I’m so embarrassed, you guys.
Last Friday, I realized that I did three roasted recipes in a row. And then in What I Ate This Week, I featured a recipe with roasted green tomatoes. I’d like to promise you that I won’t roast anything else until next year, but I just developed two roasted recipes for Thanksgiving. And they are delicious! What can I say? I just like to roast stuff.
But today’s recipe doesn’t involve roasting at all. These broccoli cheddar pot pies are seriously the easiest pot pies you will ever make. I mean, the only way they would be easier is if you used Cheez Whiz instead of making the cheese sauce. And made a crust with crushed saltines. (I feel like I may have eaten something like that in college?)
I wanted to do a pot pie for a while, but I kept putting it off out of sheer laziness. It sounded like a good idea, but after picturing myself rolling out a crust, getting flour all over the place, I told myself, “I’ll do it next week.” (That happened for several weeks.) But then I wondered if maybe puff pastry would work instead of crust crust. Lo and behold, that is a thing! A thing people do! People like Martha Stewart! And if it’s good enough for Martha, it’s good enough for me.
These Broccoli Cheddar Pot Pies come together in a snap. Steaming the broccoli takes 5 minutes, the sauce takes under 10 minutes, and they bake for just under 15 minutes. Using a puff pastry sheet instead of crust means no rolling, no flour all over the place. You can either cut the puff pastry to fit your ramekins or cut it into squares like Martha did. If I weren’t making these for my blog, I probably would have cut them into squares too, but since I wanted them to look all pretty-like for you, I sized them to fit the ramekins.
The first time I tested this recipe, the result was really soupy; I realized that the broccoli was making the cheese sauce watery. I ended up upping the flour and using less milk after hashing things out with some friends on Facebook, which did the trick–now, the sauce starts out super thick to compensate for broccoli. So don’t be alarmed by the thickness of the cheese sauce when you’re making it! It will thin out as the broccoli releases some of its water while it bakes.
Cheesy broccoli pot pies with a flaky puff pastry crust–comfort food bliss in about 30 minutes!
Pot pies don't get much easier than this! Cheesy broccoli is topped with puff pastry and baked until flaky and golden brown.
Ingredients
- 1 c. reduced-fat (2%) milk
- 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 4 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- salt + pepper to taste
- pinch or two of cayenne (optional)
- 4 c. steamed broccoli florets (about 2 small heads of broccoli)
- 1 sheet puff pastry
- 1 egg, whisked
- oil mister or cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Combine milk and flour in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low and simmer 3-5 minutes, until mixture is thick, continuing to whisk. Remove from heat and whisk in cheese about 1/4 cup at a time. Season with salt and pepper or cayenne. Yes, it's really thick right now, but don't panic! Adding the broccoli and baking will thin the sauce significantly, so err on the salty side--I used 1/2 teaspoon. Fold in broccoli florets.
- Cut four pieces of puff pastry to fit tops of ramekins OR simply cut the pastry sheet into four equal squares. Cut an X in the middle of each piece of puff pastry to vent steam.
- Divide broccoli cheese mixture into four ramekins that have been sprayed with cooking spray or an oil mister. Top each with puff pastry. Brush puff pastry with egg wash. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until puff pastry is puffy and golden brown.
Notes
To steam the broccoli, place in steamer basket over an inch or two of boiling water; cover and steam for 5 minutes.
I baked the pot pies in 3 1/2-inch ramekins.
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Holy deliciousness!!! I’m not normally a fan of pot pies, but I think this is one I could get on board with!
Hubs loves pot pies. Thanks for the recipe!
If everyone roasted the world would be a better place.
Totally. And people would like vegetables so much more, I’m sure of it.
Is there a way to make this in a normal sized pie pan? I don’t own ramekins.
I haven’t tried it, but I’m pretty sure this would fit well in a deep-dish pie plate or an 8 x 8 casserole dish. It’s about 5 cups of filling.
Seriously, I’m drooling at my computer. These look and sound so scrumptious!
Oh my. Perfect comfort food!!
What size ramekins do you use for this? I’ve been looking at them online and it’s hard to tell what a good size is for a pot pie. Thanks!!
I used 3 1/2-inch ramekins for this recipe, but a little larger would be fine too.
