This Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings are made with juicy chicken, loads of vegetables in a rich creamy sauce and topped with easy homemade dumplings! The pressure cooker makes this an easy weeknight dinner.
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Comfort food season is in full swing and I’m back with another healthy, hearty meal to carry us through.
This Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings is all of my favorite things in one recipe:
- it’s healthy — which to me means it’s got a good amount of protein, vegetables, carbs and healthy fats (including canola oil!). It’s well balanced!
- it’s easy to make — making this in the pressure cooker means there’s very little babysitting!
- only one pot is required — thanks to the saute function on the Instant Pot, we can do it all with fewer dishes
- it’s cozy and big on flavor — a comforting meal that the family loves!
Looking for more Instant Pot comfort food? Check out these Instant Pot Soup recipes, Instant Pot Potato Soup, or Instant Pot Baked Ziti.
What kind of chicken should I use in this recipe?
I prefer to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe, but they can easily be swapped with boneless, skinless chicken thighs if you prefer and there’s no need to change the cook time.
I prefer not to use bone-in chicken for this recipe, simply because it won’t cook in the same time as the vegetables, meaning your chicken will be undercooked or your vegetables will be mushy.
How to make dumplings:
I know that some chicken and dumplings recipes call for canned biscuit dough, and I understand we all need a shortcut sometimes!
But homemade dumplings are surprisingly easy to stir together with just a spoon, and I promise you won’t regret it!
Rather than using melted butter in my dumplings, which is sometimes called for, I use canola oil which (a) saves me a step (no microwave!) and (b) provides my family with more of the healthy fats we need.
Canola oil is one of the healthiest oils there is! It is high in good fats (fatty acids) and low in bad fats (saturated and trans fats).
If you’re not convinced, check out this Dietary Fat Chart. It’s one of my favorite resources for understanding the available oils!
For these easy homemade dumplings, we just stir together some flour, baking powder, salt, Italian seasoning, milk and canola oil.
Variations on this Chicken and Dumplings:
- Dairy free: you can easily make this recipe dairy free by swapping the milk in the dumpling recipe with dairy-free milk or even water.
- Bump up the veggies: you can add even more vegetables to this recipe if you want, or leave out the chicken and sub in vegetable broth for a vegetarian meal. Just remember that not all vegetables require the same cook time — some should be added before pressure cooking, and some should be added after. Chopped spinach and extra frozen vegetables are a great way to bump up the veggie content just before serving.
- Thicken before serving: because thick and creamy sauces don’t pressure cook well, thickeners can only be added after pressure cooking is done. I wanted to create a recipe that didn’t require thickening and was ready to go when you crack the lid, so I used just enough broth to give us a nice thick and chunky base for our dumplings. If you prefer, you can always stir in a corn starch slurry (equal parts water and corn starch) and set the Instant Pot to saute for a few minutes to thicken further.
More Instant Pot Chicken recipes you’ll love!
If you enjoy this Chicken and Dumplings, you might enjoy these too!
- Instant Pot Chicken and Noodles
- Juicy Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
- Instant Pot Creamy Italian Chicken
- Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken
Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
Dumplings
- 1 cup all purpose flour (or sub whole wheat)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
Chicken and Dumplings
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 large carrots peeled and chopped
- ½ medium onion finely chopped
- 1 rib celery chopped
- 2 medium potatoes cut into 1/2" pieces (or 10 baby potatoes, quartered)
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1/2" pieces
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup frozen peas
- ¼ cup cream
- 1 tablespoon corn starch (optional)
Instructions
Dumpling Batter:
- In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and Italian seasoning.
- Add milk and canola oil and stir just until combined. Set aside.
Chicken and Dumplings:
- Turn Instant Pot to saute.
- When the screen reads "hot", add the canola oil.
- Add the carrots, onion, celery and potatoes. Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes, until onion has softened.
- Stir in chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until just white on the outside (it will finish cooking during pressure cooking).
- Add garlic, salt, parsley, thyme and pepper and cook 1 minute.
- Stir in the broth and scrape off any bits that might be stuck on the bottom of the pot. Turn the Instant Pot off.
- Using a tablespoon and a spatula, spoon dumpling batter onto the top of the vegetables (keep in mind they will increase in size as they cook).
- Put the lid on, turn the valve to sealing, and select Pressure Cook or Manual on high pressure and set the cook time for 3 minutes.
