Ingredients
Chicken stew
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 28 g
- 1 medium onion diced, 150 g
- 200 g carrots diced small
- 120 g celery diced small
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 30 g
- 5 cups unsalted chicken broth 1.2 liters
- 1 cup whole milk 240 ml
- 450 g cooked shredded chicken skin and bones removed; thigh meat used in nutrition estimate
- 3 g fine salt about 1/2 teaspoon
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Drop dumplings
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 240 g, spooned and leveled
- 1 tablespoon baking powder 12 g
- 2 g fine salt about 1/3 teaspoon
- 3/4 cup whole milk 180 ml
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 56 g, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley optional garnish
Equipment
- 1 Wide heavy pot with close-fitting lid
- 1 Mixing bowl
- 1 Instant-read thermometer
Instructions
Make stew and steam dumplings
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a wide heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot and celery; cook 7–8 minutes, stirring, until softened. Add garlic and thyme and stir 30 seconds. Sprinkle in 30 g flour and cook 1 minute.
- Gradually stir in broth, then 1 cup milk. Add salt and pepper. Simmer gently for 8–10 minutes, stirring the bottom occasionally, until the carrots are tender. Add cooked shredded chicken and heat the stew to 165°F (74°C).
- Meanwhile, whisk 240 g flour, baking powder and 2 g salt in a bowl. Stir in 3/4 cup milk and melted butter just until no dry patches remain. Do not knead or beat smooth.
- Adjust the stew to a gentle simmer. Drop roughly tablespoon-sized spoonfuls of dough over the surface, leaving small gaps; expect about 24 dumplings. Cover tightly and simmer on low for 15 minutes without lifting the lid or stirring.
- Split one dumpling to check that its center is set, not wet or floury. If needed, cover and cook another 3–5 minutes. Check the stew and center of the dumplings reach 165°F (74°C). Ladle into bowls, dividing dumplings evenly. Add optional parsley; thin the stew with a little hot broth if it has become too thick.
Nutrition
Serving: 1portion of stew and dumplingsCalories: 470.2kcalCarbohydrates: 40.7gProtein: 28gFat: 20.9gSodium: 702.1mgFiber: 3.6g
Video
Notes
Video reference: Mom's Dinner, published September 3, 2024, demonstrates fluffy drop dumplings cooked over chicken stew. Its recipe includes peas, heavy cream and a butter-flour finishing paste; this written version uses a flour-thickened milk broth and omits peas. The dough quantities follow the same familiar milk-butter drop-dumpling approach; follow the written stew instructions here.
Chicken must be cooked before starting; raw poultry preparation is not included in the timing. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F/32°C), use within 3–4 days and reheat to 165°F/74°C.
Estimated nutrition uses ANSES Ciqual 2025 with cooked skinless thigh meat and Swanson unsalted broth label data, divided into six servings. Optional parsley is excluded. Broth carbohydrate below 1 g is estimated at 0.5 g; other below-threshold values use half the threshold. Actual brands and portions vary.
Illustrative budget assumptions, not shop quotes: cooked chicken $5, vegetables and garlic $2, broth $1.75, flour and baking powder $0.75, milk $0.75, butter and seasonings $1.75 = $12 for six servings.
