Mini Chicken Pot Pies – Full Flavor Less Sodium

These Mini Chicken Pot Pies have all the rich, creamy flavor of the traditional recipe but less calories and sodium thanks to a special ingredient.

[highlight]Disclosure: I received a free sample of Kikkoman soy sauce mentioned in this post. By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by Kikkoman and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.[/highlight]

Here in Northern California, we’ve being gearing up for the “Storm of the Century” these last few days. While we did receive a lot of much needed rain and some areas unfortunately suffered some flooding and downed trees, the hype didn’t really live up to the name. Not that I’m complaining.

In preparation for all the stormy weather, I loaded up on comfort food essentials at our house. One of my all time favorite comfort foods is Chicken Pot Pie. Rich and creamy chicken and vegetables surrounded by buttery, flaky pastry crust…hand me a fork! Unfortunately, traditional chicken pot pie is typically very high is sodium, calories and saturated fat. Not a good combination.

However, I was recently challenged by Kikkoman to take a favorite dish and use soy sauce in place of salt to create a sodium saving, flavor raising recipe. I used the Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce in my recipe to reduce the amount of sodium even greater and was pleased to discover that Kikkoman offers a variety of less sodium products: Less Sodium Soy Sauce, 50% Less Sodium Gluten-Free Tamari Soy Sauce, Less Sodium Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce, and 50% Less Sodium Gluten-Free Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce.

You read that right…soy sauce in place of salt. I know that soy sauce is often associated with being high in sodium. However, culinary research shows that the umami in soy sauce can actually help reduce the sodium content in recipes. Umami is a savory/meaty flavor found in many foods (including soy sauce) that helps round out the flavor of many dishes.

[blockquote size=”full|half|third|fourth|two-thirds|three-fourths” align=”left|center|right”]By using 1/2 tsp Kikkoman Soy Sauce in place of 1/2 tsp table salt, the sodium content of the recipe is cut by 1000 mg. [/blockquote]

These Mini Chicken Pot Pies don’t contain any added salt. None. I also lightened them up a bit by using crust just on the top instead of surrounding the whole pot pie. You still get the great buttery, flaky crust with each bite, but way less calories.

I used boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders in this recipe so they would cook quickly. Simply place them in a non-stick pan with a little bit of cooking spray. I didn’t any any salt or pepper. It sounds bland, but stay with me. Once the chicken is cooked and added to the vegetables they get a burst of umami flavor from the Kikkoman Soy Sauce.

I used broccoli and peas in my mini chicken pot pies because 1) I thought had carrots at home but turns out I was wrong and I was not about to go back to the store and 2) my kids will eat both peas and broccoli. You could add any vegetables you like though. Simply add the vegetables to the same pan you used to cook the chicken. I let them sauté for a minute on their own and then I added Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce. Let them sauté for another minute and then add the chicken back into the pan. The end result is a flavor explosion without the addition of any table salt.

In order to compliment the flavor of vegetables, I used a bit of Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce in the roux as well. This allowed me to reduce the amount of butter by a whole tablespoon. The addition of soy sauce gave the roux such a great complex flavor.

Don’t skip the egg wash on the pie crust right before baking. It gives the crust that golden brown color!

The end result is a deliciously creamy and full of flavor mini chicken pot pie. What’s your favorite comfort food?

Take a look at the sodium saving, flavor raising recipes my fellow Recipe Redux friends came up with by clicking the link below.

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Mini Chicken Pot Pies - Full Flavor Less Sodium

These Mini Chicken Pot Pies have all the rich, creamy flavor of the traditional recipe but less calories and sodium thanks to a special ingredient.

Course dinner

Cuisine American

Keyword comfort food, mini chicken pot pie, pot pie

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Brynn at The Domestic Dietitian

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast tenders
• 1 cup broccoli florets cut into bite size pieces
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 5 tsp Kikkoman Soy Sauce I used Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce but regular is fine as well
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 1 sheet frozen unfold and bake pie crust thawed
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp water

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• In a non-stick skillet, cook chicken over medium heat until cooked through.
• Set aside and dice once cooled
• In the same pan you used to cook the chicken, add broccoli and peas and sauté for 1 minute
• Add 3 tsp soy sauce and cook for another 1 minute
• Add diced chicken and additional 1 tsp soy sauce to pan and mix together well
• Place in bowl and set aside
• Return pan back to heat and add butter, cook over medium heat until melted
• Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute
• Whisk in flour and stir until smooth
• Slowly stir in chicken stock and stir to combine
• Add remaining 1 tsp soy sauce and stir sauce until thickens
• Pour sauce over vegetable/chicken filling and stir to combine
• Pour contents into 6 ramekins. Place ramekins on foil lined baking sheet
• On flour lined surface, roll out pie crust to 1/8 inch thick
• Use cookie cutter to cut out 6 circles
• Place each circle on top of each ramekin and press sides against ramekin dish to seal
• Crack egg into small dish and add water. Beat egg and water mixture with a fork and then brush top of each pie crust with egg wash
• Cut a slit into the top of each pie crust to allow steam to escape
• Place in oven for 15 minutes, until crust is golden brown