Every item on this page was chosen by The Fed & Fit team. The site may earn a commission on some products (read more here).
I love chicken pot pie. My best friend recently suggested that I come up with a paleo version. I accepted the challenge and got busy baking!
Honestly, I’d never had homemade chicken pot pie. I’ve had the frozen variety a couple of times (to my mother’s horror) and order it in restaurants when I want a warm, cozy, American classic.
I know I’m preaching to the choir when I say that the crust is the best part of a chicken pot pie. With my incredibly high standards for a flaky, savory, take you back to childhood crust, I started my paleo conversion. The experiments were a success. This recipe is DEAD ON.
I adore Ina Garten and used her pot pie recipe as a rough go by. Like the classic recipe, hers calls for green peas. The paleo friendliness of green peas is arguable. I left them in because to me, it’s not pot pie without green peas. Feel free to substitute with broccoli if you want another option.
In addition to these little pies being simple and delicious, they also make for surprisingly easy cleanup. The baked-on bits that unavoidably spill over wash off with ease – another testament to why cooking with almond meal is a great idea.
The instructions may look long, but it’s a simple process. Don’t be intimidated and jump in. Be sure you let the pot pies cool after baking; just like their non-paleo cousins, these little guys come out boiling lava hot.
Ingredients
CRUST:
- 3 cups Almond Meal
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ cup Coconut Oil room temperature
- 1 tablespoon Cool Water
PIE:
- 2 Chicken Breast Halves Roasted and Cubed about 1 lb raw
- 2 cups Yellow Onions Chopped
- 2 cups Frozen Green Peas
- 2 cups Frozen Carrots
- ¼ cup Coconut Milk full fat
- ¾ cup Almond Meal
- 4 cups Low Sodium Chicken Stock
- 3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil EVOO
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 Egg for egg wash
Instructions
ROASTED CHICKEN:
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Wash chicken breast and pat dry.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Drizzle and rub 1 Tbl EVOO on the chicken breast.
- Sprinkle with generous amount of kosher salt and cracked black pepper.
- Bake at 350 F for 35 minutes.
- Remove from oven when finished and let cool.
- Cut into about ½” cubes when cool enough to handle.
CRUST:
- In a food processor, mix the dry ingredients together (almond meal, salt, and baking powder).
- Add the coconut oil and slowly pulse until it’s evenly mixed. It should have the consistence of peas.
- Slowly add the water and pulse until it forms a dough-like texture.
- Remove from food processor, roll into a ball and wrap in cling wrap.
- Put the dough into the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- [Now is a good time to start on the pie fillings]
- Dust a pastry board (or cutting board) with almond meal.
- Place the ball of dough on the dry almond meal and cut into 8 even sections. (Roll into one large piece if you’re making one large pie.)
- Using your hands first and then a rolling pen for even thickness, press and roll each of the 8 pieces into a circle.
- Keep dusting the top and bottom of dough with dry almond meal so that it doesn’t stick.
- Use the ramekin or dish you are baking in to cut the right-size circle in the dough.
PIE:
- Heat the EVOO in the bottom of a large pot.
- Add the yellow onions and cook on medium/high until they’re brown.
- Slowly add the almond meal and reduce the heat.
- Slowly add the chicken stock and stir.
- Add the coconut milk, 1 tsp salt, and black pepper.
- Add the peas, carrots, and chicken.
- Spoon an even amount into each of the 8 ramekins (or other oven-friendly bowls).
- Place the crust on top of the filling.
- Scramble one egg and paint the crust of each pie generously.
- Sprinkle with kosher salt and cut 3-4 slits in the top.
- Bake at 375 for one hour.
- Let cool, then ENJOY!
Brien says
what if i want to do a full size in a casserole dish? any idea how that will affect my cooking time?
fedandfit says
I do! I made a full size pot pie for a friend with this same recipe. Bake at 375 for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Hope you enjoy!
Mandy Curley says
Are all the measurements the same for a full size pie? I’ll be using a 9″ pie pan. This looks delish!
fedandfit says
Mandy! I’m so sorry I’m just now getting back with you! Yes, the measurements should be similar. You may have some leftover dough. Did you make it? If so, how did it turn out? Thanks for stopping by!
