Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
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If you’re wondering, “Can I make Chicken and Dumplings in the Instant Pot?”, the answer is absolutely yes! Our Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings recipe is a one-pot wonder made with real food ingredients and turns out tender and mouthwatering every time.
Or try making our Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings instead.
Why This Recipe is Famous!
This Instant Pot Chicken and Dumpling recipe comes from our cookbook, From Freezer to Cooker, and was good enough to make national television.
Seriously! Check out the segment of us cooking Chicken & Dumplings on Hallmark Home & Family! We showed America how to make Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings and our Instant Pot method, too.
Ingredients Needed
You won’t find any processed ingredients in our recipe, like cream soups or store-bought biscuits. This “from scratch” recipe isn’t difficult, tastes so much better, and is healthier, too! Here are the ingredients you’ll need.
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
Find the full printable recipe at the bottom of this post, but here is an overview…
Step 1: Sauté the Veggies
Turn on the “Saute” function, add oil to the pot, and saute the onions, carrots, and celery for 4-5 minutes. Add in garlic for the last minute and stir. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Turn off the “Saute” function.
Step 2: Season the Chicken Thighs & Pressure Cook
Then, season your chicken with salt and pepper. We use chicken thighs for the recipe because they stay incredibly tender and juicy when cooking in the slow cooker. Just make sure you cook the chicken the correct amount of time! Boneless, skinless chicken breasts will work, too.
Add the chicken, broth, and bay leaves to the Instant Pot and stir to combine. Lock and seal the lid. Cook for 6 minutes at high pressure with a quick release of pressure when the cook time is up.
When the stew is done, remove the bay leaves and the chicken to a wooden cutting board and set aside.
Step 3: Make the Dumpling Batter & Add to the Instant Pot
Turn on the “Saute” function again and bring the stew to a boil. While it heats up, make the dumplings. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and dried parsley. In a small microwave-safe bowl, microwave the butter and milk together until warm, about 1 minute, then whisk to melt the butter and combine. Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture until just combined (do not over-mix).
Working quickly and using a soup spoon or tablespoon, scoop out heaping tablespoons of dumpling batter, and drop into the stew.
Tips for Success:
- Wet your hands to prevent sticking and use them to help slide the batter off the spoon and into the stew.
- Spread the dumplings out so they cover the whole surface
- Get the lid back on the cooker as soon as possible.
Set the lid on top of the cooker, but don’t lock and seal it. Keep it cracked to let steam release. Let the dumplings cook for about 11-12 minutes or until they’ve doubled in size and a toothpick inserted into the center of a dumpling comes out clean.
Step 4: Stir in Chicken and Peas
Meanwhile, shred or chop the chicken into bite-size pieces on a wooden cutting board and set aside.
When the dumplings are done, gently stir the chicken and frozen peas into the stew. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
How to Freeze Chicken and Dumplings
We’ve come up with a foolproof way of prepping this dish ahead of time and freezing it for later so that it TASTES LIKE A FRESH MEAL.
Many would not consider Chicken and Dumplings to be a great freezer meal. Wrong! We have devised a way that Chicken and Dumplings can be frozen and thawed and still taste like a fresh, delicious meal. The best part is that you can cook the meal from frozen in the Instant Pot, unlike the crock pot (which the USDA says you must thaw first).
Read our article here for all our pro tips for freezing chicken dumplings. I promise it will taste like a fresh meal if you follow our instructions.
What Goes With Chicken and Dumplings?
We love that Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings are a one-pot wonder. You’ve got vegetables, protein, and bread/starch all in one delicious bowl! But, if you’d like to add in something on the side, here are a few ideas to round out this comfort meal…
- Salad: Autumn Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette
- Side: Crock Pot Cinnamon Apples
- Dessert: Pumpkin Dump Cake
Can I Make This in the Crock Pot?
Oh yeah! I make it this way all the time using our Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings recipe. Give it a try!
FAQs
Yes, while canned chicken won’t be as flavorful it will work. Just stir it in at the end when you stir in the peas.
Yes, there are ways to make this in advance. You can read detailed instructions in our post written about freezing Chicken and Dumplings.
We haven’t tested that, but I think it would work.
More Comforting Instant Pot Recipes
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Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
Our Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings recipe is a one-pot wonder made with real food ingredients and turns out tender and mouthwatering every time.
Ingredients
Stew
- 1 to 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 celery stalks, sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 4 carrots, sliced 1/4 inch thick (about 1 1/2 cups)
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
- 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth (Note: If using an 8 qt, you may need 6 cups.)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup frozen peas
Dumplings
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (You can sub white whole wheat flour, but we do not recommend subbing whole wheat flour.)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
- 3/4 cup milk (your choice)
*Note from 3/18/22: We updated the amount of broth from 4 cups to 5 cups.
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
NOTE: This recipe was tested in a 6-quart Instant Pot.
Make It Now:
- For the stew: Set the Instant Pot to “Saute”. Melt the butter in the pot. Add the onion, celery, and carrots and cook, stirring, until they just begin to soften, 4 to 5 minutes, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper and stirring in the poultry seasoning and garlic during the last 30 to 60 seconds of cooking. Press “Cancel”. (Freezing instructions begin here.)
- Lightly season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper and place in the Instant Pot. Add the broth and bay leaves and stir to combine.
