Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumpling Soup
Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumpling Soup is pure comfort food made with tender chicken, soft dumplings, and a rich, flavorful broth. So good!
A FILLING SOUP RECIPE
If you’ve ever had the Chicken and Dumpling Soup from Cracker Barrel, you’ll know just how good it is. But, honestly, I feel like I made it even BETTER… not to toot my own horn or anything, lol. I am not sure if this is a seasonal thing as it doesn’t seem available all the time and it doesn’t seem to be at every location and it’s only a side item (a small bowl). This Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumpling Soup has all the classic flavors of Old-Fashioned flat style chicken and dumplings, but in a soup form (more broth and not as thick.)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
To me, it’s the dumping that really make this soup. I know they’re made from scratch, but they really are ridiculously easy to make, so I hate to give a shortcut for them because they really are the star here, if you ask me.
The closest you can find is probably, Anne’s Flat Dumplings (not an affiliated link), but they’re strips, not square flat dumplings. I suppose they would work in a pinch. You can find them at many Walmart locations. You may find that some Southern regions may sell a flat dumpling that is similar to what we made here, but there isn’t a good one size, fits all, available everywhere store bought dumpling that I know of.
Y’all know I love to make things in my crock pot. Sometimes not every recipe translates well into a crock pot recipe though.
You could probably do most of this in the crock pot except for maybe the flat style dumplings. Those are a bit trickier. They really need a simmering broth to cook evenly and properly or they will become super heavy and dense because they soak up the broth faster than they have a chance to cook. So I really recommend doing this on the stove for best results. Having said all of this, I have not tested this in the crock pot so if you decide to give it a try, I’d love to know how it goes for you!
You can add peas, potatoes, corn, or anything you like to this soup but with this recipe, I kept it similar to what is served at Cracker Barrel.
I love to serve this as a meal all by itself, but you can serve it with a salad. It would go nice with the Copycat Olive Garden Salad that I have or a Caesar Salad, or really any of your favorite type of salads. You could also carb it up and serve some of your favorite Dinner Rolls, a slice or two of Garlic Cheese Bread, biscuits, Cornbread, or some of your favorite Breadsticks with a big bowl of the soup. The bread would help soak up that broth nicely.
This soup is very easy to adjust. If you find that it’s too thick, you can add a bit more broth as it simmers.
You can keep the soup in fridge for up to 3-4 days in an airtight container.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder– be sure to check that you’re using fresh baking powder for best results.
- cold salted butter– you could use unsalted butter if you need to control your sodium and you’ll use unsalted butter in the soup part too
- milk
- yellow onion, celery and carrots – sometimes you can find these three together, already pre-diced, in the produce section of your grocery store. This can be a real time saver if you need one.
- minced garlic cloves– I like to use fresh minced garlic, but you can use the jarred stuff
- low-sodium chicken stock – I used a mix of chicken stock and vegetable stock to get the most flavor, but you can use just one or the other if that’s what you have
- low-sodium vegetable stock– I like to use the low sodium versions of these stocks so you don’t make it too salty.
- chicken tenderloins – you could use chicken breast or turkey if needing to switch it up. Chicken breasts or thighs can all be used here.
- Chicken Better Than Bouillon– I used low sodium version, but I suppose you could use regular version too. Since I was using a lot of premade stocks, I really was trying to be careful about this becoming too salty. If you don’t have this Chicken Better Than Bouillon, you can just leave it out. I like to use it because it adds a nice depth of flavor, but can be left out if you don’t have it. No need to replace with anything else.
- dried parsley, onion powder, poultry seasoning, dried thyme, bay leaf – I tried quite a few different seasonings and I think cracker barrels version doesn’t have much seasoning at all. It’s very basic so I did add a tad more to give this a slight bump in flavor. This combination ended up being the winner with everyone who tried it but please feel fry to adjust to your liking.
- heavy whipping cream – in a pinch (and if you need to save on costs) try using canned evaporated milk.
HOW TO MAKE CRACKER BARREL CHICKEN AND DUMPLING SOUP:
In a medium bowl, combine 2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. Then add in 2 Tablespoons cold salted butter, cubed. Combine using your fingers, fork or pastry cutter. The butter should resemble tiny pebbles when combined well.
Pour in 1 cup of milk. Mix it all together.
Dust your counter with a generous amount of all-purpose flour. Place the dumpling dough on the counter and dust it with more flour, and knead it until your dough is no longer sticky.
With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4″ thickness. Be sure to add more flour as necessary to keep it from sticking underneath or to your rolling pin. With a pizza cutter or knife cut off the outside edge to create a rectangle. Start cutting out your dumplings into squares.
Dust dumplings with a bit more flour. The extra flour is gonna help keep them from sticking but will also thicken your chicken broth some as well when you add them to the pot. Place the dumplings in the fridge. To make the soup: to a large pot add the butter, onion, celery, and carrots over medium heat. Stir and cook until the onions are translucent.
Add the minced garlic. Stir until the garlic is fragrant. Add 2 Tablespoons of flour and stir for about a minute.
Add the stocks, chicken, and the rest of the seasonings. Do not include the salt. You will add this last (and only if you feel it is needed for flavor.)