Now this is one to definitely try!
I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a broccoli cheddar pot pie! I know what you mean about making them – I love pot pie, but it always seems like too much work. The ramekins are a good idea for single portions though, and I’ve used the puff pastry crust idea too for my Indian pot pie – works great as a topping!
Ooh, I love the idea of an Indian pot pie! Now that it’s getting colder out, I want pot pies and casseroles all day, everyday.
These look so yummy!
Those are gorgeous! And I’m totally coveting those plates. Keep the roasted stuff coming! I think roasting makes almost everything better. If only my mom roasted when I was little instead of steaming everything, I might have liked vegetables!
Ha! I loved veggies when I was a kid, but my mom never roasted anything either. It was all boiled or steamed.
These look so delicious! I just came across your blog via foodgawker and have been having a great time looking around your awesome photos and yummy recipes. I agree with Shirley! Roasted veggies are awesome! I bet my kiddos would love these pot pies and will have to try them out soon. Thanks for the great recipe!
Thanks for stopping by and for the kind words! These pot pies are definitely kid-friendly. I think it’s the cheese sauce.
Wow.. those look so good. I am gonna get the ingredients for this next week and give it a whirl. But, we love chicken so I think I will add in some pre cooked chicken breast meat. YUM!
Looks delicious and fancy. I think I will try this recipe out!
Pot pies are such a yummy comfort food and perfect for this time of year! This could be great for so many different things – appetizer, Thanksgiving, etc.
First, I have to say there is nothing wrong with roasting! Keep it up! Second, this looks like comfort in a bowl. Oh my goodness, yum
As I reply to this comment I have not one but TWO different veggies roasting in the oven. So no, I will never give up roasting. I just might not post about it as much.
No, no! Post about your roast vegetables! SVP!
Don’t worry, I have a roasted sweet potato recipe scheduled for Thursday.
I love frezer cooking, do you know if this can be made up and frozen? Perhaps without the puff pastrey?
I’m not sure–I think it would be fine if you froze the broccoli and cheese mixture in advance and topped it with the puff pastry later. You might run the risk of the sauce being a little bit watery and the broccoli being a little bit limp. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!
Iowa Girl: I am sitting here in Paris France, grateful for your blog. Yes, the food here is good, but I do miss my American roots. Thanks for your posts!
Oops, I think you have the wrong blogger! This is Oh My Veggies.
My recipe was linked in Iowa Girl Eats’ sidebar because we’re both part of the BlogHer network.
I am so inept at all of this. Well, so, I am still sitting here and loving your blog, then. And your recipes. Merci Beaucoup!
Ha! That’s alright, I’m glad you stopped by, even if it was an accident!
I wonder if I can sub non-diary milk and still have a good cheese sauce. I’m not vegan, but I just try to use either almond or coconut milk. Suggestions?
I’ve never used non-dairy milk in a cheese sauce myself, so I can’t say. I suspect that the sauce might turn out a little bit thinner, but it would probably still work…
I’ve been looking for an easy broccoli pot pie recipe – thank you! Do you think it would work to add in some steamed carrots, peas or even diced potatoes?
Yes, I think that would work! You might want to use less broccoli to make room for the other ingredients, though.
Just found your site and you are now bookmarked! Beautiful photos & wonderful recipe ideas. I am making this Broccoli Cheddar Pot Pie recipe tonight but will probably add steamed, diced potatoes & carrots. Thanks for the great ideas!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy the pot pies.
Made this tonight and just wanted to share. We made the same sauce amount for two larger ramekins which worked fine. We also added diced potatoes and carrot, all of which were partially cooked before adding them to the sauce. (We measured the amt we needed in the ramekins prior to adding to the sauce). Next time we are going to add onion (maybe pearl?), some smoked paprika and a splash of white wine to the sauce. Our pastry top didn’t look nearly as nice as yours and it didn’t unroll very well but I have not worked with this before. Maybe it was too soft already when I unfolded it?? Anyway, thanks for the great recipe. I look forward to trying more of your tasty treats!
I’m glad you liked it! Puff pastry is a little bit temperamental–if it’s too cold, it cracks when you try to unfold it, but if it’s too warm, it ends up being a bit of a pain to work with.