I adore homemade chicken and dumplings and usually I reach for my tried and true recipe for homemade chicken 'n dumplings whenever the craving hits. While that recipe is easy, it is a bit messy and time consuming rolling out each individual dumpling.
This magic chicken and dumplings casserole recipe gives you all of the flavors of the classic version with a lot less labor involved. The dumpling mixture is spread on top of the chicken - kind of like a cobbler- creating a dumpling-like crust on the top of the dish.
Being a die-hard lover of homemade chicken and dumplings, I was skeptical, but my entire family raved over this recipe. You still get the buttermilk-y tang in the flavor of the dumplings and all of the tastes in the from-scratch version are intact.
Chicken and dumplings were usually a weekend treat meal due to the time it takes to roll up, and clean up after, all of those little dumplings. Now we have a version that's perfect for busy weeknights!
I'll always have a special place in my heart (and tummy) for the real stuff, but I beg you to give this casserole a try. You won't regret it, it's SO GOOD! Enjoy!
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Magic Chicken and Dumplings Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 TBS unsalted butter, divided
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- Salt and Pepper
- 3-4 cups of cooked chicken, shredded, light and dark meat (I just pull the meat off of a rotisserie chicken)
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
- 1 cup self-rising flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 can Cream of Chicken condensed soup (see notes)
- 2 cups (2 8oz cans) of chicken broth
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F
- Melt 1 TBS butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and saute until soft and fragrant. Season with a little salt and pepper.
- Melt the remaining butter into the pan with the onion.
- Spread the shredded chicken into a 9x13 baking dish and top with the buttery onion mixture.
- In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour and baking soda. Add the buttermilk and stir until a loose dough forms. Spoon the dough over the top of the chicken and gently spread it out, but do not stir it into the chicken.
- In the same mixing bowl, mix together the Cream of Chicken and chicken broth. Pour mixture in the baking dish. Bake uncovered for about 40 minutes or until dumplings are golden brown and the liquid is bubbling.
- Remove from oven and allow to sit for 5-7 minutes to allow the dumplings to finish forming and firming up. Serve warm.
Notes
If you prefer not to use classic condensed soup in recipes, you can substitute with an organic, low-sodium, or "heart healthy" brand
OR
You can make your own substitute:
1 TBS all-purpose flour
3 TBS unsalted butter
½ cup chicken broth
½ cup milk
salt and pepper
Melt the butter in a pan over medium-low heat and sprinkle on the flower - whisk to form a pace. Add the chicken broth and milk and continue whisking as the mixture heats to remove lumps. Season with salt and pepper and reduce heat to low. Continue to stir until mixture thickens, allow to cool a bit, and then add to recipes as needed.
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Pam
How many does this serve?
Erin
Hi Pam! This will serve 6-8 people depending on how large your servings are. It's not super deep in the 9x13 pan.
Amber
Just made this for dinner. Holy cow! So delicious! And easy peasy. I was a little skeptical that this would work, with having the broth poured over the batter, but it came out perfectly. 5 out of 5 stars. Next time I’ll add some peas or carrots to give it more volume. Great recipe!
Erin
That's awesome! Thank you for sharing!