Chicken Pot Pie with Cauliflower Crust is an on trend remake of a comfort food classic. Riced cauliflower makes a carb smart substitution for much of the flour in the crust. Healthline has all you need to know about why cauliflower is so good for you!
Let me tell you a bit about how I made my Chicken Pot Pie with Cauliflower Crust.I used the white meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken just to save some time. The vegetables were partially cooked in a skillet to cut down on the baking time. I assembled the pot pies ahead of time and refrigerated them for a few hours before baking. It worked perfectly. You could use whatever vegetables you like but I went with the classics, fresh sliced carrot, onion, celery, and potato. The flavor makers in this pot pie are the minced garlic, fresh thyme, and Parmesan cheese in the crust. If you absolutely must have a regular crust Chicken Pot Pie, you won't find a prettier one than the one I made in my RV while the kitchen in our fixer upper was being gutted. Ah, good times!
The most labor intensely part of this dish is preparing the cauliflower crust. Save time by using pre-riced cauliflower in bags in the produce department or in the frozen food case. I chose fresh, steam-in-the-bag cauliflower "rice" from the produce aisle. It cooked in 3 minutes but needs to cool completely after cooking. You have to put the cooked cauliflower in a cotton dishtowel and wring out all the water or your crust will be hard to handle and a soggy mess. Don't skip this step!
You'l press the crust in the bottom of the ramekins with wet fingers. The top crust is made by shaping a disc of the crust on parchment paper, then flipping it over in your hand and carefully pulling the parchment off. Take your time. This cauliflower crust is delicate. If you mess it up, just press it into a disc again and peel the paper off slower.
Here's the recipe for Chicken Pot Pie with Cauliflower Crust. Give it a try for a pre-diabetes or Type II diabetic diet, or just a carb smart one!
Ingredients
- Non-stick olive oil spray
- 12 ounce pkg cauliflower "rice"
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 egg, beaten with fork
- 1 cup carrots, sliced ¼" thick
- 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
- 1 medium Yukon Gold potato, diced into ½" cubes
- ½ cup onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
- 1 cup low-fat milk
- ⅓ cup low sodium chicken broth
- 2 TBS flour, all purpose
- 1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1.5 cups cooked, diced chicken breast
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 4 teaspoons grated Parmesan for garnish
Instructions
- Spray the insides of four 8-10 ounce ramekins with olive oil cooking spray and set aside.
- Cook the cauliflower, in the microwave or steamer until soft, 3-5 minutes. Pour the cooked cauliflower into a sieve and let drain and cool completely.
- While the cauliflower is cooling, slice, dice and prepare the vegetables. Spray a non stick skillet with olive oil spray and add the carrots, onion, potato, and celery. Cook over medium heat for 7-8 minutes, stirring frequently until the vegetables are fork tender. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl add the Parmesan, flour, salt and pepper. When the cauliflower is completely cool place it on a clean cotton, dishtowel. Bring the edges up and together and twist until all the water is removed.
- Stir the caulifower into the flour mixture then add the beaten egg. Mix well. Remove and set aside ½ cup crust mixture for the tops. Divide the rest into four portions and press into the bottoms of the ramekins with wet fingers.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Place the ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the crusts are set and a bit brown on the edges. remove from oven and set aside.
- In a small bowl add the milk, chicken broth, 2 TBS flour, thyme, garlic, and ⅛ teaspoon salt. Stir. Pour into the skillet with the vegetables and heat until the sauce is just bubbly and just begins to thicken. Remove from heat and add the diced chicken. Stir just to mix.
- Divide the filling mixture amongst the ramekins with bottom crusts.
- Divide the reserved crust mixture into four portions. Cut parchent paper into 6' squares. Using wet fingers, press the crust onto the parchment paper and shape into circles the diameter of the ramekins. Flip the parchment over in your hand and gently peel the paper off. Place the discs of crust on top of the filling.
- Reduce the oven to 400 degrees and bake until the filling is heated through and bubbly and the crusts are golden brown. Cool just slighly before serving, garnish with the Parmesan cheeese, a bit of thyme and cracked black pepper.
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