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Don't let the cooking time scare you away from this recipe. I've included a short version in the recipe notes that cooks in about a half hour!
It's been a long time since I've had chicken and dumplings but these really taste just like I remember. Probably because I took my mom's exact recipe, simmered the chicken longer with ACV (that's how you make bone broth!), and substituted flour with two grain-free flours. That would explain it. When I first tried Penzeys Bicentennial Rub, I started adding that to the recipe which made it even better.
I'm enjoying recreating all these family recipes. It's funny because I don't get frustrated about losing bread or family recipes or anything along those lines to my gluten intolerance. I get frustrated that I can't just go out to eat anywhere I want and pick off the bun and not get sick. Or that my friends and family can't cook for me and share their new creations with me while I get to share all my recipes with them. Or the fact that I've been taking my own soap to work ever since I realized the it was the gluten in the new soap making me sick from washing my hands before lunch each day. Not eating certain foods is the least of my concerns! Regardless, I'm so happy to have chicken and dumplings back on the menu. It's amazing what you can do with some of these "non-traditional" ingredients. A lot of recipes, such as pancakes and muffins end up tasting even better than the original version. It kind of makes sense though - I don't exactly remember flour having a taste that was to die for ;)
Note: This post was originally published on 7/15/2014 and I've since republished it on 1/12/2017 with new photos. I make this recipe quite often and the last time I made it, I figured I'd redo the photos since my photography has gotten better since then. Don't worry, the recipe is the same. You can view the original photo here, if you're curious.
Recipe
Prep Time:
Yield:
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PinIngredients
- 2 chicken backs
- 1 ½ lbs chicken breasts or tenders
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- salt and pepper for broth (to taste)
- 2 tsp Penzeys Spices Bicentennial Rub (optional)
- 3 eggs
- 2 C tapioca starch, plus extra to keep dough from sticking
- 1 C almond flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1-2 tablespoon water or broth
Instructions
- Place chicken backs in a large pot and cover with water. Add apple cider vinegar along with some salt and pepper.
- Bring the water to a boil over high heat then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 8 hours (or longer if you like) and skim off any foam that rises to the top. I’ll occasionally add more water as the broth gets lower in the pot. It always gels and is very flavorful even with the water added but you can skip this if you like.
- A few minutes before broth is finished, start making dumplings. Whisk together tapioca starch, almond flour, baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt. Make a dent in the dry mixture to add your eggs. Use a fork or biscuit cutter to combine. The mixture should start to form pieces that can be kneaded together. Add water or broth a half tablespoon at a time, if needed.
- Dust a rolling pin and a clean counter or other flat work surface with some tapioca starch. Knead dough until you can form it into a smooth ball. Use the rolling pin to roll out dough into a large square. It can be as thick or thin as you like. I like to make a combination of thick and thin dumplings.
- Using a plastic spatula, cut dough into squares. I prefer to make mine very large but a normal size is probably closer to 1×1 inch squares. Use the same spatula to loosen the dumplings off of the counter.
- When broth has finished simmering, strain out the bones and return broth to the same pot. Reserve any meat you can from the chicken backs and add that back to the pot as well (I wasn’t able to save much – all the meat and bones break down into little tiny pieces). Taste the broth and add any salt or pepper, if needed.
- Bring broth back to a boil and add uncooked chicken, Bicentennial Rub (optional), onion, and celery. Boil for about 10 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.
- Reduce to a simmer. Pull out the chicken pieces to shred them, then add back to the pot. Add dumplings and simmer about 15-20 minutes or until dumplings are cooked all the way through. It may take more or less time depending on how thick you made them.
- Serve. Yum!
Notes
Short version:
Use 8-10 cups pre-made bone broth or chicken stock. Omit chicken backs and apple cider vinegar from ingredient list. Skip steps 1, 2, and 6. Allow 30 mins cooking time for the quick version.
This looks really good. Where is the shout out to my AC for hooking me on Penzeys and their Bicentennial Rub?
Haha thanks AC! You're the best :)
Could arrowroot starch/flour be used in place of the tapioca?
I've always considered those two to be interchangeable but I haven't tried it with this recipe which can be a little finicky. I used potato starch once and the dough was impossible to roll out without cracking so I guess not all starch is the same. However it was fine for dumplings since the shape doesn't have to be perfect. I think it would be safe to try arrowroot but if you would rather not risk ending up with a dough that's difficult to work with, I'd stick with tapioca starch if you can. It's actually a lot cheaper than arrowroot too which is why I tend to use that in most of my recipes.
Made this today using chicken thighs and rich, homemade broth I had frozen. Chicken and dense dumplings was always a favorite but due to food allergies I hadn't found a recipe worth making in nine years. That's all changed now. These are amazing dumplings! Far and above a new favorite. Thanks so much!!
