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AIP Chicken Pot Pie is a delicious comfort food casserole of chicken, vegetables and gravy, topped with AIP Biscuits. To make this a fast assembly, use leftover gravy or make the gravy ahead of time, and then this is a special meal that’s easy to make!
We’ve been eating a lot of egg-free, AIP biscuits lately. My family loves pastry dough of every kind: fat cut into grain-free flour and baked to be soft in the middle, flaky on the outside. My family also loves casseroles, and we like to top this classic AIP Chicken Pot Pie with our biscuit dough.
This recipe features a lovely gravy, thick and brown and very umami (savory comfort food!).
It is old-fashioned, old-world, humble family food — an updated version to be grain-free and allergy-friendly. Any dish with homemade biscuit or pastry dough (and gravy) is special!
Fresh herbs on AIP Chicken Pot Pie
I dress this casserole up with fresh herbs, partially because they’re very pretty and partially because they’re delicious! Fresh thyme, especially, is fantastic. We hope to grow our own soon, but this winter I’ve been buying it, and it’s so good that even the kids reach for the branches to pluck off the leaves and adorn their plates.
Because I shoot for easy with my meals, this works well: place sprigs or small branches of fresh thyme on everyone’s plates. Then each person can rake their fingers down the little twigs to free the edible leaves and sprinkle at will. (Or, temptingly, you can stand at the counter for an hour and free all the little leaves yourself. I prefer the interactive eating experience that’s fun for everyone and less work for the cook!)
Anyhoo— grab fresh thyme for this casserole if you can manage it. It’s worth it.
Fresh sage is just so pretty draped all over. And the flavor is totally that of gravy, Thanksgiving, sausages, savory, all things “snuggle in”.
How to make AIP Chicken Pot Pie
Keep in mind, when you make AIP Chicken Pot Pie, that you’ll be making three recipes: the Gravy and the Biscuits; then you’ll be assembling the casserole itself.
Overall, it’s not super time-consuming, because the biscuits come together really fast. But three components comprise the dish.
As mentioned, if you make the Gravy ahead of time or have leftover from doubling the recipe another time, then this dinner can be pretty fast to assemble. The chicken in the recipe is actually raw when it goes into the casserole dish, so that speeds things up and makes one less step. But the carrots and onions do get sautéed first.
Here’s the Chicken Pot Pie casserole and assembly:
AIP Chicken Pot Pie ("Chicken and Biscuits")
Equipment
- oven
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken thighs skinlesss, boneless, chopped into 6 pieces each
- 2 large onions diced, or 1 bag frozen pearl onions
- 4 large carrots cut diagonally
- Optional: 1 10 ounce bag frozen peas Only add for re-intro. Great to sub with 4 celery sticks: slice and saute with the onions.
- 2 tablespoons fat of choice lard, bacon fat, coconut oil, avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons thyme dried
- fresh sage leaves garnish, optional, but very pretty
- fresh thyme garnish, optional, but very good flavor
Instructions
- First, prepare *AIP Gravy* per recipe [below] (or make it ahead of time, and keep it in the refrigerator until you're ready to assemble this recipe).
- Grease a large casserole dish, 9" by 13" or larger.
- Add raw chicken thigh pieces, somewhat equally spaced apart. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit.
- Heat large skillet over high heat until pan is hot. Add fat. Add onions, optional celery and sea salt. Sauté 8-10 minutes.
- Add carrots and dried thyme. Sauté an additional 5 minutes.
- Ladle onions and carrots over raw chicken. Add optional (re-intro only) frozen peas.
- Add gravy, pouring it evenly over ingredients.
- Place casserole dish in preheated oven for 40 minutes, while you make the biscuit dough. [See Biscuit recipe below.]
- When biscuit dough is complete, choose to either use a cookie scoop or to cut biscuits into squares. Do not over-mix; follow biscuit guidelines for scooping or cutting.
- Remove hot casserole dish from oven. Increase oven temperature to 400°.
- Place portioned biscuit batter over the surface of casserole contents. There will be spaces between each biscuit.
- Bake in 400° oven 25-30 (additional) minutes, until edges are bubbly, center is very hot and a bit bubbly, and biscuits are tinged with brown and golden.
