Do you love chicken pot pie and wish there was a healthy chicken pot pie recipe without all of the calories?
I did a quick survey on Facebook a little while back and asked people the following question: If you could make one recipe healthier to eat, what recipe would it be? One of the answers from a long-time reader was chicken pot pie.
Well, guess what?
I found a way to make that happen. Chicken pot pie just got a lot healthier!
This healthy chicken pot pie is loaded with juicy chicken and fresh vegetables, topped with a golden brown phyllo dough crust. It’s just like a classic chicken pot pie without all the butter and cream.
You can eat this pot pie guilt-free!
With less than 300 calories, a serving, you get all the comforting homemade pot pie feelings without all the calories that go along with it.
Allow me to break this down for you…
The Chicken Pot Pie Filling:
The filling for this healthy chicken pot pie is full of vegetables you’d find in a traditional chicken pot pie, such as onions, celery, carrots, potatoes, and peas.
Extra flavor comes from rotisserie chicken seasoning. Rotisserie seasoning is a savory blend of onion, paprika, and garlic. This seasoning gives the chicken slow roasted flavor even if you are just using boiled chicken. Low-fat cream cheese and chicken broth meld the filling together is a rich creamy sauce.
The Crust:
Instead of a traditional pie crust, I used phyllo dough as a crust to top the filling. Using phyllo saves a ton of fat and calories! I think I actually like it better than the traditional crust. The baked phyllo is so light and airy, but yet has a nice buttery crunch that you don’t quite get with traditional crust.
I used four layers of phyllo dough to cover the filling. There is no exact science as to how you trim the phyllo dough to fit the pan. Basically, you want 4 layers of phyllo covering the filling. I found that alternating the direction when placing the sheets into the pan worked well. It doesn’t have to be exact, just make sure you cover the filling completely.
The Gravy:
Finally, a cheese gravy tops the chicken pot pie. This cheese gravy is amazing! It begins with chicken broth and cornstarch whisked in a saucepan until thick and bubbly. Then parmesan and low-fat cream cheese are added for extra creaminess and flavor. This cheese gravy is what makes this healthy pot pie so good. The beauty of it is that you can add as much or as little as you want!
Being committed to a healthy diet doesn’t mean you have to give up good food. Sometimes you have to be a little more creative with food.
To be perfectly honest, this recipe did not turn out the way it was supposed to. This recipe turned out even better!
Originally, my plan was to make a bunch of chicken pot pie turnovers out of phyllo dough. The recipe was found in an old magazine clipping from a 2014 issue of Ladies Home Journal. However, when my phyllo dough thawed it stuck together where the sheets folded inside the package and would not come apart without tearing the sheets. My original plan had failed, so I had to make do with what I had.
Instead, I poured the filling into a pan, topped it with some sheets of phyllo dough, and popped it in the oven and I was done! In a short amount of time, I had a piping hot chicken pot pie ready to eat. If I had gone with the original plan I probably would have just been finishing up the prep when the pot pie came out of the oven.
This recipe is perfect for when you have leftover roasted chicken from the night before. You won’t even have to cook the chicken for the pot pie.
Hooray, for time savings!
And hooray for warm, flaky and deliciously filling, this healthy chicken pot pie with phyllo is full of flavor. WITHOUT THE CALORIES!
Enjoy!
Healthy Chicken Pot Pie With Phyllo
Ingredients
- 1 small potato
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup onions diced
- ½ cup carrots diced
- ½ cup celery diced
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth divided
- 1 teaspoon Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 1 cup boneless skinless cooked chicken breast chopped
- 6 tablespoons fat-free cream cheese divided
- 3 sheets phyllo dough thawed
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese grated
- ¼ cup low-fat milk optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease an 8×8 baking pan; set aside.
- Peel and dice the potato and dice into small equal sized pieces. Add the diced potatoes to a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat. As soon as the water comes to a boil, turn off the heat and allow the pot to sit on the burner. Let stand for 5 minutes. Then drain.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery. Cook until soft and they just begin to brown; about 10 minutes. Add ¾ cup of the chicken broth and the rotisserie seasoning. Simmer until the liquid reduces; about 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the peas, potatoes, chicken and 4 tablespoons of the cream cheese. Heat until the cream cheese is melted; about 2 more minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Spread the filling out into the bottom of the prepared baking pan.
- Cut or fold the phyllo dough to fit inside the 8×8 pan*. Spray each sheet with cooking spray before adding to the top of the filling. Add 4 to 5 layers of dough to the top of the filling, making sure that all of the filling is covered (see notes).
- Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown; about 18 to 20 minutes.
- While the pot pie bakes, make the cheese gravy. Whisk together the cornstarch and remaining of chicken broth (approximately one cup) in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened and it bubbles; about 4 to 5 minutes. Continue stirring for two more minutes, then whisk in the parmesan cheese and remaining 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese.
- To serve, divide the pot pie into four portions, topped with the gravy and fresh parsley if desired.
Annie says
My mouth is watering! AND I just accidentally bought a bunch of phyllo dough, when I was supposed to get puff pastry, so this is PERF!
The Mountain Kitchen says
Make sure you know what to do with the rest of the phyllo! 🥴
Connie says
As a diabetic, this is a very healthy recipe and tastes better than the old fashioned pot pies! Much lighter. I can’t wait to serve it to my family! Delicious.
The Mountain Kitchen says
Great Connie! Thanks for visiting The Mountain Kitchen and checking out this recipe. I hope you and your family love this dish as much as we did! Debbie