Fluffy Gluten Free Dumplings Recipe with Chicken, Vegetables & Gravy

Ingredients:

For the Stew:
• 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil, for browning
• 1 pound boneless, skinless, chicken thighs (or vegetables), cut into bite-size pieces
• Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• 3/4 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 large or 6 baby carrot(s), peeled and sliced to 1/4-inch thick
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated or minced
• 1 large bay leaf
• 1/16 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 cups gluten-free chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup fresh, cut, pre-cooked green beans or desired pre-cooked vegetables of your choice
• 2 - 3 tablespoons rice flour, for thickening gravy
• Additional salt & pepper, to taste
For the Dumplings:
• 1/4 cup potato starch
• 1/4 cup cornstarch (or more potato starch)
• 2 tablespoons white or brown rice flour
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1-1/4 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces (or Earth Balance Margarine sticks)
• 1/4 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup gluten-free sour cream or plain Greek yogurt) (or 1/3 cup Tofutti brand dairy free sour cream)
• 1 large egg (optional, but recommended)

Instructions:

To Make the Stew:
1. Add oil to a heavy skillet and preheat over medium-high heat. Add chicken pieces and season with salt and pepper. Cook on both sides just until brown. Remove from skillet; set aside.
2. Add onion and carrots to the skillet. Sauté until onions turn translucent, about 4 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Return the chicken back to the skillet along with any juices. Add the bay leaf, and sprinkle with thyme and nutmeg. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Just prior to the last 15 minutes of cooking, preheat the oven to 325°F.
6. Add the green beans or your desired cooked vegetables and stir.
7. Increase heat to medium-high. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons rice flour over everything in the skillet, and stir until thick. Cook for at least 3 minutes prior to adding additional rice flour. Stir constantly until it reaches your desired level of thickness. You may also thin the sauce with additional broth.Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste. Pour mixture into a 2 to 3-quart casserole dish, remove bay leaf and discard. Set mixture aside.
To Make the Dumplings:
8. In a small food processor, pulse the potato starch, cornstarch, rice flour, sugar, xanthan gum, baking powder, and baking soda until combined. Add butter pieces and pulse until evenly distributed. (Alternatively, you can whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl, and use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the butter into the flour.)
9. Add the buttermilk and egg, and pulse just until the mixture begins to form into a dough. (Alternatively, add the ingredients and mix with a spoon.)
10. Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough on top of the mixture spaced apart evenly. (They will expand quite a bit.) Bake at 325°F for 5 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 425°F and bake for an additional 5 to 7 minutes. They may not brown, as most dumplings do not.

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