Crockpot Cheddar Bay Chicken and Dumplings

Steps

1. 1

   Dice the onion, carrots, and celery, and mince the garlic. Set out the remaining chicken-and-broth ingredients and dumpling ingredients.

2. 2

   Add the chicken thighs, diced onion, carrots and celery, minced garlic, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, butter, salt, black pepper, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, dried thyme, and bay leaves to the crockpot. Stir everything together.

3. 3

   Cover and cook on LOW for 5–6 hours or on HIGH for 3–4 hours, until the chicken is tender and fully cooked. The transcript gives a LOW time of 6–7 hours; follow the written post's 5–6-hour LOW timing.

   Start 6-hour timer
4. 4

   Carefully open the hot crockpot lid away from you. Remove the chicken thighs and bay leaves; discard the bay leaves. Shred the chicken, then return it to the crockpot.

5. 5

   Stir in the heavy cream. If you want a thicker gravy, mix the optional cornstarch with the cold water to make a slurry, then stir it into the broth. Mix once more.

6. 6

   In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, shredded cheddar, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, Old Bay seasoning, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Add the melted butter and whole milk, then mix until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms. Add more milk only if needed to achieve the stated dough consistency.

7. 7

   Turn the crockpot to HIGH and wait until the broth is bubbling around the edges.

8. 8

   Drop roughly 1-tablespoon portions of dumpling dough over the chicken mixture in a single layer. Keep the portions small and do not stir them into the broth.

9. 9

   Cover and cook on HIGH for 25–40 minutes, or until the dumplings are fluffy and cooked through; allow more time if needed. The audio transcript instead says to cook for one hour.

   Start 40-minute timer
10. 10

    Garnish with fresh parsley and serve hot.