I absolutely love chicken pot pie. It’s something I grew up on as a kid, and still love to this day. It’s something I wanted my kids to enjoy too, so I grabbed a premade pie at the store one day. Go figure, they hated it and so did Michelle. So I tried a different brand, and another and another. I loved every one, unfortunately, they did not. But I don’t give up easily, so I sat down and collected everything that they did and didn’t like and set out to build a recipe that NOBODY COULD COMPLAIN ABOUT! What I ended up with was a pretty damn good chicken pot pie!
First and foremost it had to be lactose free as we have some lactose sensitive stomachs in the house. Next, it had to have ALL white meat. Potatoes and carrots were OK but no corn. How about green beans? Yes? Awesome. What else? Oh, the gravy can’t be too runny, and it can’t taste like water. Got it. Anything else? Yep, extra, extra crust, it can’t just be on top, there has to be a bottom crust too and please make sure the chicken isn’t chewy. Oh boy, what the heck did I get myself into!
Undeterred, I ventured into the kitchen to begin my affliction (see what I did there? 🙂 ) I started out with some nice yellow onion, some celery, and some carrots all diced super fine. I tossed them in my skillet with some salt and pepper and I cooked them until they were nice and soft and ready to just melt away. Next I added a bit of garlic, and then some flour and mixed up a nice little roux. A little bit of marsala to deglaze the pan, then some chicken stock to finish of the gravy. I chopped up the veggies and tossed them in the double boiler to get them all nice and soft. Then I boiled some chicken tenders until just barely done. I shredded up the chicken, put it in a big ass bowl with the veggies and the sauce and mixed it all together. It smelled so good I just wanted to eat it right out of the bowl. I rolled out my pie crust slapped it in my biggest pie dish and filled it to the brim with all the goodies. Then, on goes the top crust, a couple of vent holes and little egg wash. I slid it into the oven and crossed my fingers. Did I just make a chicken pot pie that everyone will eat? We’ll the moment of truth had arrived, what was the verdict? A resounding YES! from everyone at the table! I felt like I could take on the world at that moment!
I really try to keep these write ups light and hopefully amusing, if not outright funny, but I’ll take a moment to be a bit serious here. There’s nothing better than making a meal that people love! Nothing better than watching the smile on their face when they take that first bite. It makes all of the stress and effort of learning to cook worth it. We want everyone to be able to experience that same joy. Hop this journey with us and learn to cook or brush up your skills so you can do the same!
Now that I’m Done Being Serious, Let’s get Cooking!
A Few Helpful Hints!
- If at all possible I recommend making your own pie crust. You can follow our recipe for a perfectly flaky delicious crust here.
- Make sure everything is prepped before you start to cook. It’s tempting to try and multitask but it’s so much less stress if all you have to worry about is just cooking.
- If you think you diced the onions, carrots, and celery fine enough for the roux, trust me you didn’t. It’s impossible to dice them fine enough. You want them to literally melt into the gravy.
- Keep your pie crust in the refrigerator until the last possible second. You want it nice and cold to roll out.
- Make sure you cook the chicken first so it has some time cool off. Then you can just break it into chunks with your fingers!
✅ Quick Tips: Read the recipe in its entirety before you start cooking. This will help you understand the ingredients, steps, and timing involved, and allow you to prepare any necessary equipment or ingredients beforehand.
Pretty Damn Good Chicken Pot Pie
Description
Warm, Delicious and Filling
Ingredients
Gravy Ingredients
Everything Else!
Cooking Equipment
Instructions
Prep Time!
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Prep all the Vegetables
Peel the potatoes and carrots. Dice the onion, carrots and celery very fine and set aside you need 1/4 cup of each. Seriously, dice them as fine as you possibly can. These will make the base of your gravy and you want them to melt away when you cook them. Peel, smash and chop the garlic finely and set aside separate from everything else. During this next step you'll want to keep the vegetables in separate bowls. Slice up the rest of the celery into 1/8" thick slices, set aside. Cut the potatoes into 3/8" cubes, set aside. Cut the carrots into pieces about the same size as the potatoes, set aside. Cut the ends off of the green beans and then cut them into 1" long pieces, set aside.
