Paleo Chicken Pot Pie

Our Paleo Chicken Pot Pie tastes just like the classic everyone loves! With almost 100 five-star reviews, this is the gluten-free chicken pot pie you must make!

Paleo Chicken Pot Pie

I love a good pot pie, who doesn’t though? It is the ultimate cold-weather comfort food.

A few winters ago, I started perfecting my gluten-free and paleo-friendly version of classic pot pie. I tested the recipe with both leftover Thanksgiving turkey and rotisserie chicken and both worked out just fine. I also tried parsnips instead of potatoes and they were somewhat interchangeable (spoiler: I prefer the potatoes).

But the crust was just an issue – I wasn’t 100% happy with it. By the end of the season, I retired my ideas and decided to come back to it this year.

Now that it’s been cold for a couple of weeks, I figured there was no better time to get back into the kitchen to experiment with pot pie dough. I used my savory paleo pie crust as a base recipe and just keep tweaking until I got it where I wanted it.

This final version is gluten-free chicken pot pie PERFECTION. Don’t believe me? There are over 100 5-star reviews on this recipe!

A rich and creamy savory pot pie filling that is topped with a light and flaky grain-free crust. My family could not believe that it was gluten-free, grain-free and paleo-friendly.

They also couldn’t believe I didn’t use any type of thickener for the sauce.

To say that this recipe was a success would be an understatement. As my husband said, “Baby, you hit it out of the park with this one! When are you making it again?”

I can’t wait to hear what you think!

Gluten-Free Chicken Pot Pie Ingredients

Crust Ingredients:

• Blanched Almond Flour
• Tapioca Starch
• Paprika
• Finely Ground Sea Salt
• Baking Powder (gluten or grain free)
• Ground White Pepper
• Pastured Butter OR Ghee
• Egg
• Ice Cold Water

Filling:

• Pastured Butter or Ghee
• Yellow Onion
• Russet Potatoes
• Chicken Broth
• Full-Fat Canned Coconut Milk
• Carrots
• Kosher Salt
• Black Pepper
• Cooked Chicken or Turkey Meat
• Frozen Peas
• Fresh Thyme
• Fresh Rosemary

Are Potatoes, Peas and Butter Paleo?

Before we dive into how to actually make this paleo chicken pot pie, let’s address the potato, pea, butter, and elephant in the room.

There used to be some controversy about white potatoes in the paleo diet but that has largely been rebuked many years ago. If you want to avoid white potatoes when making this chicken pot pie, you could substitute cubed Japanese sweet potatoes (that would be my first choice as the starch will help make the sauce) or peeled and cubed parsnip (will be much sweeter).

Many people who eat a mostly Paleo-diet occasionally eat green peas. If that doesn’t work for you, you can substitute cut up green beans.

As for the pastured butter, this is another area of contention. Many mostly-Paleo eaters include high-quality pastured butter in their cooking. If you cannot have butter and can tolerate Ghee, this is a great substitute. Many readers have successfully made this paleo chicken pot pie using frozen Ghee in place of pastured butter.

If all dairy is out, you can use hardened coconut oil, lard or high-quality vegetable shortening (that is chilled) but know that the taste will slightly change.

How to Make Paleo Chicken Pot Pie

It’s important to note that this chicken pot pie is not a quick recipe. It takes a bit of time to put it all together but it’s SOOOO totally worth it! This paleo chicken pot pie tastes like classic chicken pot pie and you know what’s even better? The 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th time you make it – it goes super fast. Plus, once you get the hang of it, you can double or triple the filling and freeze in batches for future meals!

Tips for the Best Gluten-Free Pot Pie

• Almond meal (ground raw almonds with their skins on) and blanched almond flour (finely ground blanched and skinless almonds) are different. This paleo chicken pot pie uses blanched almond flour and will not work as well with almond meal.
• Your butter or Ghee has to be ice cold if you want a flaky crust!
• I used rotisserie chicken meat but cubed turkey also works so this is perfect for using up leftover Thanksgiving turkey!
• You can make both the filling and dough ahead of time and freeze. I do recommend freezing them separately and placing the dough on the pot pie right before baking. You may need to adjust your baking time slightly (longer).
• This gluten-free chicken pot pie can be made in individual ramekins. You will need to slightly reduce the cooking time so that the crust doesn’t burn.
• While I haven’t tried it, some readers (in the comments) have doubled the crust recipe and made another layer under the pot pie filling. I suggest par-cooking the crust before filling it to try and keep it as crispy as possible.
• Please note that the nutrition information generated is for the exact recipe as written. If you make any modifications, you will need to recalculate the nutritional information for it to be considered accurate.

Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below!

Paleo Chicken Pot Pie

Prep Time: 1 hr

Cook Time: 1 hr 10 mins

Crust Freezing Time: 1 hr 10 mins

Total Time: 3 hrs 20 mins

 

Our Paleo Chicken Pot Pie tastes like the classic everyone loves! This is a well-loved and well-tested recipe with dozens of 5-star reviews.

