Healthy Chicken Pot Pie
Posted Sep 07, 2018, Updated Jun 10, 2024
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This healthy chicken pot pie recipe is made from scratch and has a delicious whole wheat biscuit crust. It is a perfect lightened up weeknight dinner recipe that is cozy and comforting.
Chicken pot pie is a nostalgic dish beloved by all. This healthy chicken pot pie is a lighter version of the classic, made from scratch with no canned soups.
This healthy chicken pot pie recipe has a flavorful filling loaded with chicken and vegetables. The whole wheat biscuit crust is lighter than the traditional pie crust, but equally delicious.
This healthy chicken pot pie is a must-make dinner that your entire family will love.
Healthy Chicken Pot Pie: Ingredients and Substitutions
Here are some notes about the ingredients in this recipe, as well as possible substitutions.
- Cooked & Shredded Chicken Breasts. Use leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken, etc. or you can make this shredded chicken to use in this recipe.
- Red Potatoes. Choose your favorite variety, Yukon Gold are a great substitute.
- Celery, Carrots, Peas and Corn. Choose your favorite vegetables if you’d prefer to substitute any of these. Some ideas include: bell peppers, mushrooms, parsnip, etc. etc. etc.
- 2% Milk. whole milk or half and half are good substitutes.
- Water/chicken bouillon. 2 cups of chicken stock can be used in place of the water + chicken bouillon.
- All-purpose flour. For a gluten-free version, substitute all-purpose gluten-free flour.
- Whole wheat flour. you can sub all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour if you’d prefer a more traditional biscuit.
- Sour Cream. greek yogurt is a great substitute.
How to Make Healthy Chicken Pot Pie
There are a handful of steps in this recipe, but we’ll walk through them together. And, as always, you can watch the video for further guidance.
Make the Sauce
There are no canned soups in this healthy chicken pot pie recipe, so you need to begin by making the sauce.
The first step is to whisk the flour, onion powder, garlic powder, garlic salt and pepper together in a bowl.
Then, add the milk and whisk until combined, set aside.
Next boil the water in a 4 or 5 quart saucepan, add the chicken bouillon and whisk until dissolved.
Once the bouillon is dissolved, add the milk/dry ingredient mixture to boiling water/bouillon.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick (about 3 minutes). Then remove the mixture from the heat and set it aside.
Make the Filling
Once the sauce is prepared, it’s time to make the filling. Start by cooking the potatoes until they just begin to brown. Then add the rest of the hard vegetables and cook until soft.
Add the peas and corn and cook until they are warmed through. This cooking process takes from 15-20 minutes, depending on how small you cut up the potatoes/veggies (smaller veggies cook faster).
Use a cast iron skillet
To make this chicken pot pie recipe even easier, use a 10″ or 12″ round cast iron skillet to cook the filling ingredients. Then the pot pie will be assembled and bake in this pan.
Once the filling ingredients are cooked, add the sauce and stir to combine. If necessary, transfer it to a baking dish.
Taste test. At this point I recommend tasting the filling and adjusting the seasonings (especially salt and pepper) to your liking.
Cover the filling in the baking dish and set aside while you prepare the biscuit topping.
Make the Biscuit Crust
You can prepare the biscuit crust before you make the filling and store it in the refrigerator.
In a large bowl combine whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and salt, stir to combine.
Cut the butter into small pieces than add it to the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter or your hands until you have coarse crumbs.
Add the sour cream, milk and egg and stir to combine. The mixture will be a a bit tacky to the touch. Thatโs good!
Then, shape the biscuits with your hands and put them on top of the filling. The biscuits should be about half an inch thick for even cooking.
Bake
Once the biscuits are situated and everything is ready, put the baking dish in the preheated oven and bake until the biscuits are golden brown and the filling is bubbly.
Cool & Serve
Let the healthy chicken pot pie cool on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes before serving. Then serve with a sprinkle of fresh parsley (if desired) and dig in!
Store
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Freeze
I recommend freezing a fully-baked pot pie. Let it cool, then wrap it in foil and store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
To reheat, warm the healthy chicken pot pie covered with foil in the oven at 375 degrees F for 35-45 minutes.
Freeze the filling. Or you can just make a batch of filling and freeze it in a glass baking dish or a disposable aluminum baking dish. Then all you’d need to do is thaw the filling until it reaches room temperature and then add the biscuits and bake as directed.
Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Recipe FAQs
it lasts will for 3-5 days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
NOTE:ย the whole wheat flour in the biscuits cause the part of the biscuits that touch the filling to turn a darker brownish gray color after they have been stored in the refrigerator. That is normal and doesn’t effect the taste in any way.
Thisย recipe for healthy chicken pot pie from scratch is healthy! It’s loaded with veggies, protein, whole grain flour, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron. So much to love and still super cozy and satisfying.
If you make and love our recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along with us on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so we can see your creations!
