Showing you the easiest way to get the best results in your kitchen!
You are here: Home/Recipes/ Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings – Super Easy
Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings – Super Easy
Are you craving some real comfort food but only have about 25 minutes to get food on the dinner table? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Let me introduce you to Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings. It’s where comfort food meets fast food.
There’s nothing quite like the warm, creamy, soul-satisfying taste of comfort food. I love it. In fact, I love it year-round. But comfort food really finds the spotlight in the dead cold dreariness of winter.
I could eat comfort food every night during the short days and long nights of winter. And guess what…? Now we can! The Instant Pot has made true comfort food accessible even for easy weeknight dinners! (Thank you, Instant Pot!)
Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings tastes like you’ve been slaving over the stove all afternoon. But you haven’t! You came home from work… chopped up a few ingredients… turned on your Instant Pot… and in less than 30 minutes. (And check out this IP Chicken if you’re just looking for a quick and easy way to cook chicken for all of your chicken recipes.)
BAM! Home-cooked, rich, satisfying, creamy, heart-warming, Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings is on your dinner table! (Again… Thank you, Instant Pot! And make sure to check out my Instant Pot Chicken Thighs Recipe. Also quick, easy and delish! )
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken And Dumplings
Start with the basics. Saute some chopped carrots, celery, and onions in the Instant Pot inner pot. Add diced chicken, thyme, salt and pepper and saute another few minutes. Stir in flour then deglaze the pot with chicken broth, scraping all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Stir well, then top the chicken and broth mixture with uncooked canned biscuits, cut into quarters. Secure Instant Pot lid, turning the valve to sealing and set the time to 8 minutes on Pressure Cook. When cooking time is done, let naturally release for 10 minutes. Remove lid then fold in peas and cream. Serve piping hot and enjoy your comfort food/fast food.
This version of Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings is a very simplified weeknight version. While it may not replace Grandma’s recipe (let’s face it… how often do you really cook Grandma’s?), using canned, refrigerated biscuits might be a shortcut, but it gives you and your family the pleasure of having (mostly) homemade comfort food any night of the week in less than 30 minutes.
And that’s my kind of comfort food! (You can always make homemade dumplings if you prefer!) And if you’re looking for another quick and easy Instant Pot comfort food meal, try this awesome Instant Pot Lasagna Soup!
Check out my new “How to Be the Boss of Your Instant Pot” Master Course!
So sit down to a bowlful of creamy, warm and comforting tender chicken, perfectly cooked veggies, and tender steamed "dumplings." There really is a reason this is my most popular YouTube recipe!! It's that good (and easy!)
Turn on sauté function to heat up Instant Pot inner pot. Add olive oil to coat bottom then add onion, celery, and carrots. sauté for 3-4 minutes.
Add chicken and stir well. Sprinkle with flour and stir continuously until the chicken and vegetable mixture is well-coated with the flour. Add thyme, salt, pepper. Add chicken broth and thoroughly deglaze the bottom of the pot. Stir well, making sure to scrape the bottom clean of brown bits.
Cut 5 of the refrigerated biscuits into fourths. Drop biscuit pieces on top of the chicken mixture in a single layer. Do not stir or submerge.
Turn off sauté function by pressing the cancel button. Secure lid, ensuring the valve is pointed toward sealing. Press the pressure cook button and set the timer to 8 minutes. When the timer goes off, let the pot sit another 10 minutes. After sitting for 10 minutes, turn valve to venting to release any remaining pressure.
Carefully remove lid and add cream and peas. Gently stir to combine. Serve in bowls.
How do the peas get cooked by just mixing them in? Do you have to let them set for a certain amount of time to ensure they are cooked? Also, I see you are making this in a 3 qt IP. Have you made this in the 6 qt?
Yes, I’ve make this in the 6 quart and it works well. The peas will warm up very quickly with the heat of the dish. I do thaw them before I put them in!
I’ve never seen a PC recipe that says to add a thickening agent before pressure cooking work. Unfortunately, this is no exception. The recipe did see to have potential though, hope to try something similar soon.
Hey Kandi! Tons of people have made this recipe as is and loved it! I personally have made it this way for over 2 years and have never had a problem. Having said that, if you’d rather add any thickening agent after the pressure cooking cycle, you’re welcome to do so. It will still taste awesome! 🙂 Thanks for writing in. Heather
High pressure. Almost all pressure cooker recipes assume high pressure. If the recipe needs low pressure, the recipe should state that. That’s kind of the industry standard, but I’m sure there are exceptions to that. Good question! I hope this clarifies. Heather
Hello. The chicken and dumplings recipe in the “Cooking with your Instant Pot Mini” is not correct. It calls for 1/2 cup of flour which is too much. My dish was like glue and burned to the bottom of the pot even though I tried to scrape the bottom clean. Very disappointed especially since I made my own biscuits for the topping. The whole dish was ruined. Please correct the cookbook and test the recipes as written before publishing.
