The Lunch Lady
Chicken pot pie bake with drop biscuits
Creamy chicken pot pie filling with roasted butternut squash, peas and a golden Sunrise flour drop biscuit on top. Six generous servings, with extra biscuits for the table.
Published
- Servings
- 6, with 12 small biscuits
- Total time
- About 1 hour 10 minutes
I would have signed up for doubles
Chicken pot pie with a golden drop biscuit on top. Red grapes and applesauce on the side. Kids were coming back for seconds. This is one I would have wanted doubles for myself.
The filling starts with vegetables cooked down in butter, tomato paste, garlic and seasonings. Then the flour goes straight into that pot. Keep it moving until it smells like pie crust. I used Sunrise Flour Mill Heritage White Flour, and the smell coming off that pot was amazing.
Whisk in the broth, then the milk and cream. Keep scraping the bottom while it comes to a gentle simmer. That is when the gravy thickens. Fold in the peas, roasted butternut squash and chicken, then finish with cracked pepper and salt to taste.
We baked drop biscuits separately and served one right on top. A pastry lid would have slid off on the serving line. These biscuits were surprisingly simple, and the kids were completely bought in on the butternut squash. That gets me excited.
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Home recipe
Chicken pot pie bake with drop biscuits
The Lunch Lady · Jared Veldheer
- Servings
- 6, with 12 small biscuits
- Prep time
- About 25 minutes, using cooked chicken
- Cook time
- About 45 minutes, with overlapping steps
- Total time
- About 1 hour 10 minutes
Equipment: 5- to 6-quart heavy pot, two rimmed sheet pans (one 18-by-13-inch half sheet for the biscuits), mixing bowls, whisk, wooden spatula or heatproof silicone scraper, kitchen scale, instant-read thermometer
Make it with what you have
Choose your chicken
Use 1 1/2 pounds cooked chicken, about 4 1/2 cups diced. Already-cooked chicken makes this easier. To start with raw chicken, cook about 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken using one option below, then weigh the cooked amount. Raw and cooked weights are not interchangeable. The summary timing uses cooked chicken; raw chicken adds time, especially if your oven cannot fit it alongside the squash.
All options are included when you print.
Chicken option: Already cooked
Use 1 1/2 pounds cooked breast, tenders or thigh meat, with skin and bones removed. Dice into bite-size pieces. Fold into the thickened gravy at the finishing step and heat through to 165°F. That brief step is for cooked chicken, not raw.
Chicken option: Tenders
Toss about 2 pounds raw boneless, skinless tenders with 2 teaspoons olive oil and a light seasoning of salt and pepper. Spread on a separate rimmed pan. Roast at 425°F conventional or 400°F convection for about 12 to 18 minutes, checking from 10 minutes, until the thickest piece reaches 165°F. Rest 5 minutes, dice and weigh 1 1/2 pounds for the filling. Save any extra.
Chicken option: Breasts
Use about 2 pounds raw boneless, skinless breasts. Slice horizontally and even the pieces to 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Toss with 2 teaspoons olive oil and a light seasoning of salt and pepper. Roast on a separate rimmed pan at 425°F conventional or 400°F convection for about 16 to 22 minutes, checking from 14 minutes, until the thickest piece reaches 165°F. Rest 5 minutes, dice and weigh 1 1/2 pounds for the filling.
Chicken option: Thighs
Trim and unfold about 2 pounds raw boneless, skinless thighs. Toss with 2 teaspoons olive oil and a light seasoning of salt and pepper. Roast on a separate rimmed pan at 425°F conventional or 400°F convection for about 20 to 30 minutes, checking from 18 minutes, until at least 165°F, preferably 175 to 185°F for tenderness. Rest 5 minutes, dice and weigh 1 1/2 pounds for the filling. Start with a little extra raw chicken if there is substantial trimming.
Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you go.