Mandy Curley says
No worries! I made it and it turned out great! I am NOT the cook of the family and even I was able to handle this recipe and kind of enjoyed myself doing it! My husband was sick and craving some comfort food. This was the perfect answer and we even fought over who got the leftovers! I’ve bookmarked your page to check out some other recipes! Thanks!
fedandfit says
I’m so glad y’all liked it and that you had fun making it!!
David says
This might be a stupid question, but there are no carbs, right? Thanks! Looks great!
fedandfit says
Hi David! Not a stupid question at all. There are about 8g of carbs in one serving. The carbs come mostly from the green peas and carrots.
Shelly says
A question I have is on the peas. Everything I’ve ever read about being paleo is peas aren’t excepted as they are a legume. Can I use broccoli instead of peas?
fedandfit says
Great question, Shelly! Green peas are pretty low in phytic acid and lectins (the properties of legumes that bump them from the paleo-friendly food list). That being said, you can absolutely substitute with broccoli. It is just as tasty. I recommend you check out this article ( https://www.paleoplan.com/2012/08-14/are-green-beans-and-snow-peas-paleo/ ) for more info on paleo-friendly legumes. Hope that helps!
KarenH says
Thanks for the recipe! I am going to give it a try!
fedandfit says
Great!! I hope you like it. Feel free to give feedback! I’m always open to new ways to improve the recipes.
Ashley says
I tried it with a larger dish, and had a hard time getting the crust to stick together :/ Overall, great taste. Will try this with the Ramekins. Did you notice that the crust that touched the veggie/wet mixture was mealy? It didnt seem like the almond meal really cooked through there.
fedandfit says
Hi Ashley! Thanks for your note. I think it’s more difficult to keep the broth from lapping on the crust in a larger dish. Too much moisture directly on the crust can keep it from forming a crisp. One possible work-around is to make sure the chicken and veggies stick up above the broth high enough for the crust to lay on. Hopefully that helps and I so glad you liked the taste!
Jenna says
What kind of almond meal do you use? I used the one trader joes carries and it was much darker in color than your photos. Also it seemed pretty mealy. Not a smooth doughy texture. Any suggestions? Other thank that great recipe! Very tasty!
fedandfit says
Hi Jenna! When I’m making cookies or crusts (like this one) I typically opt for Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour. It’s almost triple the price of Trader Joes, but is much more refined. I completely think it’s worth keeping some on hand. I use the Trader Joes almond meal for thickening soups and making grainier baked goods – like homemade larabars. Hope this helps! So glad you thought it was tasty!
Jessica says
Is the 670 calories for one personal pie or for all 8 combined?
fedandfit says
Hi Jessica! It’s for one pie.
Scout says
So I made this last night in a glass 8×8 dish because I don’t have the mini bowls. When I scooped a piece out, the entire bottom of the dish was oil. Did anyone else encounter this? It was pretty disgusting… I really didn’t want to eat it. I followed the directions exactly – even left it in for 1hr15min.
fedandfit says
Hi Scout! I’m sorry to hear about the dish not working out. Because I’m not in the kitchen with you to observe the process, it’s difficult for me to know exactly where it went wrong. This recipe does not contain an excessive amount of fat so I’m confused about the oily texture you found at the bottom of the dish. I know that more people have had greater success with a crisp crust in the smaller ramekins – if you ever get your hands on one. I’ve got this recipe queued for one of my first video cooking demonstrations – I hope it will help clear up the process. Thanks for your feedback and I hope it works out better for you next time!
Adriana says
Hi there! So I made this tonight, and the filling was great until I put it into the oven! The almond flour made it really grainy and I couldn’t get through a serving. Do you think arrowroot powder would be a good substitute?
fedandfit says
Hi Adriana! Arrowroot powder might be a good substitute. I haven’t experimented with it yet but it’s a definite possibility. I’m sorry yours turned out grainy. I’ve found that if you put less broth in each ramekin, the crust will crisp and not melt into the filling. Thanks for the feedback. I’ll experiment with arrowroot the next time I make this and report back 🙂
Gina says
Hi,
I made this a couple of nights ago and it was fantastic! It tasted exactly like chicken pot pie!! I used arrowroot powder instead of almond flour in the filling, no grainy texture. I did not make the crust though so I can’t comment on it.