Hi Kathleen. I’m sorry this recipe didn’t work for you. I actually tested every single recipe in my book as well as on my blog. I make this one all the time and it always works. I’ve never had it burn. Having said that, if you’d like to reduce the amount of flour to 1/4 cup I’m sure you’d be just fine.
Are these recipes for the 3quart or 6 quart insatnt pot? Due to lack of space (and living alone!) I purchased the smaller 3 qt and am not sure if recipes can successfully be cut in half the way you can with traditional cooking. Thank you for your assistance.
3RD burn message. I added more water, again. That did not hurt the sauce…it stayed very thick. I think the flour is definitely the culprit. I used 1/4 cup as the recipe state. Maybe 1T is better? Or perhaps add at the end and cook dumplings on the saute mode. Right now my chicken and dumplings is in a pot on the stove.
Hi Evelyn. I’m sorry this didn’t work for you. I’ve made it dozens of times and never had the burn issue even one time. You certainly can reduce the amount of flour if you’d like to try that, but I’ve always done it as written with good success. The dumplings won’t cook properly on saute mode, so I wouldn’t suggest that option, though. The dumplings need to steam, which is why this is a great Instant Pot recipe. Again, I wish I had more suggestions and I’m sorry it didn’t work. I know you deglazed the pan, which is usually the culprit for something like this… some people don’t do it well enough, but it does sound like you did that. Let me know if you try again with less flour and hopefully that will work for you.
I always use the metal trivet when I cook meat. The one time I didn’t, I got the burn message. I also sauté things in a pan on my regular stove and then add to Instant Pot. I’d rather take these steps and not have the burn message, because the one time I had it, I wasn’t watching the IP and when I went to get my “finished dinner”, 10 min later, it was then I saw the burn message. I had to take the food out and scrape the burn off and scrub the pot bottom, put food in to cook again. It wasted about 20 minutes total. So now, I don’t take any chances!
Hi Laura. I’m not sure doubling this to feed 12 would be a good idea in the Instant Pot. My largest pot is the 6 quart and I would not do it in that. I also think that would be too much flour for the IP (It’s sensitive to flour and too much can cause the burn notice). Probably not the answer you want, but I think it’s the best advice. 🙂
This recipe just doesn’t work with my instant pot (IP Ultra 8-Qt, multiuse programmable). I followed everything exactly as written, I deglazed my pot, and I’ve gotten three “burn” messages now. Twice I’ve dumped the contents out and washed the bottom of the pot, and it made no difference. It just burns as it cooks, and as a result I can’t even finish it. What am I doing wrong???
Hi Nicole! I’m sorry you’re having a hard time with this one (I am surprised because tons of IP users have made it and rave about it). I will say that I find my Ultra to be more sensitive than my other models, so what I would do if I were you is reduce the flour by half and add an additional cup of liquid. This should not be necessary in general, but maybe in the Ultra it might be a good idea. I make this recipe all the time and it’s really good, so I hope these tips help! Let me know!
Same problem as the other folks- my instant pot has been on ‘burn’ for the past 1 1/2 hours! I’ve been opening it and reclining it, trying to cool it down- no dice. I finally saw the other posts and added more liquid- will see if it helps.
H Nancy! I’m sorry you’ve had this issue. Although I’ve never had the burn notice with this dish (I make it all the time too), there have been a few people who have. I’m not sure why, but for those who have this issue, I do suggest reducing the amount of flour to 2 tablespoons and make sure to thoroughly deglaze. Again, I have never had the burn notice, but I don’t want this to be an issue for you or others. So let me know if that works! 🙂
Sara says
How do the peas get cooked by just mixing them in? Do you have to let them set for a certain amount of time to ensure they are cooked? Also, I see you are making this in a 3 qt IP. Have you made this in the 6 qt?
Heather says
Yes, I’ve make this in the 6 quart and it works well. The peas will warm up very quickly with the heat of the dish. I do thaw them before I put them in!
Kandi says
I’ve never seen a PC recipe that says to add a thickening agent before pressure cooking work. Unfortunately, this is no exception. The recipe did see to have potential though, hope to try something similar soon.
Heather says
Hey Kandi! Tons of people have made this recipe as is and loved it! I personally have made it this way for over 2 years and have never had a problem. Having said that, if you’d rather add any thickening agent after the pressure cooking cycle, you’re welcome to do so. It will still taste awesome! 🙂 Thanks for writing in. Heather
Kate says
Is this supposed to be high or low pressure?
