I fondly recall eating chicken pot pies as a kid. Nothing homemade, it wasn’t necessary when the freezer had Marie Callendar’s inside ready to pop into the oven! The creamy chicken and veggie filling topped with flakey, buttery pastry is just a bowl of comfort sent straight from heaven. That comforting, nostalgic feeling stuck with me as I created these Paleo Pot Pies.
I firmly believe that each person should have their own individual pot pie. The results are better: the crust gets crispier, the filling stays nice and tidy in a little ramekin, and, when serving, it’s not a sloppy mess on a plate with a crust that’s wanting to slide off. This is why I did my pot pie in ramekins rather than a skillet or casserole dish. I just won’t have it any other way — it’s a personal preference.
Needless to say, these paleo pot pies turned out absolutely perfect. In fact, my kids devoured theirs and my Gordon Ramsey of a husband told me it was the best he’s ever had and devoured his, too! Full disclosure, while the grain-free paleo crust comes out perfectly and absolutely DELICIOUS, it is not the easiest to work with. I provided some notes in the recipe, but don’t be alarmed. And, just know that you can totally patch it together when it’s time to bake and you’ll never even know it happened. I even did it with two just to be sure it’d still come out okay, and they were just as perfect tasting.
This recipe is great with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. It’s also great with any leftover or rotisserie chicken meat. Oh, and just omit the meat and you can keep this vegetarian — you really can’t go wrong with any combination!
SHOP THE POST.
Paleo Pot Pies
Ingredients
For the Pie Crust:
- 3/4 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/3 cup arrowroot flour
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup ghee (chilled in the refrigerator or freezer until solid) (you can sub unsalted butter here)
- 1 large egg, whisked
- 2 tbsp cold water
- 2 [12-inch long] sheets of parchment paper
For the Filling:
- 2 tbsp ghee (you can sub unsalted butter here)
- 1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion (or 1/2 small onion)
- 1/2 cup celery, diced small
- 1/2 cup carrot, diced small
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/2 tsp freshly chopped thyme leaves
- 2 tbsp arrowroot flour
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth (or homemade turkey stock)
- 1/2 cup Nutpods Dairy-Free Creamer (you can sub unsweetened, full-fat coconut milk for dairy-free OR heavy whipping cream for non-dairy-free/paleo option)
- 2 cups cooked and diced turkey or chicken
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- dash of cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1 large egg, whisked (for the egg wash)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Prepare the Pie Crust:
- In a food processor, combine the almond flour, arrowroot, salt, and baking powder. Process until well combined and there are no longer lumps.
- Remove the ghee from the fridge and pop out onto a cutting board. Cut into small cubes, about 1/4 inch big and add to the food processor. Pulse the food processor until it is broken apart into the flour mixture and you have an even and crumbly consistency.
- Add in the egg and pulse 5-6 times, or until the dough starts to come together in a ball.
- Add the cold water and using a spatula, stir in until just combined.
- Transfer the dough onto a large sheet of parchment paper. Place the other sheet of parchment paper on top and using a rolling pin (or your hands) smooth out the dough so that it is in an even, thin layer, about 1/4 inch thin and large enough to cover 4 ramekins.
- Transfer the parchment paper with the dough in the center to the fridge and let cool while you prepare the filling.
Make the Filling:
- Heat ghee in a large saucepan or skillet with sides over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, salt, pepper and thyme cook, stirring, until the veggies are tender; 5 to 7 minutes.
- Sprinkle in the arrowroot flour and stir into the veggies until well combined. While stirring constantly, slowly pour the chicken broth into the skillet until it is well incorporated. Then, while stirring do the same with the dairy-free creamer.
- Cook, simmering uncovered and stirring, until the contents are thick and creamy; 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the diced turkey (or chicken) and the frozen peas.
Make the Pot Pies:
- Place 4 [6-ounce] ramekins on a baking sheet and evenly divide the filling amongst the ramekins.
- Now, here is the tricky part — but trust me, even if you mess up the crust you can rebuild/shape it on each of the ramekins and it will turn out perfect no matter what. Okay? This crust is NOT easy to work with, but it tastes absolutely fantastic when it is done.Remove the crust from the fridge and carefully remove one side of the parchment paper so that the crust is stuck to 1 side of the parchment paper only. Place your ramekins in a cluster together so that they are all close together and touch. Now, flip the parchment paper pie crust over so that it is laying across the 4 ramekins. Using your hands, carefully press around the edge of each ramekin so that the pie crust falls directly on top of the filling within each of the ramekins. Remove the parchment paper and ensure that all of the ramekins are covered. Alternatively, you can do this one at a time, just make sure you leave room for the rest of the ramekins to be covered.
