This chicken and dumplings with silky coconut cream is a dreamy, dairy-free comfort food. Served on chilly nights with golden plant-based biscuits, it’s everything a weeknight dinner should be.
Why You’ll Love This Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
This chicken and dumplings with sweet carrots, peas, celery, and chewy mushrooms always hits the spot.
- Great for meal prep. Store it in separate containers for easy reheating on weeknights.
- Hearty. You get juicy chicken, tender veggies, and fluffy biscuits in every bite.
- Comforting. Nothing hits the spot like a hot bowl of chicken and dumplings on a chilly afternoon.
- Perfect for leftovers. Add baby carrots, not-so-crunchy celery, and cremini mushrooms if that’s what you’ve got on hand.
What You’ll Need
Coconut cream adds richness without the need for any dairy. Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the exact ingredient amounts.
For the Chicken
- Chicken – I prefer boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
- Coconut oil – Vegetable, corn, and canola oil are best.
- Yellow onions – White onions are alright.
- Garlic – Freshly chopped garlic, garlic powder, and garlic paste are fine for this.
- Arrowroot – Cornstarch and tapioca starch are great substitutes.
- Chicken broth – I prefer low-sodium chicken or veggie broth.
- Carrots – Leftover baby carrots are fine as well.
- Celery – Don’t worry if they’re not as crunchy anymore.
- Portobello – Baby bellas and cremini mushrooms are good swaps.
- Full-fat coconut cream – Low-fat works too. You can also use heavy cream.
- Green onions – Feel free to use chives.
- Green peas – You can use fresh or frozen.
- Salt and pepper – Go for kosher salt and freshly-cracked black pepper.
- Italian seasoning – Add your favorite.
For the Biscuits
- Almond flour – Sieve any large clumps.
- Coconut flour – You can also swap it for oat flour.
- Baking powder – Make sure it’s not expired, otherwise the dumplings will turn out dense and rubbery.
- Salt – Kosher salt is best.
- Almond milk – Go for unsweetened plain almond milk.
- Coconut oil – Feel free to use vegetable and canola oil.
- Egg whites – Liquid eggs work too.
Tips & Variations
This homemade chicken and dumplings recipe is an easy way to use up biscuit, bread, and veggie leftovers.
- Make it spicy. Stir 1/4-1/2 teaspoon chili powder or red pepper flakes into the pot for a spicy kick. You can also slice 1/4 jalapeño and add it in.
- Use bread. Another way to thicken the chicken mixture is by adding a slice of leftover bread. Stir until well dissolved.
- Use leftovers. Top the recipe with leftover Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuits or regular biscuits to reduce food waste.
- Swap the protein. Turkey breasts and/or leftover roasted turkey is a great swap for chicken in this recipe.
- More veggies. Stir 1 cup baby spinach, diced bell peppers, or zucchini into the chicken mixture during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
Serving Suggestions
This chicken and dumplings dish is a comforting dinner. I love it with Garlic Mashed Potatoes on the side. My Spicy Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Sautéed Brussels Sprouts are other great options. Other veggie side ideas include my Grilled Asparagus with Onion and Broccoli Feta Fritters.
How To Store Leftovers
Make sure it’s fully cooled before storing to prevent spoilage.
- Fridge: Place it in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: Pour it into freezer bags in serving-size portions. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
- To reheat it: Microwave it for 30 seconds, stir, and microwave for another 30 seconds or until warm. You can also use a small pot over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
More Paleo Dinner Ideas
- Paleo Chicken Lemon Spinach Artichoke Stew
- Paleo Cauliflower Avocado Egg Bowl
- Paleo Thai Curry Chicken
- Orange Rosemary Pork Tenderloin
Paleo Chicken and Dumplings
This chicken and dumplings recipe with tender veggies, coconut cream, and gluten-free biscuits is comfort food in a bowl.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
- 3 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 large yellow onions chopped, 1 1/2 cups
- 2 large garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 cup arrowroot
- 2 cups of low sodium chicken broth
- 2 carrots chopped; 1 1/2 cup
- 2 celery stalks chopped; 1 1/2 cup
- 5-6 small portabella mushrooms sliced
- ½ cup full-fat coconut cream
- 2 green onions sliced; about 3 tablespoon
- ¾ cup of fresh or frozen green peas {omit for paleo}
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Biscuits:
- 2/3 cup almond flour
- 1/3 cup coconut flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 tbsp coconut oil softened
- 5 egg whites
Instructions
Chicken:
- Cut chicken breasts into 2” large chunks
- Place a large saucepan or dutch oven over a medium heat, melt the coconut oil. Add in the chicken pieces and cook until golden brown on all sides. Remove the chicken and put aside until later.
