Being committed to a healthy diet doesn’t mean you’re immune to drooling a bit every time you see an indulgent shot of comfort food. I basically stare at food…All. Day. Long. It’s not always easy being the “healthy” food blogger. I’ve learned to handle it by taking some of those dishes and lightening things up the best I can. Sometimes, it doesn’t go as well as I imagine it will…but others…hmmm. This definitely falls into the others catagory.
This filling is full of chicken and the traditional vegetables you’d find in chicken pot pie, like onions, celery, carrots and peas. I’ve also added some mushroom to this. I think those deeply browned mushrooms add so much flavor to this dish and honestly…if you wanted make this vegetarian, just double the mushrooms and omit the chicken entirely! It would be delicious!
The phyllo top is where you save the biggest bundle of calories and fat. I actually prefer it to a regular pie crust. It’s light and airy, but still gives you a great buttery crunch on top! I’ve made this many times before and I have to say…I wasn’t thrilled with how these turned out. I think I was so wrapped up in wanting to make these look perfect for the blog that they ended up kind of stiff looking. So…my tip to you…don’t layer your phyllo sheets perfectly. Allow for the wrinkles, even create some intentionally. Doing that leaves you with the most beautifully flakey top.
- 2 pounds pre-cooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces (see Notes)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 10 ounces white button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 3 medium carrots, sliced
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- ½ cup frozen peas
- salt and pepper
- ½ box phyllo sheets
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the butter, olive oil and mushrooms. Sauté the mushrooms until they become a nice deep golden brown. This will take a few minutes. Do not add any salt at this point or they'll get soggy and won't get brown. Next, add the onion, celery and carrots. Continue to cook until the onions and celery have softened. Add the flour and stir to coat all of the vegetables. Cook for a few minutes. Stream the broth into the skillet while whisking. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to simmer until thickened. Add the frozen peas and salt and pepper to taste. Remove the pan from the heat, add the chicken and set aside.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- Combine the 2 tablespoons of olive oil with just a pinch of salt in a small bowl.
- Open up the package of phyllo. You'll only be using about 5 to 7 sheets for one large casserole or possibly more to accommodate smaller dishes. You can cover the phyllo with a piece of waxed paper, but you'll be working so fast...you probably won't need it. Get one sheet and lay it flat on a board. Brush the sheet with a bit of the olive oil mixture. Layer on the next sheet repeating the same process until you've got a stack of 5 to 7 sheets.
- Ladle the filling into one large casserole or individual oven safe dishes. For one large casserole, carefully move the stack of phyllo and top the casserole off. For individual servings, cut the phyllo to fit your dish and top it off. You may have to create another stack of phyllo sheets. When done, be sure to carefully roll up the remaining phyllo and wrap them in plastic wrap and a zipper bag. They can be refrozen for later.
- Place the casserole or individual dishes (placed on a cookie sheet) into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until the phyllo gets crisp and golden.
Notes:
- If you have leftover roasted chicken, or from making your own chicken broth, this dish is a perfect way to create another meal! If you don’t have any pre-cooked chicken, find out how to quickly poach some chicken breasts here!
- See my tips for using phyllo here! They make a huge difference.
Made this last night for my family and they loved it! They liked it better than my old recipe that uses pie crust. I agree. The phyllo crust is light and crunchy. Thanks. Love that you lighten up so many comfort food dishes. Love your site.
Trisha, I’m so happy to hear you all enjoyed this! My family likes that crunchy top too! Thanks for your kind words…they mean so much to me! :)
Need to know the nutritional facts. On Weight Watchers and want to know the points. Thanks!
Great question, Carol, but because of liability reasons, I’m not able to provide specific nutrition facts. There are quite a few nutrition calculators online that you may want to use. Best of luck!
I calculated 9 points as is. You can omit the butter and some oil in the mushroom sauté and get it down to 5 for the flour, phyllo one sheet per person and just oil the phyllo lightly.
I just wanted to tell you that we made this for dinner last night and it was incredible! My kids said they liked the crunchy phyllo better than “doughy” pie crust. Winner, winner chicken dinner! :D
Yay! I’m so happy to hear you all liked it, Leslie! You are raising some smart kids! :) I like the phyllo so much better too! Thanks for your sweet comment!
Decided to test your recipe out tonight and it was AWESOME! It wasn’t too complicated & the house smelled DELICIOUS! I’m definitely adding this to my own personal cookbook to make over & over again in the future. Thank you!
I hope you know you just made my entire day, Myrn! So thrilled that you liked it so much! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know!
If you do this in a large casserole, what size would you recommend?
