Chicken à la King Cobbler
The Inspiration…
When I think of comfort food, I think of…gravy. Delicious, silky, savory gravy. Growing up, my siblings and I were allowed to select the dinner of our choice to celebrate our birthdays. Some of the favorites were Chinese takeout, pizza, Ya know; all the “fun” foods kids love. But, not me. I always, and I mean ALWAYS, chose my mom’s chicken cobbler. Every. Single. Year.
Her version was similar to what you would find in a chicken pot pie. Potatoes, carrots, onions, chicken and LOADS of gravy. It was topped with a drop biscuit topping like what you would find on a fruit cobbler. It was crunchy on the top, soft on the inside, and kind of melted into the gravy, adding a fantastic texture and flavor.
My husband also thinks of gravy when someone mentions comfort food. (#madeforeachother) His mom used to make chicken à la king when he was younger. He still requests it every so often, usually on a cold winter day. The last time he asked me to make it my wheels got to turnin’. What if I melded our two favorite comfort foods into one? So, into the kitchen I went, creating the ULTIMATE comfort food…Chicken à la King Cobbler.
The best of both worlds. The gravy is full of chicken, bell pepper, pimento, carrots, garlic, onion, thyme and parsley, topped with that perfect biscuity goodness. Serve it over mashed potatoes (our fav!), egg noodles, rice, or just eat it out of the pan with a spoon like I do. There is no wrong way to eat it. Winner, winner, chicken dinner!!
It all starts with some color. If I imagined myself as the Bob Ross of cooking, I’d tell you these happy little vegetables are the start of something wonderful. You’ll want to cook these down until they are slightly soft before continuing on.
From here the filling starts to take shape. You can add your chicken (if you’re using raw) and begin the process of making that luscious gravy. The butter, flour, chicken broth and cream all come together to become the food equivalent of a weighted blanket. #comfort
You can then add in some additional color from the roasted peppers, peas, and parsley.
This is also a great dish to use up any random vegetables you have hanging out in the fridge. Green beans or mushrooms would make great additions!
I’m all about fewer dishes, but this recipe just begs to be put in a casserole dish. If you have a giant cast iron that would also work out great and you wouldn’t have to dirty another dish. Although, I can usually wrangle my husband to help wash after dinner so…what’s one more? (Shh…don’t tell him I said that.) Before you bake, top that glorious dish with that cobbler dough and then watch through the oven window as it crisps up to perfection.
Just sit and take in the beauty of your creation as you wait for the filling to set up a bit. Good luck with that. At least do me a favor and blow on it before you take the first bite. You’ll thank me later.
Finally, there is nothing left to do but dig in. Savor every bite and try to tell me that it is something other than the most comforting comfort food there ever was. Tonight, we ate this over mashed potatoes.
Healthy? Check! I mean - look at all those vegetables! That counts, right?!
Indulgent? Check! That gravy speaks for itself!
Go ahead and add this to your meal plan for next week. It makes great leftovers, but I wouldn’t count on there being too much left! If your family is anything like mine, you might want to make some extra gravy for the leftovers. You can NEVER have too much gravy. Simply Take 3 TBSP butter and melt in a saucepan. Once the butter is melted, add 3 TBSP flour and whisk, cooking for 2 minutes. Add in 2 cups of chicken broth and whisk until it thickens up. Then add 2 TBSP of heavy cream and 1/2 tsp dried thyme. Add salt and pepper to taste and there ya have it.
Chicken à la King Cobbler
Ingredients
- 3 carrots, diced
- 1 bell pepper, diced (I used yellow)
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloved garlic, minced
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 6 TBSP salted butter
- 1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 1 roasted red pepper, diced (approx. 1/4 cup)
- 1/2 cup peas, frozen
- 3 chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 6 TBSP shortening
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 TBSP sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup + 2 TBSP whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a large pot, over medium heat, add carrot, onion, bell pepper (raw), garlic, and salt. Cook until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes.
- Add in the butter and chicken*. Let the butter melt completely.
- Stir in the flour and cook until it is golden and beginning to bubble.
- Gradually stir in the chicken broth.** Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until it is thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the heavy cream, roasted red pepper, peas, parsley, thyme. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour mixture into a 9x13.
- Cut the shortening into the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until mixture resembles fine crumbs.
- Stir in the milk.
- Drop dough by the heaping tablespoon all over the filling mixture.
- Bake for 20 minutes, until cobbler topping is golden brown, and the filling is bubbling.
- Let mixture set for 5-10 minutes prior to serving.
Notes
*If you have pre-cooked chicken wait to add it until you add the peas.
**If I don't have a box of chicken broth on hand, I use 3 TBSP of Better than Bullion roasted chicken flavor mixed into 3 cups of water.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
395.36Fat
17.49Sat. Fat
8.75Carbs
39.42Fiber
2.73Net carbs
36.69Sugar
6.80Protein
20.03Sodium
1010.96Cholesterol
72.69Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.