Chicken Cottage Pie Recipe - Sometimes combining two favorites makes for a perfect marriage of flavors. In this example, we've taken classic chicken pot pie filling, and replaced the crust with golden brown creamy mashed potatoes! A delicious one-dish gluten-free dinner that the whole family will love.
I know that the idea of calling this chicken shepherd's pie is considered downright heresy in purist's circles, but we needed a good name for this easy family dinner. Sometimes it's a good idea to "ruffle some feathers", right?
As we often do, we made this recipe completely from scratch. We've included easy to follow instructions on how to make this a perfect midweek meal using some leftover chicken and chicken broth as well.
This hearty cottage pie is another step in our quest to bring you the ultimate comfort food. Our chicken cobbler is another great recipe that represents a delicious twist on a classic favorite. Potato and roasted shallot soup also comes to mind as another great way to elevate the often overlooked humble potato.
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What You're Going to Need!
- Chicken - We are using drumsticks, because the bones will make a perfect broth, while the picked meat will be juicy and flavorful in the chicken mixture.
- Onion - Peeled and medium diced.
- Corn Starch - Using this as a thickener as opposed to all purpose flour keeps it gluten free.
- Carrots - Peeled and cut into bite sized pieces.
- Milk - Just a little bit helps to create a healthier version of a creamy sauce without having to use heavy cream.
- Thyme/Rosemary - You can use dry or fresh, we're using a bit of both.
- Unsalted Butter - There's very little in this world that doesn't benefit from a little knob of butter.
- Garlic - Fresh, peeled and minced.
- Fresh Parsley - Many folks skip over this ingredient, when it can really make such a huge difference.
- Celery - The unsung hero of vegetable stock.
Ingredients Not Shown -
- Potatoes - Of course you'll need these to create the top layer in the baking dish.
- Peas - Our favorite frozen vegetable, we always keep some around.
- Seasonings - Louisiana style hot sauce, Worcestershire, olive oil, and of course, salt and black pepper.
See recipe card for quantities.
Recipe
Easy Chicken Cottage/Shepherd's Pie Recipe
Equipment
- 1 knife
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 vegetable peeler
- 1 stock pot 10 quart
- 1 casserole dish
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 potato masher
- 1 Offset spatula
- 1 Measuring Spoon Set
- 1 Measuring cup set
- 1 Kitchen Scale
- 1 tongs
- 1 colander
- 1 kitchen spoon
Ingredients
- 1½ lb. chicken drumsticks
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 2 Tbsp. salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 1¼ lb. carrot peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
- 10 oz. yellow onion peeled and medium diced
- 6 oz. celery medium diced
- 1½ Tbsp. garlic peeled and minced
- 1 tsp. thyme dry
- 1 Tbsp. rosemary fresh, minced
- 4 cup water
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup corn starch
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 Tbsp. Louisiana hot sauce mild
- 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
Mashed Potatoes
- 2 lb. potatoes peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
- 1 Tbsp. salt
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup milk
- 4 Tbsp. butter unsalted
Assembly
- 3 Tbsp. butter
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400℉
- Heat large stockpot over medium.
- Season chicken pieces with first amount of salt and pepper.
- Add oil to pan and brown chicken on all sides.
- Remove chicken legs and reserve for addition later.
- Add carrot, onion, and celery to pot, increasing heat to medium high, cooking while stirring for 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic, thyme, and rosemary to the pot, cooking for a couple of minutes.
- Add the chicken legs back to the pot, followed by the water.
- Bring liquid to a boil over high heat.
- Lower heat to medium low, simmering for 40 minutes.
- In the saucepan, fill with potatoes and cover with water.
- Add the salt to the water and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Once the potatoes are tender, roughly 20 minutes, drain through a colander.
- Return the potatoes to the saucepan, and combine with milk and butter.
- Using the potato masher, smash until smooth and fluffy.
- Cover and set aside while finishing the chicken filling.
- Using tongs, remove the chicken legs and transfer to the refrigerator to cool to room temperature.
- Add milk to the broth in the stockpot, increasing heat to high.
- Add cold water to the cornstarch to form a slurry.
- Add the hot sauce and Worcestershire.
- Once the broth is boiling, add the slurry to the liquid while stirring in order to thicken, and then reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Pick the chicken meat from the bones into small pieces.
- Add the chicken to the sauce, stirring to combine.
- Add the peas to the sauce, and stir through.
- Pour the finished chicken filling into the casserole pan.
- Using an offset spatula, form an even layer on top of the chicken with the mashed potatoes.
- Melt the remaining butter.
- Using a fork, create grooves in the mashed potatoes.
- Evenly spoon the melted butter over the top of the mashed potatoes.
- Place the casserole dish in the oven and bake until the top is browned, roughly 15 minutes.
Directions
- Season chicken with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
2. Sear and brown the chicken pieces on all sides in a large pot over medium heat. Remove and set aside for later.
3. Sauté the mixed vegetables and garlic in the pot.
4. Add the rosemary and thyme.
5. Return the chicken legs, and cover with cold water.
6. Bring the stock to a boil and reduce to a simmer until the meat is tender, about forty minutes.
7. Boil peeled and cut potatoes until tender in a large saucepan before draining away salted water. Return to the pan and mash together with milk and butter.
8. Make the potatoes smooth and creamy, setting aside with a lid on for later.
9. Remove the chicken to come to room temperature before picking the meat from the bone.
10. Add milk to help create a creamy white gravy.
11. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium-high heat and thicken with corn starch slurry.
12. Season with hot sauce, and Worcestershire.
13. Add back the juicy chicken meat to the gravy.
14. Lastly, add the frozen peas.
15. Put filling into a casserole or pie dish.
16. Using an offset spatula, smooth the mashed potatoes on top in an even layer.
17. Use a fork to create grooves while you melt butter.
18. Spoon the melted butter on top.
19. Place the assembled cottage pie in a preheated 400-degree oven.
20. Bake until the top becomes browned, and garnish with a little parsley before serving.
Chef Tip
If the mashed potatoes for this recipe get done very early, try to keep them warm. If they get too cold, getting them to smooth out onto the top of the casserole will be very difficult.
Substitutions &Variations
This recipe is gluten free but can be easily modified in order to fit other diets as well. There are lots of different ways to switch this meat pie recipe up!
- Vegetarian - Leave out the chicken, obviously. You can substitute an alternative veggie based protein or just throw in your favorite veggies. You'll also need vegetarian Worcestershire sauce.
- Vegan - Follow the instructions above but also replace the dairy with veggie-based products.
- Vegetables - Just about any additional vegetables can find a home here. Mushrooms, green beans, sweet potato, and sweet corn come to mind.
- Cheese - Add some cream cheese to the mashed potatoes, or even topping the whole thing with some cheddar cheese before baking.
- Super Easy - Don't have time to make the stock? No problem. Just use some rotisserie chicken, or leftover turkey, as well as some chicken broth. You can even use frozen mixed vegetables and skip most of the knife work!
Storage & Helpful Hints
When stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, the leftovers from this recipe will be fresh for 4 to 5 days. Reheat tightly wrapped in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes on high, until heated to 145 degrees in the middle.
When boiling the potatoes, one of our top tips that we like to always mention is to season the water. Adding salt to boiled potatoes will only be adding salt, as opposed to truly seasoning them. The water will penetrate the vegetable and bring the salt in with it while it boils.
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Yes, you can use boneless and skinless chicken breast. You can adjust the cooking time for the chicken, chicken breast will cook much quicker than legs or thighs. I would recommend cooking them whole and breaking them apart after they are cooked, in order for the meat to maintain some moisture.
Jason Miller says
super tasty!