Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie has always been a favorite of ours! I adjust the recipe according to how much time I have and what ingredients I have on hand! This Covid-Quarantine has pushed me into using my ingredients more creatively and trying new things. 

Some days, I have time to make a crust. Other days, I buy a pre-made one. On some days, I leave the crust out all together.

This time, I used a crust based off of this recipe, but used whole wheat flour. I LOVED that it was made in the food processor and only contained a few ingredients that I always keep in my pantry.

I then assembled all of my ingredients, chopped what was necessary into similar sized pieces, and sauteed on the stove to soften*. Some days, I chop all my own veggies and have a rainbow. Some days, I use pre-made frozen veggie mixes (peas, carrots, corn, beans) or fresh (mirepoix) and some days I use a combination of whatever I can find in my fridge and freezer. 

Today, this was the case.

When the vegetables started to soften, I added a few tablespoons of the broth and some shakes of my basic pot pie spices: garlic, onion salt, thyme and rosemary. I then added 2-3 tablespoons of cornstarch. You could also use flour or other thickeners. Then I added the pre-cooked chopped chicken. *If you are using raw ground chicken, then cook it first, before the veggies. You could also have no meat. Chickpeas and white beans work really well in this recipe too!

When all is combined, I slowly add broth, stirring, until a thick gravy forms.

I turned off the stove and let the mixture sit while I worked on the mashed potatoes. We like mashed potatoes for the top crust, though you are certainly welcome to make and roll out a top crust.

Ideally, you would be using leftover mashed potatoes from some delicious Thanksgiving meal, but this was not the case for me. Some days, I’ll make fresh mashed potatoes in the IP, setting it up before starting any of the other cooking. Other days, I will fall back on my pantry staple – potato flakes. The potato flakes I have don’t have any other ingredients than potatoes, so I figure that they’re as close to the real thing as my pantry can get!

The potato flakes mix up into smooth mashed potatoes in the microwave in about 4-5 minutes.

Then I assembled the pie, rolling out the crust (between 2 sheets of parchment), then pouring out the chicken mixture and spreading the mashed potatoes on top. Bake in a 350F oven for about a half hour until it’s brown on top and bubbly.

Recipe for Chicken Pot Pie

Pie Crust-

1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour

3 Tbsp arrowroot starch (can sub corn starch)

Few shakes salt

⅓ cup solid coconut oil

2 Tbsp maple syrup

4-5 Tbsp ice cold water

Pulse dry ingredients and coconut oil in the food processor until crumbly. Slowly add maple syrup and cold water and pulse until a ball forms.

Roll ball between two sheets of parchment paper until it fits the size of your pie pan. Gently place in the pie pan and patch in where there may be gaps or holes.

Chicken and Vegetable Filling-

Saute vegetables in a large skillet on the stove until vegetables start to soften. Add spices and a few tablespoons of the broth to keep the mixture moist. Add cornstarch and mix well. Add chicken. Add broth a little at a time, stirring until a thick gravy forms.You might not need all of the broth.

Cool a little bit and then spoon into pre-made pie crust.

Mashed Potatoes-

IP method – wash and coarsely chop potatoes and put (with skins) in the IP with enough water to cover them. Cook at high pressure for 15 minutes and quick release. Drain most of the liquid and mash using a hand mixer. Add butter, salt and milk to taste.

Instant method- follow package directions

Spoon prepared mashed potatoes over the chicken mixture to form a top crust.

Bake in a 350F oven for 20-30 minutes until bubbly and the top has started to brown a little.