Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings

I have been wanting to make Chicken and Dumplings in the Instant Pot for a while now. I’m glad I finally got around to it because it was such a hit! Everyone loved it, and we had zero leftovers! Though in a house of 7, leftovers are sometimes like unicorns!

Old Fashioned Southern Comfort in a Bowl

Now, I didn’t grow up on Chicken and Dumplings. As a matter of fact, I didn’t try Chicken and Dumplings until I was 18!

Whaaat?

Well, as you probably know, I’m from Honduras, and this just isn’t a dish that is made down there. I tell my husband: If I would have tried Chicken and Dumplings before, I would have moved to Texas sooner! When I did move to Texas for college and met my now-husband Ryan, I was lucky enough to have his home become my place to call home for short vacations when I couldn’t fly all the way back to Honduras. On my first visit there, his mom made Chicken and Dumplings for dinner. I was instantly in love!!

What was that delicious squishy bread?!?! It was like little bits of heaven! And the comforting flavor of the entire dish was just too much! To this day, I believe she made the best Chicken and Dumplings around! She was thrilled that I loved it so much and from that day forward, anytime we would go eat at her place and she was doing the cooking, she would make Chicken and Dumplings for me!

Grandma’s Chicken and Dumplings

My children loved Grandma’s Chicken and Dumplings. I tried a couple of times to make some in the slow cooker, and they were good, but there was nothing like the ones she made. They loved going to her place to see her and it was a bonus when she made her Chicken and Dumplings! I always wanted to get the recipe from her, but she really didn’t have one. She just winged it and every time achieved perfection. I watched her make them several times, but I’m a recipe follower so it wasn’t much help for me.

Sadly, my mother-in-law left us way too soon. The day she passed away, we were with our 3 boys, and my oldest, Ryan, said: “We will never get to eat Grandma’s Chicken and Dumplings again.” Of course, that statement was about way much more than Chicken and Dumplings, but it made us all sad and we all shed some tears together. Eating Grandma’s Chicken and Dumplings meant going to see her an hour away and visiting with her. It meant them spending time with their grandma, which they didn’t do as often as they’d like because of distance.

About ten minutes after my son made that comment, there was a knock on our door. It was my friend and front door neighbor, Melanie. She had brought us food so we wouldn’t have to worry about it on that sad day. To my surprise and astonishment, it was a huge bowl of Chicken and Dumplings! I couldn’t believe it. Grandma was right there with us! I told Melanie the story and she was shocked. She said she considered making many things and for some reason finally settled on Chicken and Dumplings!

Well, I finally came up with a recipe for Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings. With Ryan’s help, I was able to achieve a pretty good version of the dish we all love so much. When we all finished our bowls, we all looked around and I asked: “Well, what did you think?” Ryan Jr responded, “It ain’t Grandma’s Chicken and Dumplings but they’re amazing!” I’ll take that!

Making Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings

So let’s get started and talk about how to make these delicious Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings!

Gather and Prep the Ingredients

First, you’ll need to make sure you have everything you need. It’s a simple recipe because I like to keep things easy. You can look at the recipe below for exact measurements, but you’ll need cubed raw chicken, onion, chicken stock, garlic, frozen peas and carrots mix, cream of chicken soup, pepper, celery, parsley, thyme, and some Better Than Bouillon (this stuff is good!). You will also need a can of Grand’s biscuits for the dumplings.

Let’s get started prepping!

Cube two pounds of chicken into one to two-inch cubes. Four large chicken breasts should give you about two pounds of cubed chicken.

Chop one whole medium onion, which will give you about a cup of chopped onion.

Chop ¼ cup of fresh parsley. If you do not have fresh parsley on hand, then 2 to 3 tablespoons of dried parsley will work as well.

Chop two or three stalks of celery for one cup of chopped celery. I chop my celery pretty fine so that my kids don’t complain.

Use two cups of frozen peas and carrots. If you don’t have frozen peas and carrots, then measure out one cup each of chopped carrots and peas.

I also use two cans of cream of chicken soup. I had the Healthy Request on hand and used that one for this recipe. The normal cream of chicken will work just as well.

