Crustless Chicken Pot Pie (High Protein, 30 Minutes)

Name: Crustless Chicken Pot Pie
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 to 2 tablespoons butter (or olive oil); 1 small yellow onion (chopped); 2 large carrots (sliced into coins); 2 large celery stalks (sliced (about ½ cup)); 3 large garlic cloves (minced); ⅓ cup whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour (or 1:1 gluten-free blend); 4 cups low-sodium chicken bone broth; 1 cup milk (I use skim, 2% and whole work too); 1 ½ cups sweet potatoes (about 1 medium, cut into small bite-sized cubes); 1 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste); ½ teaspoon ground black pepper (plus more to taste); 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried); 3 to 4 cups cooked shredded chicken (rotisserie works best); 1 cup frozen peas; ¼ cup fresh parsley (finely chopped); 2 to 4 cups baby spinach (chopped (optional))

Crustless chicken pot pie is classic pot pie filling made without the crust: rotisserie chicken, carrots, celery, peas, and sweet potatoes in one creamy pot. Ready in 30 minutes with 34g of protein per serving, thickened with a simple flour roux instead of pastry.

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Bowl of crustless chicken pot pie with carrots, sweet potato, and peas, served with a buttermilk biscuit.

Healthy Chicken Pot Pie At A Glance

✅ Recipe Name: Crustless Chicken Pot Pie (30 Minutes, 34g Protein)
🕒 Ready In: ~30 minutes (5 min prep, 25 min cook)
👪 Serves: 6
🍽 Calories: ~308 per serving
💪 Protein: ~34g per serving
🥣 Main Ingredients: Rotisserie chicken, sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, frozen peas, chicken bone broth, milk, whole wheat flour, fresh thyme
📖 Dietary Info: High-protein, gluten-free adaptable, dairy-free adaptable
⭐ Why You'll Love It: It's ready in under 30 minutes, packed with protein, and made with rotisserie chicken and sweet potatoes-an easy and healthy one-pot dinner. At 34g of protein per serving, it's one of the highest-protein crustless chicken pot pie recipes out there, and there's no dough to roll.

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Why This Crustless Chicken Pot Pie Works

I make this most weeks once it gets cold, usually in the same rotation as my healthy turkey chili and ground beef and zucchini casserole. Pot pie is the thing I want on a weeknight, and the crust is the reason I never made it. Once I stopped bothering with the crust, it became a 30-minute recipe I could actually pull off after work.

Leaving the pastry out changes the filling for the better. There's no crust underneath going soggy, so you can build the sauce as thick as you want it. I use a whole wheat flour roux with chicken bone broth and milk instead of heavy cream, which is how it comes in at 34g of protein and 308 calories per serving.

The sweet potatoes are the part people ask about. They hold their shape in a thick sauce better than white potatoes do; they add fiber, and the little bit of sweetness against the thyme is what makes it taste richer than the ingredient list suggests.

I serve it with almond flour cornbread or air fryer biscuits for the pot pie effect, without the crust work.

Jump to:

Healthy Chicken Pot Pie At A Glance
Why This Crustless Chicken Pot Pie Works
Is Crustless Chicken Pot Pie Actually Healthy?
Ingredients You'll Need
How to Make Crustless Chicken Pot Pie (Step-by-Step)
Video Tutorial (Step-by-Step)
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Ingredient Substitutions & Variations
What to Serve with Crustless Chicken Pot Pie
Storage, Freezing, and Meal Prep
Crustless Chicken Pot Pie FAQs
More Healthy Comfort Food Recipes
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This meal was so yummy! The only thing I've made where my partner actually ate all the leftovers!!

- Destiny

Is Crustless Chicken Pot Pie Actually Healthy?

Yes, and the crust is most of the reason. A standard double-crust pot pie runs 500 to 700 calories a serving, and much of that is refined flour and butter in the pastry before you get to any filling.

The sauce matters too. Most pot pie filling gets its body from heavy cream or condensed soup. This one uses a whole wheat flour roux with chicken bone broth and milk, so it stays creamy while the fat stays low and the protein stays high.

Per serving: 308 calories, 34g protein, 23g carbs, 9g fat, 5g fiber.

Ingredients You'll Need

Crustless chicken pot pie uses simple ingredients you can find at any grocery store. Here's what each one does and where you have room to swap:

Ingredients for crustless chicken pot pie including rotisserie chicken, sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, and spinach.