- Remove from heat, and garnish with fresh sage and fresh thyme. (Fresh sage begins to brown when heated, so garnish directly before serving.)
Nutrition
The Biscuits!
Bake them as square biscuits, or scoop the batter using a cookie scoop. Eat topped with favorite treats, or use on top of casserole … !
AIP Paleo Biscuits {egg-free, Paleo}
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1-½ cups cassava flour measure by spooning flour into measuring cup, then sliding extra off the top with the back of a knife (224g); use Otto's brand, see link in Recipe Notes
- ¼ cup collagen <-- use DISCOUNT code BEAUTIFUL10 at checkout for 10% off your entire order
- 1 teaspoon baking powder: use this AIP compliant one (This ingredient is optional if you can't get an AIP baking powder, but it's ideal for the best interior texture.)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda , sifted
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup lard cold, or Grain Brain palm shortening, chilled (not Spectrum); measure into a dry measuring cup, not a wet measuring cup (88g)
- 1 cup very cold water or coconut milk, cold (You may need just slightly less water, so hold back 2 Tablespoons to see if you'll need it. Be mindful that the dough will thicken a bit right after the water hits the cold flour and bowl. It can look a little on the wet side in parts, but it should still hold its shape when dumped out onto the parchment. Conversely, because milk is thicker, you may need up to 2 Tablespoons more milk to get the right dough texture: You want the dough to hold together, not be too crumbly.)
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar or sauerkraut juice (if no-fruit diet)
Instructions
The secret to excellent Paleo AIP biscuits is COLD SHORTENING. Really cold. Be sure to mind the temperature of all your ingredients, and instructions that guide you to refrigerate or freeze at certain stages.
- If baking biscuits by themselves (not on top of a casserole): Preheat oven to 400℉. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. (If using biscuits to top a casserole, follow casserole instructions for baking details.)
- Combine cold water (or cold coconut milk) and apple cider vinegar in small dish. Set aside. (The coconut milk should be mostly smooth, so whisk it a bit to be sure you don't have layers of oil or fat.)
- In large bowl whisk together dry ingredients: cassava flour, collagen, sea salt and baking soda.
- Cut cold fat into flour using pastry cutter, food processor (or 2 knives), until largest fat pieces are pea-size. Don't cut fat too small.Food processor: Pulse to combine until largest fat pieces are pea-size. Place bowl in freezer for 5 minutes (and not more than 10).
- Pour cold water (or cold coconut milk) and ACV into flour mixture, and stir to just combine. Do not over-mix. (I use about 20 to 25 strokes with my rubber spatula.)
- Dump dough out onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Form into a 2" thick rough rectangle. Do not pat it down (or not much). (For casserole, dumping out dough is optional; a cookie scoop can also be used. See next step for details.)
- Using a sharp knife, cut straight down into dough. Dip knife in flour after each cut, until you have all biscuits cut. Spread out biscuits just slightly from each other, so they have room to cook and expand slightly. (For casserole, use either cut biscuits, or use large cookie scoop to portion dough. Spread separate biscuits evenly out over casserole surface. Follow baking instructions from casserole recipe.)
- Bake in preheated oven 25 to 30 minutes, until puffed, dark golden and cooked through.
- Enjoy! Cool slightly. Split open, and top with either sweets or savories!
Notes
Use only Otto's Cassava Flour for the best results. (Find it here.)
Find solid palm shortening here, perfect for making biscuits. (Do not use Spectrum.)
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Nutrition
The Gravy!
AIP Gravy
Ingredients
- 2 cups coconut milk, full fat; or use 1 cup creamy coconut milk + 1 cup bone broth
- 3 large onions thinly sliced
- 3 Tablespoons lard or use bacon fat or avocado oil
- 3 slices bacon
- ½ ounce dried mushrooms optional, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes
- 3 cloves garlic
- ¾ teaspoon sage dried
- ¾ teaspoon thyme dried
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Melt fat in large skillet, over medium-high heat.
- Add onions, bacon and sea salt, stirring occasionally until onions are just wilted and starting to brown, 5-8 minutes.
