Gluten-free chicken and dumplings swimming in a salty, creamy broth of herbs and aromatic vegetables found its way to our kitchen a few weeks ago. A cold-weather food, good for the changing of the seasons, gluten-free chicken and dumplings can satisfy hungry bellies on chilly autumn evenings – fulfilling the roles of both company food and comfort food in one ladle full of thick stew dripping with wholesome fats and dotted by peas, carrots and celery.
A combination of rice, sorghum and tapioca, these gluten-free dumplings are dense, but savory – made even more special by the inclusion of minced fresh herbs: parsley, chives, thyme and celery leaves which are all too often wasted for want of knowledge as to their use. Even for those who don’t need or care to adhere to a gluten-free diet, the inclusion of gluten-free grains and pseudocereals can bring beautiful variation to the supper table, and with that variation in flavor, texture and appearance also comes variation in nutritive value – ensuring that variety in your diet can help to fuel your body better. Quinoa is a good source of folate, magnesium and phosphorus, while rice offers some thiamin and a good deal of manganese. Millet provides some vitamin B6 and manganese, too. Buckwheat, a pseudocereal, is rich in magnesium and the flavonoid rutin; moreover, it’s a very good source of the enzyme phytase making it an excellent addition to gluten-free flour and grain mixes which can otherwise by high in the antinutrients, but relatively low in phytase – the enzyme that, once activated, helps to degrade food phytate rendering grain’s full complement of minerals a little more available to the body. For this reason, I call for soaking the dumpling dough in buttermilk for several hours prior to cooking the stew – preserving old world techniques and maximizing nutritive value where we can.
Of course, about twenty to thirty percent of Nourished Kitchen readers avoid gluten-containing grains or grains altogether. Indeed, my family is largely gluten-free and I credit a gluten-free diet with helping my body to not only recover from hyperthyroidism, but also to conceive my son. It was at the direction of my endocrinologist who suggested a gluten-free diet might aid in the recovery from the distress that years of thyroid disease had wrought on my body. Of course, after years of healing my gut through fermented foods, bone broth and other nutrient-dense whole foods, I’m able to tolerate a a small amount of properly prepared cereal grains – a true sourdough, soaked or sprouted breads and flours, just as my naturopath suggested I might. We talked a bit about my history with gluten-free foods on a recent interview for Transform Your Health with Dr. Josh Axe, where I was reminded that while about 1 in 133 people suffer from true celiac disease, about 1 in 7 suffers from gluten intolerance on some level and that gluten intolerance can manifest itself in many ways. So, gluten-free readers, you’re not alone – not by a long shot. And after much begging and pleading in our recent reader survey (you can still weigh in, by the way), I’ve listened and will share more of my tried-and-true nourishing, gluten- and grain-free recipes.
Enjoy. This pot of steaming, creamy stew flecked with fresh herbs, pastured chicken and gluten-free dumplings is for you.
Gluten-free Chicken and Dumplings
Gluten-free chicken and dumplings is rich with broth, fresh herbs and aromatic vegetables, for a bit of variation, consider omitting bacon and adding two cups chopped wild mushrooms – any will do, but I’m particularly fond of chanterelles in this dish.
Ingredients for Gluten-free Chicken and Dumplings
For the gluten-free dumplings:
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour
- 1/4 cup sorghum flour
- 1/4 cup almond meal
- 2 tablespoons buckwheat flour
- 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
- 1/3 cup buttermilk* (see sources for a starter)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoons butter** (see sources)
- 1/2 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
- 1/4 cup finely minced fresh herbs (chives, thyme, parsley, celery leaves etc.)
For the soup:
- 2 tablespoons butter** (see sources)
- 4 ounces pastured bacon, chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 4 ribs celery, chopped
- 4 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 1/2 to 2 quarts fresh chicken broth
- 1 cup fresh or frozen English peas
- 1/2 cup finely minced herbs (chives, thyme, parsley, sage, celery leaves etc.)
Method for Gluten-free Chicken and Dumplings
Preparing the dumplings:
- Stir brown rice flour, sorghum flour, almond meal, buckwheat and tapioca flour together, then pour buttermilk into the flour and stir the mixture together until it resembles cornmeal. Set it aside, covered, for about eight hours or overnight.
- After the dumpling dough has soaked overnight or about eight hours in buttermilk, mix remaining ingredients into the dough and form the dough by hand into balls about one-half to thee-quarters inch in diameter. Set them aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
Finishing the soup:
- Melt two tablespoons butter in a heavy-bottomed soup pot, then add four ounces chopped bacon to the pot and cook it through. Remove the bacon from the pot and set it aside.
- Toss chopped onion, celery and carrots into the pot and cook them until they become tender and fragrant, then add chopped chicken to the pot and cook for three to five minutes.
- Pour in 1 1/2 to 2 quarts fresh chicken broth into the pot and simmer the soup for ten minutes, covered.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, uncover the soup pot, add 1 cup fresh or frozen English peas into the soup and drop formed dumplings, no more than three-quarters inch in diameter, into the pot. Cover the pot again and allow the dumplings to cook undisturbed for eight to ten minutes.
- After eight to ten minutes, uncover the pot and stir in fresh minced herbs and reserved bacon.
- Ladle into bowls and serve hot.