Butter: Just 1 to 2 tablespoons to soften the onion, carrots, and celery and build the base of the roux.
Onion: I use yellow. White or sweet both work, and neither one changes the finished dish much.
Carrots and Celery: The classic pot pie vegetables. Slice the carrots into coins so they cook through in the same time as the potatoes.
Garlic: Three cloves, minced, added in the last 30 seconds so it doesn't scorch.
Whole Wheat Flour: This is the thickener, and it's what makes the filling taste like pot pie instead of soup. Whole wheat adds fiber, and you won't taste it under the thyme. All-purpose, white whole wheat, or a gluten-free blend all work.
Chicken Bone Broth: My swap for regular broth. It's simmered longer with bones, so it has more body and more collagen, which matters when there's no crust to hide behind. Use low-sodium so you control the salt. Regular chicken stock or broth works fine if that's what you have.
Milk: I use skim to keep it light, and it still comes out creamy because the roux is doing the work. 1%, 2%, and whole all work. Unsweetened plain almond or cashew milk work too, but they're thinner, so add an extra tablespoon of flour or let it simmer a few minutes longer.
Sweet Potatoes: My swap for white potatoes. They hold their shape in a thick sauce, and the slight sweetness against the thyme is what makes this taste richer than the ingredient list suggests. Yukon gold or baby potatoes work if you'd rather keep it traditional.
Thyme, Salt, and Pepper: Fresh thyme if you have it, dried if you don't. Season as you go and taste again at the end once the sauce has reduced.
Rotisserie Chicken: Already cooked and shredded, which is how this stays a 30-minute recipe. I keep one in the fridge most weeks and use it here and in my healthy chicken tortilla soup. Raw chicken breast works too, and I left directions for that below.
Frozen Peas: Stirred in at the end so they stay bright green instead of turning gray and mushy.
Fresh Parsley: Off-heat, right before serving. It keeps the whole thing from tasting heavy.
Baby Spinach: Optional. It wilts down to nothing, and you can't taste it, so it's an easy way to get more greens in.

Scroll to recipe card for quantities!

How to Make Crustless Chicken Pot Pie (Step-by-Step)

Here's how it comes together, with photos for each step. The whole thing takes about 30 minutes in one pot, and the only part that needs attention is the sauce.

Diced onion, carrots, and celery softening in butter in a white Dutch oven.

Step 1: Soften the vegetables. Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-low. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook 6 to 8 minutes until soft. Add the garlic in the last 30 seconds.

Flour stirred into cooked carrots, celery, and onion to make a roux to thicken the soup.

Step 2: Add the flour. Stir until the vegetables are coated and cook for one minute. This is what makes it pot pie filling instead of soup, so don't rush it.

Sweet potato cubes simmering in chicken broth and milk in a Dutch oven.

Step 3: Add the liquid and sweet potatoes. Pour in the bone broth and milk, then add the sweet potatoes, salt, pepper, and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes until the potatoes are fork-tender.

Crustless chicken pot pie before simmering to thicken.

Step 4: Check the thickness. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon. Too thin, simmer uncovered a few more minutes. Too thick, add a splash more broth.

Finished crustless chicken pot pie with shredded chicken, peas, and carrots in a Dutch oven.

Step 5: Stir in the chicken and peas. Add the shredded chicken, peas, parsley, and spinach if using. Simmer 5 more minutes, then taste and adjust the salt.

Video Tutorial (Step-by-Step)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Not cooking the flour long enough. Give it a full minute after you stir it into the vegetables. Skip that, and you'll taste raw flour in the finished sauce.
Adding the milk too early. Stir the broth in first and get it smooth, then add the milk. Cold milk hitting a hot roux is where lumps come from.
Walking away during the simmer. The flour sinks and scorches on the bottom. Stir and scrape every 4 minutes or so.
Cutting the sweet potatoes too big. Small bite-sized cubes cook through in the same 15 to 20 minutes as everything else. Bigger pieces mean firm potatoes or an overcooked everything else.

Ingredient Substitutions & Variations

I've made this enough ways to know where it's flexible and where it isn't. Change one or two things at a time, and it'll still behave.

