This recipe started out as a chicken, bacon and broccoli skillet meal – but it turned out that I had no broccoli in the fridge when I went to add it. As it was during a snow and ice storm, I couldn’t just up and drive to the store – but the spinach came and saved the day! So, I decided to make it a bit heartier of a meal and transform it into a fully baked pot pie.
Oh – and the taste? Fantastic. Not to toot my own horn, but I’ve already made this twice – it’s that good. And yes, I only made this for the first time 3 nights ago 🙂 You and your family will love this keto dinner – so make sure you give it a try!
This dish also reheats beautifully and smells wonderful while doing so. Your entire office will be wondering what’s cooking, so you’ll have to be careful of those pesky fridge thieves!
Yields 8 servings of Skillet Chicken Pot Pie
The Preparation
Filling:
- 10 ounces bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, deboned and skinned
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon celery seed
- 5 ounces bacon
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 4 ounces cheddar cheese, grated
- 6 cups spinach
Crust:
- 1/3 cup almond flour
- 3 tablespoons psyllium husk powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 large egg
The Execution
1. De-bone and de-skin the chicken thighs if you aren’t using boneless and skinless. Save the skin to cook in the oven and eat another time (20 mins at 425F). Cube up chicken thighs and season with salt and pepper.
2. In a hot, oven-safe pan (I used a ceramic cast iron skillet), add chicken thighs and season with spices. Let cook for a few minutes and brown on the outside.
3. Using some kitchen shears, cut bacon into the pan and let cook until browned. Pre-heat oven to 375F.
4. De-glaze the pan with chicken broth, then add cream cheese and cheddar cheese to the pan. Stir everything together well until cheese is melted.
5. Add spinach to pan and let wilt. Once wilted, stir together.
6. In the meantime, get together the crust ingredients. Put all dry ingredients into one bowl, and the cream cheese and cheddar in another. Microwave the cheese for about 30 seconds or until melted. Add the egg and cheese to the dry ingredients and mix together well.
7. Once all of the crust ingredients are mixed, form into a circle on a siltpat. Try to get it the same size as the pan.
8. Mix all ingredients in the pan together, then carefully invert the silpat over the pan and peel the silpat off. Try to keep the crust from ripping. If the crust rips, don’t panic. Continue to peel it off and correct the tear with your fingers.
9. Put pan in the oven and let cook for 15 minutes at 375F.
10. Remove from the oven, slice into 8 servings, and serve up!
This makes a total of 8 servings of Skillet Chicken Pot Pie. Each serving comes out to be 511 calories, 45.1g fats, 4.3g net carbs, and 19.3g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 10 ounce bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs | 709 | 63.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35.4 |
| — salt and pepper | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 teaspoon onion powder | 8 | 0 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 0.2 |
| 1 teaspoon garlic powder | 10 | 0 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 2 | 0.5 |
| 3/4 teaspoon celery seed | 6 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
| 5 ounce bacon | 756 | 66.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37.8 |
| 1/4 cup chicken broth | 4 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| 8 ounce cream cheese | 776 | 77.1 | 9.3 | 0 | 9.3 | 14 |
| 4 ounce cheddar cheese | 458 | 37.8 | 3.5 | 0 | 3.5 | 25.9 |
| 6 cup spinach | 41 | 0.5 | 6.8 | 4.3 | 2.4 | 5.4 |
| 1/3 cup almond flour | 214 | 18.5 | 8.1 | 4.8 | 3.3 | 7.8 |
| 3 tablespoon psyllium husk powder | 168 | 0 | 38.4 | 33.6 | 4.8 | 0 |
| 1/2 teaspoon paprika | 3 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder | 3 | 0 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.1 |
| 1/4 teaspoon onion powder | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
| — salt and pepper | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 tablespoon butter | 509 | 57.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 |
| 1/4 cup cream cheese | 198 | 19.7 | 2.4 | 0 | 2.4 | 3.6 |
| 1/4 cup cheddar cheese | 124 | 10.2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| 1 large egg | 79 | 5.2 | 0.4 | 0 | 0.4 | 6.9 |
| Totals | 4067 | 356.7 | 76.6 | 44.1 | 32.5 | 146.1 |
| Per Serving (/8) | 508 | 44.6 | 9.6 | 5.5 | 4.1 | 18.3 |
Skillet Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
Filling:
- 10 ounce bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs deboned and skinned
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon celery seed
- 5 ounce bacon
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- 8 ounce cream cheese
- 4 ounce cheddar cheese grated
- 6 cup spinach
Crust:
- ⅓ cup almond flour
- 3 tablespoon psyllium husk powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 5 tablespoon butter
- ¼ cup cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup cheddar cheese grated
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Debone and skin the chicken thighs. Save the skins to cook in the oven and eat another time (just stick them in the oven for 20 minutes at 425F). Cube the chicken thighs and season them with salt and pepper.
