I’m home from a week chasing the leaves and breaking in my knit hat in Maine. I left New Orleans, sweating through a sweater and found myself in a red, orange, and yellow actual autumn wonderland up north craving this chicken and dumpling recipe.
Whenever I come home from a trip, which feels like a lot this year, I feel a big, open-hearted drive to nest and settle. I water the houseplants… those poor things are troopers. I usually hustle out the Instant Pot and make a batch of beans. I jar the kombucha… or think about it. I feed Tron because he’s surely yelling about snacks. I re-up my kitchen altar. Refill the seed cycling balls and settle on a cozy cozy recipe to make and enjoy all week. It’s all in an effort to get grounded at home. A hot batch of something always does the work.
This week I’m filling my dutch oven with chicken and dumplings but because October is upon us we’ve got to pumpkin sooooomething. Let’s pumpkin these dumplings! What do ya say?
Here’s what we’ll need for this chicken and dumpling recipe:
• Stew starter veggies like onion, celery, carrots, and garlic.
• Boneless skinless chicken thighs, or whatever cut you’d like.
• Dried thyme, salt and pepper.
• Chicken broth and finishing greens like peas and parsley.
• Flour, baking powder, salt, egg, pumpkin puree, butter and buttermilk for the dumpling. * These dumplings also work really well substituting a gluten-free flour blend!
Start by generously seasoning the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
We’re going to pan fry the chicken so leave it at room temperature for about 30 minutes so we’re not pan trying it from fridge-cold.
Brown each piece of chicken on both side in hot olive oil. There’s no need to worry about cooking the chicken all the way through, it will simmer later in the stew.
Set the browned chicken aside and add the vegetables to olive oil. Stir up any browned bits of chicken from the bottom of the pan as the vegetables soften.
With the vegetables softened, add the chicken back to the pan, along with a bay leaf.
Add the chicken broth and let the chicken and dumpling recipe simmer to cook the chicken through and incorporate the ingredients.
Spoiler alert: everything smells amazing right now!
While the stew cooks we can assemble the dumplings. Think of these as little drop biscuits that will cook and float as they simmer in the stew.
My first past at typing ‘biscuits’ here came out as ‘bizcuits’ and I really should have left it. My soul was on to something.
Start with flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and a dash of dried thyme. Add cold butter, just a bit, and using fingers, break the butter down into the dry ingredients.
In a small bowl whisk together the egg, buttermilk, and pumpkin puree.
We’ll add the wet ingredients directly to the flour mixture and stir so a soft, wet dough.
I used an ice cream / cookie scoop to dollop the dumpling dough into the hot stew.
Cover the pot and allow the mixture to come to a simmer – cooking the dumplings in the stew itself.
The dumplings will puff together to pleasingly plump. You’ll know it when you see it.
Serve warm and hearty with a dumpling or two in each bowl. It’s just as satisfying as your heart is telling you.
Other cozy recipes you might enjoy this time of year:
Roasted Vegetable Winter Crumble
Chicken and Pumpkin Dumplings
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Ingredients
For the soup:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- salt and pepper to season chicken thighs
- 1 large yellow onion, coarsely diced
- 4 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 4 ribs celery, trimmed and sliced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
- 2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
For the dumplings:
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold cut into cubes
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk, cold
Instructions
- To make the soup, place oil in a heavy bottom soup pot over medium-high heat.
- Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper on both sides. Place in the soup pan to brown, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan and place on a plate. Chicken won’t be fully cooked through but it will return to the pot to simmer a bit later.
- Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and thyme to the pot. Stir and saute until the onions are cooked through and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Return the chicken to the pot. Add the bay leaf and chicken stock.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the vegetables are cooked through and softened, about 30 to 40 minutes.
- Remove the chicken when it is cooked through and carefully chop and shred it. Return the chicken to the pan.
- While the soup simmers. Make the dumplings. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, thyme, and pepper. Add the butter and use your fingers to break it down into the flour mixture creating small flecks of butter throughout the mixture.
- In a small bowl whisk together egg, pumpkin, and buttermilk. Stir the wet mixture into the dry until just combined. Try not to over-stir the dumpling dough.
- When the vegetables in the soup are cooked through and the chicken is chopped and returned to the pot, bring the soup to a light simmer and season to taste. Stir in peas and parsley. Use a small spoon to gently dollop about 2 tablespoons of dough into the simmering soup.
- The dumpling may sink, but will rise to the surface of the soup as it cooks. Add all of the dumplings.
- Cover the pot. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes the dumplings should be cooked through. Remove from heat and serve warm!
Catherine Kiefer
We keep kosher, so any suggestions on how to make it dairy-free? Substitutions for butter and buttermilk?
joythebaker
You could use shortening to replace the butter and either vegan milk or water to replace the buttermilk! Hope this helps!
Allison
This was the recipe I made the most, out of all recipes, from any blog or book. I made it the day it zoomed into my inbox, and I have not stopped making it since. I absolutely adore this. I am about to make a big pot of it tonight to feed me for the next few days.
Cheryll
How many dinner servings will this make?
joythebaker
I would say 4!
Sabrina
really nice recipe had never made it before but ordered it a bunch, just never came across a recipe for chicken and dumplings before, so thank you
Rena
For me without chicken as I don’t like chicken – but the rest sounds perfect!
xx from Bavaria/Germany, Rena
http://www.dressedwithsoul.com
Charlotte Hicks
This looks yummy. Showed my husband the picture and I got a thumbs up response. Going to make it for dinner tonight. Love all of your recipes, Joy.
Samantha
This recipe is perfect for foggy days like today!
Sina
Sounds delicious!
Thinking about adding a good piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped, alongside the veggies. What do you think, will this work with the other flavours of this stew, Joy?
Laura
This looks so good. Is the pumpkin from a tin? Or do you cook and purée it yourself? It’s turned very grey and murky inEngland and this looks like the antidote
joythebaker
I just use the pumpkin from a tin!
Kelsey
I just keep thinking ‘Chicken and Pumplings’ #missedopportunity #sorrynotsorry
Tina
Yes! So much yes! #chickenandpumplings
joythebaker
You’re right you’re not wrong. :)
Marianne
Hi Joy! I know you’re always thinking of gluten-free options, so I thought I’d ask – do you have a recommendation for GF drop biscuits? I usually just replace with a 1:1 gf flour alternative, but maybe you have a better suggestion?
joythebaker
A 1:1 gf flour alternative is what I would go with too! Maybe I’d just add an extra egg yolk.
Rita
Brilliant! My husband and I are living off your tomato-zucchini soup for the rest of the week, but this is next on my dinner list!
Rachel >> Strangers on a Plain
I’ve never had chicken and dumplings. What is the consistency of the bread part?
joythebaker
The bread is soft and wet on the outside and moist and fluffy on the inside.
Julia
Does this reheat well? I was thinking of making for a Potluck lunch
joythebaker
I would say that it reheats well once. More than once and the dumplings will start to break down.
Tonya
Nice twist on the dumpling dough with pumpkin! It’s a creative way to put a bit of fall taste in and really make it for the season! I hope to make it this weekend!