Leanne H. says
Can’t wait to try this! Do you think this would keep well iif frozen? I don’t really need 8 servings, but would love to freeze them to have on hand. Thanks!
fedandfit says
Hi Leanne! I haven’t tried freezing it yet so I can’t say for sure, but I would recommend freezing the crust separate from the rest of the filling. Spoon out or cut off the portion you need as you go. Hope this helps! If I freeze it, I promise to come back and report 🙂
Jamie says
Oh my! I made this last night and it was ahhhmazing!!! I’ve been craving chicken pot pies for a while and figured I’d look for a paleo version, this hit the spot for sure! My husband was even impressed 🙂 way to go! And thank you!!
fedandfit says
Thanks, Jamie!! I’m so glad you both liked it. I love this recipe and am so giddy when it turns out well for others. 🙂
fundamentalfitnesswaiuku says
is it possible to sub coconut flour for the almond flour?
fedandfit says
It’s definitely possible but I haven’t tried it myself. Coconut flour is a lot more absorbent than almond meal so the liquid to dry ratio will be much different. If you experiment and find success, I’d love to know!
karen says
I was so excited to hear there was a paleo chicken pot pie recipe, but my sweetie is allergic to almonds. New challenge?
fedandfit says
Hi Karen! Good challenge. I haven’t tried a nut-free chicken pot pie yet but I have it written in my development book. You could experiment with coconut flour – just know that the dry-wet ingredient amounts will vary because coconut flour is extremely absorbent.
scd864 says
I originally tried your recipe with the same amount of Bob Red Mill’s All Purpose gluten free flour and it worked perfectly! Nut free!:)
fedandfit says
That’s great to know! Thanks!
NancyJ says
I never knew there were so many “not salad and meat” paleo recipes.. to be honest i hate most veggies (this is something i am breaking in my self.. sadly i think brussel sprouts will never make the menu though!) It is friday and this is going on my list of things im making this weekend!
fedandfit says
Haha “not salad and meat” recipes can be some of the tastiest. I hope you loved the pot pies!
Stephanie says
I found your recipe earlier this week and I have been waiting for Saturday to come so I could make it. Even though it took a bit of time to prepare and bake, man, it was SO worth it! I served it with a side of cauliflower and it was just superb. The crust was a bit of hard work and I didn’t get it as nice as yours but it still tasted great.
I made 4 individual ones and one large one. For the large one I cut the crust into strips to make it easier to lay over the pie and that worked out really well.
I didn’t use peas but I did put in green beans and that worked really nice too.
Thank you so much for this Cassandra, it really hit the spot. The recipe was easy to follow and I didn’t need to make any adjustments, it just worked! This is great comfort food and I know I’ll be making this a lot when winter comes around. Or maybe like every week? Haha.
My in-law’s loved it, definitely a keeper!
fedandfit says
Hi Stephanie! I’m so thrilled that you and your family liked the pies! Cutting the dough into strips sounds like a brilliant idea. Thank you for the sweet comment.
claire says
I made this tonight for Sunday dinner and my husband said it was the best thing he has ever eaten – and we eat very well. great recipe and thanks! I could only eat half- it was so filling! I used TJs almond meal and it was no problem. I liked the texture actually! I used zucchini diced instead of peas to keep carbs lower. I also used pretty large ramekins as it was the only offering at dinner- no sides or salad. so the yield was about 5 instead of 8.
thanks again!
fedandfit says
Hi Claire! Thank you so much for the comment. I’m thrilled that you and your husband liked it! My family raves about this dish too. I’m also glad to know that the TJs almond meal worked out for you.