- Add the onions to the same saucepan add coconut oil if pan is dry. Once they have sauteed and begun to brown, add the garlic and cook for a few minutes together.
- Add arrowroot and stir to coat bottom of pan and onions
- Whisk in the chicken broth slowly.
- Add in the vegetables and chicken, along with any juices from where the chicken was resting.
- Season to taste with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
- Allow the stew to come to a simmer, and then cook on low, but still maintain the simmer.
- Cover and cook for approximately 30 minutes.
- Start making biscuits
- Stir in the coconut cream, green onions and peas.
- Cook for just about another 2 minutes and serve with biscuits
Biscuits:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl mix together the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the almond milk and coconut oil.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, use electric mixer.
- Gently fold into the flour mixture until combined.
- Scoop into 6 large biscuits about 1/4 cup of dough each onto the baking sheet
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden.
- Spoon chicken into bowls and serve biscuit along side or on top.
I am making this soup tonight and have ended needing to use 4 cups broth. Have you adjusted since printing this? I couldn’t get my vegi’s & chicken covered with just the 2 cups.
Hello! I just made the biscuit part of this recipe today. They taste good but a little dry and definitely have an egg flavor. Do you think substituting grass fed butter for the coconut oil and organic grass fed cream for the almond milk would make them less dry?
Hi Katelynn, Sorry to hear they are not working for you. I think that the cream will make a big difference in the texture, and the moisture. The butter will definitely give them a buttery flavor, but I am not sure it will change the moisture of the biscuit. I haven’t tested this theory, so I can’t guarantee that either will work. Please let me know if you try this out and it works. I will put a note in the recipe for my readers. Best!
Could you do this in a crockpot? Maybe just add the coconut milk at the end?
Yes you sure can Karli.
Isn’t fall comfort food the BEST?!
Can you substitute coconut milk for the almond milk? I am looking farward to making this…
Absolutely Cindy, that will work fine.
Wanted to make your chicken and dumplings…looks wonderful. Noticed a little box in front of both coconut flour and almond flour in the list of ingredients. Could you give me the amounts for those? Thanks so much.
Sorry Terree, not sure why it is blocked for you. Here are the ingredients:
Chicken:
3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
3 tablespoon coconut oil
1 large yellow onions, chopped, 1½ cups
2 large garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup arrowroot
2 cups of low sodium chicken broth
2 carrots, chopped; 1½ cup
2 celery stalks, chopped; 1½ cup
5-6 small portabella mushrooms, sliced
½ cup full-fat coconut cream
2 green onions, sliced; about 3 tablespoon
¾ cup of fresh or frozen green peas {omit for paleo}
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Biscuits:
⅔ cup almond flour
⅓ cup coconut flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup unsweetened almond milk
2 tbsp coconut oil, softened
5 egg whites
I’m just curious how this is Paleo if it includes peas? I can obviously omit them, but for un-informed readers, that could be confusing.
Susan, I omit for paleo. Thanks for your question.
It says right in the ingredients list to omit for paleo!
Hi April, Are you referring to the peas? Yes just omit those for a paleo friendly recipe.
Hello, I am doing a roundup post on healthy, nutrient dense soups. I would love to feature your soup. Could I possibly use one of your photos and site your blog with a back link? Thanks for considering! Sara
Hi Sarah, yes you can use an image with a link back to the original recipe. Thanks for including me.
Could you drop these biscuits into the hot broth to make dumplings?
Because there is no starch or gluten they would fall apart and be rubbery.
I was going to say the same thing. To me, a southern girl, while this is probably very good this is technically chicken soup and biscuits. Not chicken and dumplings. So my search for actual chicken and dumplings paleo style goes on.
I looove chicken & dumplings, especially on chilly fall days. This healthier version looks just as delicious!