Chicken Veggie Pot Pie is a classic comfort food, made simple yet from scratch. It’s loaded with healthy veggies and a flakey crust! Recipe makes 2 casserole smaller pans of pot pie, each one serving 2 to 3 adults so you can freeze the extra depending on your family size!
Classic Comfort Food
Chicken Veggie Pot Pie….a classic. I love it, it’s such a treat. I’ve edited this recipe over the years to make it simpler. Simpler means closer to “weeknight friendly” so we can eat it more often! It still takes love as the secret ingredient, and a little extra time and care, but geez is it worth it! If you really want to make life easier, a store-bought pie crust is just fine, but a homemade recipe is really pretty quick! And though it takes a bit to get put together, this recipe makes 2 pot pies (or 1 larger one), so your efforts can last a meal or two, depending on how many you are feeding. Each pot pie fed our family of 2 adults and 2 little kids, so I would say each one serves 2 to 3 adults.
Nutrition in Balance
I added “veggie” to the title because chicken is not the only star here. You’ll find lots of your standards – carrot, celery, and onion, but also sweet potato, or any potato, and peas or corn. That should make up for all the butter right? I only put a crust on the top, not the bottom, because you just don’t need it. This is a rich dish as it is, no need to go overboard! I always serve it with a big green salad with a light vinaigrette to balance the richness.
Meal Prep and Portions
I make 2 pot pies in casserole dishes, each small to medium sized, depending on the pans you have. Each one feeds my family of 2 adults and 2 little kids, so I freeze the extra one for an easy meal down the road. Just leave the pie crust raw, don’t bake it, wrap it in tinfoil and then tie it up in a plastic bag (a reused bun bag works well). Thaw a day or two in the fridge and bake the full hour. The amount of filling is proportionate to the amount of crust. So, you can fill two smaller pans dividing the crust in half first, or fill one bigger pan and rolling the dough out bigger.
It seems the trend is to put them in individual ramekins, each person getting their own. That is definitely an option if that’s what you like, but I think it throws off the proportions of topping to filling – too much crust. I like the balance from the casserole pans. I only put a crust on the top, not the bottom…it’s rich enough as it is. This method gives your plate a nice hearty amount of the filling with a light crusty piece of the topping, the perfect balance!
Chicken Veggie Pot Pie
Ingredients
- 4 T butter
- 1 sweet potato (yam) (2 cups diced)
- 1 onion (1½ cups diced)
- 3 carrots (1½ cups diced)
- 3 ribs celery (1 cup diced)
- ½ t kosher salt
- 8 grinds fresh black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ c frozen peas (or substitute corn)
- ½ t Italian seasoning (or substitute fresh herbs like thyme, parsley, oregano or sage)
- 4 T flour
- 2 c chicken stock
- 2 c milk
- 2 c cooked chicken chopped or shredded (leftover or rotisserie chicken works well)
- ½ t kosher salt
For the Crusts (makes 2 smaller crusts or 1 larger)
- 1¼ c flour
- ¼ t kosher salt
- 1 stick cold butter (½ cup) cubed
- ¼ c cold water
- 1 egg (for an egg wash)
Instructions
- In a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat, melt butter and saute sweet potato, onion, carrots, and celery, season with salt and pepper. Stir often until starting to soften, about 20 minutes.
- Add garlic, peas, Italian seasoning and flour and stir well to combine for another minute.
- Add stock, milk, chicken and season with salt. Allow the filling to thicken over medium low heat, stirring occasionally about 15 to 20 more minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- When thickened, transfer filling into casserole pans, it will fill about 2 medium pans or 1 larger one, but you can put it in any sizes or shapes you have, just divide the crust accordingly.
- Meanwhile, make the crust (can be made at anytime and stored in the fridge, the pot pie filling can also sit while you make it). In a large bowl combine flour and salt, then work in butter with a pastry cutter and add water a little at a time until it comes together to form a pie dough. Work quickly to keep dough cold, cut into 2 equal portions and roll out on a floured surface with a rolling pin. Top casserole pans with the crust, crimping the edges, and cut a few slits in the top to vent. Whisk one egg and brush onto the crusts.
- At this point the pies can be baked 45-60 minutes to eat, or stored in the fridge for a day or 2, or covered and frozen. If freezing, thaw in fridge a day or two before baking and bake uncovered at 375° for 45-60 minutes, top should be crusty and filling hot and bubbly. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.
phenomenal
Aiming at making this either this weekend or next, looks really good!