- Using a pairing knife, make one small 1/2 inch slit in the center of each of the pie crusts. Using a brush, carefully brush the top of the crust with a bit of the egg wash.
- Transfer to the oven and cook until golden brown and crisp on the top, about 20 minutes. When cook time is complete, remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes prior to serving. Garnish with extra thyme leaves and flakey salt, such as Maldon, if desired. Enjoy!
47 Comments
Kathleen Gulley
January 17, 2023 at 5:39 pmThis recipe looks good. Want to try but have a dry pork loin roast that I thought would work as a meat alternative. Do you think it might be good with the veggies and paleo crust?
Alex
January 18, 2023 at 5:21 pmHi Kathleen,
I haven’t tried this with pork yet! if it’s already cooked, and you chop it up like the recipe says it should be great!
Bella
January 10, 2023 at 8:12 pmThis is the best crust I’ve ever tasted in my life- I had zero issues handling it, and found it almost to taste like a ritz cracker which was the ultimate compliment to the overall flavor profile of the pot pies. Could I use this crust for fruit pies and custard pies (blind baking required) as well? Any specific instruction if so? Simply delicious and perfect texture!
Alex
January 11, 2023 at 9:38 pmHi Bella,
So glad you loved it!!! and yes– it would be wonderful for other recipes like fruit pies, etc!!
Sarah Mayo
October 13, 2022 at 9:24 pmIf you were trying to keep this keto what could sub for the arrowroot?
Alex
October 15, 2022 at 2:09 pmohh, I wouldn’t make any major subs to this recipe. With some recipes, they work out just fine and easily; however, this recipe/the crust is very fickle so I worry it would be a fail
Judith Lebeaux Aleksa
February 1, 2023 at 5:56 pmCan you make them and freeze them before cooking
Alex
February 1, 2023 at 6:29 pmYes! These freeze well!
Melissa
October 12, 2022 at 10:39 amIs there any way to make the filling in a crock pot and come home to bake with crust?
Alex
October 14, 2022 at 2:55 pmI haven’t yet tried it in a crockpot– and I am not sure if the sauce thickness would vary cooked in a crockpot.
Liza Kajita
June 28, 2022 at 3:19 amI was skeptical the crust would taste flakey and delicious like the traditional crust we all know and love, but wow did this ever taste amazing. Great recipe Alex!
Jeanette
March 29, 2022 at 1:40 pmThis crust is so good I could just eat it on its own!
Stephanie
March 15, 2022 at 6:13 amHey! Would you be able to sub out the almond flour for a different flour?
Ashley
May 31, 2022 at 5:06 amYes you can like coconut flour
Kate
March 15, 2022 at 2:14 amSo excited to try! If I were to freeze, should I do it before it’s cooked or after?
Thanks in advance!
Alex
March 22, 2022 at 5:18 pmYou can do it either way!!!
Liz
February 26, 2022 at 10:42 pmLooks amazing! Going to try these tonight! Would I be able to sub whole milk for the creamer?
Alex
March 1, 2022 at 1:05 pmyes you can– or heavy creamer works great.
Solange
February 4, 2022 at 7:32 pmCould I do double crusts here for some mini ones? I am obsessed with crust!!
Mary clark
January 9, 2022 at 5:16 pmHi Alex!! Instead of individual pot pies is it possible to do one big pie dish or will that mess up cooking times and recipe?
Alex
January 10, 2022 at 1:13 amyes!! You can do a big one– the only reason I don’t do it this way is because the paleo dough is trikcy to work with in large sheets– but I do it sometimes and it does work and your cook time will be a bit longer (just until the crust is nice is golden).
Jeanette
December 1, 2021 at 1:24 amWow, Alex you did it again!! So good and really hits the spot when wanting some comfort food during the colder months.
Alex
December 2, 2021 at 8:09 pmwoohoo!!
Dominique
October 27, 2022 at 12:07 amHi! Is there any way to substitute the almond flour with something else? My husband is allergic!
Alex
November 1, 2022 at 2:48 pmThis recipe is very fickle– the crust is very temperamental. I have tried it with cassava before and it does work, but the crust ends up being alittle dense. I’d need to play with the ingredients a bit because it’s just not a 1:1 trade off.