Emma says
I am definitely going to try this soon. Looks like a great recipe! 🙂
fedandfit says
Thank you! I hope you love it.
megeb says
I made this tonight and unfortunately it was a complete fail… Although the flavor was amazing… So maybe not COMPLETE. I tried making the crust dough twice without luck. After refrigerating at least 30 minutes, the dough completely fell apart when trying to roll it. I tried again without luck, this time letting it cool and set up or whatever even longer. I ended up just using a normal pie crust and dealing with the gluten; however, are we sure the four cups of chicken stock is right? Mine ended up completely soupy inside the tasty (but not paleo) crust. Like we are talking chicken soup runny -not like chicken pot pie type creamy. I’m guessing its cause of the four cups of broth among other things. The flavor was wonderful however so I won’t complain about that at all!
fedandfit says
I’m glad the flavors were good! The recipe as written is how I make it on a pretty regular basis. I’m sorry you had so much trouble with the dough.
maria says
Hey this looks great! I was thinking of using canned tuna instead of chicken.. do you think that would work as well?
fedandfit says
Hm, it’s definitely worth a try! I’d love to know how it comes out!
lauren says
Do you think this would work with coconut flour? I can’t eat almonds, but I’d love to add this to my menu for fall/winter.
fedandfit says
Hi Lauren! I haven’t made it with coconut flour, so I can’t say for sure. I definitely recommend you experiment (you’ll need to use less flour and more liquid in the crust) and come back to let us know!
Gabby @ GabbyLovesVeggies says
So I just thought I’d chime in with my experience. I’m vegetarian, but I’m gluten free as well. And thus many paleo recipes are of interest to me. I changed out the chicken for Beyond Meat, which is soy based and thus not paleo. And didn’t use the egg wash.
I had an issue with my crust cracking really bad, and it wouldn’t make it from the cutting board to the ramekin without the help of plastic wrap. But once baked it was amazing, even without the egg wash.
I really liked the recipe! Check out my site for a picture. ^.^
Cassandra says
Great feedback! Thanks, Gabby!
Yoga4Friends says
Reblogged this on Yoga4friends and commented:
We are in a paleo dinner mood in my house. Here is another one that neice Nicole plans to make–soon, I hope. I modified this recipe. Use fresh carrots. I dry and use the meal left over from making almond milk..after all, the almond meal is only here as a vehicle for oil and water to form into dough. You could also use rice flour, garbanzo meal, or Pamela’s gluten free flour. I love the pictures.
Stephanie Smith says
I made these tonight for dinner and OMG! SO delicious! Comforting, filling, tasty, easy, this is definitely going into my rotation for dinners. My un-Paleo husband gobbled up two! I followed the recipe exactly, and it was perfect! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! A+++++!
fedandfit says
Woo!! That’s great feedback, Stephanie! Thank you! So glad y’all liked them. Isn’t feeding tasty Paleo food to non-Paleo eaters the MOST fun?!
laurenraeterry says
Reblogged this on Teach.Pack.Eat and commented:
I love when I discover that something I thought I’d have to give up can be something I can enjoy even more :).
Crystal Carver says
I have got to say, that was amazing! My Hubby and little Girl loved it. I rolled the dough out very thin between two parchment papers and baked in a pie dish. Crust was flakey, which we really enjoyed. Thank you for sharing!
Cassandra says
So glad you loved it, Crystal!
Amy says
would love to know how to make a full one without the crust falling apart into the pie when i try to put it on top….love the flavor hate the construction
Cassandra says
Hi Amy! While the delicate dough definitely requires some special finesse, I know some who have maneuvered the dough with either a cookie sheet or parchment paper. Hope that helps some!
Jayme says
Hi Cassandra,
This look delicious and I’m dying to make it. However I have a question: are there different sizes of ramekin? I’ve been trying to figure out how big yours are by the photo, they seem bigger than mine. Mine are about 3 inches in diameter. Will they do?
Cassandra says
Hi Jayme! I think those ramekins are about 4″ in size. As long as you cut the dough with the ramekin you plan to use, they should work fine. Hope you love ’em!
