Chicken pot pie is one of our favorite winter comfort foods, but I’m not a big fan of making pie crust. Eating pie crust made by the experts? (my mom, my sister, my aunt) Sign me up! Making it? Not my favorite thing.
Biscuits, though, I can do that. Well.
When I make this 9×13 casserole, I double it every time and freeze the second pan for later. That assures me nearly four meals for our family when we count in a couple nights of leftovers. (Mama loves leftovers!)
Biscuit-Topped Chicken Pot Pie
For the filling:
3 cups cooked, diced chicken (I use flavorful sticky chicken.)
1 cup peeled, diced potatoes
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup frozen peas
½ cup butter
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup unbleached flour
3 cups chicken broth or stock
1 cup milk
½ teaspoon salt
2 ½ teaspoons poultry seasoning
In a medium saucepan on medium-high heat, add water to potatoes and carrots and cook them together until fork-tender. Drain.
While the veggies are cooking, make the “gravy.” Melt butter in another saucepan. Add onion and cook until onion is clear and soft. Whisk in flour. Cook 3-5 minutes. Slowly whisk in chicken broth; stir until bubbly and thickening. Then add milk, salt, and poultry seasoning. Stir and remove from heat.
In a large bowl, combine chicken, potatoes and carrots, and peas. Pour the gravy over the top and combine. Pour into a 9×13 baking dish.
For the Biscuits:
1 stick (½ cup) cold butter
2 cups flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour.)
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup milk
Quickly grate butter onto a pie plate or cookie sheet. Place grated butter in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add grated butter to the dry ingredients. Mix in well with a pastry cutter or your hands. Pour milk and stir together. Dump onto a well-floured surface and gently knead. Roll out and fold dough in half several times to get flaky layers. Then roll dough about ¾ inch thick. Cut 12 biscuits with a biscuit cutter or the top of a drinking glass.
Place biscuits on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 425°. Biscuits will not be done! I just do this so that the bottoms don’t get soggy on the chicken pie. Add biscuits to the top of the chicken mixture. Bake uncovered at 375° for 30 minutes, or until bubbly. If the biscuits start to get too dark, cover lightly with aluminum foil.
Tips and Tricks
- For a smaller family, place a single recipe into two 8×8 pans. Freeze one for later! (Add the biscuits just before baking.)
- If you’re short on time, use a bag of frozen mixed veggies (about 3 cups) instead of chopping and cooking your own carrots and potatoes.
- Cut even more time with a rotisserie chicken, or dice a few chicken breasts and pan fry until cooked.
I’m not gonna lie– I’m not a big pot pie fan. It’s okay, just not my favorite. HOWEVER, I am a huge fan of those stupid flaky layers biscuits they sell in cans. I don’t buy them anymore, but I totally miss them. Does the folding produce peelable (<– this is, apparently, not a word) layers like those? *crosses fingers*
Know what? I totally would have guessed that about you! (no pot pie) You don’t like wet food.
(I remember you saying that before, so don’t try to tell me I’m wrong!) ha!
The biscuits. No peeling (and yes, I know what you’re saying!) but they are the lightest biscuits I’ve ever made. And the layers DO come apart, they just don’t peel. (make sense?)
I think if you butter the biscuit dough a little (like your making croissants or cinnamon rolls) it makes biscuits you can peel off in layers. One time a long time ago I had homemade biscuits like that and I think that was how they were made.
Butter the biscuit dough when in between folding I mean.
Ooo, what a great idea. I’m going to try that!
When I make my pot pie, I cheat! I use 1 stick of butter softened, 1 cup flour, 1 cup of milk. I pour that over my pot pie, bake until golden brown, and it tastes amazing! Many people have asked for my recipe and are surprised that I don’t have to roll it out, I just pour it over the pie. There is no bottom crust – don’t need all those carbs.