Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings with Canned Biscuits
192 CommentsSep 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.
Table of Contents
- Why This Recipe is a Keeper
- Key Ingredients
- How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings
- Variations & Substitutions
- What can I use as a substitute for canned biscuits?
- Why are my dumplings still doughy?
- Can I add Frozen Chicken Breasts to the Slow Cooker?
- More Cozy Slow Cooker Soups
- Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings with Canned Biscuits Recipe
Featured Comment
"Followed it by the book and it was delicious!"
- Denise
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.
- 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
- Add the chicken, vegetables, soups, broth, water and seasonings to the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook until the chicken and vegetables are tender.
- Cut the biscuits into four pieces each.
- 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).
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.
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!
How to Video
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
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
If I add potatoes should I do anything different?
I would cut them in small cubes and keep the lid on. They will take the full 8 hours to soften.
What kind of Grands do you use? Flaky or homestyle?
It doesn’t matter. Though, for this photo shoot I used Grands southern homemade.
Hi. I made this yesterday with Honey Butter Pillsbury Grands. They added a certain sweetness to this that was delicious.
I made this tonight, it was cold and rainy outside. It was the perfect comfort food. We all loved it-my husband had several helpings and is bringing leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I put the chicken breasts in and cooked for 6 hours (my slow cooker seems to cook faster), shredded the chicken in the pot, and then added the biscuits, cooking as directed. I will definitely be making again!
Made this yesterday to celebrate first cold snap of the year along with the first snow, and needing some ‘comfort food’. Can’t describe how wonderful is this meal! It is deeply satisfying without being too filling. The ingredients combo, while are just right. Must admit to adding a little roux just before topping with the biscuits. I was skeptical, at first of using refrigerated biscuit dough, being a ‘made from scratch’ maven. But they are fantastic. And ,finally, used poultry seasoning rather than Thyme, due to pantry limitations. Not only would I make this again, willdefinitely make it for picky company. Thank you for this recipe. Based on my experience, I will look more carefully at the rest your site has to offer.
If I don’t have cream of celery can I substitute cream of mushroom?
Yes, that will work fine.
I used an extra can of cream of chicken mixed with a little bit of sautéed celery.
any cream of soup will do.
Absolutely great thanks
Can I use frozen chicken for this recipe as well?
I can’t advise on frozen chicken. I apologize.
If I want to use frozen carrots instead of fresh, would I add them at the same time that I add the peas instead of at the beginning?
Depends on how cooked you want them. I would add them at the beginning so they are super soft at the end of cooking time.
Hi. I tried this tonight and for some reason the biscuits aka dumplings are mushy. What did I do wrong? I cooked the whole thing on high.
You may need to cook them longer and keep the lid on.
Just made this and the flavors were really good! When she says “do not open the lid” when cooking the dumplings don’t! I realized about 15 minutes into cooking the dumplings that I forgot to add the peas so I thought no biggie, I’ll just open real quick and add them. Big mistake! My dumplings were complete mush! Will definitely make again and just make sure I don’t open the lid! Thanks for the delicious recipe!