Savory Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie: the ultimate comfort food for a cold and rainy day. This is close to the traditional recipe except I am not a fan of peas so I substituted them for broccoli, added some fresh sage and thyme to add some depth, and browned the butter a bit before adding in the flour. I’ve cooked recipes before with broccoli in it and I like the texture and flavor of it – especially in a creamy sauce like this roux we will be making, so I thought it’d be a fun substitute. It’s nearing the end of October, and fall has finally come to California. The mornings have been chilly and we have a storm rolling in this weekend. I’ll miss summer and those long, golden afternoons, but I am looking forward to cozy sweaters and warm soups. I figured with the drop in temperature, this savory chicken pot pie fit the bill.

I know most people, when they clink on a recipe link, do so with the intention of getting taken right to the list of ingredients and not to read a long introduction first – so I’ll keep this brief. We’ll start off by melting our butter, onions, garlic, thyme, and sage in a skillet and cooking on low for about 5 minutes, or until the butter starts to brown. I LOVE browned butter. I made browned butter cookies two years ago and ever since then I’ve been obsessed. This is what is going to elevate this dish. The browned butter gives it a nutty flavor and really deepens the overall flavor and makes the dish more rich. When the butter starts to brown, slowly sprinkle in the flour. This is where is can get tricky. You don’t want a lumpy sauce, so you need to whisk the flour a little at a time into your fat (butter in this case) and cook for about 2 minutes until you get a paste, then slowly add the broth and milk – whisking all the while. If your flour doesn’t mix equally with the butter, you will get a lumpy sauce. If you need to add another tablespoon or two of butter to mix with the flour, you can do this as well. Note: alternatively, you can also just mix about 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with a few tablespoons of water in a separate container, then add that to your skillet, along with the broth and milk. Flour just tends to have less carbs and more protein and vitamins than cornstarch, so that’s why I use flour in this recipe.

Once we have a nice sauce, add in the carrots, celery, and broccoli. Cook on medium-low heat until tender. At this point, add in the shredded chicken. I sometimes pick up a rotisserie chicken from Costco to make this recipe even easier. Once you have all of the ingredients for this savory chicken pot pie mixed in, you will then pour the mixture into a casserole dish.

After you get everything added to your casserole dish, it’s time for the fun part: the crust. If I was making this dish on the weekend, I would attempt a homemade crust. But, since it’s a weeknight and I get home from work at 5:20 pm, I’m cheating a bit with a store bought crust. You want to roll it our on a lightly flour-dusted counter so that the dough doesn’t stick to the surface. I usually sprinkle some flour on top too so it doesn’t stick to my rolling pin. You want to roll out the dough to about 1/8″ thick. Then cut your strips for the lattice (or just place the whole sheet on top if you want a solid pie crust – don’t forget to cut and crimp the edges if you do it this way. I like lattice because it just looks pretty, and that makes me happy. The egg wash helps the crust to brown up nicely in the oven, so don’t forget that step.

In addition to this being a delicious, warm meal on a cold and dreary day, this meal also freezes beautifully, so you can reheat the leftovers for an easy weeknight meal. That’s a win in my book.

Savory Chicken Pot Pie

Jessica

A classic comfort food that's perfect for a rainy day. Easy to whip up on a weekday or weekend in just one hour.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• 4 tablespoons of butter
• 1 cup of yellow onion diced
• 1 cup of carrots chopped
• 1/2 cup of celery chopped
• 1 cup broccoli florets roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon of garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons of fresh sage chopped
• 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme chopped
• Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
• 1 ⁄3 cup of all-purpose flour
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• 1 cup of milk
• 3 cups of shredded chicken
• 1 pie crust store bought or homemade
• 1 egg lightly beaten

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 400°F and lightly grease a 7” x 11” casserole dish.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet, and sauté the onions, garlic, sage, and thyme. Simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the butter starts to brown. Be careful not to cook too long, lest you burn the butter!
• Gradually whisk in the flour, salt, and pepper. Cook for one minute.
• Gradually stir in the broth and milk. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, constantly stirring until the mixture has thickened and is bubbling.
• Add in the carrots, celery, and broccoli. Cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Then add in the shredded chicken. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out your pie crust dough into a large rectangle. Cut the dough into ¾” wide strips for your lattice topping. Arrange the strips on the top of the filled casserole dish, alternating over and under for a lattice pattern (see picture). Brush the dough with the lightly beaten egg.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown.

I hope you enjoy this savory chicken pot pie recipe. If you end up making it or adding another twist to it – let me know below in the comments. I love it when people get creative in the kitchen. Happy cooking!

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