Guest post from Michelle of The Willing Cook
Soups are not the easiest dish when making them allergy-friendly, at least in my opinion. You can certainly do vegetable soups and beef stews, but when you want a creamy soup like clam chowder or broccoli cheese soup, things just aren’t quite the same.
That said, I’ve come up with a pretty good soup for you today. I have sweet memories of my Granny’s delicious Chicken and Dumplings growing up. It has to be one of the best comfort foods!
A few years ago, I asked my mom for her recipe only to find out she used the Bisquick recipe. What!?! I was a little disappointed with that revelation, but oh my, they are still soooo good.
In a way, I have two versions of the same recipe for you today. Bisquick has a gluten-free variety on the shelves with the dumpling recipe on the box. I have made this recipe before and it is delicious.
However, Gluten-Free Bisquick is expensive! It’s about $5 for 16 oz. That’s only 2 cups! If you wish to go the route of the pre-packaged box, follow my directions below for the soup, but substitute in the recipe for the Bisquick dumplings. I decided to make a homemade dumpling instead to save some money and it really is just as easy as using the box mix.
While, allergy-friendly soups are not always the easiest to mimic the real thing, I think you’ll agree that this recipe is right up there with your favorite comfort foods. Enjoy!
Gluten & Dairy Free Crockpot Chicken & Dumpling Soup
Soup Ingredients
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 cup carrots, sliced
- 1/2 cup celery, diced
- 1 cut-up fryer chicken
- salt & pepper
- 7 cups chicken broth
- additional vegetables (optional)
GF Dumplings Ingredients
- 3/4 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2-3 Tablespoon cold shortening (I use palm shortening that is soy free.)
- 1/2 cup allowed dairy-free milk (rice milk is good for its mild flavor)
Directions
1. Dice your vegetables and lay them in the bottom of your crockpot. Salt and pepper your chicken pieces and lay them on top of your vegetables. Pour your chicken broth into the crockpot. Cover with the lid and cook on low for 6 hours.
2. Once your chicken is cooked, remove from the crockpot to a plate and allow to cool for 20-30 minutes. Turn the crockpot up to high (leave the chicken out for now).
3. To make your dumplings: Mix together all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut in the shortening, breaking it up into the flour until only crumbles remain. Pour in your milk slowly until you come to a doughy consistency.
4. Make sure your crockpot is now on high. With a tablespoon, drop the dumplings throughout the crockpot. Place the lid on the crockpot and allow to cook for 1-1 1/2 hours on high, until the dumplings are cooked through and not doughy.
5. Return to the chicken and remove all the meat from the skin and bones. About 30 minutes before the dumplings are finished, add the chicken back into the crockpot.
6. Optional: Add additional vegetables to your soup.
Here is what I did: I cooked frozen whole green beans on the stove top in olive oil. When serving the soup, I put the green beans in the bottom of the bowl and covered it with the soup. It was a great way to add some green to our soup. I will caution you about putting frozen vegetables into the crockpot with the dumplings because the dumplings need a very high temperature to cook. I recommend steaming some vegetables, then adding them to the soup right before you serve it.
7. When the dumplings are cooked, salt & pepper the soup to taste. Spoon it out into bowls and enjoy this easy traditional comfort food, made allergy-friendly!
{Disclaimer: I do not use a crockpot very often because my husband doesn’t like them. I know, can you believe it?! In order to make this recipe as easy as possible for you, I made it into a crockpot version. If you aren’t a crockpot user either, simply convert everything to a large pot, like a dutch oven, and move from the oven to the stove top using the same directions. If you want these directions, ask me in the comment section.}
Michelle is blessed to stay home with her three children (ages 10, 7, and 4), while her husband works to provide. When she’s not experimenting with allergy-friendly meals, she’s blogging about it at The Willing Cook. Through the Willing Cook, her hope is that you gain peace of mind in your kitchen (and your pocket book) and are able to serve those you love who suffer with food allergies.
Hello, How many servings does you recipe for the crock pot make?
I would be interested in the stovetop directions!
No problem.
1. Using either a cut-up fryer or whole chicken, season it with salt & pepper & pour in 3-4 cups of water. Roast your chicken on 300 degrees for about 2 hours or until it reaches 180 degrees. (I like to use a pot or dutch oven that can go from the oven to the stove top.)
2. Once cooked, remove from oven to a plate to cool. Dice up your vegetables, adding it to your broth on the stove top. Bring to a boil, then let simmer.
