With the Thanksgiving season upon us, I thought it would be a good time to share this simple recipe for a pot pie for those that might not have one. It’s a perfect way to breathe new life into that leftover turkey, or if you’re starting with fresh poultry, that works too! The recipe below is quite flexible, and you’ll see pictures from a version starting with raw chicken, and from a version starting with leftover cooked turkey. If working with fresh poultry, I sometimes double the recipe and pop the second pie in the freezer for another dinner (just add 15-20 minutes to the cooking time).
Here I’m sauteeing a Springdell chicken breast that I had stashed in the freezer from the last poultry harvest.
Starting with leftover poultry is great too! Here we have about 5 cups of shredded turkey waiting for a new home.
Making the sauce can be a tiny bit tricky, after cooking your onion in butter, you add your flour and then slowly add your broth and milk as you whisk/stir.
After a few minutes of bubbling, you’ll see your mixture begin to thicken some. This is when you’ll stir in your meat and veggies.
I usually don’t strive too far from carrots, potatoes and peas in the pot pie, as my kids love it this way. To prepare carrots and potatoes, I add the potatoes a pot with cold water and bring it to a boil. (Never add your potatoes to already boiling water, it releases starches and makes them icky). Once boiling, I’ll add in the carrots. 10 minutes will give you crisp tender carrots and potatoes done to a good pot pie consistency.
For a little extra flavor, you can boil the veggies in a water/stock mixture. (I do this if I have way too much stock on my hands). The potatoes especially grab a subtle punch of flavor here.
Here the potatoes and carrots are drained and awaiting their moment to be bathed in the pie gravy.
Here are our freshly thawed snap peas from the garden’s early summer bounty! You can add them as-is to your filling, or shell them. This is a great use for frozen red peppers too.
My four year-old prefers the shelled peas in his pie, and right now he’s going through a picky thing so we’ll do it this way.
Here’s the turkey version with the shelled peas.
Here’s a chicken version with unshelled snap peas.
Lovely little pie (my big pie plates are filled with pumpkin pie at the moment).
Here’s a shot of me pinching the top and bottom pie crust together. I roll the excess over itself as my six year-old likes a big crusty edge.
You’ll notice I pull the pie crust away from the edge of the plate a little. This gives a little room for things to bubble over. You can also place your pie plate directly into a rimmed cookie sheet during baking to catch the spills that might happen.
A yummy golden brown, this pie is ready to eat! Be sure to let it stand for a few minutes before digging in, allowing things to cool makes serving the pie a little easier.
There you have it – a pie filled with delicious farm goodness!
Here is the general recipe. Feel free to be flexible, and make it your own!
Ingredients:
- 2 prepared crusts for a pie plate (1 top and 1 bottom crust)
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1/2 cups chicken or turkey broth
- 2/3 cup milk
- 2-3 cups fully cooked chicken or turkey
- 2-3 cups veggies (such as carrots, peas and potatoes) thawed from frozen or cooked to crisp tenderness
- Preheat your oven to 425.
- Line your pie plate with one of the prepared pie crusts.
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until translucent and tender.
- Add flour salt and pepper to the pan and stir until combined. Slowly whisk in the broth and milk to make your roux, doing your best to keep the consistency from going too lumpy as you pour. Continue to stir, bringing the sauce to a bubble.
- Once the sauce thickens up some, fold in your chicken and vegetables and remove the filling from the heat.
- Carefully pour your filling into the pie plate. Top the filling with the second pie crust and seal the edges. Cut a few slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape during cooking.
- Bake your pie in the oven until your crust is golden brown, about 30-40 minutes, 55-65 minutes if working with a frozen pie.
I hope you enjoy your pie as much as we do! If you try this, we’d love to hear how it comes out. Tell us what your version looks like, how your pie is similar/different, and if you have any tips or tricks for a good pot pie. As always, we love to hear from you!