Chicken Shepherd’s Pie

This Chicken Shepherd’s Pie mashes up two comfort food favorites—Shepherd’s Pie and Chicken Pot Pie—into one cozy, kid-approved dinner. It’s creamy, hearty, and perfect for busy nights.

When my husband and I had our first child, we found ourselves in a new city, looking for a new house. My husband had begun a new job and I moved down from Los Angeles to join him… when my baby boy was only 2 weeks old.

What was I thinking? Packing and moving with a newborn?!

I was a first-time mom and I was delirious from lack of sleep. Boxes took forever to get unpacked. The house was empty and expensive. We lived paycheck to paycheck those first few years in San Diego. And I learned quickly how to live on a super tight budget.

So when the Idaho Potato Commission asked me to develop four recipes using a 10-pound bag of Idaho Potatoes that would feed a family of four for $25 or less, I was up for the challenge.

So far I have shared my Potato Lasagna, my Potato Gumbo and also my Sheet Pan Spatchcocked Chicken and Vegetables. Today I am sharing two comfort foods mashed into one, pun intended!

Ingredients you need

• Potatoes: For mashed potatoes, russet potatoes are preferred. White or red potatoes can be used but will produce a gummier mash. They are also more expensive, if budget is an issue.
• Milk: I use milk to make mashed potatoes, but you can also use heavy cream. If you prefer to make dairy free mashed potatoes, use chicken or vegetable broth instead. Milk is also added to the chicken filling, which can be replaced with more chicken broth.
• Butter: This is being added to the mashed potatoes. For dairy free option, you can use margarine or olive oil.
• Extra virgin olive oil: This is used to brown the meat and vegetables. You can also use vegetable oil.
• Chicken breast: I prefer chicken breast, but you can also use boneless chicken thighs. Bone in chicken breast is cheaper than bone-in. You can use this and debone yourself.
• Vegetables: The vegetables I use for the filling includes onions, carrots, celery and peas. The carrots and celery I used are fresh while the peas were frozen. You can also add corn or bell peppers.
• Chicken broth: You could also use vegetable broth instead of chicken.
• Pantry staples: flour, thyme, salt and pepper

Step-by-step directions

1. Cook the potatoes. In a medium sized pot, place peeled and cut potatoes, add salt and water to cover. Bring to boil and continue cooking until potatoes are fork tender, about 15-20 minutes. Once cooked, drain water and return pot full of cooked potatoes to the stove.
2. Mash the potatoes. Add butter, salt, pepper and milk to the potatoes. Using a hand masher or ricer, mash potatoes until all ingredients are incorporated and mashed potatoes are smooth. Set potatoes aside.
3. Sauté the chicken. Add olive oil to a large 10-inch cast iron skillet or oven-safe pan, over medium high heat. When oil is hot, add diced chicken and cook until evenly browned.
4. Add onions. Once chicken is browned add onions and continue to cook until onions have softened, approximately 5-7 minutes.
5. Add vegetables. Stir in carrots, celery, and peas. Cook vegetables for 5 more minutes then season with salt, pepper and thyme.

6. Add flour. Add remaining oil and flour to the vegetables. Stir and cook until flour is incorporated.
7. Add broth. Stir in chicken broth and milk. Cook until mixture is thick. Remove from heat.
8. Add mashed potatoes. Gently spread mashed potatoes evenly over the chicken mixture until fully covered.
9. Bake. Place skillet in the oven and bake until bubbly and golden, 20-30 minutes.

Recipe tips and FAQS

Although the potatoes are boiled in a second pot, everything else is cooked in a cast iron skillet. If you don’t have an oven-safe pan, you can also cook it in a regular pan and bake everything in a casserole dish.

The creamy chicken and vegetables lay on the bottom of the pan and are covered with a fluffy layer of mashed potatoes. This is serious comfort food. And I think I got 6-servings with this recipe. It just depends how hungry your people are!

Looking for more comfort foods for your family? Try my Salisbury steak, healthy fried chicken and oven baked meatballs.

If you are enjoying my recipes, please sign up for my newsletter and get my free 28-day meal plan! You can also follow me on Instagram or Facebook.

Chicken Shepherd’s Pie

Laura Bashar | Family Spice

This Chicken Shepherd’s Pie mashes up two comfort food favorites—Shepherd’s Pie and Chicken Pot Pie—into one cozy, kid-approved dinner. It’s creamy, hearty, and perfect for busy nights.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Calories 415 kcal

Ingredients

  

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• 2 ½ lbs Idaho Potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 ½ cup milk divided
• 2 tablespoon butter
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt divided
• ½ teaspoon black pepper divided
• 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil divided
• 1 chicken breast diced (approximately 1lb)
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• ½ cup celery
• 1 cup frozen peas
• ¼ teaspoon ground thyme
• 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken broth

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Instructions

 

• In a medium sized pot, place peeled and cut potatoes, add salt and water to cover. Bring to boil and continue cooking until potatoes are fork tender, about 15-20 minutes.
• Once cooked, drain water and return pot full of cooked potatoes to the stove.
• Add butter, 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper and 1 cup milk to the potatoes. Using a hand masher, mash potatoes until all ingredients are incorporated and mashed potatoes are smooth. Set potatoes aside.
• Preheat oven to 375ºF.
• Add 1 TBS olive oil to a large 10-inch cast iron skillet or oven-safe pan, over medium high heat. When oil is hot, add diced chicken and cook until evenly browned.
• Once chicken is browned add onions and continue to cook until onions have softened, approximately 5-7 minutes.
• Stir in carrots, celery, and frozen peas. Cook vegetables for 5 more minutes then season with ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper and thyme.
• Add remaining 2 tablespoon oil and 2 tablespoon flour to the vegetables.
• Stir and cook until flour is incorporated.
• Stir in chicken broth and remaining ½ cup of milk.
• Cook until mixture is thick. Remove from heat.
• Gently spread mashed potatoes evenly over the chicken mixture until fully covered.
• Place skillet in the oven and bake until bubbly and golden, 20-30 minutes.

Notes

TO STORE: Store any leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.

TO FREEZE: You can also freeze leftovers. Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 415kcalCarbohydrates: 56gProtein: 16gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 33mgSodium: 878mgFiber: 7gSugar: 7g

Keyword chicken shepherds pie

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Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.

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Disclosure: I was paid a stipend to develop a recipe cooking Idaho Potatoes. The opinions I expressed in this post are 100% all mine. If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t blog about it.