3. Make your dumplings as directed above. Turn your broth back up (add more broth if needed) to boiling, add in your dumplings and return to a simmer for about 10 minutes. Cover & simmer an additional 10 minutes.
4. While the dumplings are cooking, remove the meat from your chicken. Add into the broth to heat. Season w/ salt & pepper. Serve!
Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any questions.
My husband also dislikes the crockpot. For most dishes, I tend to agree with him, but it is just SO convenient. Since I like to please my hubs, my crockpot almost exclusively gets used for making chicken stock.
Could I just use white and/or brown flour in the dumplings?
Sure, you can use either one just fine. Enjoy!
I LOVE dumpling and have been looking for a gluten free option for them that fits our allergy and budget needs. Can’t wait to try this! And, I agree with your husband about the crockpot. Food looses its flavor in them. I’ve tried to get on the crock pot wagon to save time, but just can’t seem to do it.
It seems we’re not alone on the crockpot. My husband will be glad to know that he wasn’t making it up.
I hope you enjoy this recipe and fits well with your various needs! I’d love to hear how you like it.
my husband doesn’t like crockpot either!?!
I don’t have any advice about keeping towels clean without bleach.
But I love my white towels!! We have all white towels, bathroom & kitchen. Hotels have white towels, so *I* feel fancy hanging my crisp white towels and using white cloths and rags.
The bonus of bleaching them every wash cycle is that all germs are killed. I can leave a damp towel balled up for weeks and it never smells mildewy.
Wrong spot! sorry!
I have been dairy free for awhile, but I am newly gluten free and can’t wait to try this. Thanks for the recipe! I also can’t have sugar or black pepper, so do you think leaving that out would affect the taste of the dumplings much?
Melissa,
I’d leave the sugar out. It won’t make any difference, really. You could add in a touch of honey or maple syrup if you want sweetness, but I don’t think it’s necessary. As far as the pepper goes, I’d substitute another spice in for it. Something like garlic powder or oregano. It’s just essentially dough, so any additional flavor will help it out, in my opinion. Hope that helps! I’d love to know how it turns out for you.
Michelle
Just curious, but why does your husband “not like” crockpots? I thought they saved alot of money by using less energy than using the stove or oven. Does he just not like how the food tastes?
Yes, Lyss, it’s essentially the taste. He thinks that all food prepared in the oven tastes better than the crockpot. He thinks the crockpot takes away much of the flavor. Since I’m home with our youngest daughter, I’m able to work a little harder with dinner, but he may have to learn to like the crockpot if I ever work outside the home. 🙂 You do what you can!
FWIW, I don’t think your husband is not crazy.
We don’t like crock pot food in our house too. We also think the slow, wet cooking leaches flavor out of most foods.
I agree with you, Roxanne. Food does taste better cooked other ways besides the crockpot. Sometimes, convenience supersedes taste, unfortunately.
One awesome use I have found for the crockpot that I don’t think affects the taste at all is cooking dried beans in it. I just cooked up 13 cups of black beans yesterday and froze all but 2 cups. It is less expensive than cans and buying a 16oz package. I buy the biggest bag I can find, which is 10 lbs and fix about about a quarter of it at a time, either overnight or throughout the day. I then divvy it up into ziploc bags, about 2 cups/bag and freeze. It’s a handy little mini freezer cooking session in the crockpot that doesn’t affect the flavor.
I agree that food just cooked in the crockpot doesn’t taste as good – but if you brown meat before you put it in the crockpot, it tastes fantastic…especially if it started out with the bones in and skin on. And, you can cook it longer without burning, so it’s even more tender when it’s done.
That’s good to know, Melody! Thank you!
I second the browning tip. I’ve made country style pork ribs in the crockpot. Browned them first and they taste great. I just made chicken soup in the crockpot yesterday and it tasted the same as if I’d gone stovetop…I sauted my veggies first, and I think that really made the difference. A little more prep work, sure, but you can still walk home to dinner all ready later on.
I love cooking beans in my crockpot, too. I’ve read in cookbooks that “dried beans will never soften in the crockpot.” They cook fine for me! They actually turn out better for me than stovetop. : )
Wow Michelle, that is tough about the crock pot. It is my best friend, especially when it is 108 outside! Anyway, I love chicken and dumplings, great comfort food.
I try not to use the oven too much in the summer. The grill is a great friend at that time! I did win him over with the Slow Cooker Molten Chocolate Lava Cake recipe though. Perhaps if I stick with chocolate in all our meals, he’d like it 🙂
https://moneysavingmom.com/2012/07/slow-cooker-molten-chocolate-lava-cake-gluten-dairy-egg-free.html