Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings with Canned Biscuits

By Sarah Olson

192 Comments

Sep 15, 2026

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This easy slow cooker chicken and dumplings recipe comes together with canned biscuits and cream soups but delivers rich, homemade flavor. A true comfort food classic, it’s perfect for any season.

close up of chicken and dumplings in slow cooker.

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    Table of Contents

    Featured Comment

    five stars

    "Followed it by the book and it was delicious!"

    - Denise
    192 More Reviews

    Why This Recipe is a Keeper

    • My slow cooker chicken and dumplings recipe is a true one-pot meal, with fluffy dumplings made from cut-up canned biscuits.
    • This is my family's all-time favorite meal. Before life got busy, I made chicken and dumplings from scratch, but now I appreciate easy, comforting recipes like this one.
    • Minimal prep with only about 15 minutes of prep time.

    Key Ingredients

    A few vegetables, chicken, and pantry items are needed to make these easy chicken and dumplings in the slow cooker. See the recipe card for full ingredient amounts.

    Ingredients for chicken and dumplings; chicken, cream soups, chicken broth, carrots, onion, celery, thyme and biscuits.
    • Chicken breasts – Use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Cut these into large cubes.
    • Condensed soups – Cream of chicken and cream of celery soup
    • Chicken broth and water – These add just enough liquid to make a creamy broth without making the chicken and dumplings too soupy.
    • Vegetables – Fresh carrots, celery, and onion. Add the frozen peas at the end of the cooking time.
    • Seasonings – Freshly ground pepper and thyme. No extra salt is needed for this recipe.
    • Biscuits – I use Pillsbury Grands® Biscuits. I find that this brand always cooks through, unlike the organic brand, which seems to stay doughy in this recipe. You can use buttermilk or original style.

    How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

    Veggies, chicken and cream soup in slow cooker
    1. Add the chicken, vegetables, soups, broth, water and seasonings to the slow cooker.
    uncooked chicken, cream soups and veggies in slow cooker
    1. Cover and cook until the chicken and vegetables are tender.
    cut up biscuit dough
    1. Cut the biscuits into four pieces each.
    chicken and dumplings with raw cut up biscuit dough on top.
    1. Add the peas and biscuit pieces, then cook on HIGH until the dumplings are cooked through.

    Variations & Substitutions

    • Rotisserie Chicken: Use 3 cups of diced rotisserie chicken. White meat, dark meat, or a combination of both will work. Add it at the beginning since the vegetables still need the full cooking time.
    • Turkey: You can use raw or cooked turkey in this recipe if desired with great results. It will be called turkey and dumplings instead!
    • Other additions: You can add potatoes, mushrooms, or bacon for more heartiness.
    • Shred Instead: The chicken breasts can be left whole, then shredded before adding the dumplings (biscuits).
    serving chicken and dumplings in slow cooker with wooden spoon.

    What can I use as a substitute for canned biscuits?

    I understand some don't want to use canned biscuits. Here are ways to make this recipe without them:

    • Bisquick - Follow this recipe for Bisquick dumplings from Betty Crocker. Cook the dumplings for the same amount of time I have listed for the canned biscuits (with the lid on).
    • From Scratch - Use this recipe for homemade dumplings from Spruce Eats. Cooking time remains the same as my recipe.
    • Crescent rolls - you can use the Pillsbury crescent dough the same way this recipe does for biscuits. Cut into small pieces and add to the hot soup.
    • Flour tortillas - These can be used if you have none of the above. Cut into small squares and add to the finished soup. Cook for 20 minutes on high.
    chicken and dumplings in bowl

    Why are my dumplings still doughy?

    Make sure the slow cooker is nice and hot before adding the biscuits and has not switched to WARM for any length of time. Keep the lid on while they cook so you don't let any of the heat escape. If your slow cooker runs a little cool, the dumplings may need extra time to cook through.

    Can I add Frozen Chicken Breasts to the Slow Cooker?

    I do not recommend adding any frozen meats to the slow cooker. The chicken may stay in the danger zone too long before cooking and may not be safe to eat. Plan ahead and thaw your chicken in the fridge; this usually takes about 24 hours.

    More Cozy Slow Cooker Soups

    Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie and Ham Hocks and Dumplings bring classic comfort straight from the crockpot.

    Turkey and Dumplings and Slow Cooker Chicken Gnocchi Soup offer hearty bowls for chilly evenings.

    If you tried this Chicken and Dumplings recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Happy Slow Cooking!

    finished chicken and dumplings in slow cooker with spoon inside.

    Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings with Canned Biscuits

    4.42 from 43 votes
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 4 hours 45 minutes
    Total Time: 5 hours
    Servings: 8
    By: Sarah Olson
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    Slow cooker chicken and dumplings is a hearty, comforting meal with tender chicken, vegetables, and fluffy biscuits. The creamy broth and savory seasonings make it a perfect dish for a cozy dinner
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    How to Video

    Equipment

    Ingredients 
     

    • 1 1/2 lbs. chicken breasts, cubed
    • 10.5 oz. can cream of chicken soup
    • 10.5 oz. can cream of celery soup
    • 1 cup water
    • 14.5 oz. can chicken broth
    • 2 carrots, sliced (about 2 cups after being sliced)
    • 2-3 ribs celery, sliced (about 2 cups after being sliced)
    • 1 yellow onion , diced
    • 1/2 tsp. thyme
    • 1/2 tsp. black pepper
    • 1 cup frozen peas, optional
    • 16.3 oz. Pillsbury Grand Biscuits, 8 biscuit sized can note- I only use 7 of these biscuits
    • more thyme and pepper for the top of biscuits

    Instructions 

    • Add chicken, carrots, celery, onions, thyme, and black pepper to your slow cooker.
    • Add the cream of chicken soup, cream of celery soup, chicken broth and water. Stir.
    • Cook on HIGH For 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours.
    • Add peas at this point if you would like. Stir.
    • I only use 7 biscuits for this recipe. Cut the biscuits into quarters. Arrange the biscuit quarters evenly over the soup.
    • Sprinkle dumplings with a touch of thyme and pepper. Replace the lid.
    • Turn your slow cooker to HIGH.
    • Cover and cook on HIGH for 45 minutes (DO NOT OPEN THE LID DURING THIS TIME). You will know the dumplings are done when they are no longer shiny.
      NOTE- If your slow cooker has switched over to warm after cooking for a length of time you will need to cook the dumplings for 1.5 hours so the slow cooker gets back up to temperature.

    Sarah's Notes

    Why do I only use 7 biscuits? Because eight is too much, the biscuits will swell together so much and cause them to compact and not be fluffy.
    Don't feel like cubing the chicken? Simply add the chicken breasts whole, and shred them before adding the peas and biscuits.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 399kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 1308mg | Potassium: 654mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 2889IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 3mg

    Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.

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    Recipe Rating




    192 Comments

    1. Jenna says:

      Hi, my soup was going amazing until I added the dumplings and they totally failed.! 🙁
      I used a bisquick recipe for theme and they just wouldn’t cook and turned into soup and I had it on high for at least 1.5 hours…or they’re just falling apart.

      Any way that I can save them??

      Reply
      1. Sarah Olson says:

        I’m wondering if your slow cooker isn’t getting hot enough. Could try putting it on the stove on a rapid boil (with the lid on).

        Reply
    2. Tom says:

      How much of this can I make/prep the night before and store in the fridge? Is it ok to put the soups and broth in the night before or add to pot right before starting to cook?

      Reply
      1. Sarah Olson says:

        I think it would do fine being completely prepped the night before, though I always find it easier to add canned stuff in the morning,.

        Reply
    3. M says:

      Do you use condensed soup?

      Reply
      1. Sarah Olson says:

        yes

        Reply
    4. KC Williams says:

      Perfect and filling! YumYumYum!

      Reply
    5. Carrie says:

      5 stars
      Made this tonight and it was delicious. The only thing I did differently was use 2 cans of cream of chicken because my grocery store was out of cream of celery. I also used all 8 biscuits and quartered each biscuit and dropped them in.

      Reply
    6. Evans says:

      4 stars
      Had this for dinner tonight and was very sketical but this turned out wonderfully. I’m 65 yrs. and have always made chicken and dumpins the “old fashioned way” up to about 15 yrs. ago and I starte “cheating” a little. I boiled 3 to 4boneless breasts, with celery, carrots, onions and couple of bay leaves. Remove the chicken and shred it. Take about 4 to 5 of whatever the cheapest biscuits on sale that week are, flour some wax paper over my island, roll the biscuits out thin and place them on the other side of the island and continue with the rest of the biscuits, My husband, then takes the pile of rolled biscuits and cuts them into strips. I then drop strips of biscuits into the boiling broth as my husband takes a wooden spoon and pokes them down into the btoth. Let em’ boil for about 10 minutes and throw in the shredded chicken.With that being said. do I think these are as good as mine……No. But alot easier. The flavor of this was great.

      Reply
    7. louis allard says:

      5 stars
      i made this last week and it was AWESOME!!!!, dumpling was delicious!!

      Reply
    8. Loretta Rogers says:

      My question is can you the flat dumplings like “Anne’s Dumplings” intead of the biscuits? I did not care much for the canned biscuits on top. But the soup part of it was delicious. Also if I can use the dumplings, when should I put them in? Thanks!

      Reply
      1. Sarah Olson says:

        Hi Loretta, you could try though I’ve made them before from scratch and they fell apart and dissipated in the soup.

        Reply
    9. Lisa says:

      I did everything the recipe said (except I left out the peas), and my dumplings just turned into goo as soon as I touched them. 🙁 Can’t figure out what went wrong! It was a total bummer, because we had really been looking forward to it. Glad to see others had better luck than we did.

      Reply
    10. Kimberley says:

      I noticed the picture of the ingredients ,Will it make a difference of I use Original Flaky Layer Grand Biscuits?and not the Buttermilk ones?

      Reply
      1. Sarah Olson says:

        You can use any type of Pillsbury biscuits, buttermilk is great.

        Reply