There’s a few things that I loved eating as a child, that were not only good but ended up making great memories for me. There weren’t many times ….in fact, I believe “Chicken Pot Pie night” might have been the only night, that we were allowed to eat in the living room. My mom was a stickler for all of us sitting at the dinner table and chatting about our days but for some reason, when mom made (or bought!) chicken pot pies, we were allowed to eat with TV trays and sit and watch a TV show (I’m not sure but I think the show was ‘Love Boat’) on a Friday night.
There was something about the crust that made me fall in love with the pot pies because quite honestly, I could have just tossed the filling and made a meal out of the buttery crust! It was either my brother or my sister that left the bottom of the crust in the tin ….and trust me, I made sure to clean that tin up! I honestly don’t know if those pot pies were actually good or not — or if it was just the fact that we got to have dinner in the living room while watching TV but either way, they made me feel good and the connection with the memories has always made me fond of the chicken pot pie!
I never bought pot pies as an adult/parent because the one time I served them to my kids, they hated them! And obviously when I started fueling with a paleo lifestyle, there were no chicken pot pies (that I knew of) that were “approved”. It took me 6ish years to attempt to make a paleo pot pie — but after that many years I gave it a-go…. and 3 attempts, I found the recipe that I’m so freakin’ happy with! I got all the fuzzy feels of my childhood when I bit into my 4th try!
I hope you give these a try and love them as much as I do. Please let me know what you think! And as always, tweak to your own liking in terms of adding or removing veggies and let me know – I’d love to share the variations. Enjoy!
- 1 & 1/2 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1/4 cup lard
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp cold water
- 2 cups diced, cooked chicken
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup cashew milk
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 3 tbsp tapioca flour
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 1 cup chopped broccoli
- 1 cup diced mushrooms
- 1 cup chopped cauliflower
- 1/4 cup diced onions
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp ghee for greasing ramekins & brushing onto crust
- In a bowl, whisk together the almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda and salt. Cut in the lard and mix with hands (my preferred method) or a food processor. Add in 2 tbsp of cold water and combine.
- Roll into a ball and place in refrigerator while making up the filling.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Dice and cut up all veggies to be uniformed in size - onions slightly smaller. (I just sliced the carrots into about 1/4 inch slices and kept remaining vegetables to about the same size).
- In a large pan, melt the ghee and add/cook onions until tender. Add minced garlic and stir.
- Toss in the cauliflower and carrots. Cook up for 2-3 minutes, then add in broccoli and mushrooms. Stir until ghee is absorbed by vegetables.
- Pour in chicken broth and cashew milk. Stir to cover (it won’t completely cover) veggies. Let it sit to simmer about 10 minutes. Whisk in tapioca flour and fully incorporate. Season with salt and pepper. Add in the cooked, diced chicken. Let it all hang out to warm through while you prepare ramekins.
- Lay foil on a baking sheet. Using ghee, coconut oil or butter, wipe down the insides of 4 ramekins (I use ramekins that hold about 3-4 cup of filling*). Place ramekins on foil lined baking sheet. Take a 3/4 cup measuring cup and slowly fill ramekins.
- Take the dough out of the refrigerator and cut into 4 equal parts. Roll each part into a ball and place one ball between parchment paper. One by one, roll out with a rolling pin into a round sheet to fit ramekin. Pinch down edges and using a fork or knife, make a few slits on top of crust to let air escape.
- Brush a quick stroke or two of melted ghee on top of each crust.
- Place into 350 degree oven for 15 min, then turn heat up to 425 degrees and bake another 20 minutes.
- Let cool about 10 minutes before diving into them!
i have tried it toaday and the filling taste was exceptional ..but its crust got a bit hard ..what could be the reason???
Thank You for trying the recipe! I am sorry about the crust. I made this recipe a few times and didn’t run into that problem. Did you use lard or another fat? Also, did you use tapioca flour or sub for another type? The only other thing I would ask, is if the almond flour was blanched or a almond meal? I had a few people tag me in these pot pies and they loved the flakey crust so I’m hoping we can figure this out for you 🙂 Thanks again for giving it a-go!