Today’s recipe was a recent experiment of mine that had been long in the making. I never was a fan of chicken pot pie growing up or chicken and dumplings or anything along those lines. Mostly because when I was young I liked zero vegetables. So the thought of all those peas and carrots was not appealing. Fast forward many years later and I can’t say it sounded that much more appealing, ha! BUT I randomly bought a small one at a local coffee shop for my young son one day. I split it with him and OMG it was so so so so so so so good. So…filling and comforting…comfort food yea?! So the place QUIT selling it which was super lame AND I quit eating grains. So for a long time now I’ve had it in the back of my head that I want to try playing with a grain free version. Last night, it finally happened! My husband is not on board with this kind of food in general so when he asked what I was making I told him it was a surprise :). Happy to report he LOVED it! I think I still might play with this recipe a little more, maybe adding some more variety vegetable wise and MAYBE doubling the recipe for the topping but I have to tell you it was really really really good just as it is below. If you DO eat grains and want to simplify the recipe just buy one of those roll out pie crusts and put over the top instead of the topping recipe below. Although, grain free or not the topping I used is AWESOME!

For the filling:

  • 3 T butter
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1/2 cup celery diced
  • 1/2 cup carrots diced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 cooked chicken breasts – diced or shredded
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 chicken broth
  • 2 T dijon mustard
  • 3/4 cup shredded white cheddar
  • 1/2 cup frozen peas

For the topping:

  • 1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 3 T cream cheese
  • 3/4 cup almond flour
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 t garlic powder
  • 1 t onion powder
  • 1 t Italian seasoning
  • salt and pepper

Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once butter is melted add in onion, carrots, celery and garlic and a little salt and pepper. Saute until veggies are soft. Add in the cooked chicken, heavy cream, dijon and broth. Bring to a boil over medium heat and than reduce heat to low and simmer around 5 minutes. Now add in the cheese and peas. Mix well and spoon into a 9×9 baking dish or pie dish.

For the topping – put the shredded mozzarella, cream cheese and almond flour in a glass mixing bowl. Microwave for one minute, take out and mix and than microwave for one more minute. Next mix in spices and egg and mix really well. This is really best done with your hands or maybe a wooden spoon. It is ready to shape and place on top of filling! I used a cutting board to kind of press into the shape I needed it to be for the square dish I was using. So put it onto a cutting board or a plate and use your fingers and try to press it out to the size and shape as the dish. You could even do this in small pieces and connect them together. Once you have pressed out put large piece or pieces on top of filling. Its harder than it sounds I promise! As long as its well mixed its pretty easy to work with. Once its arranged on top bake for 25 minutes at 375

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