My Grandma Miller Made This For Every Family Reunion.
Nostalgic and delicious. This dish really brings back happy summer memories.
Every summer my dad’s side of the family had a big Family Reunion. It changed locations over the years and us kids, who used to go swimming afterwards all grew up and started having kids of our own. But one thing that has not changed are the long tables of some of the best cooking ever.
Homemade cherry cheesecakes, baked beans, potato salad, and Grandma Miller’s Chicken and homemade noodles.
Not just egg noodles like what you buy in the store, but floured dough noodles that were a labor of love.
She would mix the dough, then roll it out really thin, and eventually make small thin strips that would be dropped into the boiling broth.
It was one of those things that you couldn’t get enough of and knew that family reunion wouldn’t be the same without them.
This recipe is almost the same. Except instead of noodles the dough is cut into squares. So much easier, without compromising on the flavor.
This is what Tiffany of Eat At Home Cooks has to say about this Southern Hospitality Favorite.
A bowl of homemade chicken and dumplings. A glass of sweet tea. It’s a meal any Kentuckian would be proud to fix and danged happy to sit down to. And it’s not hard to make. Come on, I’ll show you how.
GO TO THE NEXT PAGE FOR THE INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS.
Quick Tip: I like to add diced carrots and frozen peas to my chicken and dumplings for flavor, color and taste. Yum.
Love chicken and noodles and old receipes
better if you cook a stewing chicken, then take the broth from that, tear chicken from bones add to broth, bring to boil then add dumplins
That is how my family always did them…and I still do that too. The stewing hen makes a fantastic broth! Throw in some carrots and celery while stewing the hen.,
My Grandmother and Mom always made drop dumplings. NEVER really liked rolled. Though I made them for SEVERAL years working at a restaurant here in Texas. …OH! Just looked at a previous comments and I agree with Ann. I’d call these noodles NOT dumplings.
They ARE Southern style dumplings, not noodles. I grew up with them.
The South covers quite a big of real estate. Here in the mountains we prefer drop dumplings. Light and fluffy.
Me too in ;Texas and New Mexico. I agree chicken and dumplings. never liked
the drop things
We grew up calling these sliders
That’s what we had sliders with a nice big chuck roast just 3 days ago from upstate NY
My late husband was working in Minot, ND, one time, and they had this type of dumpling in a soup recipe he liked. So he got the cafe owner to say she would tell me the recipe when I arrived a week or so later on… But we down here in New Mexico never made that type of dumplings… In fact, it was our custom to make dumplings with Bisquick… as it was so quick and easy… and formed its own gravy and also resembled biscuits as well…So I made the soup this way… My husband liked it either way… seeing as how he was longtime bachelor… he wasn’t that picky. Just make it for him any way you want…
Yes, the BISCUIT will save the day. I do that also.
These look delicious, and authentic.
OMG that looks yummy. My grandma made it too. Thanks for posting this.<3
You are so welcome!
I grew up in midwestern Pennsylvania and this is what we used to call “pot pie.” We also made it with navy beans and ham (my favorite). My mom made the dough for the chicken version thin and light; for the ham and bean version, she made it thicker and “meatier.” By meatier, I mean it had more “chew” to it. Still make it today with leftover chicken or a nice ham bone!
I also grew up loving home made chicken&pot pie, we add potatoes that are quartered. My daughter grew up loving this and now makes it for her family. Having lived down south last 24 years, much to my surprise the restaurant “Cracker Barrel ” makes a close version of it, though they call it Chicken & Dumplings. We also grew up eating Ham Potpie, and “Navy Beans & Ham.
I ordered dumplings at Cracker Barrel and the dumplings were nice and a little fluffy, but tasted as if they used water instead of chicken broth to cook them in. I was so disappointed.
My husband’s family also called it pot pie. They were from Chesapeake, Va
I want this today, right now!! This needs to be saved in my timeline!
