Paleo-ish Chicken Pot Pie

Inspired by today's nutrition meeting, I decided to attempt a paleo dinner. I've been craving chicken pot pie of all things, but I'm a terrible cook and an even worse paleo cook, so I wasn't optimistic about my chances of creating a decent gluten-free version. Isn't the buttery wheat-laden crust the best part of a pot pie?

Nevertheless, I hunted around for some paleo versions. I didn't love what I saw. Broccoli and sweet potatoes in a pot pie? Feh. My reference for pot pie is Marie Callender's with none of those "healthy" vegetables full of "nutritional value" or "vitamins." So I made some adjustments.

I started with this paleo biscuit recipe. Only I didn't have coconut flour or walnut oil, so I subbed more almond meal and extra virgin olive oil. This site actually has a complete paleo chicken pot pie recipe if you want to go pure paleo - I didn't love it, so that's where I veered off.

I found this normal chicken pot pie recipe where the filling looked more recognizable. I added diced potatoes and "paleoized" it by subbing arrowroot powder for flour. I did, however, use real whole milk. That's the only non-paleo ingredient I used. I suppose you could easily use coconut milk, but I love whole milk, and I'm not going pure paleo, so I indulged.

When they came out of the oven, I expected the worst. But the pies were actually really, really good. The crust was a little more spongy than flaky, but overall, very good. Even my paleo-skeptic husband liked it.

Here's my version of the recipe. If you're using MyFitnessPal, I uploaded the recipe, so if you make it yourself, it's easy to post the calories. (For the record: 1 serving (pie) has 511 calories, 37 g carbs, 21 g of fat, and 45 g of protein).

Paleo-ish Chicken Pot Pie

Crust:
3/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
6 egg whites
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

Filling:
2 chicken breasts, cubed
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup cubed potatoes
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup onion
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup arrowroot powder
Dash of black pepper, salt, garlic powder

Make batter for the crust:
1. Mix all the dry ingredients together.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites and oil until frothy.
3. Pour into the dry ingredients, mixing well, but not overmixing. The consistency will be like a batter, not a dough.

Filling:
1. Boil the chicken, celery, carrots, potatoes, and peas in water or chicken broth. Drain.
2. In a saucepan, saute the onions until soft and transluscent.
3. Add the arrowroot powder, chicken broth, milk, black pepper, salt, and garlic powder. Simmer over medium-low heat until mixture thickens.
4. Spoon the chicken and vegetables mixture into mini-pie tins and cover with gravy, leaving about a half-inch at the top.
4. Pour the batter over each pie tin, about 1/4 inch, spreading from edge to edge.
5. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn the heat down to 325 degrees and continue cooking another 10 minutes or so, until the crust is golden brown and the edges are bubbling.