Keto chicken pot pie casserole with a thick, creamy sauce, low carb vegetables, and golden almond flour drop biscuits, with 6.9g net carbs and 20.1g protein. Leftover turkey or rotisserie chicken works, and I make it almost every week.
The cream cheese is what makes this recipe. I kept second-guessing it during testing because adding cream cheese to a savory filling felt wrong, but it is the reason the sauce actually clings to the chicken instead of pooling at the bottom. That one ingredient turns a standard filling into something thick, silky, and almost indulgent. I tested the filling without it once and the sauce was watery, running right off the chicken. With it, everything holds together the way a real pot pie should.
I originally made this keto chicken pot pie casserole the week after Thanksgiving because I had a fridge full of leftover turkey and no plan. What started as a 'use it up' dinner turned into one of the recipes my family requests most. It works just as well with a store-bought rotisserie chicken torn into chunks, which is what I reach for most weeks.
This is a twist on my classic keto pot pie, but in casserole form so I can skip the fuss of rolling out dough. I saute celery, fresh green beans, carrots, onion, and mushrooms until they just start to soften, then build a thick sauce with arrowroot powder, chicken broth, and cream cheese. The cream cheese melts into everything and creates this coating on the chicken and veggies that reminds me of the pot pies I grew up eating. The whole filling is naturally gluten-free and works with whatever low carb vegetables I have on hand. Broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower, bell peppers. I use whatever needs to be used up, and the sauce is forgiving enough to handle all of it. If you like creamy chicken dishes, this has the same warmth as my creamy Tuscan chicken.
Instead of a flaky crust on top, I drop spoonfuls of almond flour biscuit dough over the filling before baking. The biscuits puff up golden and buttery, and all the ingredients go into one bowl, so there is no separate rolling or cutting. I have made them as small drop biscuits and as larger scoops, and the larger ones work better because they stay soft in the center while the edges crisp up from the filling bubbling around them.
I have made this dozens of times now, and what keeps me coming back is how filling it is at under 7g net carbs per serving. My kids treat it like any other Friday dinner. They have no idea it is low carb, and I am not about to tell them. If you want cozy, all-in-one-dish casseroles that actually satisfy, this belongs in your rotation alongside my shepherd's pie and chicken divan.
Low carb biscuit toppings (and one cheesy upgrade)
I love the drop biscuits on this casserole, but I have tested other toppings and they all work. Here are my favorites:
Flaky pie crust: Roll out a pie crust and lay it over the top. I pre-bake mine for about 8 minutes so it does not get soggy from the filling.
Cheesy biscuit upgrade: Fold 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar into the biscuit dough before dropping it on the filling. I tested this on a whim and my husband said it was the best version.
Parmesan rolls: Tear buttery rolls into pieces and scatter them across the top. Same idea as a cobbler topping.
Toasted croutons: Cube bread, toss in melted butter, and toast until golden. I like them a little crunchy so I toast them 2-3 minutes longer than you would think.
Crushed crackers: Crush almond flour crackers and spread them over the filling. My kids actually prefer this version some nights.
How I store, freeze, and meal prep this casserole
I make this ahead all the time, and I have tested both methods of freezing it.
Make-ahead: I prepare the filling and the biscuit dough separately, store them in the fridge, and combine right before baking. The filling keeps for 2 days. The biscuit dough holds up for about a day.
Freeze before baking: This is my preferred meal prep method. I assemble the whole casserole (filling plus biscuit dough on top), cover tightly with plastic wrap, and freeze. When I am ready to cook, I bake it from frozen at 375 degrees F for about 40-45 minutes. The biscuits stay fluffier this way compared to freezing after baking. I use the same freeze-before-baking approach for my baked ziti.
Freeze after baking: Let the casserole cool completely, then wrap in plastic or transfer to a freezer-safe container. Freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the oven. The biscuit texture changes a bit after freezing cooked, which is why I prefer the freeze-before-baking method.
Fridge storage: Cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days. I reheat individual servings in the microwave for about 90 seconds.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add celery, green beans, carrots and mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let cook until vegetables are almost softened.
For this step
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup diced celery
1/2 cup chopped fresh green beans
1/4 cup diced carrots
1/4 cup diced yellow onion
8 oz sliced mushrooms
3
Make it saucy
Stir in garlic and thyme. Let cook for 30-60 seconds or until garlic is fragrant. Stir in arrowroot powder. Slowly add chicken broth while whisking constantly. Bring to a boil over medium heat and let simmer for 5 minutes or until the mixture has reduced and thickened.