I just made this three days ago. I used a rotisserie chicken from Costco it is had more flavor than any other type of chicken. I don’t use baking powder, I think that makes a puffy dumpling not pastry. I use selfrising flour and that makes pastry. There is a difference in dumplings and pastry. I made a 6 quart pot almost full and the next day it was gone. 3 people ate that whole pot. I always make a lot of pastry because that is everyone’s favorite part.
Good call Sharon! Self rising flour actually has baking powder in it..which is nice to know if you ever run out and need to use regular flour. I think if you had added baking powder and self rising flour it would have been too much. It sounds like your dish was a totally HIT!
Self rising flour has baking powder in it. That is what makes it rise.
I was raised on Chicken Paprikash with Dumplings. Pretty much the same recipe except for added Paprika and a little sour cream. Heavenly any way you want it.
I have never heard of that Barbara! I am going to have to give that a try!
thanks for the self-rising flour tip. i always used baking powder too and felt that it made the dumpling puffy. next time i’m going to the self-rising flour.
Self rising flour has way more baking powder in it than this recipe calls for.
Self rising flour is 1 cup of flour to 1 1/2 tsp baking soda and a pinch of salt.
sounds delish barbara…going to try your Paprikash!
I use canned chicken broth but i also add a can of cream of chicken soup and then cook the noodles in that….. ummmmm ummmmm good/ makes them so creamy and tasty..
Mmmmm
Use the fat from the chicken( I like to use chicken thighs) after it boils to make the dough..Awesome flavor 🙂
Great Ideas Sharon!
I also use the broth from the boiled chicken thighs (only those make good broth). Also an aunt who was the main cook in a very nice family restaurant told me she used Jiffy Mix (better than Bisquik). Makes either rolled or dropped dumplings. Homemade noodles are best with just flour, little water and egg and rolled out and allowed to dry before using. I have done them all in my 62 years as a bride. Love them all.
My Grandma called them Carpet rag dumplings
I love recipes where everything is made from scratch. I hope they continue to post things like this.
Thanks Sheron!
Doesn’t look good. My mom made the best chicken and dumplings and noodles ever, until she started using the crock pot. totally changed the final result. I still remember how to make the noodles–she started having me do them when I was old enough to be trusted
I agree with the crock pit being too much. I know my grandmother had the pot of broth boiling as she carefully dropped her homemade noodles in.
Doesn’t look goo? I think you need glasses LOl!
That recipe produces PASTRY and the ensuing dish is chicken and pastry. In some parts of the country, it’s referred to as “chicken and slicks.”
If you want dumplings, increase the baking powder to 2 teaspoons of aluminum-free baking powder and drop spoonfuls of the dough–a small ice cream scoop is ideal for the purpose–onto the boiling chicken stew. Then you have chicken and dumplings.
I’ve eaten chicken pot pie in Pennsylvania. The ingredients are the same but less liquid is used. The resulting dish is much thicker and could almost be cut with a knife.
We always called these slicker. Dumplings are fluffy and not chewy,
So amazed at how many different names there are for this old time dish!
My grandmother made them and called them putsins!! I was trying to read all of the comments to see if anyone else called them that. I don’t know where the name came from but they are a huge tradition in our family to this day to make on special occasions!
I haven’t seen that one before!
Can biscuits cut out the flour and butter job and just as good. Everything else is the same. That’s my Louisiana Cherokee grandmothers recipe
Just started using the brands biscuits like this. Very similar but not as tasty. Just a whole lot easier if you feel the night needs to be lazy. LOL
If using can biscuit use grands butter biscuits. Also you can add some evaporated milk after they are almost done. Makes them very creamy and tasty
That looks like dumplings in the picture, not noodles. But I’m sure noodles are made the same way. That’s what grandma taught us chicken and dumplings — from scratch! I still do it — hate drop dumplings or biscuits crap!!!!
I agree with you Dee. I have always made my dumplings like this (except with self-rising flour and no baking powder. I also use evaporated milk). Noodles are totally different. And I also HATE drop dumplings … they are too doughy for me 🙂
Pictured were “rolled egg noodles” cut in inch and a half squares. In our San Antoni, Texas family it was always called “dumplings” although when I read the “Joy of Cookings” as an adult I found what we had always called “dumplings” were “rolled egg noodles.”
