Let’s talk about that real comfort food: Cornbread Chicken and Dumplings.
I have been on the verge of almost getting sick for almost a month. And if you’re like me and feeling a bit under the weather or are simply FREEZING cold all the time, then look no further. All you need in your life is a big bowl of this Cornbread Chicken and Dumplings.
What is Chicken and Dumplings
The great folks at Wikipedia tell me that chicken and dumplings is a dish that consists of chicken cooked in water, resulting in chicken broth. And then brought to a boil with drop biscuits/dumplings added and then cooked.
This recipe is pretty Southern but I can think of a few other iterations from other parts of the world.
It’s a super comforting dish. The dumplings are cooked throughout with the broth feeling generous and warming.
How to Make Chicken and Dumplings
This recipe couldn’t be simpler because it relies on a store-bought chicken broth. Of course, if you have some homemade chicken broth in the fridge, by all means use it!
Here’s Are the Steps:
– Sauté the onion, carrot and celery together
– Add the butter and when it’s melted, add the flour.
– The flour will dissolve into the melted butter, creating a bit of a roux. This will help thicken the soup broth
– Next, add the thyme. Thyme is a key ingredient in making any chicken soup absolutely delicious. It’s a MUST!
– After the thyme comes the chicken broth. Again, store-bought or homemade! Whichever one you have–both will work.
– Bring it to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, you really want the flavors married.
– While that’s going, mix up the dumpling batter. It’s super simple: buttermilk, a bit of leavening, salt, flour and corn meal. It tastes SO much like cornbread, it’s amazing.
– In the boiling points of the broth, you drop in the batter using a cookie scoop. Dropping it in the boiling point, creates a super fluffy cornbread.
– Cover the pot and that’s it! The dumplings will cook in about 5 minutes.
If you make this, for sure let me know on Instagram!

Cornbread Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
Filling:
- 2 chicken bone-in chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 ribs celery diced
- 2 small carrots finely chopped
- 3 sprigs thyme leaves removed
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 10 turns of freshly-cracked pepper
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
Dumplings:
- 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup + 1 tablespoon shaken buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment. Place the chicken side-by-side and drizzle with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle both thighs with a few pinches of salt and pepper. Transfer to the oven to roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and the juices run clear. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. When they reach closer to room temperature, use two forks to shred the chicken. Discard any scraps and set the shredded chicken aside.
- In a dutch oven or medium pot, set over medium heat, add the butter. When melted, add the celery, carrot and thyme. Cook until slightly softened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in the flour and cook for about 1 minute. Next pour in the chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a simmer and then immediately bring it down to medium low; cook for about 6 to 7 minutes, until slightly thickened.
- While the soup is cooking, let’s make the dumplings! In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Pour in the buttermilk and mix until combined.
- Give the soup a taste and adjust the salt to your liking and add a bunch of black pepper. I added about 10 turns. Bring the soup up to a gentle simmer and drop tablespoons or ice cream scoops of dumpling dough right onto the boiling point (this will make super fluffy dumplings) and then repeat with the remaining dumpling dough. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes until the dumplings are fluffy and cooked through. Move a dumpling aside and slide the reserved shredded chicken into the pot. Divide amongst bowls and serve!
Notes
Equipment
Nutrition
Adapted from The Year of Cozy
My first time trying a Cozy recipe — so so so good! Will be making again throughout the Fall and Winter
oh yayy! i’m so glad you loved it! xoxo
Now that’s my kinda chicken and dumpling. Wasn’t a big fan of chicken and dumpling. But as a country girl chicken n cornbread me n my five girls favorite food group why not group it together. Thanks making it Saturday cozy dinner night.#hint hint and with the over thanksgiving turkey.
This looks SO GOOD oh my goodness. Any suggestions on what I could potentially add instead of chicken? Maybe white beans of some kind? My sisters are vegetarian.
Thank you!!
I saw Yeezy last night! Granted he cancelled the show in the middle on “Only One” it was amazing. I have been wanting to see him live for years and years!
Also, I want to try this recipe but the chicken part freaks me out, I have an aversion to meat still on the bone.
OMG I saw that he stopped the show and I would’ve been so mad!!!
Noooo don’t be freaked out. Chicken tastes a million times better on the bone because it doesn’t dry out. You can also buy an already cooked store-bought rotisserie chicken at the store!
I just wanna say that this is such a WONDERFULLY TOUCHING & HEART-WARMING creative idea & gesture ! This is going to make the parents SO HAPPY ! It’s stuff like this that encourages me to continue blogging (even though I often feel like saying, “yeah, that’s enough, time to stop …”). Yet I soldier on. And yeah, oh how I wish-wish-wished I could have been part of this magical sharing moment too !!! Great job & take care … georgie @ http://www.icookstuff.com 🙂
Thanks, Georgie. I find that the blogging community is a really warm and supportive place! Everyone is so rad.
Sorry to hear you’re having neck pain! I recently got a set of the Casper pillows for my bed and absolutely love them. They’re pretty firm/dense (not downy/fluffy) which I wouldn’t have thought I’d like, but they’re the comfiest pillows I’ve ever used. Hopefully they help fix your neck problems.
love that lead photo of you!! cozy sweater vibes. i’m digging this chicken n dumplings riff! thanks for participating bb!
xoxo
oh, also i used to have neck problems then mike got me a baby pillow which is kinda weird sounding but basically is a regular pillow but smaller and i think it helped cause regular pillows were too big for me?! anyway, they’re uber cheap on amazon (toddler pillows) so why not give it a try?
feel better!!!!!
Yooooo you made this for me right? I mean clearly you know what makes my southern heart get lit! Also, fast food and weed should be a car fresher smell you clip to air vents in your car. Just Sayin.
I MADE IT 4 UUU! I wish it was a car freshener bc it would make me cry with happiness haha
Shittt that looks good. Your blue Jetta sounded kinda like my Red Corrolla. Hehe. This is my cold killer: fresh juice of one lemon, fresh ginger juice (I just squeeze pieces of peeled ginger through my garlic press) made into a tea with a little bit of cayenne pepper. My friend christened it the “morning Caesar.” HEALTH!! XO
Haha. That combo sounds so good. That’s kinda what my wellness shots are it’s like a ton of ginger and cayenne and lemon juice and coconut water. I need more tho. I think a warm tea version would be dope! GONNA TRY IT
I love your chicken and dumplings! I was just saying the other day that I want to make it again. If you’re getting sick, I always say to get some SLEEP and hoard all of that vitamin C. But seriously, sleep is one of the best things. Which is so annoying because it’s time consuming. I hope you feel better!
SO time consuming haha!
I was curious about the casper pillow as well! haha #notboring – maybe cause i’m old now this is what I talk about haha 😛
I’ve read a ton of reviews and a lot of the reviews say it hurt peoples’ necks because it’s bulky. UGH!
This looks amazing! Saving it for the next time we get a rainy day in LA
YES! it’s hot today (WHY!) so definitely when it cools down. 🙂
The pillow is Dr. Corma, not Forma. Sorry, that darn spell check taking liberties.
haha ok cool because I did find a pillow called dr. forma and it’s $300!!!
I was just so hungry for chicken and dumplings! I love the thought of cornbread dumplings so yummy.
I wanted to tell you about a pillow called Dr. Forma pillow. Just Google it or whatever and you can adjust the filling, plus you throw it in the washer and dryer and you’re good to go.
ooooo…gonna do some research on it. thank you!
Looks so perfectly cozy indeed. Feel better!
thanks, chrissy!