Chicken & Dumplings

Chicken & Dumplings

4 of 5 (87)
member ratings
Nutritional Info
  • Servings Per Recipe: 6
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 181.4
  • Total Fat: 1.4 g
  • Cholesterol: 13.7 mg
  • Sodium: 365.7 mg
  • Total Carbs: 33.5 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 5.3 g
  • Protein: 11.6 g

View full nutritional breakdown of Chicken & Dumplings calories by ingredient


Introduction

This is a makeover of Cracker Barrel's Chicken & Dumplings. My aunt had created the original recipe which called for 1.75 lb chicken and whole milk. It was always one of my families favorite dinners that I made once in a while on special Sundays. Recently, I decided to try a healthier version of it with lower calories, cholesterol & sodium to see if it would pass the "family test". It did! They couldn't tell the difference. The healthy version of this recipe went down 76 calories, 31mg cholosterol & 1104 mg of sodium per serving.

On a side note, I know some people who use prepackaged biscuit dough to make their dumplings to make it easier but I don't like the taste of the perservatives because it makes the whole recipe taste like it came out of can. There is nothing like homemade!

This is a makeover of Cracker Barrel's Chicken & Dumplings. My aunt had created the original recipe which called for 1.75 lb chicken and whole milk. It was always one of my families favorite dinners that I made once in a while on special Sundays. Recently, I decided to try a healthier version of it with lower calories, cholesterol & sodium to see if it would pass the "family test". It did! They couldn't tell the difference. The healthy version of this recipe went down 76 calories, 31mg cholosterol & 1104 mg of sodium per serving.

On a side note, I know some people who use prepackaged biscuit dough to make their dumplings to make it easier but I don't like the taste of the perservatives because it makes the whole recipe taste like it came out of can. There is nothing like homemade!


Number of Servings: 6

Ingredients

    2 quarts of water
    1.75 lbs of skinless, boneless chicken breasts
    1.5 tsp salt substitute
    2 stalks of celery, chopped
    1 med onion sliced
    1 clove garlic, peeled & quartered
    1 bay leaf
    5 parsley leaves
    1 tsp coarsly ground pepper
    1 lemon wedge juice

    Dumplings:
    2 cups whole wheat flour
    1 tbsp baking powder
    1.25 tsp salt substitute
    1 cup of non-fat milk

Tips

Adding a sprig of rosemary at the end will make this dish picture perfect on your dinner table.


Directions

Bring water to boil in a large pot. Add chicken, 1 tsp of salt sub, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf & parsley. Reduce to simmer and cook chicken uncovered for 2 hrs. Liquid will reduce by 1/3. Remove chicken and set aside to cool. Strain stock to remove vegies & scum. Reserve 6 cups of pure stock back in pot. Add pepper, .5 tsp of salt sub & juice from lemon wedge. Reheat over med heat until simmering.

Dumplings: combine flour, baking powder, salt sub & milk in medium bowl. Stir until smooth and let dough rise for 5-10 min. I tear small bits of dough & flatten into mini-pancake form and drop in simmering stock. Use all dough. Dumplings will swell and then slowly shink as they partially dissolve into a white gravy. Simmer 20-30 minutes until thick, stirring almost constantly. Tear cooled chicken into large pieces (so it looks like it came from a whole chicken) and drop into pot. Simmer another 5-10 minutes and serve. Makes approximately 6 2-cup servings.

TAGS:  Poultry |

Member Ratings For This Recipe


  • no profile photo

    Good
    9 of 11 people found this review helpful
    Firstly, I started with 2 quarts of water, but was left with only 2 cups, so i had to add stock. Second, the dumplings are too dense, they need more milk or water. third, your calorie count is off.

    other than that, it's good.
    - 5/20/10


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    9 of 10 people found this review helpful
    Chicken was great but dumplings were heavy I will make them more lighter next time by adding either milk or water . I also put the onions and celery back in. - 3/15/10


  • no profile photo

    Incredible!
    6 of 6 people found this review helpful
    Very good! I left the onions and celery in it and it was very enjoyable. My hubby loved it! - 2/21/10


  • no profile photo

    Very Good
    5 of 9 people found this review helpful
    Sounds really yummy, but the picture show does't look very appetizing. Not enough color. - 11/4/09

    Reply from INDIANAGAL1 (11/5/09)
    Thanks for rating!

    If you have seen Cracker Barrel's dish, it looks very similar to mine. No yellow coloring added. I have eaten other restuarants' chicken & dumplings and usually if it yellow it means something in it came out of a can because it usually has that perservative taste to it.



  • no profile photo

    Bad
    3 of 4 people found this review helpful
    The chicken and broth were very good but the dumplings were TERRIBLE. I followed the recipe to a T and the dumplings were raw in the middle. I wished I would have used canned biscuits. If the dumplings were better this would have been a five star recipe. - 2/24/10