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!
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 ¼ 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 ½ 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.
Just made this looking for a way to use up a sheet of puff pastry and fresh broccoli. It was easy and delicious. I used and 8 x 8 glass dish and it worked great. The flour was perfect.
Thanks for your comment--I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe!
How large were your ramekins? I have two different sizes, and can't decide which would work better!
I used 3 1/2-inch ramekins. 🙂
I've been making variations on this recipe once a week lately and really enjoying it. Thanks so much!
Great recipe! Thank you!
Great easy recipe! I used a 2.5 qt dish and baked it a little longer. I will definitely make this again!
One of the BEST vegetarian dishes, ever. I've made it as directed in ramekins, and when lazy, I use one big Corning Ware dish (have used both 1.5 and 2.5 qt. sizes). I simply double the amount when using the 2.5 qt. dish, and I just lay the sheet of puff pasty in. I have to use Colby-Jack or Harvati because I can't handle aged cheese like cheddar (migraines), but know from my experiments that other cheeses are excellent as well. Making this again tonight. Thank you, Kiersten!
So easy and so good! I did the 8x8 dish. I have never used puff pastry and should have read the instructions before starting. I put it on the top of the dish frozen solid. Baked it a little longer than the instructions and it turned out okay. I know it will puff up better next time, but my 6 year old had two servings so obviously it was good!! Thanks for the recipe. It will get used and modified often!
Made this last night and it was a huge hit! substituted the milk for coconut milk and it turned out great! will make again, thanks for the recipe. another great easy vegetarian meal I can add to my cookbook 🙂
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
I've never made a cheese sauce that didn't start with a roux. This worked well. Like others, I think I'll be adapting the filling and using this general approach often.
Excellent
What is a puff pastry? Where to find one. Over never heard of them. I've heard of philo dough.
Absolutely delicious and super easy!
Is it possible to convert this to a freezer meal? I'm trying to decide when it would be appropriate to pop it in the freezer and then how to cook it when I'm ready. I'm thinking fresh broccoli instead of steamed, cover with pastry and freeze; then thaw 24 hours before baking.
I added potatoes, carrots and peas. And I didn’t have enough ramekins so I made a double pie crust and baked it in that. It was spectacular! There were two pieces left the next morning and people ate them for breakfast! Thanks for such an awesome recipe!