Dawn says
I made this a couple nights ago and it was really great! The only thing is that it was a little salty for me, but I’ll just use a little less next time. Wonderful recipe! Thank you!
Cassandra says
I’m so glad you liked it, Dawn! I do tend to use a little more salt (now moved onto mineral salts) when working almond flour into a savory dish – it helps to offset the sweetness.
Hilary says
Ok, so this may seem a little silly, but I have small ramekins at home and while at the store this weekend I noticed they sell large ones as well. So for this receipe should I use small or large?
Cassandra says
Hi Hilary! Either will work – I recommend using the ramekin size that best fits your serving size preference. That being said, the larger the ramekin, the more carefully you’ll have to place the crust on top. Hope that helps!
Ashley R. says
Re: Coconut flour usage. I don’t know if someone’s already answered this, but I was using a different recipe and it substituted 1/4 c. almond flour/meal with 1 Tbsp. coconut flour. So, going off that measurement, it should be a 3/4 c. coconut flour that equals 3 cups of almond flour. I’m going to try this tonight and let you know how it works!! I’ve been waiting a long time to finally be able to do this recipe. 🙂
Cassandra says
Awesome!! I hope it works out!
Trish says
This crust was not great, sorry. Too salty, too crumbly. Pushed it off and just ate the veggies.
Karla A says
Beat the egg, not scramble it, right? I am VERY excited to try the recipe for dinner tonight!
Cassy says
Exactly!
Mel says
This looked so good bad turned out so badly! 🙁 I followed the directions very closely too because it was my first time with the recipe. Dough did not stick to itself – crumbled like granola might. Gravy/sauce was watery even after religious stirring – was a nasty grainy AND watery texture all in the bottom after cooking. Cooking time for chicken made it fully cooked, so when it cooked again with the pie it became tough and flavorless. We could not bare to eat more than a couple bites.
Will not try again. I’m very sad. If someone is still trying out this recipe I suggest some sort of substitution of coconut flour for almond flour and the addition of tapioca flour in gravy/sauce mix.
MrsThorne says
Thank you! I think this was the missing puzzle piece since switching to paleo 😉
Cassy says
Haha my pleasure!
Katie says
I know this post is nearly 2 years old, but I wanted to comment in case it helps others coming across this recipe.
First, I want to say I have made this recipe and followed the directions exactly and it was awesome! We made it as one large pie. The crust was finicky, but it didn’t matter because it tasted great in the end.
This time, I was making some individual pies and bringing some to a friend who is allergic to almonds. I wanted to keep it Paleo still and wound up using Sunflower Seed Flour instead. All you do is get sunflower seeds, blend them up in something like a Magic Bullet and *voila*…Sunflower Seed Flower! It works exactly like the Almond Flour.
Since I was delivering this to someone who just had surgery, I couldn’t use glass ramekins, so I used individual serving aluminum pie pans. They’re a little shallower than small ramekins, so they don’t fit as much, but that means they make more pies. I got 10 individual pies out of this recipe.
The part of the recipe that says, “Place the ball of dough on the dry almond meal and cut into 8 even sections” should really be followed. I made the mistake of trying to roll out a big section and I just wound up having to roll the dough out again and again because I rolled it too thin and then it stuck to the wax paper.
I also chose to freeze these since I was making them for my friend to have for future meals. I covered each individual pie with aluminum foil and froze those. I put the round dough cut-outs in between wax paper, put them in a Ziplock bag, and laid them flat in the freezer.
We gave 4 pies to my friend and kept the other 6. We just took out one or two of the pies wrapped in aluminum, took the aluminum off the top, carefully removed the pie crust from the wax paper and laid the frozen crust on top of the pie filling. We brushed the egg wash on top, cut three slits (did not sprinkle salt on top as we didn’t think it was needed) and followed the same baking instructions as above (375 degrees for one hour) and they came out perfectly — no need to even defrost!
My husband and I love these things and they’re great to have on hand. We will be making a stock pile of these to have on hand this winter! Thanks for a great recipe!
Kelly says
Glad they turned out so well Katie!!
