In a mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, and dried parsley. Add in butter and milk and stir until it is a mostly solid dough. If it is too sticky, add flour 1 tbsp at a time until the dough is no longer tacky.1 tsp dried parsley, 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 3/4 tsp sea salt, 2 tbsp butter, 3/4 cup milk
- Combine the veggies, chicken, stock, and seasonings in the Instant Pot. Stir to combine.1 lb chicken breast, 3 cups carrots, 2.5 cups celery, 1 cup onion, 4 cloves garlic, 1/2 tsp dried sage, 1 tsp dried parsley, 4.5 cups chicken stock
- Drop spoonfuls of the dumpling mixture into the Instant Pot.
- Lock the lid into place and set the steam release handle (valve on top) to “Sealing”. Press Manual>High Pressure>5 minutes.
- When the soup has finished cooking, the instant pot will beep and switch to ”keep warm". Allow it to sit with the lid on for 20 minutes for an 8 quart (25 minutes if you have a 6 quart) and then do a manual release with the nozzle set to venting.
Crockpot Instructions
- Follow step 1 above.
- Combine the veggies, chicken, stock, and seasonings in the slow cooker. Stir to combine.
- Put the lid on and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6.
- Just prior to adding the dumpling dough, turn the crockpot to high for a few minutes.
- Drop the dough in spoonfuls into the crockpot, put the lid back on, and wait 25 minutes. The dumplings will start popping to the surface once they have cooked through.
Stovetop Instructions
- Follow step 1 above.
- Combine the veggies, chicken, stock, and seasonings in a dutch oven or stockpot. Stir to combine.
- Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook until veggies have softened and chicken is cooked through.
- Bring the soup back to a boil, and drop spoonfuls of the biscuits in the soup.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer and leave the lid on for about 15 minutes. Resist the urge to open the lid.
Notes
- Feel free to add in a peeled and cubed russet potato or even peas for extra flavor.
- If using leftover chicken that is already cooked, add it after the soup has finished cooking.
- If you’re in a pinch, you can sub in a store-bought can of biscuits instead of making your own dumplings. Use one can of biscuits and cut each into four pieces.
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My dumplings turned brown and tasted funny. I think it was the butter. Always used vegetable shortening before. The soup was great.
T thank you for this hearty, delicious recipe! Especially appreciate the different cooking methods (i used stove top).
So glad you enjoyed it, Rosalind! It is a family favorite of ours and I love hearing others feel the same! 🙂
In the instructions for the instant pot you say after cooking switch to keep warm but do you release the pressure 1st or leave it sealed?
Hi Ross, in step 5 it notes you release after it has sat for a bit of time (on keep warm): “Allow it to sit with the lid on for 20 minutes for an 8 quart (25 minutes if you have a 6 quart) and then do a manual release with the nozzle set to venting”.
If you vent it immediately after it has finished cooking, the dumplings will disintegrate, and you’ll have a lovely soup “geyser” coming out of the vent..
How do I convert this for a 3 qt IP?
You can simply cut the recipe in half (yahoo)!
In the recipe card if you hover over the “servings” section (currently says 10), you will get a little pop-up option to adjust the servings. Slide it back to 5 and you should be fine.
With the 3 quart I would allow for a full 20 minutes natural release before doing a quick release.
Dumplings ended up just a little more dense than I would like, however I did use whole wheat flour and since I was out of milk I substituted heavy cream and water…thinking it might work. Other wise I filled the recipe and the soup itself was delicious
Whole wheat plus a thicker milk would definitely lead to a denser dumpling! Glad it worked out other than that. 🙂
Can you use chicken that’s frozen?
It should work but I haven’t tried it myself. If you’re using frozen breasts, I would think that when the soup is done you’d need to shred it.
This looked exactly like the pictures. The flavor was delicious. The next time I make this I might cut the dumpling recipe in half. Overall, super easy and tasty.
So glad you liked it! 🙂 And thanks for taking the time to leave a review.
My family really enjoyed this Chicken and Dumplings recipe. It is so hard to make everyone happy, especially with new recipes. Thanks so much for working so hard to create these recipes for us, especially with the different methods! My next goal is to try the Healthy Orange Chicken.
Rebecca, I’m so glad to hear it was a hit with the family! I have 2 picky eaters so I get the challenge. I’m thrilled my soup helped solve a “what’s for dinner” problem. 🙂
Oh my gosh! This was the perfect winter meal. My husband went back for thirds. So yummy and easy to make. Can’t go wrong! Did the instant pot version and the dumplings turned out perfect. Who knew?!
It’s such a fun one-pot meal and I love that he went back for seconds! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. 🙂
So good! Had to do stovetop version for multiple reasons. My daughters mind was blown with the idea that the dumplings could cook in the soup and not be mushy. She is my little chef, this was a revelation that was the topic of discussion for the entire meal!???? Loved the added seasonings in the dumplings. Will be making again????????
So glad you and Z had a good time making it! Glad I could blow her mind. 🙂