Cook for about 8-10 minutes or until the chicken begins to fall apart. Remove the chicken. Once cooled, shred the chicken and set aside. Remove the bay leaf. Taste to see if salt is needed. Add ¼ teaspoon of salt at a time. Simmer the soup for 10 minutes to thicken the broth. To the simmering soup, begin adding dumplings one at a time so they don’t all stick together. Stir frequently while adding them.
Allow dumplings to cook for about 15-20 minutes. You should notice your broth starting to thicken (from the extra flour) and your dumplings may start to sink a little to the bottom because they are soaking up the broth. Stir occasionally so they don’t stick to the bottom. Take one out and taste-test it. It shouldn’t have a doughy taste anymore. Transfer the chicken back into the soup. Add in the heavy cream. Make sure it is room temperature, or you can place the heavy cream in the microwave for 30 seconds. This will prevent the heavy cream from curdling. Gently stir and allow the chicken to heat through.
Top with more parsley.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumpling Soup
Ingredients
Dumpling Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting your work surface)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 Tablespoons cold salted butter, cubed
- 1 cup milk
Soup Ingredients :
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup diced yellow onion
- 3 celery stalks, sliced
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 (64 ounce) cartons cartons low-sodium chicken stock
- ½ cup low-sodium vegetable stock (can use all chicken stock if preferred)
- 1 pound chicken tenderloins (can use chicken breasts or thighs)
- 1 Tablespoon Chicken Better Than Bouillon
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- salt (if needed)
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream (room temperature)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder2 Tablespoons cold salted butter, cubed.
- Combine using your fingers, fork or pastry cutter. The butter should resemble tiny pebbles when combined well.
- Pour in 1 cup milk. Mix it all together.
- Dust your counter with a generous amount of all-purpose flour. Place the dumpling dough on the counter and dust it with more flour, and knead it until your dough is no longer sticky.
- With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4″ thickness. Be sure to add more flour as necessary to keep it from sticking underneath or to your rolling pin.
- With a pizza cutter or knife cut off the outside edge to create a rectangle.
- Start cutting out your dumplings into squares. This doesn't have to be perfect.
- Dust dumplings with a bit more flour. The extra flour is gonna help keep them from sticking but will also thicken your chicken broth some as well when you add them to the pot. Place the dumplings in the fridge while you make the soup.
- To make the soup: to a large pot add 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, ½ cup diced yellow onion, 3 celery stalks, sliced and 2 carrots, sliced over medium heat. Stir and cook until the onions are translucent.
- Add 2 garlic cloves, minced. Stir for about 30 seconds (or until the garlic is fragrant)
- Add 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour and stir for about a minute.
- Add 2 (64 ounce) cartons cartons low-sodium chicken stock, ½ cup low-sodium vegetable stock, 1 pound chicken tenderloins, 1 Tablespoon Chicken Better Than Bouillon, 1 teaspoon dried parsley, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, ½ teaspoon black pepper and 1 bay leaf.
- Stir and cook for about 10 minutes or until the chicken begins to fall apart.
- Remove the chicken. Once cooled, shred or dice the chicken and set aside.
- Remove the bay leaf. Taste to see if salt is needed. Add ¼ teaspoon of salt at a time.
- Simmer the soup uncovered for about 10 minutes to thicken the broth.
- To the simmering soup, begin adding dumplings one at a time so they don’t all stick together. Stir frequently while adding them.
- Allow dumplings to cook for about 15-20 minutes. You should notice your broth starting to thicken (from the extra flour from the dumplings) and your dumplings may start to sink a little to the bottom because they are soaking up the broth. Stir occasionally so they don’t stick to the bottom.
- Take one out and taste-test it. It shouldn’t have a doughy taste anymore.
- Transfer the chicken back into the soup.
- Add in ¼ cup heavy whipping cream. Make sure it is room temperature, or you can place the heavy cream in the microwave for 30 seconds. This will prevent the heavy cream from curdling.
- Gently stir and allow the chicken to heat through.
- Top with a little more dried parsley and serve!
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
I love your chicken and dumplings recipe so I had to try this soup version. Used some leftover turkey. Everyone raved over how good it was. Thank you!
Hello! I was comparing this recipe with your previous chicken and dumpling recipe, this one has quite a bit more stock. Is there a reason? I’m making this for my dad’s 84th birthday, he loves this dish at CB! Don’t want to mess the recipe up but will be glad if it is more broth because I didn’t think the other recipe would make enough! Thank you for any reply!
Because this is a soup 🙂
Looks good! Just wanted to mention that this part “Add the minced garlic. Stir for about 30 minutes (or until the garlic is fragrant.)” should read 30 seconds.
We love Cracker Barrel
Making dumplings is so intimidating for me. I’ve never made biscuits because of this. I’m going to try making the dumplings though. Could you use biscuits in place of home made?
You could but they will puff up. I promise, they are not hard at all and they are really hard to mess up! You can do this!
My mom used to make something like this ( same dumplings). The difference was that she used stew beef instead of chicken! It was so yummy and comforting on a cold winter day!
Can this soup be kept warm for serving in a soup warmer
Just keep in mind that the dumplings will continue to soak up the broth as they sit in the soup. 🙂
I love the Cracker Barrel Chicken and dumplins have had them many times at there store before it closed. Thanks for positing this recipe.