Use What You Have Pot Pie
Make a savory pot pie with what you have in your kitchen. With a flaky crust and veggie packed filling it is sure to be a family favorite.
Pot pie is a great way to use up spare vegetables and protein that you may have in your kitchen. Using my simple modifiable recipe you can make a delicious pot pie no matter what ingredients you have on hand.
Jump to RecipeI love chicken and turkey pot pie and it’s a great way to use up extra meat or a rotisserie chicken. I also love being able to pack the pie full of veggies in a way my kids love.
How to Season Your Pot Pie
Pot pie has many layers that give it flavor and depth. The flavor is going to come from the broth, aromatics, and seasonings so I recommend using a variety of each. For seasonings I most often use an Italian seasoning blend, because of its simplicity, but you could also use a mixture of oregano, thyme, and rosemary, or choose your own favorite spices. Using a variety of fresh herbs would also greatly enhance the flavor of your pot pie.
In addition to seasonings, it is important to have aromatic vegetables to add flavor to your pot pie. I always include diced carrots and onions, but adding celery and garlic can also do a lot to enhance the flavor of your pie.
After adding the seasonings and aromatics, the last thing that is going to add to the flavor of your pot pie will be the broth. Make sure to boil your vegetables in a high quality, flavorful broth. I use homemade bone broth to cook the vegetables and make the gravy
How to Keep Your Pot Pie Crust From Getting Soggy
Because you bake a pot pie with a wet filling it is important to ensure that you cook the pie for long enough at a high enough temperature that the crust gets cooked through. Also make sure to adequately thicken the gravy in your filling so it does not add too much moisture to the crust. I thicken my gravy with enough flour to give the filling a nice thick consistency. This keeps the pie from getting soggy even after storing leftovers in the fridge.
How to Make a Pot Pie With What you Have
The basic recipe for a pot pie is
- protein
- vegetables
- aromatics
- starch
- other veggies
- seasonings
- sauce/gravy
For meat I most often use chicken or turkey because I frequently have leftovers to pick off the bones. You can really use any meat or protein for your pot pie. Beef or pork chunks would work great, or any variety of ground meat.
For the pot pie vegetables I recommend having at least a few aromatics such as onions, carrots, celery, or garlic. I also always include potatoes in my pot pie as a hearty starch. In addition to these vegetables you can use almost any extra veggies you have on hand, although to prevent a soggy crust I’d recommend avoiding wetter vegetables such as summer squash. My favorite veggies to add are frozen peas and corn, because I always keep them on hand.
Lastly to add flavor to the pot pie I add plenty of seasonings. These include salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning, although you can substitute the Italian seasoning with your preferred seasonings. If you have them, fresh herbs would also make a great addition or substitution for dried herbs.
Ingredients
yields 2 pies
For the Crust:
- 1 cup cold butter
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1/2-1 cup ice cold water
For the Filling:
- 2-3 cups cooked meat or 1-2 lbs uncooked meat diced into small chunks
- 2-3 carrots
- 1 large onion
- 2-3 stalks celery (optional)
- 3-4 potatoes
- 2-3 cups additional vegetables
- 4 cloves garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp Italian seasonings (or seasonings of choice)
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- About 4 cups broth or water
- 1/2 cup flour
How to Make Pot Pie
Make the Pie Crust
Begin by cutting cold butter into the flour and salt. Add water a tablespoon or two at a time, cutting with a pastry cutter or fork until it begins to form a ball.
Shape dough into ball, cover and place in fridge until ready to roll out.
Make the Filling
Dice aromatics (onion, carrot, and celery) and saute over medium heat. If you are using uncooked meat then add it now as well. Season with salt, pepper, and additional herbs.
Dice the potatoes into approximately 1 cm cubes. Once the aromatics begin to soften and color, add diced potatoes and broth. Bring to a simmer and let cook until the potatoes soften (about 15 minutes). If you are adding any other raw vegetables that need to cook, add them part way through the simmering time.
When the vegetables are cooked through you will want to thicken the sauce. To do this add 1/3 cup of flour to a cup with 1/2 cup water and whisk until no clumps remain. Slowly add the flour mixture to the sauce while stirring. Return to a boil until the sauce thickens then remove from heat.
To complete the filling, add precooked meat and frozen vegetables to the hot filling and stir to combine. Do not worry about warming them since they will have plenty of time for that in the oven.
Assemble the Pie
Preheat the oven to 425° F.
To assemble the pie, split the pie dough into 4 pieces and roll each one out to the size of your pie plate or tin. I prefer to do this by rolling the dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Place the finished crusts in the fridge to stay cool while rolling out the others.
Once all the crusts are rolled out, place one in each pie tin then split the filling between the 2 pies. Cover with the top crusts and seal the edges.
Bake the pies in a 425° F oven for 45-60 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Let cool for 20-30 minutes before cutting into the pie.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Begin by cutting cold butter into the flour and salt. Add water a tablespoon or two at a time, cutting with a pastry cutter or fork until it begins to form a ball.
- Shape dough into ball, cover and place in fridge until ready to roll out.
- Dice aromatics (onion, carrot, and celery) and saute over medium heat. If you are using uncooked meat then add it now as well. Season with salt, pepper, and additional herbs.
- Dice the potatoes into approximately 1 cm cubes. Once the aromatics begin to soften and color, add diced potatoes and broth. Bring to a simmer and let cook until the potatoes soften (about 15 minutes). If you are adding any other raw vegetables that need to cook, add them part way through the simmering time.
- When the vegetables are cooked through you will want to thicken the sauce. To do this add 1/3 cup of flour to a cup with 1/2 cup water and whisk until no clumps remain. Slowly add the flour mixture to the sauce while stirring. Return to a boil until the sauce thickens then remove from heat.
- To complete the filling, add precooked meat and frozen vegetables to the hot filling and stir to combine. Do not worry about warming them since they will have plenty of time for that in the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 425° F.
- To assemble the pie, split the pie dough into 4 pieces and roll each one out to the size of your pie plate or tin. I prefer to do this by rolling the dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Place the finished crusts in the fridge to stay cool while rolling out the others.
- Once all the crusts are rolled out, place one in each pie tin then split the filling between the 2 pies. Cover with the top crusts and seal the edges.
- Bake the pies in a 425° F oven for 45-60 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Let cool for 20-30 minutes before cutting into the pie.