There’s nothing that screams “fall” more than a pot pie. It’s cozy and comforting and the perfect meal for a cold day. It’s got a creamy texture made mostly of chicken broth, white cheddar, cream cheese and a touch of cream. Then it’s super chunky and filled with all the veggies. Carrots, peas, broccoli, corn and onion. Lastly it’s got tons of chicken and fresh herbs like thyme and rosemary. I think a good pot pie has to be creamy, full of veggies and protein, and have a flaky crust or biscuit of some sort. I like to use a frozen puff pastry for an easy topping. It’s buttery, flaky and the perfect contrast to the creamy soup.
For the chicken portion of this pot pie, I like to boil a whole chicken in broth. I like a good combo of white/dark meat so using a whole chicken is crucial. You can use just chicken thighs, or just chicken breast as well. Whatever you’re into, do that. If you want to make this faster, you can certainly use a rotisserie chicken instead. This will speed up the process by an hour or so.
Also try:
BROCCOLI CHEDDAR CHICKEN POT PIE
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Serves: 8-10 pot pies
INGREDIENTS:
- 4 lb. whole chicken, broken down into pieces (breasts, thighs, legs, wings, etc)
- 2 – 32 oz. boxes regular chicken broth
- 6 tbsp butter, salted
- 2 large carrots, cubed
- 1/2 large white onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 ears corn, corn removed
- 4 pieces celery, roughly chopped
- 1.5 cups broccoli, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup cream (or half and half)
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 10 springs thyme, leaves removed and finely chopped
- 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves removed and finely chopped
- 16 oz. sharp white cheddar, grated
- 8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
- 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 1 egg
DIRECTIONS:
- Place chicken and broth in a large pot. Bring to a boil and then turn down to simmer and place a lid on top. Simmer for 30 minutes and then remove chicken from the pot and place in a bowl to cool. Once cooled, shred the chicken and discard the skin and bones. Set chicken to the side for now. Use a strainer to pick out the floating fuzzy pieces left in the broth from the chicken. Leave broth in the pot for later use.
- Place 1 tbsp butter in a separate large pot. Turn to medium heat and let melt. Add in onion, carrot, garlic, corn, celery and broccoli. Sauté until more tender, about 8 minutes. Move the vegetables to one side of the pot and add in the remaining 5 tbsp butter. Let melt. Then add in the flour on top of the melted butter and stir. Let the flour taste cook off for a minute and then slowly add in the broth while stirring. Mix and bring mixture to a soft boil and allow to slightly thicken.
- Add in the cream, pepper, garlic powder, salt (to taste), thyme and rosemary. Stir. While at medium heat, add in the 3/4 if the shredded cheddar and cream cheese.
- Stir every couple of minutes while the soup thickens. Once thickened after about 5 minutes, add in the shredded chicken and turn heat down to simmer. Simmer for another 10 minutes while stirring occasionally.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Ladle soup into ramekins. Place a sprinkle of the remaining cheddar cheese on top. Cut puff pastry sheets into squares that fit over the top of your ramekins. Place puff pastry squares on top and cinch the edges so it stays in place.
- Whisk together an egg and 1 tbsp of cold water. Brush the tops of the puff pastry with the egg wash.
- Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and put in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until puff pastry is golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and enjoy while hot.