We grew up loving chicken & dumplings; my children did as well; now my grandchildren love them as well. Mom taught me to stew the chicken using butter & adding a little water as needed. We put a large pot of salted water to which we added the dumplings, then transferred the dumplings to the pot of stewed chicken. We never used butter into the dumplings, not baking powder. We use lots more flour also, but we make a huge pot of dumplings. Super good when little ones are not feeling so great – they never refuse this dish.
Hi Louise, I would LOVE to have the recipe you told about in your post, Thanks much, Penny
Louise, could you explain further about stewing the chicken with butter? I’d like to try it. Thanks. And what did you use to make the noodles besides flour?
I use flour and water, with some chicken broth added, when mixing up the dumplings. Too much broth would make them too “short”.
In Jersey it’s called chicken pot pie! Chicken and dumplings and chicken and noodles are not the same here. Love them all!
I just licked my computer screen.
😀
My Grandmother made homemade noodles that made it’s own gravy for Thanksgiving and I so wish I would have watched her better. I am going to try these and see if they are like hers I hope so. Thank you
My grandmother made these when I was growing up and I can remember her letting them sit and dry before she added them to the chicken and the broth. I will admit I would sneak a few raw noodles. I just have never had much luck with them but your picture makes me want to try again! Thanks for sharing!
I’m sort of making this for dinner tonight….sort of because I’m using canned biscuits because I had some left over from a camping trip. I used to do it all the time with those but then I turned into Suzy Homemaker and started cooking almost everything from scratch. There seems to be some disagreement as to whether this is dumplings or noodles. We call it dumplings but, as my husband says, we really just call it GOOD! 🙂
My mom said noodles are rolled out and laid on a rack to dry; dumplings are not. Lots of flour when you roll them out will help make a stew-like gravy for them.
that is the way my mom did it dumings ARE rolled out and cut in to sq noodles or cut into long pieces and thiner chicken pot pie is to me baked with pie dough with veggies in the chicken thats what i grew up with in southern Illinois
It is Bot Boi, or as others call it Pot Pie in a pot, Always a hearty meal we grew up on whether with chicken , beef or squirrel.
Where I’m from, they’re called strip dumplings. We add a sliced boiled egg to give it a great flavor (boil the egg with your chicken as it cooks).
Our family loves this dish. I make it with water not milk which makes dumpling more translucent and only use plain flour with no baking powder or soda so dumplings are very thin.
I call mine chicken and dumplings. Seasoned broth and I make the dumplings and drop them into the boiling broth. Boil ten minutes with top on and remove, adding deboned chicken and half and half. Let sit in juices several hours before serving. I use butter, flour, salt, pepper and ice water in dumpling.
My grandma made this and called it “Chicken Pot Pie.” When explaining it to a friend she said “you mean dumplings?” No. Come to find out, it’s a Pennsylvania thing to call it that. Also, I found “pot pie noodles” (basically the dough squares) in the freezer section at a specialty store once. Talk about comfort food!! YUM!
Looks delish! But they look like dumplings in the picture not noodles.
These are dumplings, not noodles. Instead of the butter and milk…use the broth from the chicken and an egg or 2. Use a hen to cook and use that broth,add canned if you need more. Roll out and cut in strips. That’s the real old way. All of it sounds good.
Sounds great.
I live in Amish Country Pa. ever since I was a little girl. I grew up with the square noodles. The dish was called boiled Chicken Pot Pie. The school system used to serve it also for lunch. You could get it in Chicken, Beef, or Ham.
Also love Chicken Corn Soup and Potato Soup ( with broth not cream).
