Karen Rankin is a chef, recipe developer, and food stylist with over 25 years experience cooking, developing recipes, styling food, and entertaining guests at her table and in restaurants. During the past 11 years, Karen has been styling food for various publications such as Cooking Light, Southern Living, Eating Well, Real Simple, as well as creating instructional videos for Southern Living Magazine's Tips from the Test Kitchen, featured on select television programming, and on websites. With an interest in the use of color, texture, and presentation, she develops recipes that are intended to surprise and delight the recipients of these dishes, both from a visual standpoint and a flavor experience.
A comforting classic like a pot pie never fails to satisfy on a cold fall or winter evening. This pot pie takes inspiration from France, with a creamy sauce flavored with Dijon mustard and tarragon. Deli ham subs in for chicken in this pot pie, adding a salty, savory bite, while store-bought pie crusts make the topping a breeze for a weeknight.
Bake a better pie by brushing an egg wash over the top layer of the pastry before cutting slits to help them stay open and so steam can escape. Added bonus, under all the cheese and buttery crust, it's easy to sneak in a medley of vegetables with this recipe. We suggest broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower, but you can throw in peas, corn kernels, or any other veggies you like.
Most of what you'll need for this weeknight dish are everyday ingredients like flour, whole milk, and an onion, but there are a few special ingredients you'll need to have on hand.
Tarragon This leafy green herb is known for its subtle licorice flavor. Tarragon is an ingredient in many French dishes, but it can be a little polarizing. Like cilantro, some people love it, and others hate it. In small amounts though, it is fairly mild, with sweet, herby notes.
Dijon Mustard Dijon is a style of mustard from the Dijon region of France. It is paler than American yellow mustard and is made from white wine and brown mustard seeds. Commercial brands may also contain vinegar, sugar, and salt, among other ingredients. A well-known Dijon mustard brand is Grey-Poupon, which has been producing their mustard since 1866. Dijon is often used as a condiment much like other mustards, but is also used in sauces, like in this pot pie, as well as vinaigrettes and goes great with pork.
Swiss Cheese Swiss cheese comes in many varieties and flavors, from Gruyere, a super nutty and melty cheese, to the famous hole-y cheese that you'll find on sandwiches. Depending on how strong a cheese flavor you want in your pot pie, you can select a more mild or stronger Swiss-style cheese. Whichever you choose, try to buy it in blocks and grate it fresh. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in a caking agent to prevent it from sticking, but that can also affect how it melts and blends into sauces.
With minimal prep, this pot pie is a weeknight wonder that comes together easily.
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Grease a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Roll one piecrust into a 12- inch round on a lightly floured surface, and fit it into the pie plate. Placeparchment paper over the crust and fill with pie weights. Par-bake until the crust is set and beginning to brown. Cool with pie weights on a wire rack for 5 minutes, remove, then cool another 10 minutes.
While the piecrust bakes and cools, separate carrots from broccoli and cauliflower; cut all vegetables into bite-size pieces. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add onion; cook, stirring often, until soft and slightly brown. Add carrots and cook until softened, followed by the broccoli and cauliflower, continuing to cook until tender. Stir in ham, followed by the flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir in milk, mustard, tarragon, and pepper; cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high until mixture begins to boil and thicken. Set aside 1/3 cup of the cheese, and add remaining cheese to the mixture in a skillet, stirring until combined.
Sprinkle reserved cheese evenly over bottom of prebaked crust and pour vegetable mixture on top. Roll the second piecrust into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured work surface.
Place over the vegetable mixture and fold edges under. Crimp to seal. Brush lightly with beaten egg. Cut 5 slits in the center of the crust to allow steam to escape; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
We include a step for par baking the crust with pie weights in this recipe to avoid this very problem! By baking the bottom crust a little before adding our wet filling, you give it a head start cooking, so it's less likely to absorb the filling's moisture and will be crisp by the time the pot pie is done cooking.
Whether made in a skillet on the stovetop or baked in the oven, a pot pie is a type of meat pie with a flakey top crust. It can be filled with chicken, beef, or pork (or no meat at all). Some pot pies use a biscuit topping instead of a pie crust; some are double crust, while others are single; but chicken pot pie is by far the most popular version of the dish.
Yes! The best way to freeze a pot pie is to freeze it before baking. That way, when reheating, the bottom crust starts to cook before the filling thaws, avoiding a soggy crust.
Freeze the pot pie in its pie plate, wrap tightly all over, top to bottom, in plastic wrap, then in a layer of aluminum foil. Label, date, and pop it in the freezer for up to three months. When ready to bake, brush the top with an egg wash. Place the pie in a 375℉ oven, and bake for 50 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly.
Editorial contributions by Alana Al-Hatlani.
1 (14.1-oz.) pkg. refrigerated piecrusts, at room temperature
¼ cup all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 lb. fresh-cut cauliflower, broccoli, and carrot blend (about 2 cups, from 2 [12-oz.] pkg.)
1 medium-size yellow onion, sliced (1 1/2 cups)
1 lb. deli ham, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6 oz. Swiss cheese, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups), divided
Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate with cooking spray; place on a baking sheet. Roll 1 pie crust into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured work surface. Place in a prepared pie plate; place parchment paper over pie crust, and fill with pie weights or dried beans.
Bake in a preheated oven until the crust is set and beginning to turn golden, about 12 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack with pie weights in place for 5 minutes; remove parchment and pie weights, and let cool for 10 minutes.
While pie crust bakes and cools, separate carrots from broccoli and cauliflower; cut all vegetables into bite-size pieces. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add onion; cook, stirring often, until onion is softened and slightly brown, about 3 minutes. Add carrots, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add broccoli and cauliflower, and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in ham. Sprinkle flour evenly over mixture, and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Stir in milk, mustard, tarragon and 1/2 teaspoon of petter; cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high until mixture begins to boil and thicken, about 2 minutes. Set aside 1/3 cup of the cheese, and add remaining cheese to the mixture in a skillet, stirring until combined. Remove from heat.
Sprinkle reserved cheese evenly over bottom of prebaked crust; pour vegetable mixture over cheese. Roll second piecrust into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured work surface. Place over vegetable mixture in pie plate; carefully fold edges under, and crimp to seal. Brush lightly with beaten egg. Cut 5 slits in the center of the crust to allow steam to escape; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Bake at 450°F until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes; serve.
Bake a better pie: Brush the egg wash over the top layer of the pastry before cutting the slits to help them stay open so steam can escape.
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