Crock-Pot Chicken and Dumplings is a comforting one-dish meal made by slow cooking juicy chicken, flour-based dumplings, and savory gravy. It can be customized with seasonings, vegetables, and low-fat chicken breasts. Dumplings are added later to avoid overcooking.
Chicken and Dumplings is a dish considered a comfort food in some areas, combining juicy stewed chicken and plump flour-based dumplings in a savory gravy. Crock-Pot chicken and dumplings fit the same definition, except a slow cooker is used instead of a stock pot to prepare the recipe. This means that the ingredients can be combined early in the day and left to simmer for several hours. The result is a hearty one-dish meal.
Easier and less fiddly than stovetop prep, cooking Crock-Pot Chicken and Dumplings lets you adapt to any traditional chicken and dumpling recipe. This method is advantageous because there is less cleanup at the end of the cooking time. The preparation time can also be shortened, because the toppings blend well during the extended cooking process.
Most chicken and dumpling recipes suggest using a whole chicken. Skinless chicken breasts can be used for a low-fat version. One can also include root vegetables such as carrots and white potatoes in chicken and dumplings and sometimes onions, celery, peas and water are also added. Traditional chicken and dumplings, however, are nothing more than the title ingredients, gravy and seasonings.
Adding select seasonings like garlic, parsley, thyme, sage, or poultry seasoning deepens the flavor of Crock-Pot’s chicken and dumplings. Some cooks also use prepared stock or canned cream soup for variety and seasoning instead of water. Adding chili powder and curry are more contemporary variations on this dish.
Crock-Pot chicken and dumplings will take significantly longer than those made on a stovetop. The average cooking time for this dish on the stovetop is about an hour. The low setting for a crock pot will take about eight hours, which can be useful for cooks who want to have a ready-to-eat dinner at the end of a workday. Four hours is the average cooking time with a crock pot set on high.
Dumplings are somewhat similar to small biscuits. These morsels made with flour, water, and yeast don’t rise like a cookie. When cooked through, their texture provides a pillow-like counterpoint to the meat in Crock-Pot chicken and dumplings. Using whole-wheat flour to make dumplings can give the dish a nutritional boost and increase the fiber content.
The dumplings don’t go into the slow cooker at the beginning of the cooking time. Even on the low setting, they only need about 30 minutes to firm up, then can be added just before dinner and left to simmer while the side dishes are prepared. Placing the dumplings too early will result in a chewy, soft dumpling that won’t make an eye-catching addition to this dish. Adding herbs to the dumpling mixture can create an extra layer of flavor in the finished dish.
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