Jenny, the size of your pan will depend on the size of your phyllo sheets. They come in a variety of sizes, with 9×14 and 14×18 being the most popular. If you use the 9×14 sheets, use a 9×13 baking dish. Hope that helps and that you love it!
Can you line the bottom of casserole with phyllo cook slightly then add filling and layer top with rest?
I haven’t tried doing that, Laurie, but I’d love to hear back if you give it a try!
This is cooking in the oven and we all can’t wait to sit down for dinner! I tasted the filling prior to filling our bowls and it is delish! Thank you for sharing the recipe and helping me not feel like such a fatty lol
Heather, you’ve got me giggling! So glad you’re making this and that you like it so far! Hope you all love the end result! Thanks for being so sweet and taking the time to comment!
Making it again!!!! We love it so much and I am making extra to put in the freezer. Thank you!!! again for sharing such a yummy recipe.
Yay! I’m beyond thrilled to hear you love it, Heather! You’re the sweetest…thanks for taking the time to put a smile on my face! :)
If you’re planning on making the individual pot pies, how many will this recipe make?
Sounds wonderful – can’t wait to make these beauties…
So happy you’ll be making these, Joyce! I use 500ml baking dishes (about 2 cups) and with this recipe, that yields 4 servings. Hope that helps!
I’ve been making meals ahead for my mother. Would this recipe (phyillo chicken pot pie) freeze okay?
How sweet and such a great idea, Barb! I have to say, I haven’t tried freezing these, but I have frozen other casseroles made with phyllo before and they turn out wonderful. The way I’ve done it with the other dishes was to assemble the dish completely, wrap tightly, then cool in the fridge for a couple of hours before putting it in the freezer. I remove them from the freezer the night before using, then uncover and bake as directed. I hope that helps. Let me know how that works out for you! Thanks for that great question!
I just made this recipe, and it was very good! I actually liked it better than regular pot pies because it wasn’t as dense. It actually tasted more fresh but still comforting. Plus, the phyllo dough top was so much easier and a nice light addition. I feel like often times people don’t get the pastry right for the top anyway, so this is a foolproof substitute!
Kristen, I’m so happy you liked this! I agree…it’s hard to get pastry just right. This is a much easier option! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
SO pretty!!! And the best comfort food, ever!
I always wrinkle up the phyllo sheets – I like that rustic look. :)
I omit the chicken and add cooked lentils. This adds a lot of body and protein to the pie.
That’s a wonderful idea Kathryn! I love using lentils as a sub for meat. Thanks so much for sharing that great tip!
Chicken pot pie is one of my fave winter meals- what a great way to lighten it up…although sadly the crust is my favorite part :( Still willing to give this a try for the sake of my waistline ;)
It’s one of mine too…it’s so comforting. I know what you mean…but try it this way! I really think you’ll love it with the phyllo. It has a really great crunch that I love!
Yum! I love the idea of using phyllo dough rather than biscuit dough. It has an excellent texture. Thank you for sharing! :)
Thank you so much Tiffany! I love that crunch from phyllo too!
First had pot pie with fillo cap in a Bistro in Cairo
many moons ago. Still make them that way
sometimes !
That may be where my Mom got her inspiration from Meris! She used to make it this way. I love when food can take us back like that! Thanks so much for sharing!
I’ll say it again: you are the phyllo master. These are GORGEOUS Caroline! Love ’em.
You are truly the sweetest! Phyllo really is easy…I promise!
Would it be OK to say my mouth literally watered when I saw these??? The heck with the calories – bring on a few dishes of these! Sssssooooo yummy looking!
Hahaha…well, that reaction is super flattering! Thanks so much! :)
Hey Caroline — I made something similar to this before, but wait a minute. Yours looks a WHOLE lot prettier! Nice job! (and yes, what a time saver!)
Lori, I bet yours was just as pretty! That’s what I love about phyllo…the end results are so light and flakey no matter what you do with it! Isn’t it a great alternative to heavy pie crust? Thanks so much for stopping by!
What a great idea! Will try this next time. thanks!
I love this idea! Saves a ton on calories, and also saves a ton on time of making and rolling out the crust.
Thanks so much Natalie! That’s a great point!
Oh my gosh, Caroline, this looks fantastic! I love this dish but never make it because I don’t want to invest the time. Thank you for solving my problem! And so much healthier too. Love your blog and love your photography. I want to take pictures like you when I grow up!
Well, you just made my entire day Robyn! You’re so sweet! Thank you! So glad you like this dish…it really is easy. I hope you have a chance to try it!
These are going to the TOP of my list to make!
Thanks so much Diane! I hope you love them!