Skillet Chicken Pot Pie with Cheddar Biscuit Crust
On October 19, 2020 (Updated May 11, 2024)
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This Skillet Chicken Pot Pie with Cheddar Biscuit Crust is the best way to punch up a classic family meal. Part traditional pot pie, and part golden cheesy biscuit, this is comfort food like you’ve never had it before. And bonus? This whole meal is a one pot wonder! It goes from stove to grill or oven in the same cast iron skillet.
Skillet Chicken Pot Pie
If you’re looking for a delicious pot of comfort food, this skillet chicken pot pie is for you! My pot pie starts with chicken thighs, because we are building flavor and that is the most delicious piece of the chicken. After the chicken gets a nice golden brown, we layer in the veggies, build a little roux, then pour in our stock to make a silky smooth gravy, and add in some peas. This is the perfectly classic base for any good pot pie. Then comes the twist!
Instead of going old school and cutting together a pie crust, I like to switch things up and throw on a layer of cheesy, garlicky biscuits. They stay mega tender on the bottom from nestling up on the chicken filling and get golden and crispy all along the top. Each bite eats like a meal. It’s that stick to your ribs kinda comfort food that I can’t get enough of. My kids request this skillet chicken pot pie almost weekly.
One Skillet Chicken Pot Pie
The best part of this recipe is the cleanup. Basically, there’s next to no cleanup, my friends! This whole pot pie is cooked start-to-finish in a 12″ cast iron skillet. Aside from wiping down the skillet and washing a couple bowls and silverware after dinner, you save major time on dishes with this meal.
Anytime I can make a meal my entire family will love without any added effort or mess, it’s a total win in my book. Make sure to bookmark or print this recipe. I can guarantee it’ll be one you come back to time and time again.
Tips for Making Skillet Chicken Pot Pie
Before diving into the recipe, take a peek at a few of my tips for making this pot pie tastier (and easier) than ever:
- Use leftover chicken. If you want to make this recipe even easier, use leftover chicken! This skillet chicken pot pie is the first recipe I think of when I have chicken I need to use up. Any chicken will do here, but I do recommend staying with breast or thigh meat that isn’t too heavily seasoned.
- Make it spicy! If you like a little extra kick in your chicken pot pie, add some chopped jalapenos to the biscuit crust for some added heat.
- Add some smoky flavor. This pot pie can be cooked in just about anything, but if you want to add a bit of smoky flavor, cook it in your pellet grill. The smoke will add just the right amount of flavor without overwhelming the dish.
More Pie Recipes from Hey Grill Hey
Whether you’re looking for a savory pot pie or a sweet and sinful pie for dessert, Hey Grill Hey has a handful of pie recipes you can cook on your grill or smoker.
Skillet Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
Skillet Chicken Pot Pie with Cheddar Biscuit Crust
Ingredients
Skillet Chicken Pot Pie
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup carrots chopped
- 1 cup celery stalks chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion minced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup frozen peas thawed
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Cheddar Biscuit Crust
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 Tablespoons shortening
- 4 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into 1/4 inch pieces
- 1 ½ cups sharp cheddar shredded
- ¾ cup whole milk
Garlic Butter
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 Tablespoon garlic salt
- 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Cook the chicken. Preheat a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Drizzle the pan with the olive oil and add the chicken thighs. Brown the chicken thighs for 4-5 minutes per side, seasoning the thighs with salt and pepper. Remove to a cutting board, chop into bite sized pieces and set aside.
- Cook the vegetables and chicken stock. Add the carrots, celery, and onions to the hot skillet. Cook for 6 minutes or until the vegetables are softened and the onions are translucent. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1-2 more minutes. Stir in the butter and sprinkle with the flour. Stir until there are no flour lumps and the vegetables are coated with the butter/flour mixture. Pour in the chicken stock while stirring quickly and scraping the bottom of the pan to release any cooked on flavor.
- Add the chicken and remaining vegetables to the skillet. Stir in the cut up chicken thighs, peas, parsley, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil for 1-2 minutes and turn off the burner.
- Preheat the grill or oven. Turn on your oven (or preheat your grill for indirect grilling) to 400 degrees F.
- Mix the cheddar biscuit dough. Add the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt to a large food processor and pulse several times to combine. Add in the butter and shortening and pulse 4-5 more times, or until the butter is the size of small peas. Add the cheese and pulse once or twice more until just incorporated. Pour in the milk and pulse until the dough just comes together.
- Top the chicken pot pie with cheddar biscuit dough. Use your hands to grab a 1/4 cup portion of the biscuit dough. Flatten slightly and set gently on top of the chicken gravy mixture, being careful not to submerge them in the dough. Repeat until the dough is gone and the top of the skillet is covered with biscuit dough. As you near the end of the dough, break it into smaller pieces and fill in all of the small edges and empty spaces.
- Bake the skillet chicken pot pie. Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven or grill and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the tops of the biscuits are golden and the pot pie is bubbling.
- Make the garlic butter. While the pie bakes, make the garlic butter. Combine the melted butter, garlic salt, and parsley in a small bowl and set aside.
- Remove the baked pot pie from the oven or grill. Use a basting brush to paint the tops of the golden baked biscuits with the garlic butter mixture. Serve the pot pie warm.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
**This post was originally published in March 2017. We recently updated it with more information and helpful tips. The recipe remains the same.
Is it possible to make this without a food processor?
Yes, it definitely can be made without a food processor, it will take take a little longer to mix by hand but still turns out great! I made this recipe tonight for the first time and used my pastry cutter to cut in the butter and shortening but you could also just use a fork. The dry ingredients can just be stirred well with a spoon.
Saw your talk at Tastemakers’ Conference and was really impressed. I used to love chicken pot pie before Celiac, so I’m going to try a variation of this gluten free. Love cast iron cooking. Thanks!
I’m single and in my 60s, haven’t had a chicken pot pie in years but would like to do it on my pellet grill, can I portion it out and freeze?
Absolutely!
This recipe is one I know I’ll keep coming back to. Everything was perfect. I was a little worried about the insides not thickening up enough, but as it soaked into the biscuit crust it really seemed to work well. Think I’ll try it on the grill next time.
Is there an alternative to shortening? Would coconut oil work?
Butter or margarine, applesauce, vegetable oils and some animal fats all work well. You’d have to look up their substitution amounts though.
This is soooooooo good!
The third time round for this chicken pot pie recipe. We too cut back the 2 teaspoons of salt to zero. Used salted butter instead and still went with garlic salt for brushing the biscuits. We cheated with the biscuit topping too… kinda. Exact same recipe as yours only we loosely spread it on waxed paper and with helping hands, turned it upside down on skillet. Worked like a charm!
Made this and the whole family really loved it. The cheddar biscuit crust is SOOOO good.
I can hardly wait to try this! Just got some new Lodge cast iron pans and was looking for something outstanding to break them in…YUM
Thanks Suzanne! Hope you love it!!
This recipe came out really good, but for some reason was overly salty. I had already cut back on the amount of garlic salt in the butter topping to half. Next round, I’ll use 1 tsp of salt in the mixture and no salt in the garlic topping (garlic powder only). Hopefully that will reduce the overpowering salt flavor.
Thanks for the feedback, Jeremiah! Hopefully it can help others who appreciate lower sodium in their pot pies too!
sea salt is a good alternative !!
Oh my goodness, this looks so yummy! I never would have thought to use cheddar biscuits as the topping, and I love that it cooks all in one pan. Perfection!