🌾 Chuckwagon Recipe

Campfire Chicken, Dumpling & Vegetable Stew

A true trail classic — tender chicken, hearty vegetables, and soft dumplings simmered low and slow.

Serves: 6–8Prep Time: 15 minutesCook Time: 40–45 minutes

This is the kind of stew a chuckwagon cook would make when the wind cut sharp and everyone needed something warm, filling, and comforting.

🐔 Ingredients

For the Stew

• 2 tbsp butter or bacon grease

• 1 small onion, diced

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 3 medium potatoes, diced

• 2 carrots, sliced

• 2 celery stalks, chopped

• 2 cups cooked shredded chicken

• 4 cups chicken broth

• 1 tsp thyme

• ½ tsp black pepper

• ½ tsp salt (to taste)

For the Dumplings

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 ½ tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp salt

• ½ cup milk

• 2 tbsp melted butter

🍳 Instructions

1. Build the Stew BaseIn a Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, carrots, celery, and potatoes. Cook 5 minutes until softened.

2. Add Chicken & BrothStir in shredded chicken, chicken broth, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer.

3. Mix DumplingsIn a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, milk, and melted butter until a soft dough forms.

4. Drop DumplingsSpoon dumpling dough gently onto the surface of the simmering stew. Do not stir.

5. Cover & CookCover the pot and simmer 12–15 minutes, until dumplings are fluffy and cooked through.

6. ServeLadle stew into bowls, making sure each serving gets tender vegetables and at least one dumpling.

🤠 Chuckwagon Tip

Trail cooks often stretched meals with dumplings because flour traveled better than fresh vegetables—add extra dumplings if feeding a crowd.