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.
Gluten Free, Dairy Free Chicken Pot Pie
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!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
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!
Haha “not salad and meat” recipes can be some of the tastiest. I hope you loved the pot pies!
I was so excited to hear there was a paleo chicken pot pie recipe, but my sweetie is allergic to almonds. New challenge?
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.
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!:)
That’s great to know! Thanks!
is it possible to sub coconut flour for the almond flour?
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!
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!!
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. 🙂
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!
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 🙂
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?
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 🙂
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.
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.
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!
Is the 670 calories for one personal pie or for all 8 combined?
Hi Jessica! It’s for one pie.
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!
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!
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.
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!
Thanks for the recipe! I am going to give it a try!
Great!! I hope you like it. Feel free to give feedback! I’m always open to new ways to improve the recipes.
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?
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!
This might be a stupid question, but there are no carbs, right? Thanks! Looks great!
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.
Are all the measurements the same for a full size pie? I’ll be using a 9″ pie pan. This looks delish!
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!
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!
I’m so glad y’all liked it and that you had fun making it!!
what if i want to do a full size in a casserole dish? any idea how that will affect my cooking time?
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!