Vegan Chicken and Dumplings

The other day we had our first frost, and you know what that means…time for cozy stews! This vegan chicken and dumplings recipe is creamy, warm, filling, herby, and savory. It has a thick stew-like broth filled with veggies, vegan chicken, and it’s topped with fluffy biscuit dumplings.

why this recipe works

This vegan chicken and dumplings recipe uses store-bought vegan chicken. Vegan chicken has a tendency to lose its texture if it sits in soups too long which is why this recipe calls for adding the “chicken” at the very end of the cooking time.

This ‘chicken’ stew gets so much of its flavor from vegan not-chicken bouillon cubes. I highly recommend using these instead of normal boxed veggie stock. You’re able to easily control how much flavor goes into the stew with these bouillon cubes!

the stew ingredients

Another reason I absolutely love this recipe is that it uses incredibly simple ingredients. You probably already have most of them on hand! This veggie dumpling stew uses vegetables like celery, carrots, and peas plus store-bought vegan chicken.

You’ll need to gather the following ingredients:

• Vegan Butter
• Onion + Garlic
• All Purpose Flour
• Celery
• Carrots
• Peas
• Water
• Vegan Not-Chicken Bouillon Cubes
• Dry White Wine
• Dairy Free Milk
• Frozen, Storebought Vegan Chicken Strips
• Bisquick or another prepackaged biscuit mix
• and some Herbs & Spices!

the vegan chicken

There are so many different kinds of store-bought vegan chicken on the market now! Feel free to use your favorite brand in this recipe. If you’re not sure where to start or have never tried vegan chicken before, below are a few of my recommendations for this stew:

• For this recipe, I like to use Gardein’s unbreaded “chicken strips”, like the ones that come in their Teriyaki Chik’n. If using this product, you can place the sauce packet that comes with it back in the freezer for other future recipes (like tofu stir fries!).
• If you can’t find unbreaded vegan chicken, you could also use diced-up Gardein vegan chicken nuggets or Morningstar vegan chicken nuggets. Breaded vegan chicken nuggets will thicken up the stew more than the unbreaded ones, so just keep that in mind! You may need to add a little water or dairy-free milk at the end to thin out the stew.

equipment and tools

All you really need to make this recipe is a large stockpot or dutch oven! This is pretty much a one-pot meal (except for the bowl you’ll need to mix the dumplings up in).

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how to make vegan chicken and dumplings

prepping the vegetables

The very first step in making this recipe is to melt the vegan butter in a large dutch oven or pot on medium heat. Once the butter is all melted, you’ll saute the onion, garlic, celery, peas and carrots until translucent, which should take about 5 minutes.

Since we want this stew to be nice and thick, this recipe calls for flour to help thicken up the broth. The flour should be added directly to the sauteed vegetables, before any broth. Sprinkle on the flour, mix it in with the veggies until they’re evenly coated, and cook it for 1 minute to get the raw flour taste out. 

Next up is adding all of the spices which include the poultry seasoning, pepper, thyme, bay leaf, and salt! We want all the flavor!

making the stock

Now that all the veggies are a bit tender and seasoned, you can pour the white wine onto the vegetables to deglaze the bottom of the pot. This step is optional but it does add a decent amount of flavor to the stew!

Please note: Not all wines are vegan. You can use Barnivore.com to check and see if your wine is vegan-friendly.

To make the stock, pour in the water, bouillon cube, and dairy-free milk. Mix all the ingredients together and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. The mixture should begin to get thick and look pretty creamy.

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how to make vegan stew dumplings

While the broth thickens, you can make the dumplings by mixing the Bisquick and dairy free milk together in a small bowl. The dough should be very thick, yet scoopable.

Before you drop on the dumplings, be sure to add the cubed vegan chicken to the broth. These are added at the end so they don’t overcook. They should be heated long enough to be warm but not get soggy! 

Then, scoop 5-6 spoonfuls of the biscuit dough onto the broth. I used a cookie dough or ice cream scoop to drop the dumplings into the broth. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes. The biscuits should be completely cooked and the mixture is ready to serve!

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don’t have bisquick?

If you don’t have Bisquick, no worries! The dumplings are super easy to make from scratch. You’ll need the following:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp melted vegan butter
• ¾ cup dairy-free milk

Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl, then make a well in the center. Pour in the melted vegan butter and the dairy-free milk. Gently mix everything up until a thick batter is formed. Then, follow the same steps listed above to add the dumplings to the stew.

veggie chicken and dumplings tips & tricks

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