I have made pot pie with homemade pastry, store-bought pie crust, homemade biscuits, and refrigerated biscuits, but no other method has felt as simultaneously like a fancy dish and a bit of kitchen magic like using thawed phyllo dough sheets and butter cooking spray. It comes together quickly and ends up looking like a flowery pile of fancy fabric atop of creamy, lovely fillings. Oh! And it tastes fantastic.
The combination of using phyllo dough sheets to make the crust and topping and the use of a can of cream soup in the filling made me feel a little like I was cheating on my foodie roots, but when the result is this tasty and it's pretty as well, it's really hard to argue. Beyond that, I suggest making it in a well-seasoned cast iron skillet to help renew the foodie cred!
For me, this dish is a meal unto itself. I don't serve anything else with it. If you must, add a simple side salad, but I really don't think it's necessary. No one is going to have some of this pot pie and say, "But wow, that salad was really the highlight." Save that extra effort for another time and enjoy this fancy-feeling kitchen magic meal.
Easy Chicken Pot Pie with Phyllo Pastry
- ¼ c. butter
- 2 chicken thighs, cooked and cubed (or use 2 c. cooked, cubed leftover chicken)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 medium potatoes, cubed
- 1 large stalk celery, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp. dried thyme
- 2 tsp. dried parsley
- 1 (10.5 oz.) can cream of chicken soup
- ½ c. frozen green peas
- 1 (450 g) pkg. phyllo dough sheets
- Butter cooking spray
- ½ c. shredded cheese - I used sharp cheddar
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Place a medium-sized pan on medium heat and add butter. Cook the chicken thighs in the butter if you are not already using cooked chicken.
Next, add the onions and cook until translucent. Ass the remaining vegetables (except the peas) and the herbs and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Mix the canned soup with 1 can of water and add it to the pan. Simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes or until the carrots and potatoes are soft; remove from the heat and add the peas and stir to combine. Allow the mixture to cool slightly while you move onto the next step.
Place 4-5 sheets of phyllo in 10-inch cast iron skillet for the bottom layer of the pie, spraying each layer lightly with the butter cooking spray. (Leave the remainder of the phyllo dough covered with a damp kitchen towel to keep it from drying out while you work.) Next, pour the chicken mixture into the skillet. Bring the edges over the filling.
Take 2 sheets of phyllo dough, crumple them, and place them on top of the pot pie filling. Repeat this until the pie is completely covered. Lastly, spray the top of the phyllo dough with the butter cooking spray and sprinkle lightly with the shredded cheese.
Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden and crisp. Cool slightly before serving.
- Yields: 6-8 servings
- Preparation Time: 45 minutes