Gluten Free Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
Updated Jun 01, 2018, Published Jan 22, 2014
This post contains affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
Several weeks ago I asked my Facebook friends what recipe they would like me to make gluten free. There were hundreds of responses and I am sure all of them would be fun and fantastic. However, there were more than a few with the same answer – make a Gluten Free Chicken and Dumplings recipe.
When my (grown up and married!) son is under the weather he will text me pleading for “mommy food” which means Chicken and Dumplings. When one is not feeling up to par, chicken soup is fine, but chicken and dumplings? That’s fabulous!
Please don’t feel like you have to be sick to enjoy chicken and dumplings! Also don’t feel like you have to spend all day in the kitchen to make them.
My chicken and dumplings recipe uses a few shortcuts; I buy a gluten free organic rotisserie chicken from the market and use gluten free chicken stock in a box – little timesavers that make this recipe very workable for weekdays.
One thing that makes this recipe so special is the topping – a combination of bacon, mushrooms, and green onions that is sprinkled on top of the soup when served. It is of course totally optional but if you eat bacon I suggest you give it a try – trust me on this!
It’s funny, I make this all the time and so does my son and daughter-in-law, but I never took the time to write it down or figure out the measurements, I usually just throw it together. I have my Facebook friends to thank for getting me to finally write this recipe down. And you have them to thank because this recipe is like love in a pot!
Use any kind of gluten free flour blend you like, or you can make your own using this recipe.
Gluten Free Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 medium carrots, diced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 cups gluten free chicken broth
- 1 whole gluten free rotisserie chicken, skin and bones removed and shredded or chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 slices nitrate free bacon
- 1 pound mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
- 4 green onions - white and green parts, chopped
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- 1½ cups gluten free flour blend
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter or dairy free butter substitute, melted
- 1 cup more or less buttermilk or dairy free buttermilk substitute*
Instructions
- In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth, chicken, and bay leaves and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 15 minutes.
- While the soup is simmering, chop the bacon into pieces about ½ inch. Place in a large skillet and cook over medium heat until it has rendered its fat and the bacon is crispy. Remove the bacon pieces with a slotted spoon, and add the mushrooms. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until they are browned, about 8 minutes. Take off the heat, add the bacon back to the pan and add the green onions. Season to taste with salt and pepper and reserve until you serve the chicken and dumplings.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ¾ teaspoon salt, and the sugar. Add the melted butter and stir with a fork. Starting with about ¾ cup, stir in the buttermilk. Keep adding buttermilk, a little at a time, until the mixture forms into a soft dough.
- Drop tablespoons of the batter onto the top of the simmering soup, cover the pan and let simmer for 15 minutes.
- Serve in bowls topped with the bacon mixture.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owner’s. This blog accepts free manufacturers’ samples and forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation. Affiliate links may be included in this post.
These dumplings are awesome!!
I am so glad I found this recipe. I can’t wait to try it! Thank you!
Hi there – I’m considering making this for a party. I’ve made a different recipe (I think found on Martha Stewart – not GF, but I used GF flour) and the dumplings were a bit dense for my liking. How are these dumplings? Do you find them to be more dense than regular flour dumplings? The difference in your recipe and the one on Martha is the use of buttermilk which sounds like it could help with the texture. Thank you for your input!
They might be a tad denser than you are used to but the buttermilk does help. We like our dumplings a little on the denser side so they might not be exactly what you are looking for. Perhaps add a bit more levening? Some baking powder as well as baking soda – about 1 teaspoon should help.
We tried these tonight and everyone loved them. I didn’t have buttermilk, but we’re used to denser breads. Thank you for the recipe. I’ll definitely keep it and try again with buttermilk.
Tried these using Bob’s Red Mill GF flour as that is our go-to for almost every recipe we use. As I suspected, the flavor was not light enough. If I make this again, I will use a rice blend and start by pouring in less than 1 cup of the milk at first since 1 cup proved too much so I had to add more flour. The texture was great (we like a heavier dumpling also). They were devoured by 2 of my 3 boys who have never had gluten-dairy-egg dumplings.
Can these be made with coconut flour, and if so how would you use it. 1:1 or other ingredients needed. Thanks
Hi there! Unfortunately no, coconut flour recies need to be formulated specifically for coconut flour, they’re not interchangeable at all. xo, Carol
I’ve been making chicken and dumplings for forty years, it’s one of my families favorites.
Now that my son has developed a gluten sensitivity, I had to find a good gluten free dumpling recipe… I’m here to tell you, this is it! My dumplings turned out perfectly light and fluffy!
Thanks so much!
Hi Jeanine, I’m so happy you enjoyed it, it is one of my fam favorites as well! xo, Carol
These dumplings just made a wonderful topping to my turkey carcass soup! Though some other time I would like to try your chicken soup recipe also. Just wanted to let you know that I was out of buttermilk ,used the last of it last night in my southern cornbread (no flour) and only had Vanilla Coconut Milk in the frig, so I used a mixture of Kiefer and heavy cream . It worked wonderfully! Thanks for this great recipe.
Yay! I’m happy you enjoyed it Valerie!
xo,
Carol
This is delish! I can’t wait to have it again. My family loved it and asked for seconds! Thanks so much!
That’s great to hear Julie! You’re so welcome. :)
xo,
Carol
DELISH! but my dumplings entirely dissolved when i tried to move them. Really? no eggs? what is the trick?
Diana,
It could depend on what kind of flour you used, and making the dumplings big enough. I never use eggs in mine, but you could check to make sure your flour has guar gum or xanthan gum, and if not you should add ¾ teaspoon.
xo,
Carol