Easy Healthy Chicken and Dumplings

4.87 from 52 votes

My Easy Healthy Chicken and Dumplings is a delicious lightened up makeover of a classic stick-to-your ribs comfort food. Fluffy dumplings are simmered in a pot of homemade chicken soup on the stove. It's the perfect hearty meal to warm you up on a cold day!

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Total Time40

Course: Entree, Soup

Cuisine: American

Diet: Low Calorie, Low Fat, Low Salt

Servings:

Calories: 342kcal

Author: Dr. Sonali Ruder

Equipment

Dutch oven

Ingredients

Soup:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup diced carrots
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons flour
1 ½ teaspoons fresh thyme (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
1 bay leaf
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
3 cups diced or shredded cooked chicken or turkey (can use rotisserie chicken)
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Dumplings:

1 cup all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
6-8 tablespoons buttermilk*
1 large egg
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat and add the onion, celery, and carrots. Sautè the vegetables until they start to soften, 3-4. Add the garlic and cook another minutes until fragrant.
Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir to combine. Cook 1-2 minutes, until flour is a pale golden brown. Then add the thyme, bay leaf, and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer until the vegetables are cooked, about 10 minutes. Stir in the cooked chicken, parsley, and lemon juice. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.
To make the dumplings, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper together in a medium bowl. Stir 6 tablespoons buttermilk, the egg and melted butter together in a second bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold together with a spatula until just combined (don't over-mix the dough). Add an additional tablespoon or two of buttermilk if needed to form a moist and spongy dough.
Lower the heat on the stove so that the soup is at a low simmer. Using a small cookie scoop or two spoons, drop balls of the dumpling dough into the lightly simmering soup. Each dumpling should be about two teaspoons big- they will expand in the soup. Spoon a little of the soup over each dumpling to moisten them.
Cover the pot and cook until the dumplings are firm and cooked through, 18-20 minutes. Try to avoid uncovering the pot- this will help the dumplings steam and retain their moisture. Garnish chicken and dumplings with chopped parsley and/or thyme and plenty of black pepper.

Notes

* If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make it by stirring 1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice into ½ cup milk (any type). Let the mixture sit for a 5-10 minutes until it thickens slightly and small curds form. Use as directed in the recipe.
When making the biscuit dough, stir the ingredients together with a spatula until just combined. Avoid over-mixing the dough- this will help keep them light and fluffy.

Once you add the dumplings to the soup, lower the heat to a simmer, not a hard boil. This way the delicate dumplings don’t break apart.

If you'd like a creamier soup, you can stir in ¼-½ cup of whole milk or half and half.

Don’t open the lid to peek once you put the dumplings in. This will help the dumplings steam and retain their moisture.

Nutrition