Make it gluten-free: Swap the whole wheat flour for a 1:1 gluten-free blend. GF flours thicken faster, so add the liquid slowly and check before adding more.
Make it dairy-free: Use olive oil or vegan butter instead of butter, and unsweetened plain almond or cashew milk instead of dairy. Plant milks are thinner, so add an extra tablespoon of flour or simmer a few minutes longer.
Make it lower carb: Swap the sweet potatoes for cauliflower florets and cut the flour to 2 tablespoons. It won't be keto, but it takes a real bite out of the carbs.
Sweet Potatoes: Yukon gold, russet, or butternut squash. Squash cooks faster, so start checking around 12 minutes.
Frozen Peas: Frozen mixed vegetables, green beans, or corn.
Rotisserie Chicken: Leftover roast chicken or turkey, or raw chicken breast cooked at the start (check the next section for instructions).

Close-up of creamy, healthy crustless chicken pot pie soup.

What to Serve with Crustless Chicken Pot Pie

Without a crust, you want something to eat alongside it or under it. Here's what I actually reach for:

Biscuits. The closest thing to a pot pie topping without making one. Split one over the bowl and let it soften in the sauce. I use my almond milk biscuits or air fryer buttermilk biscuits when I want them fast.
Garlic bread. Air fryer garlic bread or a piece of buttery toast.
Cornbread. I love this healthy almond flour cornbread if you want it gluten-free.
Something green. The filling is rich, so a sharp salad balances it. Kale crunch salad or kale pomegranate salad are my go-tos.
A crunchy vegetable side. Honey sriracha Brussels sprouts hold up well next to something this creamy.

Storage, Freezing, and Meal Prep

This reheats better than most creamy dishes because the flour roux holds together instead of separating the way a cream sauce does.

In the fridge: Store in an airtight container for 4 to 5 days. It thickens as it sits, so stir in a splash of broth or milk when you reheat it if you want it looser.
In the freezer: Freeze for up to 3 months. Lay the bags flat, so they stack easily and thaw faster. The sweet potatoes soften a little after freezing, but the flavor holds up.
To reheat: Warm it on the stovetop over medium heat, stirring so the bottom doesn't scorch. For a single bowl, microwave in 30-second bursts and stir between each one.
For meal prep: Portion it into containers while it's still warm so it settles evenly. Leave the spinach out of anything you plan to freeze, since it turns slimy.

Crustless Chicken Pot Pie FAQs

Is crustless chicken pot pie the same as chicken pot pie soup?

They're basically the same dish, and the difference comes down to how thick you build it. With the full ⅓ cup of flour, this is pot pie filling you can eat with a fork. Cut the flour to ¼ cup or add another cup of broth and it thins out into more of a soup. Same ingredients either way.

What makes a pot pie crustless?

A crustless pot pie has no pastry at all: no bottom crust, no top crust, no biscuits. The filling is exactly what you'd find inside a regular pot pie, thickened with a flour roux so it stays creamy and scoopable. You lose the flaky top, and you save about 45 minutes of dough work.

Can I use raw chicken breast instead of rotisserie?

Yes. Cut 2 chicken breasts into small bite-sized pieces and cook them in the pot after the vegetables soften, before the flour goes in. Give them 6 to 7 minutes until they're no longer pink, then continue with the recipe. It adds about 8 minutes, which is the only reason I default to rotisserie on a weeknight.

How do you thicken chicken pot pie filling without a crust?

Use a flour roux. Stir ⅓ cup of flour into the softened vegetables and cook it for one minute, then add the broth slowly so it stays smooth. The sauce is ready when it coats the back of a spoon.

Why is my chicken pot pie filling watery?

Usually one of three things: not enough flour, not enough simmering time, or the liquid went in too fast for the roux to come together. All three have the same fix. Simmer it uncovered for a few more minutes and it will tighten up.

Is crustless chicken pot pie gluten-free?

Not as written, since this recipe uses whole wheat flour. Swap in a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend and it is. I like Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur's GF flour. Gluten-free blends thicken faster, so add the broth slowly and check the consistency before adding more.

No pie crust chicken pot pie with a biscuit.

More Healthy Comfort Food Recipes

If you loved this crustless chicken pot pie, here are a few more cozy recipes I make on repeat:

Did you make this recipe?

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📖 Recipe

Recipe tested and developed by Tati Chermayeff, creator of Healthful Blondie. A former Division I rower, Ironman triathlete, and recipe developer based in Austin, TX, Tati creates high-protein and healthy recipes that actually taste like the real thing.

Comments

5 from 22 votes (16 ratings without comment)