Chicken pot pie with savory crumble topping puts an entirely new twist on your typical chicken pot pie recipe. It’s like eating a dessert crumble for dinner!

I hope you never say that you’ve had enough with the pot pie recipes around here. Because you guys would break my heart. Aside from this chicken pot pie with savory crumble topping, a mouthful – no pun intended – of a recipe name in and of itself, I’ve got two more on my list to make this fall and coming winter. Please don’t ever tire of these types of recipes!

But first, this chicken pot pie for a crowd. Not unlike apple pie for a crowd or one of my earlier favorite crowd-pleasers (and yours too), this one makes a lot of food. And it’s the reason why I waited until we had some family in to visit a few weekends ago to make this pot pie since it’s an overwhelming amount of food for two people.

This is not a quick meal to pull together either, but it’s an easy one if you’ve got some prep help (thanks, Mom!). Made in one pot despite several steps, it’s quite perfect to make as a cozy winter weekend meal.

We found ourselves snacking on some cheese and crackers and having a couple cocktails while whirling around the kitchen sautéing, stirring, and baking. It’s absolutely my favorite kind of weekend cooking.

And to shorten the recipe, you could certainly use leftover roast chicken and some chicken broth instead of poaching the chicken and using the remaining broth. It’s totally your call!

In short though, this chicken pot pie with savory crumble topping is the BOMB! I’ve made it a before: a few years ago during my first visit with a few of my greatest friends so sharing this fantastic meal with my family recently just made me completely giddy.

I knew it was a winner, was confident they would love it (they did), and couldn’t wait to get it on the kitchen table. It’s hard to tell which is the best part – the homey, thick, and stewy chicken and vegetable filling or the nearly obnoxious amount of crunchy, crumbly, and savory crumble topping.

But since you don’t really have to choose between the two, you may as well just enjoy as much of both as your belly can handle. I certainly did.

Chicken Pot Pie with Savory Crumble Topping

Name: Chicken Pot Pie with Savory Crumble Topping
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 1 h 10 min
Total time: 1 h 35 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts and/or thighs (I used all thighs); 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth; 2 tbsp canola oil; 1 medium onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup); 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut crosswise into ¼-inch-thick slices (about 1 cup); 2 small celery ribs, chopped fine (about ½ cup); 1 tbsp minced fresh thyme; Table salt and ground black pepper; 10 oz cremini or baby bella mushrooms, stems trimmed, caps wiped clean and sliced thin; 1 tsp soy sauce (low sodium is fine); 1 tsp tomato paste; 4 tbsp (½ stick) unsalted butter; ½ cup all-purpose flour; 1 cup whole milk; 2 tsp juice from 1 lemon; 3 tbsp minced fresh parsley leaves; ¾ cup frozen baby peas; 2 cups (10 oz) all-purpose flour; 2 tsp baking powder; ¾ tsp table salt; ½ tsp ground black pepper; 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper; 6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes and chilled; 1 oz Parmesan cheese, finely grated (about ½ cup); ¾ cup plus 2 tbsp heavy cream

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Chicken pot pie is such a versatile meal and this pot pie recipe includes a savory crumble topping instead of traditional biscuits or puff pastry. Allow for extra time to make this recipe on a weekend and make it for a cozy winter meal.

Ingredients

For the filling:

1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts and/or thighs (I used all thighs)
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup)
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut crosswise into ¼-inch-thick slices (about 1 cup)
2 small celery ribs, chopped fine (about ½ cup)
1 tbsp minced fresh thyme
Table salt and ground black pepper
10 oz cremini or baby bella mushrooms, stems trimmed, caps wiped clean and sliced thin
1 tsp soy sauce (low sodium is fine)
1 tsp tomato paste
4 tbsp (½ stick) unsalted butter
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
2 tsp juice from 1 lemon
3 tbsp minced fresh parsley leaves
¾ cup frozen baby peas

For the crumble topping:

2 cups (10 oz) all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp table salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes and chilled
1 oz Parmesan cheese, finely grated (about ½ cup)
¾ cup plus 2 tbsp heavy cream

Instructions

To make the chicken: Bring chicken and broth to simmer in covered large (at least 5qt) Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook until chicken is just done (160° F), 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer cooked chicken to a large bowl. Pour broth through a fine-mesh strainer into a 4-cup liquid measuring cup and set aside. Do not wash out the pot.
Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
To make the topping: Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper together in large bowl. Sprinkle butter pieces over top of flour. Using your fingers, rub butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse cornmeal (or cut the butter in with a pastry cutter or two knives). Stir in Parmesan cheese. Pour the cream over the mixture and stir until just combined - do not over mix.
Crumble the mixture into irregularly shaped pieces ranging from ½ to ¾ inches each onto the prepared baking sheet.
Bake until fragrant and lightly brown, about 10 to 13 minutes. Set aside to cool. While the crumble bakes, start the filling.
To make the filling: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, carrots, celery, thyme, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 5 to 7 minutes. While vegetables are cooking, shred or cut the chicken into small bite-size pieces. Transfer the cooked vegetables to the bowl with the chicken; set aside.
In the pot, heat the remaining oil over medium heat until shimmering and toss in the mushrooms. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms have released their juices, about 5 minutes. Remove cover and stir in soy sauce and tomato paste. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until liquid has evaporated, mushrooms are well browned, and dark fond begins to form on surface of pan, about 5 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to bowl with chicken and vegetables; set aside.
Over medium heat, melt the butter in the pot and when foaming subsides, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in reserved chicken broth a few tablespoons at a time to avoid making lumps and then whisk in the milk. Bring to simmer, scraping pan bottom with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits, then continue to simmer until sauce fully thickens, about 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and 2 tablespoons parsley.
Stir the chicken-vegetable mixture and frozen peas into the sauce. Pour mixture into 13 x 9-inch baking dish or casserole dish of similar size. Scatter the crumble topping evenly over the filling.
Bake on a rimmed baking sheet until the filling is bubbling and topping is well-browned, about 12 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of parsley before serving.

Notes

adapted from The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook by the editors of Cook's Illustrated

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