Keto Chicken and Dumplings

by KetoFocus.com
4.7 Stars (15 Reviews) 22 Comments

A low carb favorite comfort food on a cold day is this recipe for Keto Chicken and Dumplings. Made using a few shortcuts, this keto soup recipe comes together in minutes and features big dumplings made with almond flour sitting in nutritious chicken bone broth stock.

Ok, you need something hot and warm so you open your book of homemade chicken recipes.  You can go with the classic chicken soup, or maybe a chicken pot pie, or you can go with the classic keto chicken and dumplings.

two bowls of chicken and dumplings with bone broth
This recipe for keto chicken and dumplings will warm your bones and toes as you sip on the soothing flavorful broth. This soup has big chunks of vegetables and chicken and is topped with a big low carb dumplings made of almond flour, that soaks up all the delicious flavor of the chicken bone broth.

How to make keto chicken and dumplings?

keto dumpling sitting in chicken broth
Keto chicken and dumplings recipe can be created in 30 minutes thanks to a few shortcuts.

In this recipe, I use a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store that I shred up into bite sized pieces. Rotisserie chicken is filled with lots of juicy flavor and you have the option of using dark or white meat.

The second shortcut when making keto chicken and dumplings is to use premade chicken broth. I use a chicken bone broth to create the base for the soup and you can find in most grocery stores. Using a premade bone broth provides all the flavor and nutritional benefits of regular bone broth without simmering on the stove top for hours.

You can always make your own chicken bone broth ahead of time – this adds even more nutrition and flavor.

This keto soup is filling. It’s low carb comfort food at it’s finest. With around 7 gram of carbs per serving, this bowl of hardy chicken dumpling soup will warm your belly, keep you satisfied and keep you under your carb macros.

Keto Chicken and Dumplings Recipe Video

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Chicken Soup Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 leek, sliced
  • 4 celery stalks, chopped
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped carrots (optional)
  • 3 cups cooked shredded chicken
  • 1 zucchini, cut into half moons
  • 32 oz chicken broth
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of salt, to taste

Almond Flour Dumplings Ingredients

  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1/2 cup unflavored whey protein powder
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 cup hot boiling water

Keto Chicken and Dumplings Directions

  • Keto Chicken and Dumplings
  •    

    Keto cooked chicken shortcut

    shredded chicken in a bowl

    As mentioned before, I like to use a pre-bought rotisserie chicken, which is a combination of chicken breast and chicken thighs, in this recipe; however, you can use uncooked chicken. Just make sure you cook the chicken in the stock pot as your first step. Then add the vegetable and finish following the recipe.

    I prefer to use chicken thighs over chicken breasts when making any low carb chicken recipe. Chicken breasts tend to dry out faster than thighs because the breast is a very lean tissue (not a lot of fat content). Chicken thighs retain their moisture because they are a fattier cut of poultry.

    On the keto diet, you want to choose fattier cuts of meat over the lean cuts in order to keep your fat counts up and keep you feeling full and satisfied.

    Chicken bone broth

    Bone broth has many nutritional benefits.

    It is made from chicken bones that have been simmering for hours, extracting all the minerals and connective tissue from the bones. You are left with a highly nutritious broth containing minerals like calcium, magnesium and phosphorous, and loads of collagen. This gelatinous broth is also filled with gelatin which provides many different types of gut protecting amino acids.

    Chicken stock is also an option if bone broth is readily available.

    Low carb almond flour dumplings

    big dumpling in soup

    The keto dumpling, sometimes called a biscuit,  in this recipe are easy to make and only take a few simple ingredients. The bulk of the dumpling is made from almond flour and unflavored whey protein powder. You can also use this unflavored protein powder.

    Once the hot water is added, the almond flour dumpling batter plumps up and is ready to be steamed on top the chicken broth. To make the dough easy to handle, I recommend wetting your hands. This will prevent the dumpling dough from sticking to your hands and make the dumplings easy to roll into a ball.

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    Chicken and dumpling slow cooker version

    You can easily make this keto chicken and dumplings recipe in the slow cooker. Simply add all of your chicken soup ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Thirty minutes before you want to serve the keto chicken and dumplings, prepare the dumplings and add them to the slow cooker, cover and cook until set.

    Instant Pot chicken and dumplings

    Instant Pot pressure cooker

    This keto chicken and dumplings recipe can also be made in the Instant Pot.

    Using the sauté function, cook the vegetables (except zucchini) until softened. Then add chicken, zucchini, and broth. Top with prepared dumplings. Replace and lock the lid and pressure cook for 10 minutes. After the cycle is complete, quick release the steam to vent.

    Chicken and dumplings storage

    leftover chicken and dumplings in a storage container

    Any leftover low carb chicken and dumplings you have can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. The soup and keto dumplings are even delicious on the days to follow as the flavor has more time to develop.

    Keto Chicken and Dumplings: FAQS

    Can you eat dumplings on keto?