- Lock and seal the lid. Cook for 6 minutes at high pressure, then quick release the pressure. (The chicken is done when it registers 165°F internally.) Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and set aside. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
- For the dumplings: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and parsley. In a small microwave-safe bowl, microwave the butter and milk together until warm, about 1 minute, then whisk to melt the butter and combine. Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture until just combined (do not over-mix).
- Set the Instant Pot to “Saute” and bring to a boil. Using a soup spoon or tablespoon, scoop out heaping tablespoons of dumpling batter, and drop into the stew. (Wet your hands to prevent sticking and use them to help slide the batter off the spoon.) Try to spread the dumplings out so they cover the whole surface and aren’t on top of one another. Cover the IP loosely with the lid, leaving a crack. Cook for about 11-12 minutes or until the dumplings have doubled in size and a toothpick inserted into the center of a dumpling comes out clean. Press “Cancel”.
- Meanwhile, shred or chop the chicken into bite-size pieces and set aside.
- When the dumplings are done, gently stir the chicken and peas into the stew. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Freeze for Later:
Follow step 1. Let the veggies cool. Season both sides of the chicken lightly with salt and pepper and place the chicken in a gallon-size freezer bag or round container (do not stack the chicken but try to place side by side). Add the broth, bay leaves, and cooled veggies. Seal and freeze (if using a freezer bag, place in a round container that’s the shape of the Instant Pot until frozen). Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and parsley in a quart-size freezer bag or container. Seal and freeze alongside the stew.
Prepare From Frozen:
Note: You will need to have butter, milk, and frozen peas on hand to complete this meal. Set the Instant Pot to “Saute”. Saute the frozen meal for 5 minutes to release some liquid. Press “Cancel”. Follow step 3, but cook at high pressure for 15-20 minutes. Follow Steps 4-7, using the bag of dry mix to make the dumplings in step 4.
Notes/Tips
- Crock Pot Instructions: Try making this same meal using our Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings recipe.
- Can I Make This Gluten-Free? While I haven’t tested gluten-free flour for the dumplings, our readers have reported trying without much success. The dumplings seemed to fall apart for them and melt into the soup. Your best bet may be to make the stew, leaving off the dumplings, and make some gluten-free biscuits to serve on the side.
- Where We Get Our Chicken: We get our chicken from ButcherBox. The chicken is organic and curated from trusted farms. We highly recommend this service to source healthy meat–like uncured bacon, grass-fed beef, and wild salmon–and have used it for years ourselves.
- Check out all of our “best of the best” Instant Pot Chicken Recipes.
I’ll be making this again! It was great!!
Glad you enjoyed this recipe Mya! Thanks for leaving a review.
Perfect introduction to fall
So glad you found the perfect way to welcome fall. 🙂 Thanks for the review Samantha!
We made this today using chicken breast and my husband and grandkids loved it. usually they want fast food.
Hi Martha! So glad to hear this dish won over your fast-food lovers! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
This was SO good! It took me longer than the specified time to prepare, but it isn’t fussy and I increased the recipe by one half because I had 3 lbs. of chicken thighs. I am curious what you’d recommend for storing the dumplings with any leftovers. Would you just leave them in the stew? I am pulling several out and storing them sealed separately in the fridge. I will try to let you know what we think of that method. Thanks for another wonderful, comforting recipe!
When I store this in the fridge, I do leave the dumplings in the stew and they do disintegrate some when reheating. They just make the stew more like a creamy chicken soup. Not bad, though. Let us know how it went with removing the dumplings and storing separately.
Just made this for the first time and it was so good! Perfect comfort bowl of goodness on a cold October evening. I will definitely make this recipe again.
Glad you enjoyed this recipe Robyn, thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
This recipe is so delicious. Everyone in my family ate every bit in their bowl. I used seven bone in thighs (a little over five pounds), and increased the broth to six cups. The chicken was very tender. It is a very special treat. Thank you for sharing it with me.
Hi Barbara. Thanks for sharing your specific alterations so that others can use your experience. So glad you found a treat that your whole family loves!
Failsafe easy to prepare & cook plus delicious
Thanks Marc!
OMG what an amazing dish! This is officially on the meal rotation in our house. Easy to make as well, bonus!!
Yay! I love when we make a family meal rotation. This one is in ours, too!
I love how simple and delicious this recipe is!
Simple AND delicious! We try hard to hit those two adjectives in our recipes. Thank you for the review Kerilyn!
So yummy! Didn’t have celery so I threw in some frozen corn.
Awesome Trista! Love the substitution. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and let other readers what worked for you.
This recipe is INCREDIBLE! We’ve been making home made chicken and dumplings for years but not only was this much faster but it even tastes better. Instapot version rocks, great recipe!
I’m glad you like it as much as we do. It really is easy! Thanks for the review, Josh.
I used this as my base recipe and it was very comforting and healing for my sick family. I used my instant pot to make the chicken stock from a whole chicken and then made the chicken and dumplings on the stove. Thank you for another great recipe, Rachel.
This was so easy and delicious! Definitely a weeknight winner!
Awesome! Love hearing that it was a hit, Tracie.
I made the Instant Pot version. Delicious and simple!
While I love the Crockpot version we have, this is my go-to recipe. Glad you liked it too!