Have you been searching for a healthy homemade chicken pot pie recipe?
It exists! And bonus – my family loved this healthy homemade chicken pot pie.
I love preparing comfort food in the fall and winter. And the males in my family love eating it even more than I love making it! But here’s what’s even more fun – making it a healthy version and not letting them know. Better yet, when they rave over it!
My family had no idea that this recipe was a healthy homemade chicken pot pie version.
Intrigued? I hope so! Here’s the game-changer… most recipes use canned soups, heavy cream, whole milk, or butter. This recipe uses unsweetened almond milk which slashes the calories and fat! And almond milk is so creamy, it thickens up perfectly.
Ditch the canned and processed foods for this recipe too!
Okay, confession – I did say it was easy. So, in order to make this quicker, I used a pre-made pie crust. But if you’re feeling really ambitious, you can prepare a pie crust from scratch.
And this leads me to the second way to lighten up this recipe – it only uses one crust! The filling goes right into the prepared dish and one crust is used for the top. Sneaky, right? My family didn’t even notice.
Without further ado, here’s the recipe!
Healthy Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon diced garlic (I use Spice World organic garlic)
1/2 diced white onion
1 cup diced carrots (I bought Bolthouse Farms organic carrots chips)
1 cup diced celery (I always try to buy organic celery)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Dash of black pepper
1/4 cup flour
2 cups unsweetened almond milk (I used Almond Breeze)
2 cups cooked and shredded boneless chicken breast (make it quicker – grab a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken!)
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 prepared pie crust
1 egg white for wash (separate the yolk – if you don’t have an egg yolk separator, here’s an inexpensive one)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly coat a 9-inch pie dish with cooking spray. Let sit. If you are using a pre-made pie crust, take it out of the refrigerator so it can come closer to room temperature.
Using a heavy bottom pan, heat to medium-high heat. Add the olive oil to the pan and swirl around to make sure it covers the entire surface of the pan and a little bit up the sides.
Once hot, add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Then add the onions and cook until soft – approximately 5 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, garlic powder, salt, and a dash of pepper. Stir occasionally and cook until carrots are soft, about 3-4 more minutes.
Add the flour to the top of the vegetables, trying to evenly cover. Let cook for 2 minutes. Slowly start adding the almond milk (start with small amounts at a time) while constantly stirring. Bring to a low boil and use a spatula to scrape any bits from the bottom of the pan. Let it continue to lightly bubble and thicken – about 3-5 minutes. Add in the chicken, peas, and thyme and stir. Transfer everything to the prepared pie dish.
Open up the pie crust and let sit. Brush on the egg-white wash to the sides of the baking dish. Cover the dish with the pie crust and crimp the overhang to the sides of the dish. I also crimped the top to resemble two pie crusts coming together. Brush the egg-white wash all over the crust. Cut three slits in the top of the pie crust with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape.
If you have a pie crust protector shield, add that on now. (If you don’t have one, it’s a secret weapon to make sure your crust doesn’t burn!). Bake for approximately 25 minutes until the inside is bubbly and the crust is golden brown. Let sit for a couple of minutes and then serve!
Notes
This recipe was adapted from a recipe by Well Plated by Erin.
I am not a professional recipe writer, but based on the original recipe, the calorie count is 350-380 calories per serving. There are 4 servings per pie. If you would like a more precise count, use an online calculator.
If you loved this recipe, be sure to check out my famous chili-cook off winning recipe. It’s also a healthy version!
I hope you enjoy this recipe. Feel free to drop me an email at hello@occasionallyjenna.com with any comments or suggestions. I’d love to hear from you!