So happy you liked the recipe and thanks for the feedback! I know there are a lot of different ways to make dumplings so I didn't know if this version would appeal to everyone but they taste exactly "how mom used to make" for me!
This recipe is magical!! I only followed the dumpling portion, since I picked up a rotisserie chicken! But holy cow, can't even tell it's keto!
Thanks, Angela! I’m not sure if the recipe is keto friendly or not with the 2 cups of starch but I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it!
Tapioca starch isn't keto. It's starch. Sorry :)
Thanks for clarifying! I’ve noticed this recipe on so many keto boards on Pinterest and I’m not sure where the confusion is coming from or what I wrote that would imply it was keto. I might have to go back and mention this in the recipe notes.
Have you ever tried this recipe as a drop dumpling rather than rolling them out?
I haven’t but I’ve seen other readers try it with success. I just wouldn’t be able to tell you how big to make them or how long they should simmer.
Just made these. Love them! My daughter has missed dumplings so she is super excited today! Thank you for a great recipe!!
That makes me so happy to hear, Tammy! I’m glad you both enjoyed the recipe.
This recipe is incredible. We add some almond milk to the broth to make it creamy and I have even done different veggies and seasoning to do a "zuppa tuscana". LOVE the dumplings. We are paleo due to my son's allergies and man do I miss bread, but this is the real deal!
Thanks so much for the comment, Kaitlyn. I really feel like this tastes just like my family recipe for chicken and dumplings did. I love your idea for adding the almond milk and varying the spices and veggies. Such a great idea!
This is amazing, thank you! I only loosely followed the recipe. Didn't use vinegar, subbed arrowroot starch for tapioca starch, etc. And when shaping the dumplings, I made thick half-inch cubes, because I like the dumplings to be a lot like thick country biscuits. It was fantastic! Going on my regular meal rotation!
So glad you like it! It’s on our regular rotation too and I also prefer slightly thicker dumplings. Good to know the arrowroot starch worked instead. I never tried it because I worried they would be more crumbly and delicate
Have you tried freezing leftover dough in squares?
I’m sorry, I haven’t tried it. I know after the dough has been baked in other recipes, it will get wet and sticky when it gets thawed out. I’m not sure if this would happen to uncooked dough too but I think it would cook ok. It might be messy thawing it out though.
I looked on Penzys no bicentennial rub listed. Please give substitute spices to use. Husband is gf free 1st time making this.
Hi Lois. Bicentennial Rub is now called Revolution. Sorry for the confusion, I wrote this recipe a while back. Here’s the link: https://www.penzeys.com/online-catalog/penzeys-revolution/c-24/p-339/pd-s
Are the dumplings supposed to be chewy/gummy? I don’t know what I did wrong.
I've always made mine thick and chewy (I would describe the texture as similar to gnocchi) but they don't turn out gummy or elastic in any way. Tapioca starch can turn gummy and stretchy when cooked so it could be due to using excess starch/not enough almond flour or possibly due to overcooking as well. The only other thing I can think of is if baking soda was used by mistake instead of baking powder, there would be nothing to activate the baking soda so the dumplings wouldn't puff up much, affecting the texture.
I hope this helps. I'm sorry to hear it didn't turn out better. I know the recipe is quite a bit of work and I appreciate you giving it a chance.
Mine puffed up like pillows which I think is why they were chewy. I actually like my squares to be thin and flat but not sure how I’d accomplish that other than rolling the dough out even more but I had it pretty thin, I thought.
I'm actually just reading that a lot of people enjoy thinner, almost noodle-like dumplings. I've never tried them this way so maybe the recipe just didn't work out due to personal preference. I typically enjoy a thick, dense dumpling and these about double in size. One reader even made them into half inch thick cubes which is thicker than I've ever tried! So it sounds like there's a pretty big range of dumpling thickness that people enjoy. I remember my mom always making half of them thin (by her standards) and half thick to please everyone in the household lol. If you'd like to avoid them puffing up so much, you might try omitting the baking powder or possibly just reducing it and rolling very thin. Keep in mind the thinner dough may be more fragile and using all of the baking powder will approximately double the thickness of the rolled out dough. Again, I'm sorry the recipe didn't go as planned.
Can you use cassava flour for the tapioca starch
Hi Sharon. I haven't tried it with cassava flour but I don't think it will work easily. Cassava flour is very different from tapioca starch and I believe you'd need to reduce the amount of cassava compared to the starch quite a bit. Arrowroot starch will work in place of tapioca starch but not all starches can be substituted - for example, I tried using potato starch once and it completely ruined the entire batch of dough.