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Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings is a comforting, delicious homestyle meal that you can make in about an hour. I think you will enjoy this pressure cooker chicken and dumplings recipe. I have included instructions for both biscuit and homemade dumplings!
Originally published on 1/25/18
Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
Growing up at my house, one of the best things we ate was our mom’s Chicken and Dumplings. She made hers in a cast iron dutch oven. And sometimes I do, too.
Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings are so much faster to make, and taste so good! This recipe makes a fantastic one-pot meal.
This is a recipe that has been in my family forever. I did bump up the flavors a little though. I’m sure that most cultures have a version of this that someone’s mom, nana, or even a dad or grandpa made for them.
Meals like this bring back warm and happy memories of spending time with those we care about, even when they are not right here with us. Food can do that.
Start with getting all of your ingredients gathered together and prepared. Or as the French say. “Mise en place” (everything in place).
Decide which style of dumplings you want to use, and prepare them, too. I was asked which are my favorite. I like the homemade fluffy dumplings. My husband likes the flattened biscuits (he thinks they are more like noodles).
Whichever style you choose will be easy to make, and will taste great!
Now that I’m a Nana I will hopefully be remembered for my pressure cooker chicken and dumplings recipe, among other things!
Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings is a pretty quick meal, considering how delicious and hearty it comes out. Much faster than my mom’s. Thanks to my Instant Pot. Love you Mom!
Instant Pot Taco Soup
Instant Pot Easy Tomato Soup
Instant Pot Simple Potato Soup
Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup
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Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Butter
- 1 small Onion, diced
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 cup Carrots, chopped (about 2 or 3 carrots)
- 1 cup Celery, chopped (2 stalks)
- 3 large Garlic Cloves, pressed or minced (about 1 Tbsp)
- 1 teaspoon Salt (more to taste)
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Poultry Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon Sage, dried
- 4 sprigs Fresh Thyme, 2 tsp leaves (or ½ tsp dried)
- 1 4" sprig Fresh Rosemary, 2 tsp leaves, minced (or 1 tsp dried & crushed)
- 4 cups Chicken Broth, low sodium
- 1 large Potato, chopped
- 1 ½ lbs Chicken Thighs, and/or Breasts, cubed
To Finish
- 1 cup Frozen Peas (or mixed vegetables)
- ½ cup Heavy Cream
Quick Dumplings
- 6 jumbo Canned Buttermilk Refrigerator Biscuits* (16 oz pkg contains 8)
Homemade Dumplings
- 1 ½ cups Flour
- ¾ tsp Salt
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 3 Tablespoons Shortening (such as Crisco®) or Cold Butter
- ¾ cup Whole Milk (or buttermilk)
- ¼ cup Chives, finely chopped (fresh or dried) - Optional
Instructions
Choose the Type of Dumplings You Want to Make, and Prepare Them
Prepare Canned Dumplings
- For the canned biscuits, roll each one flat and cut into 6 equal slices. Do this to all 6 and set aside in a bowl. You can also just cut them and not roll them flat.6 jumbo Canned Buttermilk Refrigerator Biscuits*
Prepare Homemade Dumplings
- Put all ingredients except milk and chives in a bowl and use a pastry cutter or a fork to mix well and incorporate the shortening into the dry ingredients.1 ½ cups Flour, ¾ tsp Salt, 2 teaspoons Baking Powder, 3 Tablespoons Shortening
- Stir the milk (and chives, if using) in and combine, until just moistened. Set aside.¾ cup Whole Milk, ¼ cup Chives,
Prepare the Chicken and Sauce
- Turn the pressure cooker on to the Sauté setting. When the pot is hot, add the olive oil and the butter. Then add the onion and bay leaf. Stir.2 teaspoons Olive Oil, 1 Tablespoon Butter, 1 small Onion,, 1 Bay Leaf
- Add the carrot, celery, and garlic. Cook for a few minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot to get up any brown bits (deglaze).1 cup Carrots,, 1 cup Celery,, 3 large Garlic Cloves,
- Add the salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, sage, thyme, and rosemary. Cook for a few seconds to let the herbs & spices become fragrant.1 teaspoon Salt, ½ teaspoon Black Pepper, ¼ teaspoon Poultry Seasoning, ½ teaspoon Sage,, 4 sprigs Fresh Thyme,, 1 4" sprig Fresh Rosemary,
- Add the chicken broth. Put a glass lid on the pot and let the contents warm up to barely a simmer.4 cups Chicken Broth,
- Add the potato and chicken and stir.1 large Potato,, 1 ½ lbs Chicken Thighs, and/or Breasts,
- Add the dumplings.Homemade: Drop heaping teaspoonfulls into the broth (not too large as they need to cook through, and they expand).Biscuits: Add the sliced biscuits into the broth and gently stir to distribute them.
- Cancel the Sauté function.
- Place the lid on the pot and lock in place. Turn the steam release knob to the sealing position.
- Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button (or dial) and then the + or - button (or dial) to select 7 minutes.
- When the cooking cycle has finished, do a Controlled Quick Release of the steam/pressure. Start by using a wooden spoon or other long handled utensil to turn the steam release knob towards Venting, and start letting the steam out gradually.Do this several times, and back off if any of the sauce starts to spew out with the steam. Then open it all the way when you feel certain only steam will be coming out. It will take a couple of minutes to fully vent.
- When the pin in the lid drops down, open the lid carefully, and stir in the frozen peas or mixed vegetables. You may need to push the dumplings aside if you made the fluffy kind.1 cup Frozen Peas
- Stir in the heavy cream (if using) and put the glass lid on to let it sit and heat through for 3-5 minutes.½ cup Heavy Cream
- Taste and adjust salt, if needed.
- Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Resources to Make Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
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I Love your Instant Pot cook book I just got it in the mail last week and can’t wait to start cooking and will let you know how it goes.
I’m so glad you like the book! Thank you for your comment!
It was a good recipe, however, I made the homemade dumplings and did 1.5 x’s the recipe to feed a family of 8. For some reason, the flour in the dumplings made the broth thick, and I got a “burn warning” on my Instant Pot. There was a lot of settling to the bottom which burned. I had to empty the Instant Pot into a large pot and cook on top of the stove for several minutes to get the dumplings that I had left to cook through. It tasted very good. Maybe the canned biscuits worked better. I’m glad everyone else had a better outcome.
It sounds like you stirred them in and didn’t let them sit on top and cook. You can gently stir in the refrigerated biscuit style dumplings, but not the homemade.
I made this recipe tonight for my husband and I, we have never had chicken and dumpling soup before so we were not too sure what to expect. I followed this recipe and we were blown away! This will absolutely be added to my list of soup recipes. The flavour is incredible and the dumplings turned out perfect. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
This recipe didn’t taste like the version of chicken and dumplings we are familiar with. BUT, it tastes like chicken pot pie with the crust cooked into the dish vs a crust on top. Delish! I’m sharing some with a co-worker and I’m looking forward to her comments. I also used the biscuit dough. It was so easy and I liked the texture.
I have never made or eaten chicken and dumplings this way. I’m an American-born Chinese so growing up, I ate my family’s own version of it. It’s not quite like this recipe. I married an Irishman and we have two handsome hybrid sons. While my husband and sons enjoy my mother’s chicken and dumplings, I wanted my sons to expand their tastebuds to similar meals – more of what their dad grew up with.
This recipe has been our go-to for delicious “fluffy clouds and chicken” as my youngest calls it. My husband grew up on the cut, flattened biscuits and the fluffy biscuits have became a wonderful new twist that’s our family’s. Living in the northern suburbs of Chicago closer to Wisconsin, we look forward to sitting down at dinner time to a steaming bowl of fluffy clouds and chicken!
Thank you so much! ❤️
How do I pin this recipe? I don’t see how and I clicked on the “pin this recipe” sentence and nothing happened. Don’t see icons either.
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/68741996177/
Excellent dish. Everyone loved it to the point that the leftovers in the frig were gone the next day. I added celery and onions to the stock and then strained them out after the chicken was cooked. Also used 1 egg plus 1 egg yoke. I had to then add more flour to form a dough. Kneeded the dough until until silky and let it rest for 10 mins before rolling out the dumplings. After all that it turned out great!
Can I substitute frozen veggies for the fresh? If so, would I have to adjust the cooking time?
Yes, just add them in. They will be a little soft, but not too bad. It would be difficult to add them in after pressure cooking because the dumplings are on top.
After successfully making this recipe at least 5 or 6 times I figured it was time to leave a review. This is an excellent, quick & easy way to make chicken and dumplings and it’s easily a favorite in our house.
I do everything exactly as written except I do the dumplings differently only because I “jumped to the recipe” and didn’t look at the pictures.
I have only used canned biscuits (so far) and always the jumbo 8 buttermilk biscuits (16 ounces) and I cut them in half and then into 6 triangles. I do not roll the dough. I cut up the biscuits first and place them on a large baking sheet lined with wax or parchment paper them I do everything else. When it’s time to add the dumplings I just drop them in and gently stir. At the end, they kind of just sit on top so I just move them aside to stir in the cream and peas. They end up sticking together a bit naturally so your dumplings are a good size and soft. Again I only did it “wrong” because I didn’t read everything first, as you should. But since it still turns out great I will continue this way until I’m brave enough to tackle making the homemade dumplings.
Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Sandy. Could I use cream of chicken soup instead of the heavy cream?
That will add too much sodium. I would use whole or evaporated milk.
I have made this recipe for my family numerous times and just love the flavor. I recently made this for someone whose cancer has taken a turn for the worse (and hasn’t been able to eat much) and she loved it. Thank you so much!