Homemade Chicken Pot Pie Starter Canning Recipe
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This is one of my lazy girl recipes that I can up when the frozen mixed veggies are $0.99 at my local grocery and I have chicken that needs to be flipped to shelf stable in my freezer from last years group of meat birds we raised. This recipe is per quart jar, meaning you can make as little or a big of an amount as you want and it’s as simple as layering everything in and canning it. Seriously. This is one of my favorite things about canning. You slap a bunch of raw ingredients together and magic happens with pressure canning and now you have flavorful meals!
Now, we’ve been through this before about raw packed chicken. I prefer to, at minimum, par cook my chicken before I can it because I cannot stand the texture of raw packed chicken, nor the weird white film it leaves on the jars. If you’re cool with raw pack, do that! If you’re not, pre cook the chicken by either frying it, slow cooking it, boiling it, or tossing it in your pressure cooker, like an instant pot. It’s an extra step that I find worthy of the extra time AND dishes, which if you know me, means that it must make a huge difference with a better texture and more tender chicken.
The fun part of starter recipes like this one, is that is doesn’t have to be just used for pot pie. It could be for a thickened chicken pot pie soup, or like an a la king over biscuits, or made into mini chicken pot pies in a muffin tin, or small ramekins with biscuits. The possibilities are endless if you’re creative. You can also take this exact recipe and replace the chicken with beef and the chicken stock with beef stock and make a beef pot pie starter, which I do. It’s so good, especially with brisket! I like having these jars of chicken pot pie filling starter on the shelf because making homemade crust is work enough, so having the filling mostly ready to go means I’m more willing to make it :D I’m really good at making a lovely flaky pie crust, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy it. Unfortunately. I’m sure my husband would be thrilled to have pie all the time.
If this is your first time canning, a meal in a jar like this is a great way to learn!
Equipment You Might Want:
- Canning Jars
- Canning Lids & Screw Bands
- Cutting Board
- Sharp Knife
- Jar Funnel
- Pressure Canner
- Water Bath Canning Pot
- Jar Lifter
Ingredients:
PER QUART JAR
- 1 cup chicken, cubed or shredded
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 1/4 cup celery, diced
- 1/2 cup potatoes, peeled if preferred & cubed
- 1 1/2 cups frozen mixed veggies, thawed
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 cups chicken broth
Step 1: Fill Jars
Pour out chicken stock into a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat while you work on filling the jars.
To each jar, add in shredded chicken, onion, celery, potatoes, mixed veggies, and seasonings to each quart jar. You can add or take away whatever you want! You can also use fresh veggies instead of the mixed frozen veggies; I just enjoy the convenience and always make them when I find them on sale.
Fill jars, keeping the food below 1 1/2 inch headspace. Measurements are a guideline and are not exact. I just fill my jars to about the shoulder with the meat and veggies. You want to have some broth in the jars to be able to make the gravy. You can tap the bottom of the jar to settle the food down if needed.
Ladle the hot chicken stock overtop of the soup starter to 1 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and add more stock if needed to maintain headspace.
Step 2: Canning
Wipe the rims of the jars and add lids and secure with screw bands according to lid manufacturer’s specifications.
Place quart jars in your pressure canner and process quarts for 90 minutes at your elevations recommended weight for low acid foods and your type of pressure canner; dial gauge or weighted gauge.
Water Bath Canning (Rebel, no longer USDA approved): process quart jars in a boiling water bath at a full rolling boil with the food line submerged with boiling water at all times for 3 hours, adjusting processing time for elevation. When water bath canning low acid foods, be sure to properly heat your food prior to consumption by bringing to a boil for at least 5 minutes.
Once processing time is complete, allow pressure canner to completely depressurize before removing jars and allowing them to cool undisturbed on a heat proof surface lined with a towel.
Step 3: Storage
After cooling, remove bands, test seals, wash jars, label, and store in a cool dark place away from direct sunlight. Ideal storage temperatures are 55-70F.
Shelf life is ’til you eat it. If the seal is good, the food is good. Aim to rotate canned goods out every 2 years for best flavor and nutritional value, but again, they’ll last far longer if you need them to.
To Use:
See my easy chicken pot pie recipe here, along with my homemade fresh milled einkorn crust.
Notes:
This recipe is great for any leftover chicken or turkey from a large gathering or meal! You can even use a rotisserie chicken if that’s your thing.
And now you have yourself a homemade meal, ready to use, waiting for you to use it on busy nights when you need food on the table and you don’t have the desire or the time!
Equipment
- Canning jars
- Canning lids & screw bands
- Cutting Board
- Sharp Knife
- jar lifter
Ingredients
- 1 cup chicken cubed or shredded
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 1/4 cup celery diced
- 1/2 cup potatoes peeled if preferred & cubed
- 1 1/2 cups frozen mixed veggies thawed
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 cups chicken broth
Instructions
- Pour out chicken stock into a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat while you work on filling the jars.
- To each jar, add in shredded chicken, onion, celery, potatoes, mixed veggies, and seasonings to each quart jar. You can add or take away whatever you want! You can also use fresh veggies instead of the mixed frozen veggies; I just enjoy the convenience and always make them when I find them on sale.
- Fill jars, keeping the food below 1 1/2 inch headspace. Measurements are a guideline and are not exact. I just fill my jars to about the shoulder with the meat and veggies. You want to have some broth in the jars to be able to make the gravy. You can tap the bottom of the jar to settle the food down if needed.
- Ladle the hot chicken stock overtop of the soup starter to 1 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and add more stock if needed to maintain headspace.
- Wipe the rims of the jars and add lids and secure with screw bands according to lid manufacturer’s specifications.
- Place quart jars in your pressure canner and process quarts for 90 minutes at your elevations recommended weight for low acid foods and your type of pressure canner; dial gauge or weighted gauge.
- Water Bath Canning (Rebel, no longer USDA approved): process quart jars in a boiling water bath at a full rolling boil with the food line submerged with boiling water at all times for 3 hours, adjusting processing time for elevation. When water bath canning low acid foods, be sure to properly heat your food prior to consumption by bringing to a boil for at least 5 minutes.
- Once processing time is complete, allow pressure canner to completely depressurize before removing jars and allowing them to cool undisturbed on a heat proof surface lined with a towel.
- After cooling, remove bands, test seals, wash jars, label, and store in a cool dark place away from direct sunlight. Ideal storage temperatures are 55-70F.
- Shelf life is ’til you eat it. If the seal is good, the food is good. Aim to rotate canned goods out every 2 years for best flavor and nutritional value, but again, they’ll last far longer if you need them to.
