Chicken & Dumplings - $10 or Less Meal (30 Minutes, Super Easy & Delicious)

I recently had someone write in, asking for an easy and inexpensive Chicken & Dumplings recipe that used ready-made ingredients. She wrote, “I want to recreate some of the meals I remember my mom making, like a big pot of chicken and dumplings, but with two children and working full-time, I don’t have time or the energy to make homemade dumplings or broth.” Well, to be honest, I’ve never made chicken and dumplings. In fact, I think I’ve eaten chicken and dumplings maybe a half a dozen times in my life so I had to ask around, quizzing my friends to see if anyone had a recipe that fit the criteria and tasted good. I found that some people like to add peas, while others like to add onion. Some like to keep it “pure” and only have chicken, dumplings and broth, while others add carrots. I chose the simplest recipe, using pre-made ingredients that stayed in my budget of $10 or less.

This recipe uses cooked chicken (you can use a rotisserie chicken if you want,) a can of Pillsbury biscuits (you can also use store-brand but the Pillsbury were on sale,) and a carton of broth. I will say, when I made this I was a bit worried with how the dumplings looked at first…very puffy and not like they were going to cook. And I did think the entire can of biscuits was going to be too much, but it all turned out great and was delicious.

A couple of tips…

Make sure you use a large Dutch oven so the dumplings have room to expand without clumping.
You can make your own poultry seasoning, which is what I did since I don’t keep poultry seasoning in my pantry usually. Recipe to follow.
Very basic ingredients…A lot of these ingredients go on sale quite often so you can probably make this for even less than I did. Using your own cooked chicken versus a rotisserie chicken you buy will keep the price a lot lower. The night before I made this I just baked a couple of chicken breasts in the oven to use the next day. You can also use cooked turkey if you want.

Easy Chicken & Dumplings – 719woman.com

EASY CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS –

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes Serves: 4 for approx. $9.00

Ingredients:

1 32-oz carton reduced sodium chicken broth (4 cups)

3 cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning**

1 can Pillsbury Grands Buttermilk biscuits (8 count)

2 medium chopped carrots (1 cup)

3 celery sticks, chopped

Directions:

In a 4-5 quart Dutch oven, heat broth, chicken soup, and poultry seasoning to boiling over medium heat; reduce to low heat. Cover, simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to medium high, returning to a low boil.

On lightly floured surface, roll or pat each biscuit to 1/8 inch thickness, cut into 1/2 inch wide strips.

Drop strips one at a time, into boiling chicken mixture. Add carrots and celery. Reduce heat to low. Cover, simmer 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent dumplings from sticking.