How To Make the Potbelly Chicken Pot Pie Soup Recipe at Home
If you like chicken pot pie, chances are you will be thrilled to know there is a variation to that traditional favorite served up at one of the nation’s leading fast-casual restaurants.
Potbelly Sandwich Shop, which got its start in Chicago, has been serving their version of chicken pot pie soup since the 1970s. It has become such a menu staple, that the soup has become one of their flagship products that will probably always be on their menu.
While the traditional, humble chicken pot pie recipe was created to use up some of the items regularly found in the refrigerator and cabinets, chicken pot pie soup takes the simple recipe to a new level.
The History of Chicken Pot Pie
Most of us remember eating chicken pot pie as we were growing up. Some of us loved coming home to the smell of pot pie in the oven, many others loathed the recipe. Most of those were people that only knew the frozen variety straight from the grocery freezer.
Homemade chicken pot pie can be wonderful comfort food and one that has a long history.
According to a food writer John Mariani, chicken pot pie consists of pie crust, poultry (or meat), vegetables, and gravy. It made its way to America in the late 1700s. According to them Smithsonian magazine, chefs from the time of the Roman Empire would make pot pies from LIVE birds. As the diner was ready to eat, the bird would burst out of the pie shell and fly out. Well, they certainly did things differently back then!
Pot pies were sometimes called “Sea Pie.” These were typically made with pigeons, turkey, mutton, veal, beef, pork, or any other meat left over from other meals. It was popular on ships in those days, and that is where it got its name Sea Pie.
Because of its growing popularity in the 1950s, the Swanson company created a frozen version of chicken pot pie, which grocery shoppers can still find in the frozen food section today.
Pot pies typically have a crust, similar to a pie crust, and are filled with chicken, carrots, peas, and potato cubes in a flavorful sauce. Just about anyone that remembers eating chicken pot pie will remember the foil pans they came in, making them ready to hit the oven.
Even as popular as chicken pot pie was, some new twists are hitting this traditional recipe that is putting it in the spotlight again.
Chicken Pot Pie Soup Hits the Spotlight at Potbelly:
Chicken pot pie is good, but when you get all those great ingredients in a soup, it is even better. Soup, sandwich, and salad chain Potbelly Sandwich Shop reinvented the pot pie with their chicken pot pie soup menu item.
Potbelly Sandwich Shop was founded in 1977 as a fast-casual restaurant concept. The focus was selling sub sandwiches and milkshakes. Over time, the chain started offering more dining options. One popular menu item became their chicken pot pie soup. The recipe includes a combination of vegetables, high-protein chicken, and a variety of herbs and seasonings. It is filling and a great option for those on the go.
If you don’t have a Potbelly restaurant near you, you can make a copycat recipe right in your kitchen.
How to Make Potbelly’s Homemade Chicken Pot Pie Soup:
If all you have ever eaten is the frozen version of chicken pot pie, you will have a completely different experience when you eat a homemade pot pie soup, made famous by Potbelly’s Sandwich Shop.
Here is the Copycat Chicken Pot Pie Soup Recipe:
Don’t be taken aback by all the ingredients in this soup, they are mostly ingredients that you will already have in your kitchen.
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons of softened butter
- 1 medium-sized yellow onion, diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced and sliced thin
- 2-3 minced garlic cloves
- ¼ cup All-Purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 cups of cooked, cubed chicken breast
- 4 cups of chicken stock
- ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
- 1 cup each of frozen peas and frozen corn
- 1 medium gold potato, diced
- 1 ½ teaspoon of fresh thyme, taken off the stem
- 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley
- 2 bay leaves
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Rinse all vegetables. Peel the carrots and potato.
- Peel the onion and cut off the ends. Remove the outer skin and discard. Dice the onions finely.
- Cut the ends off the carrots and peel them. Dice and set aside.
- Cut the celery into thin pieces and set it aside.
- Peet and dice the yellow potato and set it aside.
- Mince the garlic cloves finely.
- In a large pot, melt the butter and add the carrots, onions, garlic, bay leaves, and onions. Cook for 8-10 minutes.
- Add the flour and stir for an additional 2 minutes until incorporated into the vegetables.
- Add the milk to the vegetable mixture and whisk until smooth.
- Add the chicken, thyme, nutmeg, potatoes, chicken stock, salt, and pepper. Stir all ingredients together and simmer for 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes, remove the bay leaves and add the parsley and the frozen vegetables, Simmer for 25 additional minutes.
- Top with a bit more celery and serve warm. Enjoy!
Variations:
Many people like to put their personal touch on the foods they make, and chicken pot pie soup is no different. Some believe that it is perfect the way it is, and others add additional flavors to enhance the already rich soup. Others may take the easy way out by adding canned soups and frozen vegetables. No matter which way you make it, it will be sure to please the entire family.
- Some like to enhance the chicken flavor in the soup by adding two tablespoons of chicken bouillon to the soup base along with 2 teaspoons of poultry seasoning and ½ teaspoon of dried sage.
- Adding heavy cream is another option. It will thicken the soup, the same way that flour will thicken up the soup.
- Some cooks add a dollop of dumplings to the top of the soup; others choose to serve the soup with a side of buttermilk biscuits.
- A recipe on Tasty.co, suggests topping the soup with a piece of cooked pie crust.
- A recipe found on allrecipes.com included a shortcut, though this takes the “homemade” out of the recipe. Instead of adding broth or cream, it uses a can of cream of potato soup and a can of cream of chicken soup.
- Many people use store-bought rotisserie chicken to add to their recipe instead of cooking a full chicken or chicken breast. This is a great time-saver.
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