Boneless chicken breasts braised with red wine, bacon, onions and carrots, then topped with herb dumplings. A lovely and flavourful dinner for the cooler days and a deliciously different take on chicken and dumplings.
A lovely, wine-infused take on chicken and dumplings. Chicken breast cooks slowly in red wine, together with bacon, onion and carrots, then topped with herby dumplings.
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Chicken – I’ve used boneless chicken breasts here, but you could use boneless chicken thighs if you prefer. You’ll want to use about 6 boneless chicken thighs.
Red wine – A couple of notes about the red wine. First, pick a red wine you enjoy drinking, so you will enjoy the flavour. Secondly, you can tweak the ratio of red wine to chicken broth to adjust the amount of wine flavour in the finished dish. If you would like a bit less wine flavour, reduce the wine a bit and increase the chicken broth accordingly.
How to make red wine braised chicken and dumplings
- Start by heating some oil in a Dutch oven or Braiser. Add the floured chicken and cook until cooked through.
- Remove the chicken to a plate.
- Add the chopped carrot, bacon and onion to the same skillet.
- Cook the onion, bacon and carrots until softened.
- Return the chicken to the pot.
- Add the chicken broth to the pot.
- Add the red wine to the pot.
- Add the tomato paste to the pot.
- Add the herbs to the pot. Stir it all together, bring it to a simmer, then cover the pot and pop it into the oven to braise.
- During the last 10 minutes of cooking the chicken, prepare the dumpling mixture by cutting some butter into the flour mixture, then adding about 1/2 of the milk to the bowl.
- Add the herbs to the bowl, then add the last bit of milk slowly, just until moistened. You may not need to add all of the milk.
- Drop spoonfuls of the dumpling batter on top of the stew and return it to the oven uncovered for 10 minutes, then put the cover back on for the final 10 minutes.
Recipe video
Recipe tips!
- As noted above, choose a red wine you enjoy drinking, as the flavour will be present in the finished dish. Also, feel free to tweak the amount of wine to broth to your taste. For a little less wine flavour, reduce the red wine a bit and increase the chicken broth accordingly.
- Making dumplings is a lot like making biscuits. You want to add enough milk to moisten the flour mixture, but you may not need quite all of the milk to get to that point. Add it slowly and stir between additions.
- I debated whether this dish was a little dumpling-heavy, but I love dumplings, so I’m going with it as is. If you are less dumpling-loving, feel free to hold back some of the batter and add fewer dumplings.
Top tip!
The difference between an ok dish and a great dish comes down to just one thing – salt! Be sure to salt a bit as you cook, then taste the dish before adding the dumplings and add a bit more salt then, too, as needed. Proper salting is the most important thing you can do to create a fabulous dish!
Making ahead, storing and freezing
This dish is best freshly cooked, but it could be made ahead and gently reheated covered on the stovetop just until warmed through.
Store left-overs in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
This dish will freeze well for up to 3 months.
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Get the Recipe: Red Wine Braised Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks (about 3 large chicken breasts) *see Note 1 below
- 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 small onion, sliced (about 1 cup)
- 2 carrots, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
- 2-3 slices bacon, diced
- 1 bay leaf
- 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup red wine, *see Note 2 below
- 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
For the dumplings:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 Tablespoons shortening or butter
- 2-3 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
- 3/4 cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F (non-convection/not fan assisted).
- Cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized chunks and place them into a bowl. Season with a bit of salt and pepper, then add the flour to the bowl and stir to coat the chicken in the flour. Heat the cooking oil in a Dutch oven or Braiser over medium heat on the stovetop. Add the chicken and cook, stirring to cook on all sides, until the chicken is no longer pink. Remove the chicken to a plate.
- Add a splash more oil to the pan if needed, then add the bacon, onion and carrots. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8-10 minutes until the bacon is cooked and the vegetables are softened.
- Return the chicken to the pot along with any juices on the plate. Add the chicken broth, red wine and tomato paste to the pot and stir together. Add the bay leaf, the thyme and a bit of salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then cover the pot and place into the oven COVERED, for 20 minutes. Remove the lid from the pan after 20 minutes and cook UNCOVERED, for 10 minutes more.
- During the last 10 minutes of cooking, make the dumplings. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Cut in shortening or butter with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add half the milk into the flour mixture and stir in. Add the chopped parsley to the batter and stir in. Begin adding the last half of the milk a bit at a time, stirring between additions, adding milk just until the flour is all moistened. You may not need all the milk.
- Remove the chicken from the oven, leaving the oven on. Have a quick taste of the stew and add salt and pepper to the pot, as needed. Fish out and discard the bay leaf and the thyme sprigs. Drop the dumpling dough in large spoonfuls onto the stew. Return to the oven UNCOVERED for 10 minutes, then put the cover on the pot and cook another 10 minutes.
- Check to make sure that the dumplings are cooked through (a toothpick works well), then remove the pot from the oven. Remove the lid from the pot and let stand a few minutes before spooning into serving bowls or onto plates. Garnish with additional chopped fresh parsley.
Notes
- Making dumplings is a lot like making biscuits. You want to add enough milk to moisten the flour mixture, but you may not need quite all of the milk to get to that point. Add it slowly and stir between additions.
- I debated whether this was a little dumpling-heavy, but I love dumplings, so I’m going with it as is. If you are less dumpling-loving, feel free to hold back some of the batter and add fewer dumplings.
- Salt! Seasoning this dish well with salt is the difference between an ok dish and a fabulous dish. Taste and season as needed and if is still under-seasoned, sprinkle a bit more on the plate. (You’ll know when a dish is under-seasoned when you taste it and it tastes flat or you find yourself thinking “it needs something”. What it needs is salt :)
More boneless chicken breast recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
