Talk about a healthy mouth-watering twist on an old classic. This pot pie is bound to melt in your mouth and I'm willing to bet it'll make your weekly rotation. Yes, it's THAT good! If ever a dish is comforting, this is it. Plus it meets the health criteria for many since it's gluten free, sugar free, grain free and is also full of healthy fats and nutrients. And it can even be made paleo friendly with only a slight variation!
The frozen pot pies were always one of my favorite meals as a kid. There's something about it that just makes it feel SO NOURISHING. But no way was I making one of those since now I know about all the extra additives and such the frozen versions contain. And then I tried another recipe but it didn't turn out. But the taste just kept circulating in my memory so i set out to create my own. And boy (and girls!) am I glad I did.
Introducing...
Healthy Chicken Easy Pot Pie (Peas + Easy = Peasy!): Ingredients & Substitutions
Overall this recipe is really simple. You only need a handful of ingredients, many of which you likely already have in your kitchen. Once you make this recipe once, you'll be whipping it up over and over in no time.
Chicken: I definitely recommend using chicken thighs in this recipe as the thighs have more juice and so much more flavor than the breasts, but you can easily swap out for the breasts if you need to. Or, if you happen to have leftover turkey, I think that would be an excellent swap!
Carrots: I always love the flavor of carrots and especially love the texture when they're cooked thoroughly.
Onions: You gotta have it for flavor. You can always sub them out for a teaspoon of onion powder if you need to.
Mushrooms: I think mushrooms lend themselves quite well in this pie, but you could easily swap them out for any other vegetable if you're not a fan. Think green beans... even something like kidney beans should work well since the texture is somewhat similar.
Peas: If you're paleo, leave out the peas. I almost always have a bag of frozen peas in my freezer, but if I didn't, I wouldn't hesitate to throw some corn in instead.
Thyme, rosemary, sage, garlic powder: This is where the flavor is at. I like to crumple the rosemary with my fingers before adding it to the crust mixture. Of course, you can always swap minced garlic out for the garlic powder... I'd probably do 3-4 cloves. I used garlic powder in this recipe just to save a step.
Bone broth: So much gelatin and so good for our hair, skin, nails, etc. And oh so much flavor! Epic and kettle & fire are pretty good brands if you don't have any homemade. (It's seriously so easy... check out my highlights on Instagram for a tutorial!) But if you don't have any at all, you can certainly swap it out for any bone broth or even water. It won't have quite as much flavor, but it'll still be good!
Arrowroot starch & cold water: These two ingredients combined make what's called an "arrowroot slurry". (I love that name for some odd reason.) It's entirely optional, but if you like a thicker pie, this slurry will do the trick.
Cassava flour: This is my new favorite flour to cook with! It's made from the cassava root. Cassava root isn't particularly popular here in the states but I saw it quite a bit during my time in South America as it's much more popular in other parts of the world. Move over almond flour... you have a new rival! (If you try subbing the cassava flour for almond flour, let me know how it goes.)
Eggs: The first egg acts as a binder to combine all the other crust ingredients together. If you opt to use the second egg, it's what adds the lovely golden color to the top of the crust as it bakes.
Butter: The butter makes the crust oh-so-rich and delectable. While I don't think it woul dtaste as good, you could swap the butter out for refined coconut oil. (I think a virgin would have too much coconut flavor.)
Salt: Please don't skimp on the salt! Sodium is such an essential nutrient. Not to mention, it's sole purpose (in my book) is to enhance the flavor of food.
How to Make this Healthy Chicken Pot Pie
The instructions are pretty straight forward, but they're a little more intricate than my other recipes, so I went into more detail here than in the printable version at the bottom of the page so you'll have all the nitty-gritty details.
To Prep Your Chicken: This recipe calls for your chicken to be pre-cooked. You can do one of two things: Cook it the day before or cook it as you're gathering and measuring all your ingredients. I like to cook it in the instant pot using this method because it's SO EASY and I usually do it as I'm preparing everything else. For this recipe, you'll want to drain the extra juices from the shredded chicken as they can cause your pan to be overfull and drip outside the edges.
To Make the Chicken Pot Pie: Once you have your chicken decided on, you can start on the real recipe.
To begin, you want to gather all your ingredients and have them ready to go. Preheat your oven to 350°F and warm up your pan. Melt the butter over medium heat and start adding your veggies and spices. You're going to start getting the veggies nice and tender and sauté the spices to bring out their flavor (and make your kitchen smell nice!). This should take around 8 - 10 minutes. Feel free to add another tablespoon of butter if needed.
While the veggies cook (and you stir periodically), get the crust ready. In a medium bowl, whip the egg with the melted butter and bone broth. Once combined, add in the rosemary, cassava flour, and salt. Combine until it becomes a ball of dough.
Once the veggies start getting soft, stir in the coconut milk and bone broth. If the mixture isn't as thick as you'd like, get your arrowroot slurry ready. Combine the arrowroot with around two tablespoons of cold water. Continue to cook until veggies are completely tender. Yes, the water must be cold. I add a couple ice cubes to my water since I don't keep any in my fridge and then simply remove the cubes when the time comes.) Then slowly stir the slurry into your pie filling.
Add your chicken to the pan with your veggies and then the peas. Mix everything together. Turn the pan off while you finish preparing the crust.
To finalize the crust, lay out some parchment paper on a clean space and put the ball of dough on top. Spread the dough out with your hands large enough to cover the top of your pie dish.
Pour the cooked pie mixture into the pie dish. Carefully flip over the crust so the crust ends up on top of the dish and the parchment paper is between you and the crust. Use your fingers to pinch the crust around the edges and to repair any cracks that may have occured.
This is totally optional, but if you want to get that beautiful golden color, whip a second egg up and brush it over the top of the crust.
Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes and enjoy!
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