This Healthy Chicken Pot Pie recipe is packed with incredible flavor, yet easy to make thanks to some simple shortcuts!
This was another highly requested one. I never could have guessed how difficult it would be to perfect a healthier version. Well, it only took me a few months to come up with a Chicken Pot Pie recipe that I’m happy to share with you all! If you follow me on Instagram, then you’ve been there through the recipe testing process and got a taste of my perfectionism. I’m happy to say, 4th time was the charm!
A good chicken pot pie should seem simple and comforting. Not quite a chicken stew, but not too soupy, the best chicken pot pies are encrusted by a crisp buttery crust that offer a beautiful textural contrast to the glorious chicken and veggies, enrobed in a creamy sauce. The key is to find just the right balance between a thick chicken gravy (with plenty of herbs and spices), and a flaky, airy crust.
My first attempt was delicious, but had way too much liquid in it–more of a soup than a hearty stew. You will see a lot of recipes on the internet that call for WAY too much liquid, in my opinion. Lesson learned.
I also had to decide on a crust. I went for crescent dough at first. It’s lower in points and calories than a butter-based pie crust, but it never got the perfectly crunchy pastry topping for my taste. I came close, but the crescent dough absorbed way too much sauce when I put the leftovers away, and you guys know how important it is to me that leftovers hold up and taste just as good the next day.
Puff pastry to the rescue! It is SO much easier to work with, and the best combo of crunchy topping and delicate pastry underneath. Now, I do know that it’s not necessarily a health food, but I am a firm believer that there are some meals when it pays to splurge just a little bit on your ingredients, like my Lighter Chicken Tikka Masala. Healthy Chicken Pot Pie really does satisfy my chicken pot pie cravings, and the thinly rolled puff pastry topping is a fraction of the fat, calories, and points of a traditional double-crust version. Trust me when I say that one bite will make you a believer!
What you need to make healthy chicken pot pie
- 4 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded or diced (about 2 pounds)
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 3 stalks celery diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2-2 cups non-fat chicken stock
- 1/3 cup half and half
- 1 tbsp + 2 tsp cornstarch
- 4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp ground sage
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- 12 ounces frozen mixed vegetables, defrosted and drained
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
how to make it
Before you begin, make sure you read your puff pastry package for defrosting instructions. Most puff pastry sheets will need 20-30 minutes to thaw, so make sure you have them out before you begin your sauce.
Sauté your aromatics (onion, celery, and garlic) with salt and pepper until they’ve softened, stirring occasionally. They’re called aromatics in the cooking world because they smell amazing as they start to break down and caramelize over the heat.
Dissolve the cornstarch into chicken stock and half and half. Add to your veggies and stir until the sauce begins to thicken. Then add your herbs and more salt and pepper and allow to simmer to really infuse the herbs into your sauce.
Stir in the cream cheese until it’s fully melted. Don’t rush it – we want that cream cheese evenly distributed into every part of the sauce. Then you can fold in your chicken and defrosted veggies. Simmer for a few more minutes until you have the PERFECT gravy consistency:
If your chicken mixture is too “soupy,” it will make the pastry soggy. Try to get it to this thicker gravy consistency. Allow it to simmer a few more minutes if needed.
If your chicken mixture appears too thick, add a splash of chicken stock to thin out as needed.
Pour into a lightly greased 9×13 baking dish and prepare your crust.
Most puff pastry has some flour on it to prevent it from sticking to itself as it thaws. You may need to lightly flour a cutting board before you roll it out so it doesn’t stick. You can always dust the excess off with a dry pastry brush. Roll one sheet out to 9×13 and gently place over filling. Prick several times with a knife to allow the steam to escape.
Brush the crust with your egg wash and bake 40-45 minutes until the crust is beautifully golden brown and the filling is bubbling up on the sides. Now comes the hard part. It’s going to look and smell incredible, and everyone in your home is going to ask if it’s time to eat. You need to be strong though, because this baby needs to rest for a whole 10 minutes to allow it to set.
I promise, it’s worth it to get the perfect bowl full of luscious chicken and vegetable stew, topped with just the right amount of crispy, flaky crust.
Check out more of my lightened comfort food classics
- Slow Cooker Beef Stew
- Lasagna with Meat Sauce
- Lighter Baked Macaroni and Cheese
- Skillet Chili and Cornbread
I’d love to hear from you if you make this recipe! Leaving a starred review and comment below helps my blog grow. I’m always grateful when you can take the time to do that!
It also makes my day when you share your pics on Instagram and tag me (@litecravings). Don’t forget to use #litecravingsrecipes to make sure I see it. If I don’t get a chance to scroll through my tags quickly enough, I won’t see your post. I always make a point to look through the hashtags, though, so I’ll see it there!
Healthy Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked chicken breast shredded or diced (about 2 pounds)
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 3 stalks celery diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2-2 cups fat fat chicken stock
- 1/3 cup half and half
- 1 tbsp + 2 tsp cornstarch
- 4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp ground sage
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- 12 ounces frozen mixed vegetables defrosted and drained
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry defrosted according to package directions (about 8 ounces)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a large pan, over medium-high heat, add cooking spray to coat. Add the onion, celery, and garlic to the pan, along with 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of black pepper. Cook until starting to soften, about 3 minutes.