Roasted squash
Chicken pot pie filling
Sunrise drop biscuits
Optional biscuit finish
Instructions
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 425°F conventional or 400°F convection. Toss the squash with its oil and a small pinch of salt. Spread in one layer on a rimmed sheet pan. Roast for about 20 to 25 minutes, turning once, until lightly browned and nearly tender. A knife should go in with just a little resistance. It will finish in the gravy.
- While the squash roasts, heat the teaspoon of oil in the pot over medium heat. Add the frozen mirepoix and diced onion. Cook until the released water has evaporated, then add the butter and continue cooking until the vegetables are soft, about 12 to 15 minutes total. Stir from the bottom and lower the heat if the butter starts to darken.
- Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and sage for the last minute. Sprinkle the 40 g flour evenly over the vegetables. Whisk it in, then switch to a wooden spatula or firm heatproof silicone scraper. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, stirring along the bottom and into the corners, until no dry flour remains and it smells like baked pie crust. Do not let it scorch.
- Slowly whisk in the broth, starting with a small splash to loosen the flour mixture and adding more as it smooths out. Whisk in the milk and cream. Add the Worcestershire, Dijon and bay leaf. Bring to a gentle simmer, scraping the bottom frequently. Simmer gently for about 5 to 8 minutes, until the gravy coats a spoon and has no raw-flour taste. It should still flow; add a splash of broth if it becomes pasty.
- Remove the bay leaf. Reduce the heat and stir in the Parmesan. Fold in the peas, roasted squash and cooked chicken. Heat gently, stirring from the bottom, until the peas are tender and the chicken reaches 165°F, about 5 to 10 minutes. Avoid a hard boil. Stir in the parsley and lemon juice, then taste with a piece of chicken and squash. Adjust salt and cracked pepper. Add a little more lemon if it needs brightness, or a small amount of the optional bouillon for more chicken flavor. Keep the heat very low while the biscuits finish, adding a splash of broth if needed.
- Once the squash is out, reduce the oven to 400°F conventional or 375°F convection. Line an 18-by-13-inch half-sheet pan with parchment. In a bowl, whisk the 250 g flour, baking powder, baking soda, fine salt and sugar thoroughly. In another bowl, whisk the cold milk and yogurt until smooth. Slowly whisk the just-warm melted butter into the cold dairy. Small butter flecks are fine.
- Fold the wet ingredients into the dry with a spatula just until no dry flour remains. Scrape the bottom of the bowl. Do not beat or knead. The dough should be sticky and shaggy but hold a mound. If it is stiff or there are dry patches, fold in extra milk 1 teaspoon at a time, up to about 1 tablespoon.
- Divide into 12 mounds, about 45 g each, arranged 3 by 4 with about 2 inches between them. Leave the tops craggy. Bake immediately for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, checking from 12 minutes in convection. Rotate if browning unevenly. Look for golden tops and bottoms and a fluffy, set center, about 200°F; split one open to check that it is not gummy. Give it another 2 to 3 minutes if needed.
- Brush the hot biscuits with the optional parsley butter. Spoon the filling into bowls and set a biscuit on top of each. Pass the remaining biscuits at the table. Red grapes and applesauce are what we served alongside at school.
Recipe notes
- The filling cooks on the stovetop. Bake the biscuits separately and put them on top at serving time. There is no pastry lid or second casserole bake.
- Get the biscuits into the oven as the gravy finishes simmering so they bake while the chicken heats through. The cooking times overlap; allow extra time if working through every step one at a time.
- This is plain Sunrise Heritage White flour with measured leaveners, not Sunrise biscuit mix or self-rising flour. Weighing the flour makes the small batch more consistent.
- Use a heatproof scraper or wooden spatula to reach the bottom of the pot. Gentle simmering thickens the flour; aggressive boiling can scorch the dairy. If the bottom burns, transfer the unburned filling to a clean pot without scraping up the scorched layer.
- Peas go in after the gravy thickens. Roasting the squash separately gives it browned edges and keeps it from breaking down while you build the sauce.