Easy Chicken and Dumpling Casserole

This mouth-watering chicken and dumpling casserole is an easy-to-make comfort food that’s loaded with chicken and veggies in a tasty sauce seasoned with basil.

The fluffy homemade biscuits add the perfect touch to this family-favorite meal that’s packed with flavor.

The best part? Your kids will never know they are eating veggies! 😉

One of our favorite family meals is this chicken and dumplings casserole. This is one of those easy meal recipes that I’ve been making for so long that I can’t even remember where I found the recipe.

Baked chicken and dumplings are super easy to make. It doesn’t involve the scary process of dropping biscuits over the stove, as some dumpling recipes require. And it’s loaded with chicken and veggies in a delicious basil sauce. 

The fluffy homemade biscuits are the cherry on top of this casserole for a meal your whole family will enjoy.

The veggies are baked right into this dish, so (sometimes) the kids don’t even realize they’re eating peas (win!). Of course, that’s no guarantee since we all know kids can be tricky. But it works on mine! (Most of the time…)

Chicken and dumplings casserole: A new family favorite

One nice thing about this recipe is that you can use more or less chicken, depending on your preference. If our budget is tight, I’ll make this casserole using just 2 chicken breasts while substituting extra veggies, and it’s still just as delicious.

Note that this dumpling casserole recipe doesn’t use cream of chicken soup. Instead, we make our own sauce (and it’s a breeze)!

This isn’t a super quick recipe like my creamy white chicken enchiladas, easy taco pizza, or grilled shrimp skewers. So, it may not work for a weeknight dinner (unless you don’t have activities that night). But it’s perfect for a weekend or a night that’s not busy!

Check out my scalloped potatoes and ham recipe for another comfort food favorite!

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe. Please see the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for the detailed recipe.

• Chopped onion
• Chopped celery
• Minced garlic*
• Butter
• All-purpose flour
• Sugar
• Salt
• Dried basil
• Black pepper (to taste)
• Chicken bouillon cube
• Chicken broth
• Frozen green peas – or peas and carrots**
• Cooked chicken – shredded or cubed. Rotisserie chicken is a great way to go if you’re short on time!

For the dumplings:

• Homemade biscuit mix – try this quick and easy homemade baking mix recipe!
• Dried basil
• Milk

How to make chicken and dumpling casserole

One of the best things about this meal is that the ingredients are pretty common. They’re all things I typically keep on hand in my kitchen anyways, so it’s not hard to put this chicken and dumpling casserole together on short notice.

Optional: You can add carrots too for more color; freshly chopped or a bag of frozen peas and carrots from the store. Just remember to decrease the peas accordingly.

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Step 2

Set the chicken aside and add the stick of butter to the large skillet. Saute the onion, celery, and garlic in the butter until tender.

Step 4

Bring to a boil and cook and stir for 1 minute. 

Step 5

Reduce the heat and add the peas. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring almost constantly. Then, stir in the chicken.

Step 6

Pour into a greased 9x13x2″ casserole dish.

Step 7

Now it’s time to make the dumplings. Combine the biscuit mix and basil in a bowl.

Stir in the milk until moistened.

If the biscuit mix is still dry, you can add another tablespoon of milk.

Step 8

Drop spoonfuls of the dumpling dough evenly over the chicken mixture. It should make about 12 dumplings.

Step 9

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Then, cover and bake for 10 minutes more or until the Bisquick layer is golden brown.

Baked chicken and dumplings FAQs

Here are some questions that I often see readers ask about making this chicken and dumpling casserole. If you don’t see your question answered below, please leave it in the comments!

What to serve with chicken and dumpling casserole?

Since this dish is so filling, we like to keep it light with side dishes. Depending on the night, I might serve this with my strawberry spinach salad or rainbow fruit salad.

Looking for an old-fashioned treat to serve with this classic recipe? Try these delicious raisin date bars!

Is chicken and dumpling casserole supposed to be thick or soupy?

I would say that it’s pretty thick but still has a little liquid. However, it won’t be super soupy. If you notice that it’s liquidy once you pull it out of the oven, let it sit for about 10 minutes. It’ll thicken up as it cools down.

Can I use water instead of chicken broth for chicken and dumplings?

Although you could use water, the chicken broth adds tons of flavor that you don’t want to leave out. However, if you don’t have quite enough chicken broth, you can thin it out with water and not notice it.

How do I store leftover chicken and dumpling casserole?

If you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Then reheat leftovers in the microwave until they’re hot.

More family favorite recipes

If you love this meal idea, I think you’ll love these too!

• Crispy, Baked Chicken Nuggets
• Aloha Pineapple Chicken
• Unbelievably Easy Crockpot Chicken Tacos
• Curried Chicken Shepherd’s Pie

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