Brittany H says
I am so upset I spent a lot of time and money cooking this and it turned into a oily slop :(((
John says
I made this dish, and the family loved it, especially the crust.
I wonder how almond flout would do in the pie, instead of almond meal. I was not a fan of the texture of the meal in the pie mix, too granular for my taste.
Some comments. (Disclaimer–I have been spoiled by my wife of thirty years…she does all the cooking…ALL the cooking…my waistline is proof). If you don’t know your way around a kitchen, you may find the following useful. I am so non-skilled, I had to text my wife at work and ask her why the food processor just blinked at me, would not turn on. So, off we go…
When I combined the coconut oil with the dry ingredients, the results were porridge consistency. General consensus at dinner was that I “over pulsed” the mixture. And, I dropped in the oil a tablespoon at a time. Next time, I would put it all in at once, and pulse until I got the right consistency. All was not lost, however, I added more meal into the mix, and then some white flour…I reached for Panko, but thought better of it…it set up well in the refrigerator, and everything came out ok.
I overlooked the part where it says how long to cook the chicken for, so I turned to my trusted friend Google…ended up cooking the chicken at 420 for twenty minutes, came out nice and juicy.
What else…oh, yeah, the coconut milk…first time I’ve used it…it says “shake well”…seems easy enough command to follow. When I opened the top, it was solid, just as the oil was. So, I scooped out a quarter cup and dropped it in the pan. Then, I noticed the bottom half was liquid…evidently, it was a fail at “shake well”…so, I poured some liquid into the pan and hoped for the best.
Taking the dough from the ‘fridge, I started rolling out individual crusts. I learned quickly that the more I handled it, the more it wanted to fall apart. So, less handling, more rolling. I put the individual crusts between wax paper and returned them to the ‘fridge, and continued with the pie mix.
Anyway, long story short, for this beginner it was five hour adventure, including going shopping for the ingredients, shopping for individual serving bowls, prep and cook…
The recipe yielded just about 9.5 cups of pie filling. I added one more breast to the mix, and added a 1/4 cup of celery. Was enough for about five bowls, similar to the bowls in the pics.
Overall, I would give the recipe an A…not quite an A+, because I didn’t quite care for the texture of the almond meal in the pie. I don’t know if it was for flavor, or a thickening agent, but I plan on experimenting with almond flour, and coconut flour.
Kelly says
What a recipe to take on when you are not used to cooking! Thanks for the positive feedback John!
lynn says
i wanted to comment and say peas of any kind is not allowed on the paleo diet so you got them in this pot pie well this is not a paleo pot pie so people that are doing the paleo diet cant eat this sense there is peas in it
Kelly says
Hi Lynn! Cassy states that you can use broccoli instead of the peas in the blog post. Some people do just fine with peas so they can include them if they would like. Thanks!
Rachel says
I am concerned that this will taste like coconut milk…do the other flavors overpower it? Has anyone tried it with the coconut milk that comes in a carton or is that just too thin?
Kelly says
Hi Rachel! Others have tried it and no reports on it tasting like coconut milk, it just makes the inside thick and creamy. I think that coconut milk that comes from the carton will be too thin. Hope that helps!
Sara says
I am a natural improvisor, however this recipe was easy to follow.. I did adjust broth amount, used a splash of half & half (not paleo, I know) a little ghee with the crust and it came out great!! I didn’t really need to bake as long as an hour, I took it out early bc hungry people couldn’t wait and we all loved it! Thanks for a great recipe!
Kelly says
So glad you loved it Sara! I am the same way with recipes as well, I improvise here and there to my liking 🙂
Xochitl says
Just put my ramekins inside oven … the filling smells amazing and the crust feels soft … not to soft if you know what I mean … hope hubby likes it !!!! He doesn’t even know most his meals are “ diet “ he calls it ..
Kate says
We made this tonight (pregnancy craving!) and it was absolutely delicious!! My 4 y/o is going through a picky eating phase, but still tried it and loved it! We will definitely be making again!!
Brandi Schilhab says
Awesome! Thank you so much for sharing this with us, Kate!