One of my good friends just gave birth to her first child, and I wanted to make something comforting for the new parents. Blissful as they may be, I knew they were exhausted and in need of some good comfort food. When I thought about what meal to make, Chicken Pot Pie automatically came to mind. 

Chicken Pot Pie is such a good and heart-warming meal. It’s one of my go-to meals for potlucks or “meal trains.” It includes the main food groups all in one pan and it’s one of those meals pretty much everyone enjoys.

Another great feature about Chicken Pot Pie is most of the steps can be prepped in advance. Pie crust can be made the day of your meal or you can freeze it for several weeks. I often make several batches of crust, roll them out a little, and pop them in the freezer. Then, there’s crust already waiting for your pot pie. 

As with the pie crust, you can prepare the filling in advance or prep parts of the filling and throw everything together when it’s time. Here are some ways you can prepare in advance:

• Follow the steps to make the filling and let it cool completely. Freeze in an air-tight container or storage freezer bag. Once you are ready to make the pot pie, thaw the filling and continue with directions for baking.
• For prepping a day or two in advance, prepare the filling as directed and allow to cool completely. Store in the fridge in an airtight container until you are ready to make the pie. 

Even if you only have a little time here and there to prep, you can cook the potatoes, carrots and green beans a couple of days ahead of time and store in a container in the refrigerator. Having one or two steps like cooking the veggies or prepping the crust can save a large chunk of time in the whole process. 

As a matter of fact, you can freeze the whole pie if you want. It may take a bit longer to thaw, but you have a homemade freezer meal ready and waiting for when you need it. 

Let me add to the advantages of chicken pot pie by including the chicken. Chicken (or turkey if you want to change things up) can be made ahead, purchased from the grocery store or used from leftovers. Of course, you can cook it fresh the day of the pot pie, but I like to save time where I can. Bonus: the gravy-like filling helps rejuvenate dry chicken/turkey. Here are several options for cooking/reusing chicken (or turkey):

• Boiled chicken for chicken broth: make your own chicken broth by boiling chicken, vegetables and herbs, and use both broth and cooked chicken in the pot pie
• Roasted chicken: pull the chicken off of a leftover rotisserie chicken from the supermarket or home-roasted chicken
• Grilled chicken: use leftover grilled chicken by chopping it up into bite-size pieces 
• Thanksgiving Turkey: it’s the same as a roasted chicken, but there’s usually more of it leftover.

I’m sure there are more ways to cook and reuse chicken, so be adventurous! 

making Chicken Pot Pie Dairy-Free

Chicken Pot Pie recipes often use butter, heavy cream or milk to add creaminess to the filling. Also, you’ll often find the recipe calling for butter in the crust. However, I have found you can make a great Chicken Pot Pie without using a bit of dairy. Plant butter is a beautiful thing and I don’t even miss the real butter.

There are a few other changes I’ve made in my version of pot pie. Unlike many pot pies out there, mine does not include peas. I can’t stand the texture of cooked peas. Ugh! To me, cooked peas ruin what would have been a perfectly good Chicken Pot Pie.

I also like to beef up the flavor of the filling with Herbs de Provence. Herbs de Provence is one of my favorite herb mixes, and it works wonders in chicken dishes. 

the process

Start by washing and peeling the potatoes and carrots. Dice the onion and set aside for later. Cut the carrots and potatoes into bite-sized chunks and place in a pot of water over the stove. Bring the water to a boil and set a timer for 10 minutes.

If the pie crust isn’t already made, you can use this time to prep it. Follow the recipe for pie crust and let it chill in the refrigerator while working on the next steps. 

When the timer for the potatoes and carrots goes off, add the frozen green beans and let it boil for about a minute. This will heat the green beans without overcooking. Drain the vegetables and set aside. 

If you’re going to bake the pie right away, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Grease the baking dish with nonstick spray or plant butter. 

In a large skillet or dutch oven, melt the plant butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook 5 min. Add Herbs de Provence and stir to saturate the herbs. 

Add the flour 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring well to combine. Gradually add chicken broth and cook until it starts to thicken. Boil for 2 minutes before removing from heat. Season with salt and pepper. Fold chicken and vegetables into the sauce and pour it into the baking dish. 

Roll the pie crust dough until it is ½-inch wider than the baking dish. Arrange the pie crust over the filling and trim the rough edges to fit the baking dish. Score the pie crust in 2-3 places to allow steam to escape. 

If you opt to freeze your pie for later, just wrap it up well in plastic wrap and place it in a level place in the freezer. It’s a good idea to let the pie filling cool completely before freezing; otherwise, there may be a lot of ice crystals covering your pie when you pull it out later. 

If you’re baking the pie right away, bake for 35-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. 

Let the pie cool for about 5-10 minutes before digging in.

Bon Appétit!