Chicken Shepherd’s Pie – Healthy Seasonal Recipes


Key Ingredients For This Recipe

Cooked Chicken or Turkey

This recipe calls for 3 cups of cooked left-over chicken, left-over turkey, or rotisserie chicken. You can chop it or shred it depending on which you prefer.

Mashed Potatoes

Leftover mashed potatoes are needed to top this meat pie. While I find that the flavor of my Simple Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes complements richness of this dish quite well, feel free to use your favorite mashed potato recipe to top this casserole. Roasted Garlic Mashed potatoes would also be lovely.

Heavy Cream

You can use heavy cream or heavy whipping cream to make the gravy extra creamy. If you are looking to lighten up the calories use half the amount of cream, and thin it with chicken broth to make up the difference.

Leek

Use only the white and light green parts of the leek. I also find that their mild onion-like, slightly sweet flavor complements the savory undertones of the dish really well.

Corn

Sweet corn is a low fat, high fiber vegetable that adds a natural sweetness to this savory dish. While I prefer to use thawed frozen corn, feel free to use canned – just be sure to drain any excess liquid and rinse it prior to adding to skillet.

Chicken Stock or Broth

For the rest of the sauce you’ll want chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth. While using chicken stock will produce a richer flavor gravy, low-sodium chicken broth is a great option to use if you are running low on time and can’t make your stock.

Unsalted Butter

Salt content in butters varies from brand-to-brand and in a recipe, salt either enhances or masks flavors. To control the salt in this dish, be sure to use unsalted butter. However, if you are unable to locate unsalted, just reduce the amount of additional salt by a 1/4 teaspoon of salt per 1/2 cup of butter.

All-Purpose Flour

To thicken the sauce, we used all-purpose flour. For gluten-free alternatives, we suggest using a cornstarch slurry instead of trying to use gluten-free flours. 

Parsley

Fresh parsley has a mild bitter and peppery taste which enhances the savory elements of this dish. Here it is finely chopped and sprinkled on top to garnish and to give the dish a pop of color. If you are unable to locate fresh, feel free to leave off.

Salt and Pepper

Note that we recommend table salt for this recipe. You may use kosher salt instead, but you will want to double the amount.

Black pepper has a distinct earthiness to its flavor that pairs extremely well with the savory flavors of the meat, the sweetness of the corn, and the creaminess of the mashed potatoes.  



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