I use Better Than Bouillon so that these Chicken and Dumplings are loaded with flavor. I love Better Than Bouillon because it tastes great and is really convenient, but any bouillon will work.

And for the dumplings, I used Pillsbury Grands! So easy and delicious!

Flavoring the Chicken With Herbs & Spices

First, add the two pounds of cubed chicken to the Instant Pot.

Then add the chopped parsley…

minced garlic…

a teaspoon of thyme…

and a teaspoon of ground black pepper.

For a More Flavorful Chicken and Dumplings

Next, add a full tablespoon of Better Than Bouillon. If you don’t have Better Than Bouillon, then three cubes of crushed bouillon cubes will work just as well.

Mix Everything Together

Now mix all the ingredients together very well making sure that the chicken is fully covered with the herbs, spices, and bouillon.

You want to make sure that every piece of chicken is fully loaded with flavor.

Adding All the Right Veggies

Now it’s time to add all the vegetables. First, you’ll want to dump the cup of chopped onion into the Instant Pot.

Next, add the chopped celery. Like I mentioned above, if you have picky eaters that don’t like celery, chopping it very fine will keep them from complaining. Whatever you do, don’t leave it out because it’s just as important as all the other ingredients for creating that rich, savory flavor that makes Chicken and Dumplings so delicious.

And finally, add the two cups of frozen peas and carrots. Again, if you don’t have a bag of frozen peas and carrots, then 1 cup each of chopped carrots and peas will work just as well.

Almost Done With This Heavenly Chicken and Dumplings

Now that you have all the base ingredients for these amazing Chicken and Dumplings added to the Instant Pot, it’s time to give everything a good stir. Make sure to mix all the ingredients well.

Add the Chicken Stock

Now it’s time to add the chicken stock. I used three cups of unsalted chicken stock. If you add salted chicken stock, then the Chicken and Dumplings may come out a little too salty. We did add a full tablespoon of Better Than Bouillon above which adds just the right amount of saltiness to this dish. If you do prefer your Chicken and Dumplings to be slightly saltier, then you can try adding salted chicken stock. This is the unsalted chicken stock that I, almost always, use.

Once the chicken stock is added, give all the ingredients a good mix.

This is what all these delicious ingredients will look like. It’s looking more and more like Chicken and Dumplings. Can’t wait to get it cooking!

Pour in the Cream of Chicken

Before adding the biscuits for the dumplings, you’ll want to pour the two cans of cream of chicken soup over the ingredients in the Instant Pot.

IMPORTANT: Do not mix the cream of chicken with all the other ingredients. Just let it sit on top.

Prepare the Dumplings

I know, I know…

Fresh, homemade, from scratch dumplings would probably taste slightly better but I like to keep things simple. With five kids running around the house, anywhere I can save time is a big plus for me. So, with that in mind, I used a can of biscuits from Pillsbury for this recipe. And, in my opinion, they taste just as great as homemade.

You’ll want to cut each biscuit into quarters before placing them into the Instant Pot.

Make sure and place the biscuits evenly across the top.

Look at all those biscuits just waiting to become delicious dumplings.

Time to Get These Chicken and Dumplings Cooking

Finally! The time has come to start up the Instant Pot. Close the lid and set your Instant Pot on Manual (Pressure cook in some models) High Pressure for 5 minutes.

Oh, and don’t forget to set the pressure release valve to ‘Sealing’.

Once the cook time has completed, you’ll want to allow the Chicken and Dumplings to sit in the Instant Pot while it does a full natural pressure release. This may take up to 30 minutes.

A Rich and Savory Chicken and Dumplings in the Instant Pot

Once the pin drops, open your pot and…

Yum! Those dumplings look amazing! I could hardly wait to scoop some out before taking this photo.

Serve up a Warm Bowl of Southern Comfort Food

Now it’s time to enjoy a bowl of this warm southern comfort food.

Writing this post and seeing all these pictures makes me want to go make my Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings again! I hope you enjoy this meal as much as we did! I’d love to hear from you in the comments if you try it out!