One of my favorite recipes from childhood was my moms Southern Chicken and Dumplings. As easy as it was to make, I don’t think we had them often enough. There was just something about that rich creamy chicken broth and fluffy dumplings that screams comfort food. A classic Southern recipe, I would expect it to be pretty high in calories and points, but this recipe defies odds without losing flavor.
Semi-Homemade Southern Chicken and Dumplings
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Over the weekend, I decided to whip up some chicken and dumplings. I was prepared to take a hit on points for the comfort food recipe, but once I put everything in the WW App, I was shocked to see that each serving was only 3 SmartPoints! What a win! Of course, as a child, both my mom and my Granny would make their dumplings from scratch, but on occasion, I saw my mom pull out the box of Bisquick and make dumplings using it for a faster process. So, I did the same and the results were amazing!
Note: I initially made these in my Instant Pot, but you can easily adapt for the stove top or even a slow cooker using the directions I list in the printable version of the recipes below.
I use the Instant Pot Duo60 6-quart or the Crockpot 6-Quart Cook and Carry Programmable option. This recipe works well for any system, just adjust settings accordingly. This recipe is part of my weekly meal prep and can be easily frozen to reheat later. I use the 3 Compartment Meal Prep Containers for my freezer meals.
Ingredients for Southern Chicken and Dumplings
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 10.5 ounces can 98% fat-free cream of chicken soup
32 ounces non-fat chicken broth
1 cup carrots, diced (about 3 large or 1/2 bag baby carrots)
1 cup Bisquick Baking Mix
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 stalks celery, diced
1 white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Salt (to taste after cooking as broths tend to add plenty of salt)
Directions for Southern Chicken and Dumplings
Place chicken breasts, chicken broth, vegetables, garlic, and black pepper into the Instant Pot liner.
Place the lid to seal and set pressure cooker to manual high for 17 minutes for full breasts or 12 minutes for chicken tenderloins.
Once the cooking cycle has completed, allow to NPR (natural pressure release) for 3 minutes then safely release remaining pressure.
Remove the chicken breasts and 1/2 cup broth/juices from the Instant Pot.
Shred chicken and add back to the Instant Pot
In a medium bowl, place 1 cup of Bisquick mix. Add in 1/4-1/3 cup of the broth you removed, to the bowl and mix until a sticky dough forms.
Add chicken back to the Instant Pot and set to saute setting. Mix in the can of cream of chicken soup.
Using remaining broth and 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, mix a slurry for thickening the mixture. Add back into the Instant Pot and stir well to combine.
Divide the sticky dumpling dough into 12 equal portions and drop by these into the chicken and vegetable mixture. You can do this by rolling out with a bit more flour or Bisquick, or simply drop by spoons into the Instant Pot.
Continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes or until dumplings are cooked through.
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 10.5 ounces can 98% fat-free cream of chicken soup
- 32 ounces non-fat chicken broth
- 1 cup carrots, diced (about 3 large or ½ bag baby carrots)
- 1 cup Bisquick Baking Mix
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 1 white onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Salt (to taste after cooking as broths tend to add plenty of salt)
- Instant Pot directions:
- Place chicken breasts, chicken broth, vegetables, garlic, and black pepper into the Instant Pot liner.
- Place the lid to seal and set pressure cooker to manual high for 17 minutes for full breasts or 12 minutes for chicken tenderloins.
- Once the cooking cycle has completed, allow to NPR (natural pressure release) for 3 minutes then safely release remaining pressure.
- Remove the chicken breasts and ½ cup broth/juices from the Instant Pot.
- Shred chicken and add back to the Instant Pot
- In a medium bowl, place 1 cup of Bisquick mix. Add in ¼-1/3 cup of the broth you removed, to the bowl and mix until a sticky dough forms.
- Add chicken back to the Instant Pot and set to saute setting. Mix in the can of cream of chicken soup.
- Using remaining broth and 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, mix a slurry for thickening the mixture. Add back into the Instant Pot and stir well to combine.
- Divide the sticky dumpling dough into 12 equal portions and drop by these into the chicken and vegetable mixture. You can do this by rolling out with a bit more flour or Bisquick, or simply drop by spoons into the Instant Pot.
- Continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes or until dumplings are cooked through.
- Slow Cooker directions:
- Place chicken breasts, chicken broth, vegetables, garlic, and black pepper into the Slow Cooker.
- Cover with lid and cook on low heat for 4 hours.
- Remove the chicken breasts from the Slow Cooker along with ½ cup of the juices/broth.
- Shred the chicken and add back to the Slow Cooker along with the can of cream of chicken soup.
- In a medium bowl, place 1 cup of Bisquick mix. Add in ¼-1/3 cup of the broth you removed, to the bowl and mix until a sticky dough forms.
- Using remaining broth and 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, mix a slurry for thickening the mixture. Add back to the slow cooker and stir well.
- Divide the sticky dumpling dough into 12 equal portions and drop by these into the chicken and vegetable mixture. You can do this by rolling out with a bit more flour or Bisquick, or simply drop by spoons into the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook for additional 30 minutes.
- Stove Top directions:
- Place chicken breasts, chicken broth, vegetables, garlic, and black pepper into a large stockpot.
- Cook over medium-high heat for 30 minutes.
- Remove the chicken breasts and ½ cup juices from the stockpot.
- Shred chicken breasts and add back to the stockpot along with the can of cream of chicken soup.
- In a medium bowl, place 1 cup of Bisquick mix. Add in ¼-1/3 cup of the broth you removed, to the bowl and mix until a sticky dough forms.
- Using remaining broth and 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, mix a slurry for thickening the mixture. Add back into the Instant Pot and stir well to combine.
- Divide the sticky dumpling dough into 12 equal portions and drop by these into the chicken and vegetable mixture. You can do this by rolling out with a bit more flour or Bisquick, or simply drop by spoons into the stockpot.
- Continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes or until dumplings are cooked through.
Makes 6 Servings (approximately 1 1/2 cups with 2 dumplings per serving)
3 SmartPoints per serving on the WW FreeStyle, Flex, and Your Way Plans
7 SmartPoints per serving on the Weight Watchers Beyond the Scale Plan
7 Points Plus per serving
More Weight Watchers Recipes
My Southern Chicken and Dumplings recipe is inspired by the recipe my mom and my Granny made when I was a child. It’s a perfect option for comfort food that also stays within your daily points easily. If you are looking for more yummy comfort food ideas, check out some of the ideas linked below!
- Weight Watchers Pot Pie Casserole
- Skinny Cheesy Taco Pasta Recipe
- WW Salisbury Steak Recipe
- Lightened Up Homemade Lasagna Recipe
- Skinny Chicken Spaghetti Recipe
