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This Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings recipe is a great Sunday dinner with a hearty chicken thigh filling and fluffy homemade dumplings on top.
❤️ Why you’ll love this recipe: We’ve nailed the best way to make fluffy, light and airy dumplings to serve over a classic and creamy chicken stew. It’s a one-pot meal that’s a total family favorite all year round.
As pressure cooking experts, we’ve finally found the key to making a great chicken and dumpling recipe from scratch in the Instant Pot.
These cookies are made from scratch but you don’t need any baking skills to pull them together.
And the filling is packed with flavor and a delicious, creamy sauce.
This is one of our new favorite Instant Pot Chicken recipes. It’s a treat at our house and also makes a great dish for entertaining! Serve as a single potato or with Creamy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes for a total comfort food dinner.
Before I developed this recipe, I had only ever made chicken and dumplings once as a newlywed. These dumplings were rubbery and I have been avoiding this dish ever since. But my son asked for it, so it was time to try again. But the flavor was perfect from the start, and after a few adjustments for the Instant Pot, the dumplings turned out fluffy too.
Ingredients for Chicken Stuffing
Here’s what you’ll need for this quick chicken and dumplings recipe:
- Chicken thighs. Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the filling
- Vegetable oil and Butter. This combination produces crispy, golden chicken and a rich, buttery sauce.
- Aromatics. The flavor base for the chicken filling is made with onions, celery, carrots and garlic.
- White wine. Choose a dry white that you like the taste of. We used a mini bottle of Sutter Home Chardonnay for this recipe. If you want to make this alcohol-free, you can use extra broth.
- Tomato puree. For extra umami taste.
- Herbs. Use dried thyme, parsley and bay leaves to liven up the chicken filling.
- Frozen peas. I like small peas.
- Cream. This is optional but adds a luxurious texture to the sauce. My husband prefers the dish with the cream, but I like it better without it.
Dumpling ingredients
To make dumplings on top you will need:
- Flour. Use unbleached all-purpose flour.
- Baking powder to lighten and ferment the dumplings
- Cream. You can replace this with milk.
- Butter. Use unsalted to control the seasoning of your dumplings
- Parsley flakes. This is optional.
How to make chicken and dumplings in a pressure cooker
✅ This simple recipe works in any brand of electric pressure cookerincluding the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Power Pressure Cooker XL.
Start by seasoning the chicken with salt and pepper all over. Mix the thyme, salt, pepper and parsley in a small bowl.
Heat the pot with the Saute function, then use the oil to brown the chicken and the butter to sauté the vegetables. This combination is my favorite for building classic comfort food flavors.
Add the wine and deglaze the bottom of the pot. (Or if you don’t use the wine, just use the chicken stock to deglaze the pot.) The important thing is to stir until all the browned bits have scraped off the bottom of the pot and into the cooking liquid to flavor your food. Then add the tomato puree and stir well until combined.
Return the chicken to the pot along with the bay leaves and spices. Prepare the dumpling dough and scoop it on top of the chicken in large balls.
Lock the lid in place and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. Release the pressure for 10 minutes, then finish with a quick pressure release. Remove the lid, then use a slotted spoon to transfer the dumpling to a plate.
Shred the chicken with two forks and remove the bay leaves from the filling. If you like, add heavy cream to the filling in the casserole. Stir in the shredded chicken together with the frozen peas.
Place the dumplings back on top of the filling and use the Saute function to cook until the chicken is heated through and the dumplings are cooked through. Enjoy!
Important tips for making chicken and dumplings
To form the dumplings, I had the best luck scooping the batter with a cookie scoop onto a plate, then using my fingers to place the dumpling ball in the perfect spot in the pressure cooker.
This recipe makes a lot of dumplings, so go ahead and use a generously sized scoop.
If you have more dumplings than you can fit on your chicken filling, you can bake them up and serve them on the side. I made mine in the toaster oven while the chicken and dumplings cooked in the Instant Pot.
The most important thing when making dumplings is to avoid overmixing. This is a good overview of why overmixing doughs can make them rubbery and dense.
Frequently Asked Questions about Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
Store leftover chicken and dumplings in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. Heat individual portions in the microwave or Instant Pot.
You can freeze it for later, but I recommend freezing the chicken stew separately from the dumplings for best results. If you do it this way, I will generally make the dumplings fresh and just bake them in the oven before serving.
To freeze leftovers, let the bowl cool completely. Then transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze for up to six months. Reheat from frozen or thaw overnight in the fridge.
yes! Feel free to use any frozen vegetables you like in addition to, or instead of, the peas.
MORE Quick Chicken Recipes
You’ll love these other easy chicken recipes made in a pressure cooker:
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Ingredients
Filling
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2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, well trimmed (about 10-ish?)
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Salt and pepper to taste
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1 teaspoon dried finely chopped thyme
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1 tsp salt
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½ tsp pepper
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1 tablespoon dried parsley
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1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, as needed
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2 tablespoons of butter
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1 dl finely chopped onion
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2 celery ribs, sliced ¼ inch thick
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2 carrots, sliced ¼ inch thick
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2 garlic cloves, chopped
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1/2 cup dry white wine
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3 dl chicken broth, plus extra as needed
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2 tsp tomato puree
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2 bay leaves
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1 dl frozen peas
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1/4 cup heavy cream, optional
Dumplings
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1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
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1 tbsp baking powder
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1 tsp salt
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1 cup heavy cream
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4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
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1 tablespoon parsley flakes, if desired
Instructions
- For the stew: Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Mix the thyme, salt, pepper and parsley and set aside.
- Select Saute and preheat the pressure cooker. Add the oil and half of the chicken thighs to the pan. Do not crowd. Fry until nicely colored on one side (about 3 minutes). Transfer to a plate. If needed, add more oil and brown remaining chicken thighs.
- Add butter, onion, carrots, and celery and sauté until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
- Add the wine** to the pan and scrape the bottom of the pan to ensure no browned bits remain. Add the chicken broth, tomato puree and stir until well combined. Add the bay leaves and the previously prepared thyme mixture. Return the chicken to the pot, along with any juices that may have collected.
- Scoop the dumpling dough on top in heaping tablespoon-sized portions. (I like to use a cookie scoop for this and drop the dough balls in my hand before gently placing them in the liquid.)
- Lock the lid in place. Select High pressure and 8 minutes cooking time.
- When the cooking time is up, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes and then finish with a quick pressure release. When the valve falls, carefully remove the cap.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the dumplings to a plate. Remove the chicken to a cutting board and shred. Set aside. Discard the bay leaves.
- If using, add heavy cream and stir until combined. Return the shredded chicken to the pot. Add the frozen peas and stir. Place the dumplings on top and simmer until the chicken is heated through and the dumplings are done in the middle.
- Pour into bowls.
Nutritional information:
Return: 12
Serving size: 1
Amount per portion:
Calories: 383Total Fat: 23gSaturated fat: 11 gTrans fat: 0gUnsaturated fat: 11 gCholesterol: 137 mgSodium: 909mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 23g
Nutritional information is calculated by Nutritionix and may not always be accurate.
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