Cracker Barrel chicken and dumplings are chicken breasts poached in broth with celery and onion, then flat homemade dumplings simmered until the broth turns to gravy, ready in 40 minutes. That makes this Cracker Barrel chicken and dumplings recipe a proper Sunday dinner built from pantry staples.
How thin you roll the dough is the step that decides whether this works. A quarter inch is the maximum, and thinner is better, because the dumplings puff as they cook and then settle back down. Roll them thick and you get dense, chewy squares that never soften no matter how long they simmer.
There is no fat in the dumpling dough at all, and that is deliberate. No butter, no lard, no shortening, just flour, baking powder, salt and milk, which is why these come out as flat noodles rather than fluffy biscuit tops. The broth thickens itself from the flour clinging to the dumplings, so there is no roux and no slurry anywhere in the recipe.
Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumplings
Course: DinnerCuisine: American, southernDifficulty: Easy6
servings5
minutes35
minutes418
kcalChicken breasts poached in broth with a chunk of onion and two ribs of celery, then flat rolled dumplings simmered in that same broth until it thickens to gravy. Southern comfort food from six ingredients.
Ingredients
6 cups chicken broth
2 ribs of celery, broken in half
1/2 medium onion, kept as a chunk
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, each breast cut in half
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
- Simmer the chicken:Add the broth, celery, onion and chicken breasts to a stockpot or Dutch oven. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer partially covered for about 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
- Make the dough:While the chicken cooks, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. Stir in the milk just until it comes together into a shaggy dough.
- Cook the dumplings:Lift the chicken out to a cutting board, then fish out the onion and celery and discard them. Add the dumplings to the simmering broth and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the broth thickens to a gravy.
- Finish and serve:Shred or chop the chicken and return it to the pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve warm.
FAQs
Why did my dumplings turn out hard and tough?
Rolling them too thick is the most common cause by far, so go thinner than a quarter inch if your first batch came out dense. Overworking the dough and dusting on too much extra flour while rolling both tighten them up as well. Cooking them in a hard boil rather than a gentle simmer, or leaving them in too long, does the same thing.
What texture should these dumplings actually be?
Not fluffy. They should land somewhere near a dense al dente noodle, soft to bite but with some body left in the middle. They do puff up a little in the pot from the baking powder, then relax and flatten back out once the heat goes off.
My dumplings dissolved into mush. What went wrong?
The broth probably was not hot enough when they went in, so the outsides never set and they came apart instead. Dough that is noticeably too wet or too dry will also fall apart in the pot. Make sure the broth is at a steady simmer before the first dumpling touches it.
The broth never thickened into gravy. What now?
Give it more time, since the flour clinging to the dumplings is what does the thickening and it needs the full 20 to 30 minutes. It also tightens up further as it sits off the heat, so judge it after a few minutes of resting rather than straight off the burner. If it is still thin, a cornstarch slurry will finish the job.
Can you use rotisserie or other pre-cooked chicken?
Yes, and it saves you the poaching step entirely. Simmer the broth with the onion, celery and dumplings all at once, then pull out the onion and celery about 5 minutes before the dumplings are done. Stir the shredded or chopped chicken in for those last few minutes just to heat it through.