- It will take about 10 minutes for the Instant Pot to build pressure and begin counting down. When the cook time is over, let the pressure release naturally for 5-10 minutes.
- Open the valve to release any remaining pressure, then open the lid.
- Stir in the frozen peas and cream. Serve. (Optional: if you wish to thicken your sauce, you can remove the dumplings to a bowl and whisk the corn starch into the cream before adding to the sauce. Then turn the Instant Pot to saute and simmer until thickened).
Nutrition Information
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Maryellen says
Awesome
Followed the recipe exactly
My family loved it, but complained not enough dumplings!!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Maryellen! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Angela says
Can you use frozen chicken breast?
BG says
This was delicious! My family loved it.
Definitely will make again and again.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi BG! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Amy says
Was not a fan. Too much liquid left and the thyme was overpowering. Unfortunately my family dumped it.
The Recipe Rebel says
I’m sorry to hear this wasn’t to your taste, Amy. Myself (and others) have enjoyed it, so I wished it would of been a hit for you too! Glad you will try it again!
Mandy says
I don’t have a instant pot can I make it in a slow cooker
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Mandy! Yes! Here is my slow cooker version: https://www.thereciperebel.com/crockpot-chicken-and-dumplings/
Jenny E. says
For anyone that’s GF, GF flour didn’t work for me. I used gluten free all-purpose power and it all disintegrated into the soup. It’s still edible and may be even tastier the next day. I used mushrooms and zucchini along with onions for the veggies.
The Recipe Rebel says
Sorry to hear you had trouble with that substitute. I’ve not tested it with gluten free flour.
Bob says
This was a mega hit with the family – my picky kids loved it! I made it exactly as directed, except I did not have fresh veggies. I added canned peas, carrots, and potatoes (pre-heated on the stove) at the final step when adding the cream. (I think canned veggies would turn to mush if cooked in the IP with the chicken.)
The dumplings are so easy, and SO much better than using canned biscuit dough. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Bob! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Jennifer says
Great recipe! Made it several times….
Does the cooking time change if I double the recipe
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Jennifer, I actually haven’t tried to double this so I couldn’t say for sure. For one, I would make sure everything things fits and doesn’t go over the fill line. Secondly, it might overcook the dumplings. If you decide to experiment, let me know how it goes!
Jane says
I made this last month and loved it so much. I’ve been wanting to make it again already, but I couldn’t find the recipe! I have looked and looked, rejecting every recipe I came across because it didn’t have Italian season in the dumplings, or it didn’t list potatoes in the ingredients… I knew I hadn’t found it again yet. Anyway, I finally just thought to look at my browser website history and BOOM! Here it is! Great recipe, thank you for it! Even my picky toddlers love it!! (And, now, it’s bookmarked!)
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Jane! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, and glad you found it again!!
Lisa says
I added the chicken broth as indicated in the recipe and there was zero liquid left at the end. Not sure what happened.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Lisa, was there any air or liquid escaping when your instant pot was coming up to pressure? When it’s not sealing properly it will cause the liquid to evaporate. With two cups of liquid and the liquid from the chicken there is normally plenty of liquid remaining.
Shari says
Made this last night for my Birthday Dinner.. Brings back so many memories of my childhood. Really good hearty and warms the bones.. ~Shari
Thank you for sharing your recipe.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Shari! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review!
Jeanne says
This is on my menu for this week. I have a question what kind of cream do you use? Whipping cream?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Jeanne! Yes typically it’s labeled heavy cream or heavy whipping cream. Hope this helps!
Sk says
Can you use another cooking method?
Ashley Fehr says
You can, but you’ll have to experiment a little with method and cook time
Kris says
Can I replace the cream with just milk?
Ashley Fehr says
You could, but the sauce will be thin and not as creamy
michelle ford says
can you use olive oil instead of canola oil?
Ashley Fehr says
Yes you can
Debbie says
I made this recipe last night using the vegetables called for, the baby potatoes and chicken breasts. I let the pressure release for seven minutes and it was perfect. I removed the dumplings at the end and thickened the cream with cornstarch as you suggested. I think it would have been too thin for our preference without thickening it. It was a quick, wonderful, flavorful meal. The italian seasoning added a great flavor to the dumplings. I will definitely make this again!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Debbie! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Kat says
This recipe is FANTASTIC! I made it exactly as described except used olive instead of canola oil. Super flavorful and a breeze once chicken and veggies are in the pressure cooker. Thanks Ashley!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Kat!