Healthy Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
Filling
- 2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded (about 4-5 cups)
- 2 red potatoes diced (about 2 cups)
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ยฝ small onion diced (about ยฝ cup)
- 3 carrots diced
- 2 ribs of celery diced
- ยฝ cup frozen peas
- ยฝ cup frozen corn
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Sauce
- 2 cups water
- 2 ยฝ Tablespoons better than bouillon chicken base
- 1 ยฝ cups 2% milk
- ยพ cup flour
- ยฝ teaspoon onion powder
- ยฝ teaspoon garlic salt
- ยผ teaspoon pepper
- ยฝ teaspoon garlic powder
Biscuit Crust
- ยฝ cup whole wheat flour
- ยฝ cup all purpose flour
- 1 ยฝ teaspoons baking powder
- ยฝ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 Tablespoon granulated white sugar
- ยผ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon salted butter cold
- ยฝ cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
- ยผ cup milk
- 1 large egg
Instructions
Make the Sauce
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, onion powder, garlic powder, garlic salt and pepper.
- Add milk and whisk until combined, set aside.
- In a 4-quart pan over medium heat, boil water.
- Add chicken bouillon and whisk until dissolved.
- Add milk/dry ingredient mixture to boiling water/bouillon.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick (about 3 minutes).
- Remove from heat and set aside.
Make the Filling
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Grease a deep dish 9โ pie plate or cast iron skillet.
- In a saucepan, sautรฉ potatoes, and garlic for 5-10 minutes, or until potatoes just begin to brown. Add onion, celery and carrots and sautรฉ until soft (about 10 minutes).
- Add peas, corn and shredded chicken and stir to combine.
- Pour the sauce into the pan with the filling mixture and stir to combine.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared 9โ pie plate.
Make the Biscuit Crust
- In a large bowl combine whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and salt, stir to combine.
- Cut the butter into small pieces than add it to the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter or your hands until you have coarse crumbs.
- Add the sour cream, milk and egg and stir to combine. The mixture will be a a bit tacky to the touch. Thatโs good!
Assemble & Bake
- Divide the batter into 6 pieces, and form each piece into a flat round circle.
- Gently place biscuits on top of the filling in pie dish.
- Bake the chicken pot pie on the lower rack in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown and the filling is bubbly.
Cool & Serve
- Once the healthy chicken pot pie has finished baking, remove it from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
- Cooked & Shredded Chicken Breasts. Use leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken, etc. or you can make this shredded chicken to use in this recipe.
- Red Potatoes.ย Choose your favorite variety, Yukon Gold are a great substitute.
- Celery, Carrots, Peas and Corn.ย Choose your favorite vegetables if you’d prefer to substitute any of these. Some ideas include: bell peppers, mushrooms, parsnip, etc. etc. etc.
- 2% Milk.ย whole milk or half and half are good substitutes.
- Water/chicken bouillon.ย ย 2 cups of chicken stock can be used in place of the water + chicken bouillon.
- All-purpose flour.ย For a gluten-free version, substitute all-purpose gluten-free flour.
- Whole wheat flour.ย you can sub all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour if you’d prefer a more traditional biscuit.
- Sour Cream. greek yogurt is a great substitute.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I didn’t have enough chicken (leftover from one I roasted) for this recipe, so I used another recipe, but used the biscuit recipe instead of pastry. I made the biscuits gluten free using King Arthur All Purpose GF flour, and the came out great! Added bonus is the very minimal amount of butter required, which makes eating this more or less guilt free. I will definitely be using this recipe again.
So good, especially the biscuits!! Can you use the biscuit recipe to just make biscuits or is there something different done since they are cooking on the mixture?
This recipe sounds great- but have a couple questions on the chicken breasts. 2 chicken breasts would yield about 6 pounds of chicken, and cost me about $26. It seems a little much for only 8 servings. Additionally, do you boil the chicken breasts with the bone on, or first remove the raw meat from the breast plate, as the breasts are so big, most pots are not large enough to fit one in.
I’m sorry, this is for boneless, skinless chicken breasts – where 2 breasts is about 2 pounds.
I made this with whole milk and pre-made biscuits because I had them on hand. Also sauteed the potatoes separately from the garlic because I always burn garlic. Definitely will be making this again since my family LOVED it! Perfect for a fall night!
This was absolutely fantastic! Followed the recipe exactly. It turned out great and I will definitely be making it again! The biscuits were so moist and fluffy!
Thank you so much!
Can I use chicken bone broth powder instead of chicken bouillon? Is it the same thing?
Can you freeze this and bake straight from the freezer?
Great recipe! Really enjoyed it. Have cooked it 5-6 times sofar. Generally I stick to the recipe for the sauce and the biscuits. Always turns out well. Never have used the frozen veggie etc. Just thrown in loads of fresh veggies (onion, broccoli, zucchini, carrots, etc.) whatever is on hand. Always turns out great!
Thank you so much Tom!
Do you think this would be okay with cheese in the sauce, as i need it high in calcium for my GCSE??
I do not suggest using cheese sauce.
Will the bottom of the biscuits bake? Many times Iโve tried recipes with raw biscuits on top and the bottoms stay gooey.
Yes they will.