Heather says
High pressure. Almost all pressure cooker recipes assume high pressure. If the recipe needs low pressure, the recipe should state that. That’s kind of the industry standard, but I’m sure there are exceptions to that. Good question! I hope this clarifies. Heather
Kathleen McNabb says
Hello. The chicken and dumplings recipe in the “Cooking with your Instant Pot Mini” is not correct. It calls for 1/2 cup of flour which is too much. My dish was like glue and burned to the bottom of the pot even though I tried to scrape the bottom clean. Very disappointed especially since I made my own biscuits for the topping. The whole dish was ruined. Please correct the cookbook and test the recipes as written before publishing.
Heather says
Hi Kathleen. I’m sorry this recipe didn’t work for you. I actually tested every single recipe in my book as well as on my blog. I make this one all the time and it always works. I’ve never had it burn. Having said that, if you’d like to reduce the amount of flour to 1/4 cup I’m sure you’d be just fine.
Becky White says
Are these recipes for the 3quart or 6 quart insatnt pot? Due to lack of space (and living alone!) I purchased the smaller 3 qt and am not sure if recipes can successfully be cut in half the way you can with traditional cooking. Thank you for your assistance.
Heather says
Hi Becky! I actually usually cook mine in the 3 quart. This one will be fine in that (but you may want to reduce the flour to 1/4 cup)
EVELYN THORPE says
3RD burn message. I added more water, again. That did not hurt the sauce…it stayed very thick. I think the flour is definitely the culprit. I used 1/4 cup as the recipe state. Maybe 1T is better? Or perhaps add at the end and cook dumplings on the saute mode. Right now my chicken and dumplings is in a pot on the stove.
Heather says
Hi Evelyn. I’m sorry this didn’t work for you. I’ve made it dozens of times and never had the burn issue even one time. You certainly can reduce the amount of flour if you’d like to try that, but I’ve always done it as written with good success. The dumplings won’t cook properly on saute mode, so I wouldn’t suggest that option, though. The dumplings need to steam, which is why this is a great Instant Pot recipe. Again, I wish I had more suggestions and I’m sorry it didn’t work. I know you deglazed the pan, which is usually the culprit for something like this… some people don’t do it well enough, but it does sound like you did that. Let me know if you try again with less flour and hopefully that will work for you.
Carole Broderick says
I always use the metal trivet when I cook meat. The one time I didn’t, I got the burn message. I also sauté things in a pan on my regular stove and then add to Instant Pot. I’d rather take these steps and not have the burn message, because the one time I had it, I wasn’t watching the IP and when I went to get my “finished dinner”, 10 min later, it was then I saw the burn message. I had to take the food out and scrape the burn off and scrub the pot bottom, put food in to cook again. It wasted about 20 minutes total. So now, I don’t take any chances!
Laura says
Interested in doubling this recipe to feed 12 or more people. How would you suggest I double it? Any suggestions? Thanks!
Heather says
Hi Laura. I’m not sure doubling this to feed 12 would be a good idea in the Instant Pot. My largest pot is the 6 quart and I would not do it in that. I also think that would be too much flour for the IP (It’s sensitive to flour and too much can cause the burn notice). Probably not the answer you want, but I think it’s the best advice. 🙂
Karen says
Can I put the frozen peas in at the beginning?
Thx
Heather says
I wouldn’t put them in in the beginning because I think they’ll get pretty mushy with the pressure cooking.
Billie says
The best, easiest chicken and dumplings ever😊
Heather says
I’m so glad you liked it!!
Nicole says
This recipe just doesn’t work with my instant pot (IP Ultra 8-Qt, multiuse programmable). I followed everything exactly as written, I deglazed my pot, and I’ve gotten three “burn” messages now. Twice I’ve dumped the contents out and washed the bottom of the pot, and it made no difference. It just burns as it cooks, and as a result I can’t even finish it. What am I doing wrong???
Heather says
Hi Nicole! I’m sorry you’re having a hard time with this one (I am surprised because tons of IP users have made it and rave about it). I will say that I find my Ultra to be more sensitive than my other models, so what I would do if I were you is reduce the flour by half and add an additional cup of liquid. This should not be necessary in general, but maybe in the Ultra it might be a good idea. I make this recipe all the time and it’s really good, so I hope these tips help! Let me know!
Nancy says
Same problem as the other folks- my instant pot has been on ‘burn’ for the past 1 1/2 hours! I’ve been opening it and reclining it, trying to cool it down- no dice. I finally saw the other posts and added more liquid- will see if it helps.
Heather says
H Nancy! I’m sorry you’ve had this issue. Although I’ve never had the burn notice with this dish (I make it all the time too), there have been a few people who have. I’m not sure why, but for those who have this issue, I do suggest reducing the amount of flour to 2 tablespoons and make sure to thoroughly deglaze. Again, I have never had the burn notice, but I don’t want this to be an issue for you or others. So let me know if that works! 🙂