My homemade chicken and dumplings recipe is made extra cozy in the crockpot! The creamy chicken soup is loaded with fresh thyme and sage, as are the fluffy drop dumplings, and the rich butter and heavy cream give us luxuriously comforting vibes. It's so easy to make, too; everything is dumped into the slow cooker and the pillowy-soft sour cream and sage dumpling dough is dropped in at the last half hour of cooking. This chicken dinner is a one pan plan, my family's favorite go-to meal during the fall and winter!
I have been on a crockpot kick lately! Grey was part of a very big statewide science competition and won 2nd place, y'all! We could not be more proud of him (he also got his report card today, nothing but As and Bs with a '94 A' average, Internet Aunties!) but it was a ton of hard work for all of us.
We were all busting our hump making sure he was going to his competition meetings, plus his extracurriculars, and a math tutor! This baby has been booked and busy, but he was certainly loving (almost) every minute of it. And I...was leaning on my slow cooker a lot for dinner.
The fall is such a busy time for us; this soup has carried so many weeknights coming home really late after leaving to pick up Grey from school and days that I'm swamped with work. It makes dinner a no brainer.
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Creamy Chicken Soup + Fluffy Sage Dumplings
A crock pot of creamy, simmering soup has carried so many weeknights on its back: since I prep my mirepoix at the beginning of the week (pro mom tip right there! No prep when you're actively cooking) it's just a dump-and-go recipe with no prep time at all! So great when I am literally trying to run out the door in 10 minutes.
I start this before I pick up Grey, and by time we get home, I just drop the dumplings into the soup, add a hearty pour of heavy cream for that cream consistency and finish cooking for half an hour. So simple.
Ingredients
Full ingredients, measurements, and printable instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs - I love dark meat chicken for any chicken stew recipe. The thighs are perfect for long cooking times, they become super tender, they have great flavor, and are almost impossible to overcook.
- Butter - Any kind of butter you like works here. When I'm making stews, I go for salted butter since I always have it on hand!
- Chicken Broth - My favorite to use it either homemade chicken stock or chicken bouillon base from Better than Bouillon.
- Fresh Sage and Thyme - I am a fresh herb fiend, but dried herbs work great. Use half the amount of dried herbs as fresh (1 teaspoon fresh = .5 teaspoon dried, okay?)
- Mirepoix (Onions, Celery, and Carrots) - this is our aromatic base, giving lots of classic French flavor in our creamy soup.
- Garlic Powder - Boiled garlic just isn't the flavor we're going for, so garlic powder will take its place.
- All Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder - if your baking powder is over 6 months old, replace it! It loses its potency after 6 months, messing with the rise of your dumplings.
- Heavy Cream - this can be swapped for whole milk or half and half, but if you want that seriously luxurious creaminess, go for the heavy cream. It's cozy season, after all!
- Sour Cream - this is for these fluffy sour cream sage dumplings, though you can use more heavy cream instead.
- Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
How to Make Creamy Chicken and Dumpling Soup
This recipe is so simple! There's no need to bust out any extra pots and pans, no roux, no extra fuss.
Step 1 | Season the raw chicken with salt and pepper and put it into the slow cooker with your mirepoix, garlic powder, half of the herbs, and the chicken broth all in the crockpot. Put it on high and let cook for 3 hours, or on low for 6 hours.
Step 2 | Shred the now tender chicken thighs, then add the shredded chicken back to the pot along with the heavy cream.
Step 3 | While the soup is simmering mix up the dumpling dough with the chopped sage, then carefully scoop the dough and drop them into the soup. Cooking the dumplings like this makes the soup thick and creamy without having to use a roux or a cornstarch slurry. Let it simmer for 30 more minutes, until the dumplings are doubled in size, fluffy, and cooked through. Season the soup to taste before serving.
Step 4 | Serve a bowl of chicken soup with the dumplings on a cold day for a meal loaded with creamy comfort.
Variations and Pro Tips
- Fast and Easy Chicken Soup and Dumplings - make the soup with shredded rotisserie chicken, let cook on high for 30 minutes til the veggies are tender, then drop in the dumplings and simmer. Chicken and dumplings in an hour!
- Old School Creamy Soup - I know many older ladies who swear by a can of cream of chicken soup for their chicken and dumplings, and a can of pop biscuits, too. You can go those routes, but this recipe is made from scratch.
- Add Other Vegetables - I am no stranger to adding in a bag of frozen peas, corn, or green beans to this soup instead of just the mirepoix and chicken.
Storage and Reheating
Store the chicken and dumplings in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge.
Rewarm with a splash of broth in a saucepan over medium heat or in the microwave until warmed through; the cold will thicken the soup a ton!
Equipment
CrockPot or other Slow Cooker
FAQs
The dumplings will fluff up in size, usually doubling in size when it's cooked through. Take one and cut it in half; if the inside is fluffy and not gummy and dense looking, it's cooked!
Don't be afraid to season your food, honey! The herbs, the mirepoix, salt and pepper, they're all here to boost the flavor of your food. Taste and season at the end as well!
Yes, you can! Try my dutch oven chicken and dumplings recipe, it's really easy and I have step by step process shots and instructions for beginner cooks!
More Comfort Food Soup Recipes to Try
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Crockpot Creamy Chicken and Dumpling Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
Creamy Chicken Soup
- 6 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup yellow onions, small dice, about 1 small onion
- ½ cup carrots, small dice, about 1 medium carrot
- ½ cup celery, small dice, 2 celery ribs
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, OR ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoon finely chopped sage leaves, about 3-4 leaves, OR 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 6 cups chicken broth, low sodium
- ½ cup heavy cream
Sage Dumplings
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped sage leaves, OR ½ teaspoon dried sage
- ½ cup sour cream
Instructions
- Turn your slow cooker to high power mode. Season the chicken thighs liberally with salt, pepper, and garlic powder in the slow cooker. Then put the onions, celery, carrots, butter, fresh herbs in. Pour the chicken broth over all of the ingredients and close the lid. Let cook for 3 hours.6 chicken thighs, 2 teaspoon kosher salt, 2 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 cup yellow onions, ½ cup carrots, ½ cup celery, 2 tablespoon butter, 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, 2 teaspoon finely chopped sage leaves, 6 cups chicken broth
- At the 3 hour mark, pull the chicken thighs from the slow cooker and shred them with a fork. Place the shredded chicken back in and add in the heavy cream, place the lid back on while you make the dumplings.½ cup heavy cream
- Next, make the dumplings. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, kosher salt, and sage. Add in the sour cream and stir just until the ingredients have come together without dry bits, don't work it too much1½ cups all purpose flour, 2 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon finely chopped sage leaves, ½ cup sour cream
- Drop in the dumplings by the spoonful. You can move them around and mess with them while in the pot, this results in a thicker stew and smaller sized dumplings, because they do fluff up to double the size if you don't.
- Cook the soup for another 30 minutes, until the soup is thick and creamy and the dumplings are fluffy and fully cooked through. You can check by taking one and opening it with a fork or spoon. If it's light and fluffy on the inside, the dumplings are ready!
- Serve hot with extra ground black pepper!
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