Creamy and comforting Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings is the ultimate fall and winter soup. Loaded with veggies and tons of flavor, you can also make it a dairy-free soup!
Cozy up with this flavorful and comforting bowl of chicken and dumplings! This recipe is so easy to make and everyone will love it!
We love making soup in the instant pot as it not only saves us time but also you’re only using one thing to make everything which is a total win!
If you love soups you’ll love Chicken Broccoli Soup, Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup, Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup, or our Potato Corn Chowder Recipe
Recipe ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Carrots – They add color and flavor. We love the sweetness of carrots.
- Celery – Using celery also adds flavor and texture.
- Onion – We love adding onions, but you can leave it out. It does add flavor and more veggies.
- Mushrooms – We love mushrooms in general and always add to soups whenever possible, if you don’t like mushrooms you can simply leave them out.
- Potatoes – For potatoes, we recommend using these to help thicken and add more veggies to the soup. They’re comforting and you can use whatever potatoes you have on hand. We used Yukon potatoes this time.
- Avocado Oil – We use avocado oil to brown the chicken and also to add fat to the biscuits.
- Chicken Thighs – For our chicken and dumplings and even our instant pot instant pot chicken noodle soup, we use skinless and boneless. If you use skin-on and bone-in chicken thighs you can just remove the skin and bones after cooking.
- Seasonings – to add flavor are garlic, onion, parsley, thyme, and of course salt and pepper!
- Chicken Broth – You can use homemade chicken broth or store-bought chicken broth.
- All Purpose Flour – We make the biscuits from scratch. Some have used canned biscuits, but we find homemade from scratch biscuits taste so much better!
- Baking Powder – This helps the biscuits rise.
- Parsley – Our preferred herb for soups in addition to thyme.
- Milk – This is for the biscuits as well. We use dairy-free milk, our preferred dairy-free milk is oat milk.
- Butter – We use vegan butter, our preferred brand is Country Crock Plant Butter or Earth Balance.
How to make Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
For the full ingredient amount and full instructions on how to make Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings see the recipe card below.
Start off by washing and chopping all of the vegetables.
Heat up the instant pot on saute mode and add 1 tablespoon of avocado oil. Next, add the chicken thighs and brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side, and then turn off saute mode on the Instant Pot.
Now you can prep the biscuits while the chicken is browning. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and seasonings. In another bowl, combine the milk, butter, and avocado oil. Combine the wet and dry mixture and let sit for a few minutes to activate the baking powder.
Next, you’ll want to add the vegetables to the instant pot along with all of the dried seasonings and chicken broth. Scoop the dumpling mixture into the instant pot by heaping teaspoons, don’t worry, they will double in size!
Place the lid onto the instant pot and place it on sealing mode. Cook the chicken and dumplings soup on high pressure for 25 minutes and then carefully quick release.
Remove the chicken thighs to shred them and return them to the soup. If you used bone-in and skin on, remove the skin and bones. Serve warm, and enjoy.
Recipe tips and variations
- You can make more of a classic chicken and dumplings by leaving the bulk of the veggies out.
- Want even more veggies? We suggest adding corn or peas.
- Don’t want the dumplings? You can just make the soup!
- Short on time? Use canned biscuit dough and cut them into small pieces.
Storage and reheating tips
- Refrigerate: Store any leftover chicken and dumplings soup an air-tight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-4 days.
- How to freeze leftover chicken and dumplings: To freeze leftover chicken and dumplings just place the soup into a freezer-safe container and freeze for 3-4 months. To defrost soup we place it in the fridge the night before.
- Reheat: We like to reheat chicken and dumplings in a saucepan with a bit of added liquid. You can use oat milk, milk, water, or broth.
How to serve chicken and dumplings
We love serving with a side salad and fresh crusty bread.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, chicken and dumplings is considered a soup. It’s a rich and creamy broth with flavorful biscuits that turn into dumplings.
We do not feel the need to add any milk or cream to our recipe. It does beautifully without either when using homemade biscuit dough. The biscuits cook into the soup and create a richness and creaminess without the cream making this soup dairy free as long as you use dairy free alternatives in the biscuit dough.
Yes! We’re actually dairy free due to food allergies, and we use oat milk in place of regular milk and vegan butter in place of regular butter.
Yes! Just follow the stovetop directions in the recipe card below.
Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
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Print Pin Recipe 🖤 SaveIngredients
Instant Pot Chicken Soup
- 4 carrots chopped
- 4 celery ribs chopped
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 pint baby bella mushrooms chopped
- 2 large potatoes chopped
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
- 6 cups homemade chicken broth or low sodium chicken broth
Dumplings
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3/4 cup milk we use Oatly full fat for dairy free
- 2 tablespoons butter cold and cubed, we use Country Crock plant butter for dairy free
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Wash and chop all of the vegetables.
- Heat the instant pot on saute mode and add 1 tablespoon of avocado oil. Add the chicken thighs and brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side, and then turn off saute mode.
- While the chicken is browning, prepare the dumplings. In a bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and seasonings. In another bowl, combine the milk, and butter. Combine the wet and dry mixture until just combined.
- Add the vegetables to the instant pot along with all of the dried seasonings and chicken broth. Scoop the dumpling mixture into the instant pot by heaping teaspoons. They will double in size.
- Place the lid onto the instant pot and place it on sealing mode. Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes and then let it natrually release.
- Remove the chicken thighs to shred them and then return them to the soup. Serve and enjoy.
Stove-top Instructions:
- Heat a dutch oven with oil and add the chicken thighs. Cook chicken until it reaches 165 degrees F. Allow the chicken to cool for 10-15 minutes after cooking. Alternatively, you could use leftover cooked chicken.
- While the chicken is cooking in the dutch oven you can prepare the dumplings. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and seasonings. In another bowl combine the milk, butter, and avocado oil. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and let sit for a few minutes.
- Add the vegetables to the dutch oven with all of the dried seasonings and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook stirring occasionally for 10 minutes to get the veggies to soften.
- Once the chicken is cooled, you can cut it into bite-size pieces and then add it back into the soup.
- Scoop the dumpling mixture into the dutch oven by heaping teaspoons. They will double in size. Place the lid on the dutch oven and cook for 15 minutes on a low simmer. Carefully turn the dumplings and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
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Nutrition
The nutritional information is automatically calculated and can vary based ingredients and products used. If the nutrition numbers are important for you we recommend calculating them yourself.
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Delicious! I was nervous to try a new recipe without any comment reviews but it was wonderful, thank you so much.
Changes:
-3/4 milk subbed with a mix of 2/4 dairy free heavy cream and 1/4 water.
-I used boneless chicken thighs with the skin left on
-I just chopped up the chicken after browning, before adding in veggies/broth so I wouldn’t have to pull out and shred after the fact.
I’m so glad you gave it a try and enjoyed it! Love your dairy-free swap! We often use Oatly and love the country crock plant cream too when something extra creamy. And using boneless chicken thighs with the skin on sounds like a great way to add extra flavor! Thanks so much for sharing a comment and review!