For this step
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon arrowroot powder
1 cup chicken broth
4
Add chicken
Stir in diced chicken. Remove skillet from heat.
For this step
3 cups diced cooked chicken or turkey
5
Make it creamy
Stir in cubed cream cheese and chopped parsley. Set aside to make the drop biscuit dough.
For this step
4 oz cream cheese, cubed
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
6
Drop biscuits
In a large bowl, stir together almond flour, oat fiber, allulose, baking powder and salt. Add softened butter, egg, heavy cream and sour cream. Mix together until batter is smooth using a fork.
For this step
1 1/3 cup almond flour
1/4 cup oat fiber
1 tablespoon allulose
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 1/2 tablespoons sour cream
7
Assemble casserole
Transfer chicken pot pie mixture to a square or small rectangle baking dish. Top chicken mixture with biscuit dough using a cookie scoop or spoon.
8
Bake
Bake at 350 °F for 21-24 minutes or until biscuit dough turns golden brown on top.
Nutrition
Per serving: 1/6 of recipe
Calories
563
Fat
48.1g
Protein
20.1g
Total carbs
16.8g
Net carbs
6.9g
Nutrition is an estimate calculated from the ingredients listed. Brands vary, so check labels if you track closely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use other vegetables in this pot pie casserole?
I swap vegetables in this casserole constantly. My go-to options are broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower, and bell peppers. I have also used radishes (they soften up and taste almost like potatoes in the sauce) and spinach stirred in at the very end. For peas, I add a small handful frozen because they are higher in carbs than the other vegetables. About 1/4 cup adds around 3g net carbs to the whole casserole, which I can live with. I have also mixed in leftover broccoli from my chicken broccoli casserole and it blended right in. Use whatever you have in the fridge that needs to be used up.
Is this casserole gluten-free?
Yes, the whole casserole is gluten-free, including the biscuit topping. The biscuits are made with almond flour and oat fiber, so there is no wheat flour anywhere in the recipe. I have served this to friends who eat gluten-free and they had no idea it was also keto.
What can I use instead of arrowroot powder?
I have tested three substitutes. Xanthan gum works best: use 1/4 teaspoon (not the same amount as arrowroot), and whisk it into the cold broth first so it does not clump. Glucomannan works the same way at the same ratio. If you have tapioca flour, use it 1:1 with arrowroot, but it adds about 1g net carb per serving. I would skip cornstarch since it adds more carbs than any of these options. A reader also suggested bumping the arrowroot to 1.5 teaspoons for a thicker sauce, and I agree. I tend to use a little more than what I wrote anyway.
Can I make the filling in the slow cooker?
I have done this when I wanted dinner ready without hovering over the stove. I toss the vegetables, chicken, broth, and seasonings into the slow cooker on low for 3-4 hours. Then I stir in the cream cheese and arrowroot slurry (mixed with a splash of cold broth) during the last 15 minutes. I transfer the filling to a baking dish, drop the biscuits on top, and bake as usual. The vegetables get softer this way, which my kids actually prefer. I use a similar hands-off approach for my white chicken chili.
Can I make this dairy-free?
I have tested a dairy-free version using full-fat coconut milk (I like Thai Kitchen brand for a neutral flavor) instead of heavy cream, and coconut cream in place of cream cheese. The sauce is not quite as thick, so I add a little extra arrowroot powder. For the biscuits, I use dairy-free butter and skip the sour cream, adding an extra tablespoon of coconut cream instead. It is a different flavor profile, but I was surprised how close it came.
What protein can I use besides chicken or turkey?
I have made this with shredded pork, leftover ham, and even canned chicken in a pinch. The canned chicken version is not my favorite (the texture is softer), but it works on nights when I have nothing else. My preferred shortcut is a Costco rotisserie chicken, shredded while it is still warm. One chicken gives me enough for this casserole plus extra for lunches.
I know you love your sous vide, as I do! So I sous vide bone in thighs with the carrots and onions. I used the broth that was made from cooking it, carrots and onions in the bag for the recipe. So so good! And then I decided to use your pork rinds topping from your chicken broccoli cheddar dish. It was soooo good! Love your recipes!