- In a hot, oven-safe dish (I used a ceramic cast-iron skillet), add the chicken thighs and season with onion powder, garlic powder, and celery seed. Let cook for a few minutes until seared on the outside.
- Using kitchen shears, cut the bacon into the pan and cook until browned. Preheat oven to 375F.
- Deglaze the pan with chicken broth, then add the cream cheese and cheddar cheese to the pan. Mix well and stir until the cheese is melted.
- Add the spinach to pan and let wilt. Once wilted, mix the ingredients together until combined.
- In the meantime, get together the crust ingredients. Mix all of the dry ingredients in one bowl, and combine the butter, cream cheese, and cheddar in another. Microwave the cheese mixture for about 30 seconds or until melted. Add the egg and cheese mixture to the dry ingredients and mix together well.
- Once all of the crust ingredients are mixed, form into a circle on a Silpat. Try to make it about the same size as the pan.
- Mix the ingredients in the pan together, and then carefully invert the Silpat over the pan and peel the Silpat off. Try to keep the crust from ripping. If it does, don't panic. Just continue peeling it off carefully and correct the tear by hand.
- Place the pan in the oven and let cook for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, slice, and serve up!
Hey Brad – you should just use the whole package (normally 10oz). Though I would suggest not de-glazing the pan with chicken broth. Drain the spinach a bit, and then add it in. The liquids in there should be enough to de-glaze the pan with.
Do you have a sense of how much 6 cups of spinach is by weight? Approximately?
Craig: Wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
I got your cookbooks and use them all the time. It was nice to make pasta since i missed it so much. LCHF works, great food the fat fills you up and your not hungry. I think humans were designed to live off of fat not HFCS, and carbs .. otherwise why would we get fat?
I just wanted to wish you a grateful thanks for your recipes and I am just making my own keto christmas meal – your bacon and brussel sprouts, cali mash, turkey, keto gravy, keto stuffing, and keto cheesecake with almond crust. Once again thanks for the great recipes and very visual step by step instruction … Corey
Sorry for the late reply, Corey – it’s been kind of hectic around the holiday times here. I really appreciate you taking the time to wish me a Merry X-mas and a Happy New Year – and I wish the same to you. I hope your New Year is fruitful (pun intended) and brings the success you want.
Thanks again for stopping by, using the site, and commenting/taking the time to thank me.
Best,
Craig
Hi Craig! We just tried the Skillet Chicken Pot Pie, and its really good! It’s a stick-to-your-ribs meal just perfect for a cold winter’s night (and since I’m from Vermont, it’s still the dead of winter). Husband loved it too and went back for seconds, but since that means he only used 7 net carbs, there’s little guilt. Can’t wait to try some more recipes!
Craig, I made this for the first time today, Wow!!! I have never tasted anything so good. Before keto I thought food was good…but this…is superb! You are a genius man! The flavor combination with the texture was incredible. The one final touch that my friend discovered was to turn on the broiler for the last three minutes, it makes the crust crunchy and just adds another layer of delicious…Thanks for all your hard work.
I really, really appreciate it Nedra. I’m just happy when people enjoy the recipes that I’ve made and I’m really happy that you enjoyed this one!
I made it tonight but my crust was too wet when I mixed all the crust ingredients. I mixed the butter in with the wet crust ingredients. Was that right? I want to make it again with a better crust, any advice?
The crust is pretty wet when you transfer it to the pan, which is why I chose to do so on a silpat. Though once you start cooking it, it should crisp up over the top and be somewhat crumbly at the end 🙂
Hi, I don’t have an oven safe skillet, but I do have a ceramic deep dish pie pan. I’m wondering, do you think this recipe would work if I preheated the pie pan and just transferred from the skillet to the pie pan?
It’s very possible. It may depend on how deep the dish is, though by the sounds of it you shouldn’t have issue.
Thanks, I’ll give it a try 🙂
I made this tonight and had problems with the crust instructions; I didn’t see where to put the 3Tbs of butter. I didn’t know what to do, so I put the butter in with the cheese and cream cheese before adding them to the dry ingredients. That wasn’t right and the dough was too wet. To fix it I added more almond flour until I was able to roll it out. Other than that it tasted really good!
The butter does go in the crust and the dough is fairly wet – that’s why I used a silpat to transfer it. It should hold together for the most part, though. I’m really glad you liked it either way!