My late husband’s family grew up on chicken pot pie, which this is similar to, ham and green beans and chicken corn soup with “rivels”. They are from south central PA and German aka PA Dutch. My family grew up on chicken and biscuits, also similar to this. I use several boneless chicken thighs and add in 1 or2 boneless chicken breasts. Cook in low sodium chicken broth until falling apart. Make gravy from juice, either remove the chicken and add it back into the gravy or leave it in. Make homemade baking powder biscuits, split 1 or 2 biscuits on a soup plate and cover with chicken and gravy. I make my chicken pot pie very much the same except I don’t make gravy, the well floured pot pie squares do the for you. I make my noodles with just flour and egg yolks. No real recipe, depending on how many you want to make 3 or 4 egg yolks and enough flour to make a dough. roll out fairly thin, quarter in. +/-, I use a pizza cutter to make about a one inch square noodle. Some add a pinch of salt, I don’t think they need it. Make sure you use lots of flour when rolling out so the noodles are well dusted. I believe you could use a whole egg or two, but the most flavor is in the yolk. Let these set while the chicken is cooking in the broth and add in about 10 or 15 minutes before serving.
I make mine like my mama did…sooo good! Put a pile of flour on your board, make a well. Add eggs and a pinch of poultry seasoning, mix until flour makes a dough….adding eggs or flour to get the right texture. Roll and cut into squares, then drop in a pot of boiling broth….add your cooked, deboned chicken back to the pot, cover and cook till done!
Yum, These look just like my mom made them. Haven’t had them in years.
Will follow your recipe exactly as it is.
Thanks for a reminder of my youth.
My cousin and I Friday after Thanksgiving We made noodles and Turkey soup
My grandma made these growing up and taught us girls the method. Fast forward 30 years, I learned a trick. Use flour tortillas cut into whatever shape and drop em in like dumplins! The end result is the same and no mess! Someone has already gone to the trouble of mixing and rolling that flour to the perfect thickness.
Carla sue, I have used that trick too for many years. They taste great and so easy! No one would know the difference. Also, these “dumplings” hold up better than drop bisquits in reheating later as chicken and dumplings leftovers!
I’ve grown up with this recipe, handed down from generation to generation.
We call it Chicken Pot Pie, stew format and
not a pie at all.
Who is Grandma Miller? My cousin’s wife thinks she may also be her grandmother. Where were the reunions held?
In Salinas, CALIFORNIA.. They moved there during the dust storms in the Midwest.
Being from texas, I choose flour tortillas in place of rolling out all that dough. Just slice a pkg. Of 10 into 1 inch strips and throw into the seasoned broth. So, so easy! No one will ever know you didn’t make the dumplings from scratch.
In NC we always called this chicken pastry and the drop on top kind we called chicken and dumplings.
Yep, from NC too and we call it Chicken and Pastry. I make it with self rising flour, ice water, and a bit of thyme in the flour. Recipe the same otherwise.
Love your old fashion recipes.
I use Jiffy Mix for the dumplings. An aunt who was the head chef at a very nice family restaurant in Ohio always used Jiffy Mix as opposed to the flour or Bisquik. She also used the broth from the cooked chicken as the liquid. Use thighs for the best flavor. Breasts do not have any flavor when stewed. Oh my, wish she was still here to make me a big pot of c & d. I come close, but have never got it the same as hers.
Chicken and dumplings! Fantastic over rice or mashed potatoes! Yum!
Most important after dropping in dumplings to the broth. Cover with tight fitting lid and do not remove lid for 15 minutes. This makes dumplings cook all the way through and they are light and fluffy. Another shortcut is using buttermilk flavored Grands biscuits. Roll out biscuit and cut into strips 1/2″ x 1/2″
My folks in the South (Virginia) call this chicken and dumplings.. I always use a hen for rich broth. I use some of the broth when making my dumplings (I also use self-rising flour). The broth gives the dumplings a great flavor.
Growing up in PA, we called this Chicken Pot Pie, an old Pennsylvania Dutch dish. Some versions would have carrots and peas, along with the noodles. Some made it plain, others with carrots , potatoes, and onions. But always with thick, doughy noodles. It was a great rib-sticking meal for winter. Yum!
Funny in our family This IS GRANDPAP MILLER’S SPECIALITY! He makes them every Thanksgiving. He made them for me before we were married–I was sick and he told me I needed home made chicken noodle soup. He’s been making it ever since LOL