- Reduce heat to low and cover, stirring every 5-10 minutes, for 20 minutes total.
- Add the garlic and herbs; sauté an additional 5 minutes, until fragrant.
- Add coconut milk and optional dried (soaked) mushrooms, de-glazing the pan as you stir.
- Simmer, uncovered over medium-high heat, for 5 minutes more, reducing down overall liquid.
- Turn off heat. Allow to cool slightly.
- Spoon ¾ of the mixture into a blender, including both bacon pieces, and puree for 15-20 seconds at medium-high speed.
- Stir puree back into remaining gravy in pan. Heat gently, stirring. Serve or use in another recipe.
Dig in!
Other AIP reader favorites
If you love AIP comfort food dinners, here are a few others to enjoy:
Tatiana Shifruk says
The sage look like it belongs 100% here. Comforting and beautiful new dish to try for me!
Christina Nesbitt Shoemaker says
This is so pretty! I really love how you added the fresh herbs! They make everything better. And chicken thighs are so tender! Perfection!
Monique Cormack says
You never cease to amaze me with your grain free, allergy friendly twists on classic recipes! I bet the whole family loves this, total comfort food.
Megan Stevens says
Thank you, Monique; so kind! 🙂
Yang@Yang's Nourishing Kitchen says
Wow, score! This is a 3-in-1 recipe, and I just can’t say enough how amazing the herbs look in the casserole! Bet the whole thing taste amazing.
Megan Stevens says
Thanks, Yang!
Yvonne Janowski says
Love the beautiful presentation with all those fresh herbs. Chicken pot pie is one of my favorite dishes and yours looks amazing!
Megan Stevens says
Thank you Yvonne!
Jean says
What a fun casserole! I love chicken pot pie so I bet this is super delicious. Those biscuits are calling my name!
Megan Stevens says
Mine too, Jean! I think I’m making a batch this morning! 🙂 (Thank you!)
linda spiker says
These look amazing! Seriously I don’t know how you come up with these fabulous ideas! Drooling….
Megan Stevens says
Thanks, Linda!! SO kind!
Meredith says
Swoon! These pastry-crust style biscuits sound amazing! Chicken pot pie was one of my favorite meals when I was younger, and this recipe sounds like a grown-up version that I will love. Pinning to try very soon!
Megan Stevens says
Yay, Meredith, thank you!
Lindsey Dietz says
Lucky me! I have everything to make those biscuits!
Megan Stevens says
Aw, love that; yay! Enjoy! I’m making some today too!
Tessa@ Tessa the Domestic Diva says
This look So dreamy!! Pure comfort in a dish!!! What a great idea to put the biscuits on top of the casserole!
Megan Stevens says
Thanks, Tessa. So true, it’s comfort food. 🙂
Emily @ Recipes to Nourish says
This whole meal is so lovely and special! I love how beautifully you placed all of the fresh herbs on the final masterpiece … and I want those biscuits. I cannot wait to make them!
Megan Stevens says
Thank you, sweet Emily! Enjoy the biscuits! 🙂
Jennie Krogulski says
This is amazing! Every recipe I’ve tried so far from your website has been so good. Thanks for your hard work!
Megan says
Hi Jennie, thank you!! That’s great to hear, and so helpful of you to come back to provide feedback. 🙂 You’re welcome! 🙂
Rebecca says
This looks delicious! I have trouble getting the crust to turn out right with the recipe I have now so I’ll have to give this a try!
Peas are legumes though so not strictly AIP, I think spinach could make a great substitute!
Rachel says
Is the collagen added for texture or just as a health supplement?
Megan says
Hi Rachel, it is added for both and does affect the texture nicely.
Kristen says
The gravy is delicious but I cant get the biscuits right. It also cost me $400 to get all the ingredients so not sure how that maths to $9/ serving. You also need a food processor and that should be listed up front. I was a little frustrated by this recipe.
Megan says
Hi Kristen, I’m sorry it was a frustrating recipe for you. Did you use Otto’s cassava flour for the biscuits? I assume you are exaggerating with the $400 out of frustration? I do not use a food processor with this recipe myself (I used to). I cut the fat into the flour with a pastry cutter.