Course: Mains

Cuisine: American

Keyword: best gluten-free chicken pot pie recipe, healthy pot pie recipe, how to make gluten-free pot pie, paleo pot pie

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 384 kcal

Author: Alyssa Brantley

4.97 from 79 votes

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Ingredients

CRUST:

• 1 cup blanched almond flour
• 3/4 cup tapioca starch
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder (gluten free or grain free)
• 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/4 cup pastured butter OR Ghee frozen
• 1 large egg
• 3 Tablespoons ice cold water

FILLING:

• 1.5 Tablespoons pastured butter or Ghee
• 1 large yellow onion finely chopped
• 1 pound russet potatoes divided, (1/2 lb peeled and and cut into 1/2" dice, 1/2 lb peeled and roughly chopped)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/3 cup full fat canned coconut milk
• 2 medium carrots peeled and cut into 1/2" dice
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound boneless, skinless, cooked chicken meat cubed
• 2/3 cup frozen English peas
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves finely chopped

Instructions

CRUST:

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine almond flour, tapioca flour, paprika, salt, baking powder and white pepper. Pulse a couple of times to get rid of any lumps.
   

   Using a cheese grater, grate cold butter or Ghee into flour and spice mixture.

2. Add egg. Pulse 5 to 6 times so butter and egg are just incorporated. Don't over-mix.

3. Add cold water and use a spatula to mix in until incorporated.

4. Transfer dough to a bowl or piece of parchment or wax paper. Place in freezer for 1/2 hour.

5. Remove dough from freezer. It should be hard and not sticky. Place between two pieces of parchment or wax paper and roll out to desired size. You can also use your fingers to push into shape you want. 

   Once you have the shape(s) you need, leave the dough between the parchment paper, place on a flat dish or tray to keep its shape and place back in the freezer for an additional 30 to 45 minutes or until ready to use.

FILLING PREP:

1. Finely chop onion.
   Peel potatoes, dice 1/2 lb into 1/2" cubes. Roughly chop the other 1/2 lb. 

   TIP: Soak your potatoes in cold water until ready to use. Make sure to drain thoroughly before using!

   Peel carrots and cut into 1/2" dice.

   Finely chop thyme and rosemary leaves and measure 1 tsp thyme and 1/2 tsp rosemary - combine and set aside.

COOK:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Heat a large skillet (12") over medium heat until hot. Add butter and then onions. Saute 10 to 12 minutes until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally.

2. Add 1/2 lb of roughly chopped potatoes (thoroughly drained!) and chicken broth. Raise heat to high until broth is boiling. Immediately lower to a simmer and cook 6 to 8 minutes or until potatoes are just fork tender but still somewhat firm in the middle.

3. Use a slotted spoon to transfer potato chunks from skillet to a blender or food processor. It's OK to get a little broth and/or onion in there so don't stress about it.

4. Add the coconut milk to the potatoes in the blender and process until smooth and creamy.Transfer to a measuring cup or bowl and set aside.

5. Add carrots and remaining potatoes (cut into 1/2" dice) to remaining broth in skillet along with salt, and pepper. Raise heat to medium and cook for 8 to 10 minutes till vegetables are just starting to soften.

6. Add cubed chicken, frozen peas and chopped thyme and rosemary leaves. Cook 1 to 2 minutes to heat through.

7. Slowly stir in creamy potato and coconut milk mixture. Remove from heat and set aside.

8. Grab baking dish(es) and pour in filling mixture. I used a glass Pyrex style casserole dish as shown.

9. Remove rolled out dough from freezer and gently remove from parchment paper one side at a time letting the dough fall onto the pot pie. 

10. Scrape the edges a little so that there isn't too much overhang, remove the excess dough from the baking sheet and discard.

    Use a small knife to cut 2 to 3 slits (if making one big pot pie or 1 slit per individual pot pie) to allow some steam to escape while cooking.

11. Bake uncovered for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until crust is beginning to brown all over. 

    If you are using individual baking crocks, you may need to decrease the time. 

    Allow to rest for 10 minutes, serve and Enjoy!

NOTES:

• Butter is a controversial ingredient in the Paleo community. Some freely eat high quality butter and others feel it isn't compliant. You can substitute Ghee (which is also Whole30 approved) for butter in this recipe if you fall into the second camp. Make sure that they Ghee is frozen and follow the same directions.
• Peas are another controversial ingredient. Many people eat them and consider them an acceptable part of their Paleo diet plan. We fall into that camp. If  you don't, you can substitute chopped green beans.
• Almond meal (ground raw almonds with their skins on) and blanched almond flour (finely ground blanched and skinless almonds) are different. This pot pie uses blanched almond flour and will not work as well with almond meal.
• Your butter or Ghee has to be ice cold if you want a flaky crust!
• I used rotisserie chicken meat but cubed turkey would also work.
• You can make both the filling and dough ahead of time and freeze. I do recommend freezing them separately and placing the dough on right before baking. You may need to adjust your baking time slightly (longer).
• Please note the the nutrition information generated is for the exact recipe as written. If you make any modifications, you will need to recalculate the nutritional information for it to be considered accurate.

Nutrition Facts

Paleo Chicken Pot Pie

Amount Per Serving (0.125 g)

Calories 384 Calories from Fat 180

% Daily Value*

Fat 20g31%

Saturated Fat 8g50%

Cholesterol 95mg32%

Sodium 972mg42%

Potassium 559mg16%

Carbohydrates 29g10%

Fiber 4g17%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 24g48%

Vitamin A 3007IU60%

Vitamin C 13mg16%

Calcium 72mg7%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Did you make this recipe? Tag @EverydayMaven on Instagram with the hashtag #EveryDayMaven and please give a star rating below.

UPDATE NOTES: This Paleo Chicken Pot Pie was originally published in November 2014 and was updated in August 2019 with step-by-step photos and instructions and answers to common questions.