YIELD: about six servings.
TIME: 8 hours (soaking the dumpling dough), 30 to 40 minutes (active time)
*Substitute an equal amount of water plus two tablespoons raw cider vinegar or lemon juice. **Substitute tallow, bacon fat, pastured lard or palm kernel oil.
Hi Jenny, Do you think I could make the dumplings without egg? I have a daughter who is allergic to eggs. I have a chxn and dumpling recipe that I have never made because it is all white flour, but it doesn’t call for eggs. Just wondering if the dumplings would stay together w/o the egg. Thanks, Hilary
Try as I might, I’ve never found a good egg replacer and I don’t believe the dumplings would stay together without the binding of the egg, but if you try it, please let me know and I’ll add the substitution to the recipe.
I’ve used ground flax seed as a replacer for egg in granola bars that just wouldn’t stick and it’s worked amazingly…maybe it would work here?
I have a recipe for dumplings that uses butter and buttermilk (or regular milk) and it works fantastically.
I’ve used flax snot–the goo you get if you boil whole flax seed–as an egg replacement in several recipes, and it’s worked great. I wonder if flax would somehow work here as well.
I use ground flax seed (1 T flax seed soaked for 3-5 minutes in 3 T very hot water = 1 egg) when I run out of eggs and it works well for me.
Jenny this recipe sounds so heartwarming! It makes me glad I spent the time to made all those batches of bone broth throughout the summer. Now I can just pull a bag from the freezer and we’re ready to go. The picture is stunning. You may have outdone yourself with this one, both in the recipe and the photograph. Many Thanks!
Thanks for a gluten free recipe!
Sounds wonderful in this fall-like weather
Yum! GF chicken and dumplings! I grew up loving chicken and dumplings, but my daughter and husband are GF, so have never made it. I’ll be making this on Sunday, thanks! I shared it on http://facebook.com/mompreneurwellness
Jenny – you share excellent information and recipes.
I’ve missed chicken and dumplings. So glad it’s cooler now and I can indulge again with this gluten-free alternative.
My boys have nut allergies. Could I use ground hemp seeds instead of the almond meal? Or pumpkin or sunflower seeds ground?
And this looks amazing, by the way!
Hey, I know this is a year old, but I thought you might still want an answer… I have subbed almond meal for rice bran before. I imagine the substitution would work in the opposite direction as well. Try rice bran
Did I like this post? What an understatement! I loved this post. It arrived just in time for our first rainy weekend of the summer. Yum…..
Yet another stunning recipe. Thank you so much, Jenny – I will be making this one VERY soon! : ) I’m sure your gluten-free readers are incredibly grateful for the love and thought you put into this post (and recipe). We’re all so lucky to have you!!!!
For those of us who are eating gluten, could I substitute wheat or spelt flour in making the dumplings?
I was wondering the same thing. I’m going to try them using a mix of wheat flour and almond meal. I hope it turns out!
How long would this last if I wanted to save some for another day? Would it still taste good?
We made this soup last night and it was simply amazing! We are GF in our house, so it was nice to have a recipe that didn’t require me to think through how to convert it to GF. Wonderful!
I was just thinking about looking up a recipe for these.. it looks delicious and thanks for all the details..
You beat me to it! My all time, absolute favorite dish. Just beautiful. Pulling a whole, local chicken out of the freezer right now;)
This looks incredible Jenny, and I am so going to try it! Perfect recipe for my GF trial period!
What a divine chicken meal!! Gluten free as well!
I am so going to make this tasty & delciously looking meal!
MMMMMMMMMM,…!!!
Ooooooh just what I am after, brilliant! Looks delicious.
Heidi xo
I loved it! Must try
Maybe I’m just missing it, but I’ve read the recipe several times and don’t see when the chicken gets added? Is it supposed to be pre-cooked and just tossed in? Thank you so much for the recipe. Chicken and dumplings was a staple of my childhood, and I thought it was just one of those things I would have to do without after realizing I was gluten-intolerant.
I tried it and it was great. Thanks for the share
I’m wondering what the purpose is of combining the flours and buttermilk and allowing them to sit overnight. Can you please explain?
Yes, I would like to know the answer to this question as well. I am making the soup now and don;t have the time to let the dumpling mix set for more than 4 hours. Hope it turns out well! That will teach me to read a recipe all the way through first : -)
I made this soup and I felt really pleased. Was not interested in waiting 8 hours for the dumplings…so I just made the soup. I added a few Pitanes (small red peppers) and 3 medium potatoes, sliced and quartered for thickening. This soup was great! I will definitely make it again.
The fresh chicken broth was a real addition to the flavor. Keep up the good work. I love to make really good soups and this was a real pleaser. It was a breeze to make, even though it seems like it would take a lot of time to make it; it cooked very quickly.
The dumplings look very tasty. I will try the recipe with my chicken stew. Great site I look forward to trying some more recipes soon.
Thanks for this recipe! I incorporated your dumplings into my chicken soup this week because I’m trying to avoid gluten. I used a GF baking mix instead of the exact flours. It was still delicious, especially with the fresh herbs. I also linked back to you on this post: http://www.tmuffin.com/2011/12/menu-plan-monday-it-gets-easier.html
I hope that’s ok~! I’m so glad I found your blog!