Let the filling cool a couple minutes before you drop the biscuits on, mine sank right in the first two times and came out soft on the bottom. My daughter finally tipped me off. She said the third batch tasted ‘like actual pot pie biscuits,’ which I guess means she’d been quietly judging the soggy ones the whole time.
I’m on my eighth or ninth batch of this and the filling took longer to figure out than the biscuits did. The step that changed things for me was pulling the skillet off the heat before adding the cream cheese, not just because the recipe says to. Leave the burner on while you stir it in and the fat separates, especially if you’re moving fast. Pull first, cube the cheese small, stir slow, and it folds in without breaking. I also stopped adding extra arrowroot when the sauce looked thin before baking. It thickens as it cooks and the extra just left this slightly gluey finish I didn’t like. Biscuits have been consistent since around batch three, but the filling ratio took the most runs to dial in.
Yuki, I keep a can or two in the pantry for exactly those nights. Texture goes a little softer than rotisserie but with the sauce thickened up you barely notice.
They do get soft. I either cut them bigger and add them right before the cream cheese goes in, or just swap broccoli, which holds its texture way better in the sauce.
My son picked every biscuit off the top before touching the casserole. Now I just make a double batch of the biscuit part. He doesn’t know it’s keto and I’m not telling him.
Smart kid. I’ve made a full pan of just the drop biscuits before, no casserole underneath, and they disappeared in ten minutes. The keto secret is safe with me.
Doubled the mushrooms and skipped the carrots, just personal preference, and the filling came out way richer than I was expecting. Then I threw a handful of shredded cheddar into the drop biscuit dough on a whim and they puffed up more than the original, golden all the way around. The combo changed the whole casserole, it felt less like a weeknight meal and more like something you’d make when people come over. I wasn’t planning on leftovers being a thing but the biscuits had absorbed some of the sauce by the next day and were completely different, almost creamy inside. Making this again this weekend, probably with even more mushrooms.
Mushrooms carry so much liquid that doubling them basically deepens the whole sauce. The next-day biscuit thing is real, mine go almost bread pudding by day two. I eat them cold out of the fridge.
Making this for Easter dinner with my family, there’s going to be about 12 of us so I need to double the recipe. Does the bake time change when you scale it up? I’m a little nervous about the drop biscuits not cooking through if the casserole is bigger.
The drop biscuits are dropped individually so each one is the same size no matter how big the batch is. They’ll cook at the same rate. The filling is the variable – more volume takes longer to heat through. I’d add 8-10 minutes and poke a toothpick into one of the center biscuits to check.
Cube the cream cheese small before you add it to the skillet, like actually small. First two times I got a lumpy sauce and thought something was off with the recipe. Tiny cubes and it melts in completely smooth.
Grieved chicken pot pie when I started keto. This casserole made me feel like an idiot for waiting so long. The drop biscuits on top are what I kept thinking about the next day. Four stars for now; used rotisserie chicken and need to try it with turkey before I know the ceiling.
Turkey is actually how this started. Made it with Thanksgiving leftovers the first time and the drop biscuits were almost an afterthought. Rotisserie chicken is faster but the turkey version has a different flavor, worth the full run.
Figured out that chilling the drop biscuit dough about 10 minutes before dropping it actually matters. Mine went completely flat the first time and I had no idea why. Cold dough holds its shape, so you get some actual height out of them. The cream cheese and thyme filling is why I keep making this anyway, but now the biscuits aren’t embarrassing either.
I’ve tried three or four keto pot pie casseroles over the last couple years and the biscuit situation is always the weak point, either too dense or they just kind of disappear into the filling. These almond flour drop biscuits actually stay distinct, golden on top, soft underneath, and they don’t fall apart when you scoop into them. The cream cheese in the sauce is what I think separates this one from the others. Made it on a cold Sunday and the whole kitchen smelled like actual pot pie for an hour.
The cream cheese is the part I kept second-guessing when I was testing it. Felt weird to add it but it’s what makes the sauce actually stick to the chicken instead of pooling at the bottom.
So yummy! I thought I was going to get leftovers out of this meal but my whole family loved it (4 kids ages 6 and under included) that we all ended up getting seconds and finished off the whole pan! This is one of my favorite keto focus recipes. So so good! Thanks for the great recipes!
Four kids under 6 and a clean pan. The biscuit topping is what does it every time. Assemble a second one and freeze it before baking so you actually have leftovers.
