I have a weakness for creamy chicken dishes, the warming nature of them makes me feel satisfied and content. So this creamy chicken that is topped with some dumplings that have been stuffed with gooey mozzarella cheese is such a winner.

You cook the chicken with onions, potatoes, carrots, corn, chicken stock, garlic & cream, and then the dumplings sit on top. They go in the oven and go golden brown and then get topped with some herby butter.

It is such a homely dish that bubbles away when you take it to the table. You can serve it with a big green salad or some steamed vegetables.

It is a bit of a showstopper and a great dish to serve to a large group.

FAQs

Can you freeze it? I find that the dumplings are best eating straight from the oven and don’t recommend freezing this recipe.

I don’t have fresh herbs? Feel free to use dried herbs or leave the herbs out altogether.

Can i use different vegetables? Absolutely, you could use kumara (sweet potato) peas, brocollli, cauliflower or parsnip.

Creamy Chicken with Cheesy Bread Dumplings

Servings 6

Ingredients

For the Chicken

1 teaspoon of neutral oil I use canola
1 onion finely diced
2 carrots peel & diced
5 medium sized potatoes peeled and diced in 2 cm pieces
2 cloves of garlic minced
500 grams chicken thigh cut into 3cm pieces
1.5 cups of chicken stock
½ cup cream I like the cooking cream from Tatua
1 teaspoon of thyme leaves removed from stem *optional
½ cup frozen corn

For the Dumplings

300 grams self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
100 grams butter chilled
¾ cup buttermilk
150 grams mozzarella cut into 15 pieces

Herb Butter topping

20 grams butter
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Instructions

First get all your prep done, cut your carrots, garlic, onions, potatos and chicken. Then set aside (chicken in the fridge) until we are ready to start the creamy chicken.
For the dumplings, take a large bowl and whisk together the flour and baking powder. Grate in the butter and use your fingers to rub into the flour until it looks like large breadcrumbs.
Make a well in the centre, add the buttermilk, and using a butter knife to stir the mix until it just comes together.
Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead a little. Set aside in the bowl with a tea towel covering.
For the creamy chicken its handy to use a dish that can go from the stove top to the oven, otherwise start with a fry pan and transfer to an oven proof dish when we place the dumplings on top. You need a capacity of around 3 litres.
On a medium heat, place oil in your dish/pan and once it has come to temperature, add the onions, cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally so that they don’t stick.
Add the carrots and potatoes season well with salt, cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the garlic, cook for 1 minute, stirring so it doesn’t stick and burn.
Add the stock and thyme, if you have a lid, place this on and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the chicken & cream, another hearty pinch of salt & black pepper, stir to distribute & place the lid on and cook for 5 minutes.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees fan bake.
While the chicken is cooking finish your dumplings.
On a lightly floured surface, shape the dough into a rectangle 2 cm thick and cut into 15 pieces.
Take one piece of dough in your hand, flatten a little, place a piece of mozzarella in the centre and bring the edges up over the cheese to enclose. Press to seal and roll to make a ball. Place them seam side down on your bench or plate.
Take your chicken dish off the heat, add the corn if using, stir a little, take your dumplings and place these on the top of the chicken mix seam side down, the filling will continue to cook in the oven, the buns will puff up a lot, don’t place them too close together.
Cook for 20-25 minutes in the oven until golden and cooked through.
Melt the butter and add the parsley, brush over the cooked dish and serve right away with a green salad.

Recipe Notes

if you don’t have a lid for your casserole dish, you can use a lid from a large pot or foil, otherwise just simmer without a lid.
I used a smaller dish for this and made less dumplings but then did another trial and used a larger dish and made more dumplings (15 as stated in the recipe) and this worked best, so that is why this is suggested in the recipe.