- In a large measuring cup, whisk together 1 1/2 cups chicken stock, half and half, and cornstarch. Add this mixture to the pan and stir for a minute or so. Add in thyme, sage, and remaining salt and pepper.
- Reduce heat to medium and stir in cream cheese until melted. Fold in chicken and defrosted vegetables.
- Bring everything to a simmer and let it cook for about 3-4 minutes. Splash in more stock if the mixture gets too thick, but you do want it to have a thicker gravy consistency. Continue to simmer if mixture it too soupy, until it gets to a thicker gravy consistency.
- Once everything is heated through and mixture is at the consistency you like, pour it into the baking dish and spread evenly.
- Carefully unfold the puff pastry and roll it out on a cutting board to fit your baking dish. Lay it on top of the filling and cut some slits in it to let steam release as it cooks.
- Brush the top of the pastry with the egg wash. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the crush is golden. Let rest for 10 minutes. Cut into 8 portions and serve.
SOOOOO good! Flavor is perfect. Definitely does not taste healthy. Thank you Geri…all your recipes are yummy!
Yay! Thank you so much Melissa <3 It was definitely a labor of love but hearing that you enjoyed it makes it worth it!
I am a huge chicken pot pie fan. My daughter, husband, and I decided after the Thanksgiving free for all that we wanted to eat healthier. Tonight they asked me what was for dinner and when I said Chicken/turkey pot pie they both said “ugh!” I used almond milk in the place of half and half, flour in the place of cornstarch, and unfortunately full fat cream cheese instead of low fat. It was AMAZING! Both my husband and daughter (ugh) went for seconds!
Yay! It’s always nice when you make a meal the whole family can enjoy. Glad you were able to make modifications to make it your own 🙂
Very good chicken pot pie. Highly recommend the recipe. Thanks for emailing me. 🙂
Hi Nancy, I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for subscribing to my emails – I always like to make sure you guys get to try the recipes out before anyone else 🙂
This was so delicious, and very easy to make!
I just made this with leftover turkey instead of chicken, and it is SO good! I added sliced fresh mushrooms with the other vegetables, only because I had some that I needed to use up, but the recipe as written is perfect. Thanks for another yummy recipe!
Yay!!! I’m so glad it worked out for you!! Thank for for taking the time to review, Christine. ❤️
Another delicious recipe! I used store bought rotisserie chicken to save the time of cooking the chicken myself, and it was delicious! Super easy to make and the instructions are very clear and easy to follow. I saw the stories about testing different toppers – I definitely think you chose the right one. The pastry topping is amazing and really makes it hard to believe you’re eating a healthier version of chicken pot pie. I did miss the egg wash step, but still ended up with a deliciously flaky crust. So good!
This recipe, just like EVERY one of yours I’ve tried, knocks it out of the park! My husband was skeptical because it’s not my regular recipt (which uses a homemade top and bottom crust). Low and behold, he was equally impressed! We loved it and talked about it multiple times and were so excited that we had enough for leftovers the next night! It’s so rich, creamy and buttery. Thank you!!
Another hit with my family!! Everyone loved the flavor. Thanks for all of ur hard work creating this! We loved it!
My pleasure, Paige! It’s people like you who take time out of your day to comment on my recipes who keep my creative streak going. Thank you!
This was a huge hit with my family, including my non-vegetable eating son who asked for seconds! I didn’t have any sage but was delicious regardless. Will be making again 🙂
This is the first recipe I’ve made from Lite Cravings and it was a home run! That pot pie felt like my pride and joy and it isn’t even my recipe. Thank you for a delicious dish!! Can’t wait to make more from you.
Hi Jade! Thank you and welcome to the Lite Cravings community 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed it! Hope you find some more favorites along the way 🙂
This is 100/10. It is so incredibly flavorful and the perfect dinner! We halved the recipe and made it into an 8×8 and it was CHEF’S KISS. The hubs ate 3 pieces 😊 After I ate it, I told my husband Geri is the best food blogger in the world!!!
Can this be frozen prior to baking?
I haven’t personally tried it but I wouldn’t just because sauces made with cornstarch tend to change texture after they’re frozen.
Family loves it. My husband even asked the secret to how i made the crust so crispy. The crust turns out light, flaky and crunchy. Too notch and WW friendly.
Thank you, Chelsea! I’m thrilled you all loved it 🙂
I substituted the seasonings with parsley and celery seed. I grew up always doing that and I love the flavor! This recipe was super easy and I loved how it tasted. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Morgan, I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it and were able to make it your own by adding parsley and celery seeds 🙂
This looks delicious!! I’m curious what brand puff pastry do you use? The one I have scanned as 120 points for only 1/10 of the pastry package!
Hi Mimi, I’ve used generic store brands or pepperidge farm. Are you scanning 1 lb packages? Each package comes with 2 sheets of puff pastry and I only use 1 for the recipe. The points may also vary if you use one made with all butter vs shortening (mine has shortening listed as an ingredient). Hope this helps!