We often treat chicken pot pie as one of those more special and time consuming dinners to make. Many people choose to buy this meal pre-made for an easy pop-in-the-oven kind of dinner, and there’s no shame in that! However, if you want inspiration for a quick and easy dinner that you can use to clean out random veggies from your fridge and still get that homemade/comfort food feel, then keep reading!
Take note: this recipe is only for the filling. You can pour this filling into pie crust homemade or store bought and baked like a traditional pot pie. However, I love to take this filling and place my super easy whole wheat biscuits on top to make it a biscuit topped chicken pot pie. In doing so, this dinner becomes a 1 skillet meal requiring limited effort and very little clean up! For a slight flavor variation to this, follow my italian cheddar biscuit recipe, as well. Alternativey, you can cook up some rice or mashed potatoes to serve with this basic skillet dinner.
The Process
First, dice up 3 to 4 pounds of chicken breasts (about 3 breasts) and a medium sized onion, and sautee them on the stovetop until they are cooked through. This should take about 10 minutes.
Secondly, once the chicken is cooked, add your seasonings.
Stir the chicken well so that the seasonings are evenly dispersed, and then add your desired vegetables and chicken broth.
Next, bring the broth to a low boil, and allow it to simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Making it creamy
Meanwhile, In a separate measuring cup combine 1/2 a cup of cream (or high fat milk) with 2 tablespoons of flour. Whisk together well so it is not super clumpy.
Once you’ve simmered your broth for at least ten minutes and your vegetables are cooked through, add the cream or milk to the sauce pan and stir together well. Allow the skillet to continue simmering for 2-5 minutes, to allow the juices to thicken.
Serve or top with biscuits
Finally, once your liquid has thickened, the filling is complete. At this point, if you want to top it with biscuits, place the uncooked biscuits straight on top of the hot skillet dinner, and place into a 425 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. You can also pour this filling directly into a pie crust and cook it as a traditional chicken pot pie.
Alternatively, enjoy the basic skillet meal as is!
Try topping it with shredded cheddar cheese and serving with a biscuit, a roll, a slice of bread, rice, or mashed potatoes. Really whatever your heart desires that works for your family! It’s not complicated!
A note on when to add the vegetables
For some vegetables- like peppers- if that is what you are using, dice them up and add them at the beginning with the onions so they have time to cook prior to adding your broth. Sauteeing them this way releases the flavor of the peppers better, and ensures that they get cooked through by the time the rest of the dinner is complete.
This is the case for a few different vegetables that sometimes take longer to cook. It is especially important if you plan to serve immediately, and you are not topping the casserole with biscuits and baking it further.
When I made the meal this time, I had peas and broccoli to use up. Therefore, that is what you see pictured above. Those vegetables cook well when boiled or steamed, and thus, I added them at the same time as the broth. Below, in the ingredients list, I will make a note for each optional vegetable on when is the best time to add it to the skillet.
A simple dinner with comfort food feel for those rushed weeknights.
What sets a pot pie apart is it’s creamy sauce. If you can follow the process I’ve described for thickening the sauce, then you can make your own homemade pot pie of any variety with any ingredients you want. Just find a quick and easy pie crust recipe, and your from scratch kitchen has leveled up! I hope to have a whole wheat pie crust recipe coming out this fall…so stay tuned!
Use this simple recipe to learn how to make your own pot pie filling that you can utilize in a variety of meals!
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts diced
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cups of your choice of vegetables: peas (add with broth) broccoli (add with broth) green beans (add with broth) carrots (add with chicken) celery (add with chicken) peppers (add with chicken) (not an exhaustive list)
2 cups of chicken broth
1/2 a cup of cream or whole milk
2 tablespoons of flour
Directions
Dice up the chicken, the onion, and any vegetables you are going to add at this point, and sautee them on the stovetop over medium heat in the 2-4 tablespoons of olive oil for 10 minutes.
Once the chicken is cooked through add the seasonings and stir well to combine. Add any remaining vegetables to the skillet at this point.
Add the broth and bring to a boil and then lower the temperature again to medium and allow to simmer for 10 minutes or until all the vegetables are cooked to your desired “doneness.”
In a separate measuring cup, combine half a cup of cream or milk with 2 tablespoons of flour and wisk together well. Once the skillet has simmered as long as necessary, add the flour and milk mixture to the skillet, stir well, and allow to simmer for 2-5 minutes until the liquid thickens.
Finally, either serve alongside your desired side dish, pour the filling into a pot pie and bake, or top with uncooked biscuits and bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes.
Notes
If using biscuits to top this casserole, simply follow the directions for my biscuit recipe, and instead of baking on a baking sheet place them on top of the hot casserole.
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