(Updated from original post on February 27, 2012)
Homemade chicken pot pie is the perfect comfort food for a cold winter night…unless you’re lactose intolerant. Then it can be quite uncomfortable.
Most recipes call for milk, cream, or creamy condensed soup. Here’s a simple pot pie recipe that I crafted to be dairy-free! In fact, it doesn’t call for any non-dairy milks either. It’s one of my husband’s favorite comfort foods. It’s also very good for you. Here’s why:
A chicken pot pie made with ingredients that are not low in sodium can contain over 1,000mg of sodium in a single serving. By the way, have you ever looked at the sodium content in a frozen pot pie? Scary! All that salt is unnecessary. Make your own pie and replace salt with flavor. There are a few extra steps in this recipe than in the typical canned soup method, but it’s still fairly simple and totally worth it.
Remember to rinse your shredded chicken breast after draining the liquid from the can if you’d like to further reduce the sodium content. You can also use flavorful unsalted chicken stock instead of low sodium broth. Suggestions from readers include using rotisserie chicken and adding potatoes!
- 1 box refrigerated pie crusts, softened
- 3 tablespoons vegan butter*
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1/8 teaspoon ground sage
- 1 can (12.5 oz) chicken breast, drained and rinsed**
- 1 can (4.5 oz) chicken breast, drained and rinsed (or about a 1/3 of a large can)
- 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, rinsed to thaw***
- Heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place one pie crust inside a 9 inch glass pie pan--don't trim excess.
- In a large saucepan, melt vegan butter over medium low heat. Add chopped yellow onion, sea salt, and pepper, and cook until tender, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in flour until blended, and quickly follow with chicken broth, gradually adding the broth while stirring constantly. Add thyme and sage. Cook for about two minutes or until mixture starts to bubble and get thick.
- Stir in shredded chicken and mixed vegetables until well combined. Let cook for two more minutes, stirring frequently.
- Remove from heat and spoon complete mixture into prepared pie crust. Top with the second pie crust and seal the two crusts together, folding the extra over and under. This will prevent the crusts from separating while baking. I used a fork to seal the edges.
- Cut five slits in the center of the pie to let steam escape. Bake fifteen minutes to brown crust, then reduce heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and cook for 25-30 minutes. If crust starts to burn, you can carefully cover the edges with foil.
- Let pie stand for at least 10-20 minutes before serving. The longer it cools the easier it is to serve, but if you are really hungry you should just dig in.
- *I used Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread
- **I used Valley Fresh low sodium chicken breast.
- ***Mine included corn, peas, carrots, green beans, and lima beans.
This is what the onion should look like after the flour is mixed in.
This is what the onion, flour, and broth mixture should look like after the broth thickens.
This is what the complete mixture should look like before you top with the second pie crust.
Finished Pie.