Kate’s Healthier Dairy Free Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
This Dairy Free Chicken Pot Pie recipe has all the comfort food vibes, flaky crust, tender chicken and vegetables, savory sauce but with none of the dairy. Every bite melts in your mouth!
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I originally published this recipe in 2022 and have since added a video and more success tips.
As a girl who grew up in the Midwest, there’s just something about chicken pot pie that melts my heart. It’s just love. And it makes the house smell like Thanksgiving which is so incredible.
Chicken Pot Pie has the power to transport you to a happy place but its one downside, if you have a dairy allergy, is well, all the dairy. There’s butter in the crust and usually some form of milk or heavy cream in the filling.
The good news? Lightening it up a bit by removing the milk from the filling can still get you that rich sauce, keep reading I’ll show you how!
*Looking for a vegetarian option? Try my vegetable pot pie with supper fluffy herb biscuit topping.
Key Ingredients To Make This Dairy-Free Chicken Pot Pie
See recipe card for the exact amounts.
- All purpose flour. The base for my perfect pie crust.
- Kosher salt. To season the filling and add flavor to the crust.
- Freshly ground black pepper. Necessary for a flavorful filling.
- Granulated sugar. Just a little bit to add some nice crisp caramelization to the crust.
- Vegetable shortening. I use Crisco to make the pie crust extra flaky.
- Beaten egg. To add a glossy shine to the top of the crust.
- Olive oil. For sautéing the veggies.
- Yellow Onion. Makes a solid foundation for the filling.
- Garlic. Essential in any pot pie worth its weight.
- Carrots. Standard pot pie ingredient but you could substitute parsnips or turnips.
- Celery. Also standard in a pot pie but other options are fennel or leeks.
- Potatoes. I love potatoes in a pot pie—starch on starch please.
- Dry vermouth or sherry or white wine
- Chicken stock or broth
- Rotisserie chicken. Store-bought rotisserie chicken gives us a little break in the prep department. If you have leftover chicken you can use that instead.
- Fresh herbs, like fresh thyme, fresh parsley, and rosemary
- Frozen peas. Adds necessary green color.
How To Make It
step one
Make the crust. This is my go-to crust recipe that I use for my apple pie and the bottom crust on my peach raspberry crumble pie. To make it, combine flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the cubed shortening and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingers or use a pasty cutter and cut it into the flour until the mixture resembles sand with a few large pebble pieces.
step two
Chill the dough. Add the ice water and mix with your hands until a dough starts to come together. Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 days in advance
Thinking Ahead: This may seem pretty time consuming for the average weeknight meal, but I make the crust one, sometimes, two days in advance and leave it in my refrigerator until I’m ready to roll it out and bake. You can also assemble the whole thing (just don’t bake it) up to 8 hours in advance and refrigerate until ready to bake.
step three
Make the filling. Heat the oven to 400°F. Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet (I like this one). Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and season with salt. Cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables are starting to become tender, about 5 minutes.
step four
Toast the flour. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir until it has coated the veggies. Cook, toasting the flour slightly then stir in the vermouth.
step five
Add the broth. Add the shredded chicken, potatoes, chicken broth, measured amounts of salt and pepper, and thyme. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium and let simmer until the sauce has thickened slightly and the potatoes start to become tender around the edges, about 15 minutes. The sauce will still be fairly thin, that’s okay it will keep cooking in the oven.
step six
Stir in the peas. Stir in the parsley and the peas. Taste and add more salt or pepper if needed.
step seven
Transfer to a baking dish. Ladle the filling into a 9×13-inch baking dish or similar. I used an oval one.
step eight
Roll out the pie dough. On a lightly floured surface roll the pie dough out so it is big enough to cover your baking dish. I use my actual dish as a guide. If your dish is a rectangle, make it rectangular. If it is oval, make it oval, you get the idea. It should be about 1/2-1/4 inch thick.
step nine
Top with crust.Top the baking dish with the dough and fold any excess dough underneath to create a lip. Pinch into a decorative pattern. Brush with beaten egg then top with fresh herbs like rosemary and thyme leaves if you want. Sage leaves would also be nice.
step eight
Bake. Place dish on a baking sheet to catch any drips and bake until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden, about 45 minutes. Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
step nine
Serve. This chicken pot pie recipe will make you so happy! Serve warm with a nice crisp salad and a chilled glass of wine. Oh the luxury!
What To Serve With It?
- A lovely salad like my kale and wild rice salad or roasted beet salad with cracked olives.
- Roasted veggies! Try my Cacio e Pepe Brussels sprouts (use vegan parmesan) or roasted cauliflower with pickled cherry peppers.
