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1800s-present - Southern and Appalachian home cooks stretching chicken with flour dumplings
Tender chicken in rich broth with soft dumplings, finished as a thick, comforting Southern and Appalachian main dish.
Difficulty
Moderate
Prep time
25 minutes
Cook time
1 hour 20 minutes
Total time
1 hour 45 minutes
Servings
6 servings
Region
Southern United States and Appalachia
Era introduced
1800s-present
Introduced by
Southern and Appalachian home cooks stretching chicken with flour dumplings
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Chicken and dumplings is a dish of economy and care: an older bird or small chicken stretched with broth and flour into a filling family meal. Southern and Appalachian versions vary between flat rolled dumplings, slicks, and fluffy dropped dumplings. This entry uses a familiar rolled or dropped dumpling approach and treats the dish as a post-Civil War and rural comfort-food staple with deeper roots.
Drafted with Southern/Appalachian context from Taste (https://tastecooking.com/chicken-dumplings-great-equalizer-southern-cooking/), historical caution from Serious Eats (https://www.seriouseats.com/southern-chicken-and-dumplings), printed-recipe context from Grub Americana (https://grubamericana.com/2025/10/05/chicken-and-dumplings-comfort-food-with-deep-roots/), and Appalachian recipe context from Epicurious (https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/ba-syn-crystals-peppery-chicken-and-dumplings).
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