Cheater’s Chicken Pot Pie

Pot pie is the definition of comfort food, and perfect during the fall and winter months. It’s warm, filling and basically chicken soup with less liquid and dough on top. I’ve made pot pie with a full-on, grain-free almond flour crust in the past and it definitely involves a bit more work and planning. It’s the step that I usually want to skip, so this time I decided to come up with a shortcut. What I came up with still offers a buttery, slightly crispy topping, but involves no dough rolling period. Enter the cheater’s chicken pot pie with almond flour crumb topping. It’s a major time saver and nice if you don’t have all the dough ingredients on hand as well. I was very pleased with the results and hope you are too!

Cheers and enjoy!

Cheater’s Chicken Pot Pie

For the filling:

• 2 Tbsp grass-fed butter or ghee
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 large stalks of celery, chopped
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 1 + 1/4 cups butternut squash cubes
• 1/4 cup chicken bone broth, preferably homemade
• 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk (I recommend this brand or this brand)
• 3 cups cooked shredded boneless skinless chicken breasts and/or thighs
• Sea salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1 cup fresh green beans, cut into 1 or 2-inch pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrots and celery, and stir. After a few minutes, add the squash. Stir and continue to cook.
3. Stir in the chicken and add the broth. After a minute or two, add the sea salt, pepper, turmeric and fresh parsley.
4. Next, add the coconut milk and green beans, and stir well. Cook 3-4 more minutes and if mixture seems like it needs more liquid, add a bit more broth.
5. Remove from heat and pour mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle almond flour topping evenly over the top (recipe below) and place in oven, uncovered. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown on top.

For the topping:

• 1 cup blanched almond flour (I used this brand)
• 3 Tbsp grass-fed butter or ghee
• Pinch of sea salt

In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the almond flour and a pinch of sea salt. Mix well, until almond flour is coated in the butter (it will be in small clumps). Remove from heat and use atop of the filling, once it’s been poured into the casserole dish.