Healthier Chicken Pot Pie

Share

Tweet

Share

Share

Email

Comments

Everybody loves pot pie, but it gets a bad rap as too salty and overall bad for you. So what if we gave you a recipe for chicken pot pie that was actually healthy?

You’re welcome.

This delicious and guilt-free dinner is made with chicken, a great source of lean protein, and red potatoes that give you not only healthy doses of vitamin c and potassium, but they’re the ultimate feel-good comfort food. And we know carrots are loaded with vitamin a, important for healthy eyes and skin. These recipes also pack in tons more vitamins, minerals, and valuable plant chemicals–the fact that they’re delicious is just icing on the cake!

These recipes come courtesy of Robyn Webb; “Comfort Foods: Foods to Fill You Up, Not Out!” was published by the American Diabetes Association.

“There’s nothing more comforting that chicken and veggies in a thick luscious sauce topped with a flaky crust,” says Webb.  “The earthy aroma of this dish will fill your kitchen and beckon everyone to dinner. And the secret to this ultimate comfort food? By using butter flavored spray and phyllo dough, we slash all the saturated fat and calories found in typical pie crust.”

Um, what’s stopping you from getting started?!

Makes 12 servings. 
Serving size: 1 ( 3×3 inch) square 
Preparation time: 40 minutes 
Cook time: 30 minutes 

Ingredients

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into ½ inch pieces 
1 ½ tsp garlic powder 
2 cups chicken broth 
½ cup water 
1 tsp olive oil 
10 ounces cremini mushrooms, cut into ½ inch pieces, abuot 3 cups 
1 garlic clove, finely chopped 
1 pound small red potatoes, unpeeled and cut into quarters 
5 sprigs fresh thyme 
3 medium carrots, diced into ½ inch pieces, about 1 cup 
1 large onion, diced, about 2 cups 
1 ½ cups 1% milk 
½ cup half and half 
6 Tbsp flour 
Kosher salt or sea and fresh ground black pepper to taste 
8 ounces frozen peas 
½ cup minced flat leaf parsley 
8 sheets phyllo dough 
butter flavored spray 

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Season the diced chicken with garlic powder and fresh ground pepper and set aside. In a 2 quart saucepan, bring the chicken stock and water to a boil.

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive il in a medium skillet and add the mushrooms and garlic.  Season lightly with salt and pepper.  Cook for 5 minutes or until mushrooms are soft.  Once the mushrooms soften, set them aside in a bowl.  Strain any liquid from the mushrooms.

3. Add in the potatoes and thyme leaves and lower the heat to medium.  Simmer the potatoes for about 8 minutes until tender. With a slotted spoon, remove the potatoes and thyme to a bowl. Discard the thyme leaves.  Add the carrots and onions to the stock and simmer for 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon remove the carrots and onions to the same bowl with the potatoes.

4. Add the chicken to the stock and simmer the chicken for 3 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the chicken to the same bowl with the vegetables.  Reduce the stock until reduced to ½ cup, about 10 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, whisk the milk, half and half and flour together in a bowl until very smooth. When the stock is reduced slowly add the milk mixture to the stock, constantly stirring until thickened, but you should have a smooth sauce.  Add the sauce to the vegetables and season with salt and pepper.  Add in the reserved mushrooms, peas and parsely, mix well.

6. Pour the mixture into a 9X13 inch pan.  Set aside.

7. Prepare the phyllo dough topping.  Spread one sheet of phyllo out onto a very lightly floured surface. Be sure to cover the remaining  sheets of phyllo with a towel to avoid exposing to air. The phyllo will crack if exposed. Coat with the butter spray. Add another sheet of phyllo on top of the first and coat with spray.  Repeat this process until all 8 sheets are used.

8. Carefully lift the phyllo dough stack and place over the chicken vegetable filling. Tuck the edges under.  With a sharp knife, make 3 diagonal slashes across the top of the dough. This will allow steam to escape.

9. Bake the chicken pot pie, uncovered, for about 30 minutes until the top is puffed and golden brown. Remove from the oven and let stand for about 5 minutes. Cut into squares.