Chicken and dumplings on a cold night is hard to beat.

Quick answer Put a thawed whole chicken in a 6-quart slow cooker with water or broth and cook on LOW about 4 to 8 hours, until the thickest part of the thigh hits 165°F. Lift it out, pull the meat off (toss the skin and bones), and stir it back into the broth. Cut a can of refrigerated biscuits into pieces, drop them in, and cook on HIGH about 60 to 90 minutes, until no longer doughy in the middle.
Crock-Pot Chicken and Dumplings
Photo: Amadscientist / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken, 4 to 5 pounds, fully thawed, giblets removed (not rotisserie or precooked)
  • Chicken broth or water (see step 2)
  • 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
  • 1 can (8-count) refrigerated biscuits
  • 2 tablespoons butter (optional)
  • Optional vegetables: 1 onion, chopped; 1 to 2 ribs celery, sliced; 2 carrots, sliced
  • A 6-quart slow cooker and a food thermometer

Directions

  1. Start clean and cold. Wash your hands and the cooker. Keep the chicken in the fridge until you’re ready, and make sure it’s completely thawed. Never start a frozen chicken in a slow cooker.
  2. Load the cooker. If you’re using vegetables, put them in the bottom first (they cook slower than the meat). Set the chicken on top, breast side up, sprinkle with the salt and pepper, and add broth or water so the chicken is sitting well down in liquid but the lid still closes easily. Don’t fill past your cooker’s fill line.
  3. Cook. Cover and cook on LOW about 4 to 8 hours, depending on the size of the bird and your cooker. If you can, run it on HIGH for the first hour, then switch to LOW. Keep the lid on; lift it only to check doneness.
  4. Check the temperature. The chicken is done when a food thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh, not touching bone, reads at least 165°F. Check the breast too. The meat should be falling off the bone.
  5. Pull the meat. Lift the chicken onto a big platter or cutting board (it will want to fall apart). Let it cool enough to handle, then pull or slice the meat off. Throw away the skin and bones. Fish out any small bones that stayed in the broth.
  6. Return the meat. Stir the chicken back into the broth, add the butter if using, and taste for salt and pepper. Turn the cooker to HIGH.
  7. Make the dumplings. Open the biscuits, press each one a little flatter, and cut each into quarters or strips.
  8. Cook the dumplings. Drop the pieces in over the top and spoon some broth over them. Cover and cook on HIGH about 60 to 90 minutes, stirring gently once or twice, until a piece from the middle is cooked through and not doughy.
  9. Serve hot, with extra black pepper.
Safety: Cook poultry to at least 165°F, measured with a food thermometer. If the power goes out while you’re away, throw the food out even if it looks done. Refrigerate leftovers in shallow covered containers within 2 hours, and reheat them on the stove or in the microwave to 165°F, not in the slow cooker.

Good to know

Slow cookers vary, so use the times as a guide and the thermometer as the final word. A 6-quart cooker is a good fit for a 4- to 5-pound chicken.