Jennifer Marshall
September 24, 2021 at 11:34 pmThese are a family favorite and on regular rotation (along with the “hamburger helper” recipe from the cookbook). And as she says – don’t worry how the crust looks, it turns out so delicious! I was wondering if anyone has ever frozen extras? And, if you did, did you bake with crust first?
Lauren
May 26, 2021 at 12:43 amHi! Could you use regular flour instead of arrowroot?
Nicole
May 25, 2021 at 1:08 pmThese are SO good. A regular in our house! I use less water (about .5-1 tbsp) in the crust and have found it much easier to work with that way and it still comes out great. I’ve also used dried thyme when I didn’t have fresh and it worked well! Last time I made these, I did everything up to the egg wash the night before, and then the day we had them for dinner, I just brushed with egg and cooked. For anyone crunched for time on a weeknight or trying to plan ahead 🙂
Alex
May 25, 2021 at 3:58 pmamazing!!! Thanks for the tips!!! so helpful!
Carey
February 12, 2021 at 4:32 amThese were amazing. I made it all in one medium dish instead of ramekins. Dough was so easy to transfer
Alexandra
January 31, 2021 at 10:46 pmThese are delicious and can be very versatile- I didn’t have all the veggies used but just used what I had on hand/swapped what I had.
I’ve made twice and the second time I left out the water in the crust and it was MUCH more manageable and turned our great!
Anne
January 6, 2021 at 11:33 pmI just made these last night and they were a huge hit with my husband and 10 year old son! I used a larger ramekin, maybe 4 individual 10 oz ones. I doubled the filling and 1.5 times the crust. I also added 1/2 the water to the crust and it was perfect and easy to manage. Was the perfect individual size for us. So good! Thank you!
Julie Glick
December 12, 2020 at 10:15 pmJust made this for my family and it was amazing. The dough didn’t fight me too bad but will know what to do next time I make. Love your recipes Alex!! I make them 3-4 nights a week!! Keep them coming. ❤️
Alex
December 13, 2020 at 1:34 pmThank you, Julie! xoxo
Jessica
December 3, 2020 at 5:55 pmCan I sub coconut oil or palm shortening for the ghee?
Alex
December 6, 2020 at 1:19 pmI haven’t tried those alternatives yet, so I am not positive.
Kristen
March 14, 2022 at 7:17 pmDid you have any luck on this? I was wondering the same.
Laura
December 2, 2020 at 1:53 pmThis was so good! I was nervous to try it since I’ve made these types of healthy pot pies before that turned out flavorless but this was great. I had to make the crust batter twice because the first time it was too wet with the called for amount of water. I used less the second time and it was perfect. It actually wasn’t too hard to work with. It formed up nicely in the fridge and was easy to flip onto a casserole dish which I used instead of ramekins. I finished the baking with a few minutes of broiling and the crust browned up nicely.
Melissa
November 30, 2020 at 2:16 amThe crust was tricky as you said but so worth it! These were so delicious!
Eric
November 30, 2020 at 1:33 amNeed to put the crust in the freezer or something cause when we flipped it on the ramekins, we couldn’t get the crust off the other side of the parchment paper and it was still liquidy. Otherwise this is a freaking great recipe!
Mallory
November 30, 2020 at 12:34 amYou are not lying about that crust being difficult to work with but actually turned out delicious! Do you think putting it in the freezer would make it less sticky?!
Hannah Husby
November 29, 2020 at 11:28 pmWhile it’s in the over is the cross supposed to kind of look like it’s melting? It’s such a wet dough!
Hannah Husby
November 29, 2020 at 11:28 pmOven*
Rebecca
November 29, 2020 at 9:26 pmHi Alex,
What about subbing garlic olive oil for the ghee?
Scott
November 29, 2020 at 3:24 pmAlex, we made these last night and every other sentence out of my family’s mouths were compliments. I have a picky 11 year old and 14 year old and they both LOVED this recipe. We used leftover turkey meat. We rolled the dough out too thin and it didn’t solidify much in the fridge so we ended up dropping it on top of the filling, shepherd-pie style and it was still perfect! Thank you!
Jennifer
November 28, 2020 at 6:10 amCan you use a regular glass pie pan with this recipe?
Alex
November 28, 2020 at 2:14 pmyou can. I do find that with the ramekins, you get a crisper paleo crust and the crust:filling ratio is perfect– but it still works in a pie pan.