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Prep the Chicken
Take each tenderloin or chicken breast and remove any membrane left on the outside. Then slice down one side of the tendon. Cut away the tendon from the other side leaving as much meat as possible. Set Aside.
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Miscellaneous Prep
Prepare and measure out your chicken broth or homemade chicken stock. Measure out the 5 TBS of All Purpose Flour, and the 1/4 Tsp. each of salt and pepper. Add about 1-1/2 inches of water to the double boiler and turn it on medium high. Preheat your skillet on medium and turn your oven on to 425°
Cooking Instructions
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Cook the Vegetables
We're going to precook all of the vegetables in the double boiler to soften them up for the pie. However, they all need to cook for slightly different times so we'll add the ones that need to cook the longest first and the least last. Remember these times are just a guide and will greatly depend on how big or small you cut the pieces. Bigger = longer cook time, Smaller = shorter cook time. A good rule is to test each one with a fork before adding the next vegetable. If you feel they are starting to soften then proceed. If they still feel rock hard then give it another few minutes before adding the next. Start with the carrots and let them cook for 6-8 mins. Then add the potatoes, cook another 6-8 mins. Next, add the green beans, cook 4-6 mins. Finally add the celery and cook for another 6-8 mins. Check to make sure that all of the vegetables are soft enough to eat before removing them from the heat.
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Cook the Gravy
While the vegetables are cooking we can make the gravy. Add 2 TBS of avocado or other high smoke point oil to your skillet and swirl to coat the pan. Add the finely diced onion, celery, carrots and salt and pepper. Cook for 10-15 mins. stirring frequently until translucent and very soft. Add the butter and garlic and cook for 1-2 mins. until garlic is fragrant. Add the 5 TBS of flour and stir thoroughly until fully incorporated. Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan scraping up and browned bits or flour that is stuck on. Cook another 1-2 minutes until thickened. Pour in the chicken broth base and mix well. Be sure the break up and clumps of flour. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently until thickened. Transfer to a large metal or glass bowl and set aside. When your vegetables are done you can add them to the same bowl and combine them with the gravy.
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Cook the Chicken
Place the chicken in the bottom of a 2 quart sauce pan. You want to make a single layer of chicken that completely covers the bottom of the pan. Pour in enough water to cover the chicken by about 1/4". Bring to a boil for 8-10 mins until chicken starts to fall apart if poked with a fork. You want the chicken to be just barely cooked through as it is going to cook more in the pie when we bake it. Remove the chicken from the water and and set aside to cool a bit in a bowl. Once cooled enough to handle, break it apart into bite sized chunks and add it to the gravy/vegetable mix. I use my fingers to break the chicken apart but you can also use two forks.
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Build the Pie
Roll out your bottom pie crust and place it in the pie dish. Keep your top crust in the refrigerator while working the bottom. Next roll out the top crust. Then pour your gravy/vegetable/chicken mixture into the pie and spread it evenly. Add your top crust and crimp the edges closed. Cut at least one vent hole in the center of the pie. Lightly beat an egg in a bowl and whisk together with 2 TBS milk. Brush a light layer of the mixture over the top of the pie crust.
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Bake The Pie!
Bake at 425° for 25 mins. Remove from oven and add a crust protector. If you don't have one you can make one out of tinfoil. Simply pull off a piece of foil slightly bigger than your pie. Fold it in half and using a pair of scissors cut a 6" half circle out of the edge that's folded. Then open the foil back up and you should have a 6" circle in the middle. Place this over the pie and secure the edges down. Place back in oven. Reduce temperature to 400° and bake an additional 20 mins. Remove from oven and let cool for 10-15 mins. before serving. Be careful though as it will still be quite hot inside!
