Chicken Potpie with Biscuits

This chicken pot pie swaps the traditional pastry lid for homemade drop biscuits that bake right on top of the filling. No rolling, no crimping, no blind baking. Just drop the dough in spoonfuls over the creamy chicken mixture and let the oven do the rest.

The filling starts with pre-made creamed chicken (you can use leftover chicken in a white sauce), mixed with green peas and sliced mushrooms. The biscuit dough is a quick cut-in method: flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and shortening tossed with milk until just barely combined.

Those biscuits puff up as the filling bubbles underneath, soaking up sauce on the bottom while staying fluffy and golden on top. A dusting of paprika before baking gives the tops a warm color.

This is also a freezer-friendly recipe. Assemble the whole dish, skip the oven, and freeze it for a future weeknight when you need dinner fast.

Chef Tips

• Don’t overmix the biscuit dough. Toss it with a fork just until the flour is moistened. Lumpy dough makes tender biscuits; smooth dough makes tough ones.
• Use heaping tablespoons for the biscuit drops and space them slightly apart so hot air can circulate and they bake evenly.
• Bake until the filling is thick and bubbly around the edges and the biscuits are golden on top. If the biscuits brown too fast, tent loosely with foil.
• If baking from frozen, add 15 to 20 minutes to the bake time and keep it covered for the first half.

Variations

• Add diced carrots and celery to the filling for a more traditional pot pie vegetable mix.
• Stir shredded cheddar into the biscuit dough for cheesy biscuit tops.
• Use leftover turkey instead of chicken for a post-Thanksgiving version.