So I had a reader send in her recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken and Cornbread Dumplings that sounds amazing, but I had to make a few modifications since we can’t eat cream of soups or biscuits. I included a cost breakdown of her recipe as well below.
Here is how I made my version “from scratch”…
Slow Cooker Chicken and Cornbread Dumplings
Yield – 4 servings
Preparation Time – 10 minutes
Cooking Time – 8 hours
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs chicken breast ($2.65)
- 1 16 oz bag frozen mixed vegetables ($1)
- Homemade GF White Sauce or Homemade White Sauce ($.50-$.75) (or make your own cream of mushroom sauce!)
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 slices GF Cornbread ($.35) Leftover from Thanksgiving (recipe here!)
- 2 Broccoli Heads ($.75)
Directions
- Place chicken breast in slow cooker. Pour frozen veggies over the chicken (no need to thaw). Pour 3-4 cups white sauce (or cream of soups) over the chicken and veggies. Add water to completely cover chicken. Cook on low for 8 hours.
- Prepare and bake your cornbread. Here’s my GF Skillet Cornbread Recipe that is amazing!
- About 1 hour before the slow cooker is done cooking, add the cornbread, crumbled into pieces (or top with the biscuits).
- Steam broccoli in steamer for 3-5 minutes or microwave for 3 minutes. Serve on the side with chicken and dumplings.
Cost $5.25
Reader’s version:
1 pound chicken ($1.77)
1 can cream of mushroom soup ($.75)
1 can cream of chicken soup ($.75)
1 small onion sliced or diced ($.20)
1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables (I use country style) ($1)
1 can of Pillsbury refrigerated biscuits ($1) …these are often on sale and there are always coupons and “ecoupons” for these.
Follow same directions as above.
Cost $5.47 (based on my guess of how much the cream of soups cost??!!!)
Chicken and dumplings is such great comfort food. Thanks for sharing…
I have been enjoying your blog!! Thanks!
PS – If you wait ’til after the new year a bit, you can get the Entertainment book way cheaper, some of the coupons will have expired, but most will still be good, and who can use them all anyway!!! Just FYI
Sounds like a great recipe! Your blog always has great ideas.
We love chicken and dumplings!! I haven’t made it in a while though. I’ll have to make it soon. 😀
Mmmm, chicken and dumplings…
If only there was a way to make a veggie version as filling and comforting as the original without using tofu or fake meat.
BTW, I’m hosting a giveaway – feel free to enter, and tell your friends!
This would be a terrific dish for a potluck.
This would be a terrific dish for a potluck.
This look delicious, but I am having a hard time seeing how one chicken breast can serve 4.
Carly – I would say adding potatoes might make the dish very comforting without any fake meat. If you do want to go that route – the reconstituted TVP-type “chicken” you can buy in bulk is the most economical.
This sounds yummy and today’s a cold day so it will taste good. Do you bake the biscuits before you add them to the crockpot?
wow! looks yummy!
Joanna-
I had baked my cornbread. I don’t think you have to bake them first. I imagine that the hour they were in the crockpot, that the biscuits would cook through.
Erin
Jennifer-
I used 1.5 lbs of chicken breast which translates to 3 large chicken breasts. Plenty for our family 🙂
Looks just delicious.
I’m a frugal woman too, trying to lose weight on weight watchers.
I love your blog. Hope you get a chance to check out mine!
Have you ever tried Arrowhead Mills GF baking mix? We use it occasionally in Bisquick-type recipes.
I just made some cheddar-garlic biscuits with it last night. I did have to make some modifications from the Bisquick recipe because of the GF flour, but they were yummy! (We use raw sharp cheddar for our cheese as our lactose-intolerent family members can handle raw milk products, but not “regular” milk products.)
There are frequently coupons for Arrowhead Mills not only at their websites, but in the “organic” coupon booklets. Plus, if you call them, they’ll send you some coupons…at least they did for me a couple of years ago. 🙂
Thank you so much for the gfcf white sauce recipe! We are going completely gfcf after the first of the year and I am scouring the Internet looking for alternatives to our favorite foods. I will be keeping an eye on your blog, Erin, as I can use all the frugal recipes I can find!
I tried the recipe Sunday. The chicken was so tender it just fell apart and the biscuits were lovely. The only thing was that it tasted a little bland so next time I’m going to add some spices.
I’m new to most crock pot cooking. Do you have to thaw the chicken before putting it in? I have frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts.
Note:
The gluten-free white sauce recipe makes half of the amount of sauce you need for this dish.
I have added another cup of soy milk cooked with a little arrowroot powder (I used it in place of the cornstarch) and I added a little more water than suggested, but only a couple tablespoons more.
I didn’t have quite enough mixed veggies or other frozen veggies to make 16 oz by weight. I ended up putting in 5 oz of mixed veggies, 4 oz of corn, and 2 oz of butternut squash.
Because of working off of 25 bucks and what I’ve got in my kitchen this week I’ve had to learn to experiment big time.
*crosses fingers*
I did have everything for a gluten-free cornbread from The Gluten-Free Vegan.
Do I have to cook the biscuits before putting them in the crockpot? Or just throw them in?
My boys are 3 and 5 and are very pick eaters! I think I’m gonna make this on Friday!!
I also work 10 hrs a day and dont get done till 6pm so my crockpot is my best friend!!
I live in NJ and shop at Acme and Shop-Rite … I buy chicken with it is on sale @ Acme for $1/lb!! If you watch for the sale you can even get boneless, skinless breast for $1/lb!! They also have about once a month (sometimes even more frequently) 4 packs for $19.99 of different meats .. and look at the prices on the meats themselves because I always pick through the meats and grab the ones that have the highest regular prices so I get the best deal! Sometimes they even have Tyson chicken nuggets or Gordon’s Fishsticks on the sale and I always find coupons for those so you get even more savings!!!
I was wondering if you cook the biscuts first. Also if I use cornbread, do I use already made cornbread and crumble that into the recipe?
Nope. I added them during the last hour of cooking in the crockpot.
This was a huge hit. Like a celebration of fall with this cooler weather we are having. So nice to tuck the ingredients in the pot this morning then walk away. Yummy! Thank you