- A sautéed veg like this sweet and sour braised cabbage or blanched broccoli with garlic.
Dairy-Free Chicken Pot Pie FAQ’s
Can I use raw chicken? Yes! absolutely. Dice the chicken breast and add it with the onions and carrots and other vegetables. I like using cooked chicken just for ease, but boneless, skinless breast or thighs would be fine.
How do I make this in one pot? If you have a shallow Dutch oven or other wide pot that works on the stove top and oven you can make this all in one dish. If you have a Le Creuset Braiser that would be perfect. I like to transfer the filling to a large casserole dish because I like a lot of surface area for my desired crust to filling ratio.
Why don’t you use a milk substitute? Because I don’t think it needs it. If you want a creamier texture you can substitute some of the chicken broth for unsweetened almond milk, soy milk, or coconut milk but I think their flavors would distract from the chickeny goodness.
Crisco freaks me out. Can I use something else? Yep, you can use other vegan shortenings (but those make my stomach upset) or coconut oil (but it makes the pastry hard to work with) or even lard (that would be the best substitute). Knock Crisco all you want but it makes a superior, ultra-flaky crust.
More Dairy-Free Recipes To Try!
- Basic Pan-Fried Steak
- Tomato and Rice Soup with Dill
- Super Quick Hummus
- Honey Mustard Snack Mix
- Stir-Fried Orange Beef with Sesame Seeds
- Pumpkin Walnut Cookies
- Pasta with Almond Pesto and Green Beans
This Dairy-Free Chicken Pot Pie Recipe Comes Highly Recommended
By me! And my whole family! It is frequently requested at our house. The flavor is so freakin delicious you won’t miss the dairy one bit. Promise. If you make it let me know how it goes by snapping a pic and tagging me on Instagram @katesbestrecipes so I can see or leave me a comment below (don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating) !
Dairy Free Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
for the crust:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons frozen vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces
- 4 to 6 tablespoons ice water
- 1 large egg, beaten
for the filling:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, small dice
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 carrots, large dice
- 2 celery stalks, small dice
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup dry vermouth, sherry or madeira
- 4 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or stock
- 2 cups peeled and diced Yukon gold potatoes
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, plus more for garnish
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter, cubed
Instructions
for the crust:
- Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender, or your fingers, cut 8 tablespoons shortening into dry ingredients until it is in pea-size pieces.
- Drizzle in 4 tablespoons ice water and mix just until dough comes together. (Adding more water if necessary, but don’t overwork the dough.)
- Shape dough into a flat disk, cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 days.
for the filling:
- Heat oven to 400°F and arrange rack in the middle. Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large, high-sided frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 chopped onions, 2 cloves minced garlic, 3 diced carrots, and 2 diced celery stalks and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle 1/4 cup flour over vegetables and cook, stirring constantly, a few minutes to allow flour to get slightly toasted. Add 1/4 cup vermouth and stir, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add 4 cups shredded chicken, 4 cups broth, 2 cups chopped potato, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped thyme and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer until potatoes are just beginning to become tender on the outside and broth has thickened slightly, about 15 minutes. Add 3/4 cup peas and 1/2 cup chopped parsley and stir to incorporate. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.
- Transfer mixture to a 9-x-13-inch baking dish and let cool while you roll out the dough. Dot filling with the 4 tablespoons of cubed vegan butter.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 10-x-14-inch rectangle and place over filling. Fold edges over themselves and create a decorative edge by pinching the dough together at intervals around the exterior.
- Cut 8 or 9 slits into the top to vent the steam. Add a tablespoon of water to the beaten egg and brush egg wash over the top.
- Place in oven and bake until crust in golden brown and mixture is bubbling, about 45 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Pie crust: Use store-bought pie dough if you don’t want to make your own, just make sure it does not have butter in it to keep this recipe dairy-free.
- Vegetables: Feel free to customize the vegetables based on what you have on hand. Cauliflower, parsnips, or mushrooms would work well in this filling.
- Gluten-Free Option: Substitute the all-purpose flour in the crust and filling with a gluten-free flour blend.
- Serving Suggestions: Serve with a simple green salad or roasted vegetables for a complete meal.
- Thickness: The sauce will thicken as the pie cools, give it at least 10-15 minutes before serving.
- Vermouth: The sweet, tanginess of dry vermouth creates the best overall flavor for this pot pie. If you don’t have it, the best substitutes would be sherry or madeira. In a pinch, white wine will work, but won’t be as rich and flavorful.
