Butternut Squash Chicken Pot Pie

We had a cold front move in that brought chilly weather, so I was ready to fire up the oven and enjoy a cozy casserole! I’ve been eager to try this one for a few weeks. It didn’t disappoint!

Ingredients

(Inspired by this recipe. Adapted from this recipe.)

For the filling

• 1 ½ cups pureed butternut squash
• ⅓ cup butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 cup chopped carrot
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 can (8.7 oz.) corn
• ½ cup flour
• 1 ½ cups chicken broth
• ½ cup milk
• Several dashes salt, pepper, and garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground sage
• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 cups cooked, diced chicken

For the biscuit topping

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 ½ cups milk

Instructions

To get 1 ½ cups pureed butternut squash, I steamed a 16 oz. bag of cubed squash. This saved time because I didn’t have to mess with the peel and seeds. You can use this same approach, or you can roast a whole butternut squash to get cooked squash to puree. If you have access to it, another option is canned butternut squash. Regardless of which approach you use, you will want to have the puree prepared when you begin cooking the other veggies.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. To prepare the filling, melt the butter in a large, high-walled skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery. Sauté for 10-12 minutes or until the veggies are nearly tender. Stir in the corn, then add the flour. Continue cooking, stirring constantly for one minute. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the chicken broth a little at a time. Once the broth is fully integrated into the mixture, stir in the pureed butternut squash and the milk.

Add the cooked chicken, then stir in the salt, pepper, garlic powder, sage, and thyme. Pour the pot pie filling into a lightly greased 3-quart casserole dish.

To prepare the biscuit topping, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter and milk. Whisk until combined. Pour evenly over the pot pie filling (the batter will be a little runny).

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the biscuit topping is a light golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving. Yield: 6 servings.

Notes

This warm, comforting dish made a stick-to-the-ribs meal that had a great savory flavor. It was perfect for a cool fall evening! The flavor of the butternut squash did not overwhelm the flavors of the other veggies. It complemented them nicely.

If you are in a hurry and need to prepare dinner quickly, then you can use a bag of frozen mixed veggies instead of taking the time to chop and cook the onion, carrot, and celery. These will need to be thawed, but you do not have to sauté them before combining them with the sauce for the filling.

If you’d prefer a meatless meal, you could easily prepare this without the chicken and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. Add another veggie or two (green beans, peas, etc.) to give a little more bulk to the casserole and you’ll have a tasty, filling meal!

What delicious meals are you preparing as the evenings turn cool?

Shared at the following:

Encouraging Hearts and Home, Busy Monday, and Weekend Potluck.