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.
Is it “heartiness” or “hardiness”?
Heartiness = filling, satisfying, comforting food (what you want)
Hardiness = toughness, ability to survive (plants, weather, etc.)
Really? You are kidding correct?
No, look it up. Hardy is not a word that is used for recipes.
Great recipe – but I made a few changes. For the soups – I used Campbells Heart Healthy – because they don’t have MSG which will put me in the hospital. I nixed the peas – hate them – and substituted Frozen diced string beans instead. And of course I used the Bisquick dumplings but added 1 teaspoon of sage to it – makes them taste great. And I diced 2 large chicken breasts – which came out fine. Also, grated the onion so no one has to bit into chucks. Kept all of the rest of the ingredients. Thanks for posting this recipe.
I tried this recipe but reduced the cook time from use of a rotisserie chicken that I shredded
Great recipe! The best chicken and dumplings recipe I have made yet.
This turned out SO soupy. I added some potato flakes which thickened it up but made it pretty bland. I won’t be making this again. 🙁
Just use some cornstarch. That’s what I do and it’s fine.
This could use some thickening. I forgot the water, and good thing. Everyone liked, though.
Use cornstarch to thicken.
I always use this recipe for chicken and dumplings. I usually make it as stated, but I’m sick and I have 2 kids down as well. Thought I had another can of cream of chicken or celery- i didn’t. I’m adding cream of mushroom to the cream of chicken. I used frozen diced onions and jarred garlic. Could not locate my bottle of thyme so used oregano ( this I’ve done before). It’s in the crock now. I hope it as good as usual.
I will be great! Glad your family enjoys this recipe.
If I use the crescent rolls instead of biscuits, how many crescent rolls would I use?
I would use about the same sized an as the biscuits.
I used jar garlic also
Followed it by the book and it was delicious!
My biscuits never cooked. What could have caused this?
Your slow cooker needs to be hot (not switched to warm for ANY length of time). The lid needs to be on the entire time the biscuits are cooking.
When do I put the biscuits in?
Towards the end, the full recipe is in the recipe card.