Chicken pot pie is an incredible comfort food packed with juicy tender chicken, cream, and nutritious vegetables. Even though it is a wholesome dish, traditional chicken pot pies are often filled with heavy cream and butter which makes it a difficult choice for health-conscious and lactose-intolerant people.
However, Using the right dairy-free substitutes can transform a traditional pot pie into a dairy-free chicken pot pie. The healthier alternatives like dairy-free pot pie can still offer the taste and satisfaction of classic comfort food.
This article is all about the healthy version of your favorite chicken pot pie because eating healthy is not boring or tasteless. Before introducing the dairy-free chicken pot pie recipe take a look at all the benefits of the healthier version.
What Are The Benefits Of Healthy Chicken Pot Pie?
You can take any classic dishes and come up with a healthier version. It is so easy to transform traditional delicacies into nutritious and low-calorie dishes without making any compromise on the taste.
Healthy chicken pot pie is one such example where tradition gets substituted with modern-world alternatives. Forget about dairy-free pot pie! You can even swap out the pie crust for healthier substitutes such as whole wheat or almond flour.
Use olive oil or Greek yogurt instead of a whole pack of butter. This version can still satisfy your taste buds with exploding flavors. The use of various vegetables such as carrots, peas, celery, and onions fills the pot pie with more fiber and nutrients. Making little adjustments will make a huge difference in overall calorie and carbohydrate content. Some of the common advantages of healthy chicken pot pie include:
🍞 Nutritional Support
Unlike the old version, the healthier chicken pot pie contains extra vegetables that can boost nutritional support throughout the day. It contains more fiber, antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins to increase overall wellness.
🍞 Energy Boost
The use of whole grain or almond flour to make the pie crust can have a profound impact on the production of energy. The elevated fiber content can contribute to long-lasting energy by increasing the daily fiber intake.
🍞 Low Fat Intake
Using skinless chicken can heavily reduce the consumption of saturated fat. Additionally, chicken is a great source of protein so you may feel fuller and satisfied for longer periods. It can reduce the risk of unhealthy snacking and extra calorie intake.
So shifting to a healthier version of chicken pot pie without sacrificing the taste is possible and as a result. you can achieve some extra health benefits. There are several versions of healthy chicken pot pies. You can modify the ingredients to suit your dietary needs. Here is a simple recipe for healthy dairy-free chicken pot pie.
An Easy Recipe To Make Dairy-Free Chicken Pot Pie
This is a simple and easy dairy-free pot pie recipe you can make using common ingredients from your pantry. You can even customize it by changing the ingredients according to your taste choices.
🍞 Ingredients
- 2 cups of cooked skinless and boneless chicken breast (diced)
- 1 cup of diced potatoes
- 1 cup of diced carrots
- 1 cup diced onions
- 1 cup diced celery
- ½ dairy-free milk
- 2 or 3 cloves of minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- ¼ cup of all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour
- 2 cups of chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
- Home-made dairy-free pie crust (or store brought)
- Salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon of pepper
🍞 Instructions
- Preheat oven to 245° F or 220° C
- In a medium-sized saucepan or skillet heat the olive oil at medium-high heat.
- Add all the veggies and garlic into the saucepan and cook until all the vegetables are tender. It may take a few minutes, typically 7 to 10 minutes.
- Add the flour over the vegetables and stir until the veggies get coated. Cook it for a few minutes to remove the raw flavor of flour.
- Slowly pour chicken broth stir well to avoid clumping and cook until you get a smooth mixture.
- You can add dairy-free milk at this point and stir well.
- Add chicken pieces diced potatoes, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cook it over medium-low heat to get a gravy consistency.
- Setting the saucepan aside, remove it from the flames.
- Roll out the pie crust in a pie pan and pour the chicken gravy over it.
- Cover the filling with top crust and cut a few slits in the top for the steam to escape. Carefully seal the edges of the pie and bake it in the preheated oven for 30 – 35 minutes.
- You can serve it with sliced tomatoes and cumber after cooling it for 10 minutes.
Conclusion
Bringing a healthy twist on the classic chicken pot pie will indeed promote several health benefits by increasing the nutritional value of the dish. Try to bring various twists to the traditional recipe by customizing it to your diet preferences.
