This creamy chicken and dumplings is a one-pot comfort meal built entirely from dollar store staples—canned chicken, cream soup, evaporated milk, and biscuit mix dumplings—making it one of the cheapest filling dinners for families.
Check what you already have. We'll leave it off your shopping list.
CookOS may earn a commission from Instacart orders.
Prices vary by store
*Service fees apply. Instacart® and the Instacart logo are registered trademarks of Maplebear Inc. d/b/a Instacart.
Drain the liquid from the canned chicken into a large pot or Dutch oven. Do not discard the liquid.
Shred the chicken with a fork and add it to the pot.
Add the cream of chicken soup, drained potatoes, drained peas, and drained carrots to the pot.
Pour in the evaporated milk, crumble in the bouillon cubes, and add the water.
Season with salt and pepper to taste, stir everything to combine, and bring the soup to a boil over medium-high heat.
While the soup is heating, prepare the dumpling dough. In a separate bowl, combine the biscuit mix with water according to the package directions. For richer dumplings, you can replace some of the water with evaporated milk.
Once the soup is boiling, drop spoonfuls of the dumpling dough into the pot.
Cover the pot, reduce the heat, and let it simmer for 10-12 minutes, or until the dumplings are cooked through.
Gently stir the soup, breaking apart the dumplings slightly. Serve hot and enjoy.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stove with a splash of water or milk to restore creaminess; dumplings soften with time.
Yes. Use 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken and reduce the liquid slightly since fresh chicken releases less moisture than canned.
Dumplings are done when they float to the surface and are cooked through (no raw dough center). This takes 10–15 minutes after topping the broth.
Yes. Prepare the broth and vegetables up to 2 days ahead, then add and cook the dumplings fresh before serving for best texture.
Substitute 1 cup heavy cream or 1 cup whole milk mixed with 2 tablespoons cornstarch to thicken.
This recipe serves 4–6 people depending on portion size. It easily doubles if using a larger pot.