    The answer is yes and no. A traditional dumpling can have over 15g of net carbs, so traditional dumplings are out on the keto diet. However, this recipe has half the carbs of a traditional dumpling and is 100% gluten free.

    How many carbs are in keto chicken and dumplings?

    This keto dumpling recipe comes in at 7.9g of net carbs and 12.6g of total carbs.

    Chicken breast or chicken thighs?

    Ah, I don't think there is a wrong answer here. Chicken breast is leaner and has less flavor, while chicken thighs contain higher amounts of fat. If I not buying a premade rotisserie chicken, then I am likely buying some skinless chicken thighs and preparing them. The best answer might be, is to go with what works for you!

    How to thicken chicken and dumplings?

    If you feel like you need a thicker chicken and dumpling soup, then try adding 1 tsp of arrowroot powder to Step 2 of this recipe.

    Nutritional information & Macros

    Nutrition Information

    Keto Chicken and Dumplings

    Servings: 6

    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 401
    Fat 19.8g
    Protein 42.7g
    Total Carbs 12.6g
    Net Carbs 7.9g

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    22 Comments

        1. I am one that cannot eat whey protein powder as I am type 2 diabetic and it spikes my blood glucose. Can one make the dumplings using a combination almond / coconut flour?

    1. I can get it, just thought maybe there was something else you could use as I really didn’t want to go out to get any and I had all the other ingredients! Lol

    2. Okay super simple to make these and they are great! I added some chicken smaltz to the almond flour and whey and it came out almost like a matzoh ball! I loved it! Five stars!

    3. I made this tonight, and it was amazing! The dumplings are the best almond flour dumplings I have ever made, or eaten. My grandmother used to make chicken and dumplings, and I used her spice mix in this dough recipe. The texture was as light and fluffy as I had as a kid. Thank you for this recipe! It was my first time using xanthan gum, which I just bought yesterday so I could try this recipe. It will become a regular dish for when I have left over chicken.

    4. I made these tonight to go into my chicken soup, which I hade made from the bones and some meat of a Costco rotisserie chicken…these dumplings are fabulous! I followed the recipe exactly and I will definitely make these again! I had added celery, turnips, mushrooms and zucchini to the chicken soup, so with the dumplings, a very hearty, delicious meal on a cold and rainy night….

    5. Fabulous! Added to a homemade keto chicken soup, with turnips, celery, asparagus and zucchini for a delicious, hearty soup for a rainy, cold night.

    6. My wife and I loved this recipe and for an added bonus we used it along with one beaten egg and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg to make spaetzles. Fantastic through a spaetzle maker or cut off a board into boiling water. Thanks!

    7. I’m curious to know if you can submerge these to make traditional southern chicken n dumplins? My grandmother would boil a whole chicken, scoop it out and shred it, skim off the weird bits, add a generous amount of salt and pepper, bring to a soft boil, add dumplins made out of her biscuit recipe. Submerged, they would make a nice thick soup and plump bready dumplins that were tender and moist when you bit into them. Oh how I miss my Granny!?
      Ya know what? I’m gonna give it a go and report back! Thank you for this recipe, Annie! You’re making low carb easy girl!
      Well, here goes a prayer and a promise ?

    8. This was pretty good. I don’t think the dumplings matched traditional dumplings. They were lighter which is fine. I will be making this again.

    9. I had some raw chicken thighs to use up, so I cooked them in a skilled with butter. I enjoyed making this recipe as it is seemed out of my comfort zone, but my son and I both liked it.

    10. Thanks for the recipe. I did not have whey protein and used peptide collagen. The soup was great but the dumplings disintegrated into the soup. Yikes. Lesson learned. Guess those are not interchangeable.

        1. I’ve done many tests on this and the dumplings will disintegrate if your broth is too hot. After you have added your soup ingredients and let it come to a boil, you have to turn it down to low or completely move it from the heat (depending on how hot your burner is gas vs electric).

    11. Another winner! Excellent recipe. I made a couple of modifications that might answer some of the questions posted.

      I used some dried leaf thyme, you could also use fresh and some celery seed (1/2 tsp) along with salt and pepper to flavor the broth more. Added some baby spinach, you could use kale, or rainbow chard too. The latter would add some color to the stew.

      I added 1/4 cup of powdered buttermilk to the dumpling mix and adjusted the boiling water to give the right consistency.

      I turned the heat down as low as it could go before dropping the dumplings into the stew. I have a very low simmer setting, and this worked perfectly with a cast iron pot to hold the heat. This keeps the stew from going into a rolling or full boil, which agitates the surface and breaks up the dumplings.

      Covered the stew w/ the dumplings and let it set for about 20 minutes until the tops were no longer wet dough. There will be some moisture from the steam condensing, but they will be slightly firm to the touch and won’t stick to your finger tip.

      If your cook top doesn’t have a true simmer, or if you have an electric or induction type cook top that heats across the entire bottom of the pan, you could probably just turn it off and let it set until they are completely steamed through. This seems to be the trick to prevent the dumplings from dissolving into the the stock.

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