Equipment
Ingredients
Chicken Filling
- 45 g unsalted butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 carrot, diced
- 2 celery, diced
- 2 garlic, minced
- 40 g all-purpose flour
- 500 ml chicken broth
- 120 ml heavy cream, room temperature
- 3 g fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 500 g cooked chicken breast, shredded or cubed
- 150 g frozen peas
- 5 g salt
- 2 g black pepper
Sweet Cornbread Biscuits
- 150 g all-purpose flour
- 100 g yellow cornmeal
- 30 g granulated sugar
- 10 g baking powder
- 2 g baking soda
- 3 g salt
- 75 g unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 180 ml buttermilk, cold
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 612 kcal
- Protein
- 35 g
- Carbohydrates
- 56 g
- Fat
- 28 g
- Fiber
- 4 g
- Sugar
- 12 g
- Sodium
- 1275 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 16 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 8 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 2 g
- Cholesterol
- 139 mg
- Potassium
- 595 mg
- Calcium
- 207 mg
- Iron
- 2.9 mg
- Magnesium
- 59 mg
- Phosphorus
- 370 mg
- Zinc
- 1.8 mg
- Vitamin A
- 539 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 10 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.4 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 1.2 mg
- Vitamin K
- 19 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.7 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.4 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.33 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.37 mg
- Niacin
- 13.7 mg
- Folate
- 80 mcg
- Water
- 272 g
Sources: USDA FoodData Central
Method
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit).
Melt the unsalted butter in a large oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion, carrots, and celery. Saute until the vegetables are softened and translucent.
Add the minced garlic and flour to the skillet. Stir constantly to coat the vegetables and cook out the raw flour flavor.
Gradually whisk in the chicken broth and heavy cream. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, stirring frequently until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Fold the cooked chicken, frozen peas, fresh rosemary, salt, and black pepper into the thickened sauce. Remove the skillet from the heat.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, yellow cornmeal, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt for the biscuits.
Add the cold, cubed butter to the dry ingredients. Use your fingers or a pastry blender to rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces remaining.
Pour the cold buttermilk into the bowl. Stir gently with a wooden spoon just until a shaggy, wet dough forms. Be careful not to overmix.
Drop even spoonfuls of the biscuit dough evenly over the surface of the chicken filling in the skillet.
Bake the pot pie at 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit) for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden brown and the filling is bubbling rapidly around the edges.
Remove the skillet from the oven and let the dish rest for 10 minutes before serving. This allows the sauce to set slightly and prevents burning your mouth.
Chef's Notes
- Using a cast iron skillet allows you to go straight from the stovetop to the oven, retaining excellent heat and saving on cleanup.
- For the flakiest cornbread biscuits, grate frozen butter into your dry ingredients rather than cubing it.
- If you prefer a darker, nuttier gravy, let the roux (flour and butter mixture) toast slightly longer until light brown before adding the broth.
- Substitute leftover Thanksgiving turkey for the chicken to give this dish a festive twist.
Storage
Refrigerator: 4 days — Store covered. Biscuit topping will soften in the refrigerator.
Freezer: 2 months — Freeze unbaked or baked. If baked, biscuit texture degrades slightly upon thawing.
Reheating: Reheat in a 175C/350F oven until bubbly to help recrisp the biscuits.
Troubleshooting
Biscuits are dense or tough
Cause: Overmixing the biscuit dough or using butter that was too warm
Fix: Cannot be fixed once baked
Prevention: Mix the dough gently until just combined, and ensure butter and buttermilk are very cold before use
Sauce is too thin and soupy
Cause: Not cooking the roux long enough or adding too much broth
Fix: If noticed before adding biscuits, simmer the filling longer to reduce, or whisk in a cornstarch slurry (1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water)
Prevention: Ensure the flour and butter mixture cooks for at least 2 minutes, and allow the sauce to simmer until thickened before adding the chicken
Cultural Context
Chicken pot pie is a staple of American comfort food, evolving from traditional European meat pies brought over by early settlers. Adding a sweet cornbread biscuit topping bridges classic Northern pot pie fillings with beloved Southern baking traditions, creating a deeply comforting fusion dish.
