If you were to ask me to name a comfort food, the first thing I would say? Pot Pie. After pot pie? Probably grilled cheese. Or french toast. Or waffles. But back to the pot pie. It’s always hot, always creamy, always filling, and comes in a buttery, flaky, crispy bread shell. You can't go wrong with all of that.
I can remember a period of time in high school when I thought it was acceptable to eat frozen chicken pot pie 5 times a week. That was when I was also wearing a lot of black eyeliner and listening to some less-than-awesome music. That was also a time when food didn't affect whether I fit into my skinny jeans. Things change.
The downfall of pot pie, as with most comfort foods, is that it is heavy on the calories and light on the nutritional value. I set out to remedy that problem with my own version of pot pie. No butter, no dairy, no white flour. Just quality veggies, creamy sauce, golden gluten free crust, and delicious herb flavors. This pot pie comes in at 178 calories per serving. Marie Callender's pot pie? 380 per 1 cup.
Rather than complicating things with a rolled-out bottom crust, we kept it simple. Filling first, top with crust mixture and throw it into the oven. No flour mess. No sticky rolling pin. No pre-baking the crust. Simplicity is key.
We decided against chicken for this recipe, but it would be easy enough to add in. Probably one medium breast would suffice.
Before I end this post, I feel this needs to be mentioned: We took a couple of pieces to our neighbors and they were already eaten by the time we left.
Easy Gluten-Free Pot Pie
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
Filled with healthy veggies and savory, dairy-free sauce, this pot pie is the definition of comfort food.
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 sweet onion [diced]
- 1 carrot [chopped]
- 1 c. peas
- 1 c. cauliflower
- 2 c. kale
- ½ c. sweet corn
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil [for sautéing]
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1 tsp. black pepper
Crust
- 1 c. gluten free flour
- ¾ c. coconut milk
- ¾ tsp. sea salt
- 1 ¼ tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
Cauliflower Sauce
- ¼ head of cauliflower [about 2 cups, roughly chopped]
- 2 cups water [for boiling]
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tsp. sea salt
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 Tbsp. fresh or dried rosemary [optional]
Instructions
- In a cast iron skillet on medium heat, sauté onion, carrot, cauliflower, corn, and peas until fork tender. Then add 2 cups of kale and sauté until wilted. 10-15 minutes total.
- Preheat oven to 375° and make cauliflower sauce while you wait. [Instructions below]
- Spray a 9" pie pan with olive oil.
- Add veggies to the pie pan and pour cauliflower sauce [1 ½ to 2 cups] over top. Mix together until everything is well coated. Set aside for until crust is ready.
- In a medium bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. Then add coconut milk and stir until combined. The mixture will not be doughy, it will be more like batter.
- Pour crust mixture over pot pie filling and use a rubber spatula to smooth it out.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, until crust is golden brown.
Cauliflower Sauce
- Boil ¼ of a head of cauliflower florets in 2 cups of water for 10-15 minutes and save the water.
- Sauté 3 cloves of garlic in olive oil.
- In a blender, add cauliflower, garlic with oil, ¼ cup of water from boiled cauliflower, and 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Blend until smooth.
- Prep Time: 35 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Category: Main Dish
Nutrition
- Calories: 1502
- Sugar: 38g
- Sodium: 10373mg
- Fat: 68g
- Saturated Fat: 37g
- Unsaturated Fat: 27g
- Carbohydrates: 201g
- Fiber: 26g
- Protein: 40g
Really glad I found this recipe via feastie. The cauliflower sauce exceeded my expectations. Definitely making this again and can't wait to check out the rest of your blog. I didn't have the corn so I put in 1/2c extra peas (mmmm peas). Mushrooms would be awesome here too. I'm also thinking I'd like to try some flavor variations like with curried (semi)roasted carrots/cauliflower. So many possibilities! Thank you for the recipe!
Also, just an observation: In the recipe for the sauce you call for a tsp each of salt and pepper which seems to be enough (if not more than enough)- but under the ingredients you have 2 tsp salt. This might confuse some people.
Can you substitute coconut milk for regular milk? :)
Hi Lucinda -
Sure! You can definitely sub regular for coconut. :)
I'm allergic to coconut, can you make the crust with regular milk? :)
Hi Lucinda -
Most definitely! You could use any other kind of milk.
LOVE this. Thank you so much for posting. Mine is in the oven at this very second.
I tripled the garlic, and added chicken but love the veggie option. I also used poultry seasoning.
Thank you Thank you!!!
That sounds delicious!! Hope you enjoyed! :)
hello, i am just wondering if any kind of gluten free flour works in this.how about quinoa flour? white or brown rice flour? this looks easy and awesome! thanks!
It was a mixture of 1/2 c. rice flour, 1/4 c. millet, and 1/4 c. tapioca. Most any combination should work -- we've had people make it with store bought gluten-free mix and it turns out great! :)
Gonna make this tonight, my girlfriend is gluten free and vegan so my life sucks. Last night she said she wished she could eat pot-pie, she's gonna love me more than puppies.
You win the funniest comment award! Hope your girlfriend loved it and you scored major points with her. ;) We have lots more gluten free and vegan recipes - hopefully your life won't suck anymore!
It was so good, we ate the whole thing up! I was so full but still scraping for scraps.
Ha! That is awesome. Total win! So glad you enjoyed it - thanks for letting us know. :)
I have made this twice already in the last week. (My sister and mom, who normally dislike gluten free things, ate a lot of it!) Soooo good! The cauliflower sauce is delectable. I added stir-fried organic tempeh to it the second time because my boyfriend wanted more protein and it was great!
Thank you both for figuring out a recipe so that I can eat Pot Pie again! :)
i was the same- i could never get enough of frozen pot pies. they were just soooo good! i still miss 'em.
this pot pie looks terrific, and i'm particularly intrigued by the cauliflower sauce!