If you want a real winter warmer for the family, this low-carb chicken and leek pie is an absolute must. Super simple to prepare and super sturdy. The grain-free pie crust makes this even better!
Low-Carb Chicken and Leek Pie - with a grain-free crust
I used to make chicken and leek pie before we discovered low carb, and I was determined to remake my old recipe. Just by changing the crust to a grain-free crust and substituting a few ingredients in the pie filling, means this is even tastier than the original.
I was super pleased how it turned out and even though it made a huge pie, there were ZERO leftovers, my children ate the lot! If you do happen to make this and have any leftovers, please let me know if it freezes well, I expect it would.
Unfortunately, when it comes to this dish, there are never any leftovers in this household.
TOP TIP: You must use full-fat original cream cheese. All the varieties which are low fat or spreadable won't set. This goes for pies, cheesecakes and all my recipes. The cream cheese needs to be solid, firm and full fat (see below for what I use).
You'll have dinner prepped and done in under an hour!
Low Carb Chicken And Leek Pie
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Ingredients
Grain free pie crust
- 55 g (½ stick) butter melted
- 100 g (1 cups) almond meal/flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 eggs - medium
- 1 tablespoon psyllium husk
- 2 tablespoon coconut flour
Low carb chicken and leek pie filling
- 55 g (½ stick) butter
- 1 (1 ) medium/large leek cut half lengthwise then finely sliced
- 800 g (1.8 lb) chicken diced/cubed
- 200 g (7 oz) cream cheese full fat
- 200 g (2 cups) grated/shredded cheese mild
- 4 eggs - medium whisked with a fork
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Grain free pie crust
- Stir together the melted butter, almond flour/meal and salt.
- Now add the egg, psyllium husk and coconut flour, mix again until it forms a dough.
- Either roll between two sheets of baking parchment, or simply press into a greased and lined pie dish with deep sides or casserole dish.
- Bake at 180C/160C fan or 350F oven for 10 minutes or until just cooked and starting to brown. Remove from the oven.
Low carb chicken and leek pie filling
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the sliced leeks and gently cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are wilted and cooked.
- Remove from the heat and place the leeks in a heatproof small bowl. Try to keep as much of the butter in the saucepan as you can.
- Using the same saucepan with the butter, now add the diced/cubed chicken and place back on the stove top. Heat and stir until the chicken is completely cooked through to the centre of each piece.
- Lower the heat and add the full fat cream cheese to the saucepan with the chicken. Stir until the cream cheese melts. Cook for a further 3-5 minutes very gently so the cream cheese thickens and creates it's own sauce. Turn the heat off.
- Stir through the cooked leeks, grated/shredded cheese, salt and pepper. Mix.
- Add the eggs. Mix again.
- Pour the low carb chicken and leek pie filling onto the cooked pie crust.
- Bake at 180C/ 160C fan/ 350F for 20 minutes or until golden on top.
LOW-CARB FAMILY MEALS: Need help and inspiration on how to cook healthy family meals? Get all the resources you'll need - CLICK HERE
If you want to start making easy healthy family dinners, why not try these recipes:
- Low-carb and gluten-free spaghetti bolognese
- Easy healthy chicken burrito bowls - 1-minute recipe
- 21 easy lunchbox recipes to try
- Pesto chicken with 2 kinds of cheese
It can be daunting to begin serving healthy dinners to your family, especially if they are hooked on fast food and junk food. So try simple easy recipes first like the ones above, and begin to crowd out the junk food with each nutritious healthy meal you cook.
If you have no time, learn to love your Instant Pot, slow-cooker or pressure cooker. You can see all my recipes for these wonderful kitchen gadgets - CLICK HERE.
And if you need more help and support, why not join my FREE Facebook group - CLICK HERE.
Sarah in CA
I made this with Trader Joe's vegan cream cheese. Of the many vegan cream brands we have tried Trader Joe's is the best. unfortunately Trader Joe's is not located in many places. I did add bacon as someone else mentioned. It was really good. I think this recipe would be very good served as shepherds pie.
Alison
SOOOOOO GOOOOD!!!!!
Rosa
Wow, I made this today and it was absolutely delicious! The whole family loved it. Thanks!
I added 300g bacon (as I only had 500g chicken), sweetcorn and fresh chopped dill to the recipe. I also ground up some flax and sunflower seeds in place of the ground almonds, so that the kids can take it for their school lunch (nuts are not allowed at their school).
Gallou
Delicious and very easy! Thank you for this!
Suparna
Hi, can the almond flour be replaced with coconut flour? And if yes what quality?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
No sorry. Coconut flour and almond flour have completely different qualities. You may wish to read this post that explains how to use them.
Fiona
Do you think oat fibre would sub for the coconut flour? I just find it has an overpowering flavour in pastry.
Loved the pie otherwise, I made it yesterday had it for dinner last night and lunch today, and still half of it left!
Karleen
Hello again from across the ditch to your West where Winter has finally descended on Tasmania with a vengeance! Another awesome yum recipe! I used a large bunch of spring onions instead of leeks and added some leftover cooked cauliflower as well. Might try adding a smidge of paprika next time too.
And... this recipe does freeze well! I grated some extra cheese on top of the reheated pie and put under the grill for a couple of minutes and it was delicious. I love reading all the comments from your recipe ‘testers’ and how they tweak the recipes to suit their situations and supplies. Low carb eating is such fun ?
angela
fantastic - made this last night for my partner and I. He demolished a huge chunk of it, and we both took for lunch today. sensational reciepe. thanks x
Margaret Flitcroft
Made this tonight. Everyone loved it. My fussy 9 year old thought the "pastry" was good, but not by itself. I call that glowing praise from him. I ended up with enough filling for a second pie (so I just made more pastry!) great recipe thank you!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Brilliant! I serve the leftovers in my kids lunch boxes. It's sturdy enough to survive the trip to school in their school bag!
Mary wood
I made this with no changes to your recipe and it was soooo soooo good. Thanks Libby.
Susan Lees
You mentioned full fat cream cheese, my daughter has to have lactofree cream cheese, is this still suitable for the recipe?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Gosh, I have never seen or tried lactofree cream cheese. If it behaves and performs like regular cream cheese, then sure, that would work. Let me know how you get on 🙂
Shellihob
Just made and ate this for dinner tonight. Gets a big thumbs up from us! I only had half the amount of cream cheese so put in some thickened cream. Only used two eggs as, like others, didn't want any egg taste. Worked perfectly. Found it was easier to just press the pasty into the pie dish. I tried rolling it out but it fell apart on trying to line the dish. No big deal to just press it in. Next time I'll make it as per the recipe and do a comparison. Thanks for the recipe Libby.
Jan
I have already made this twice and we love it! Great for lunches - one of my husband's favourites. Thanks!
Gill
Hi. What Canberra I use instead of coconut flour. I can't tolerate it. Thanks. Recipe looks amazing. ?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
In this recipe you could probably omit it, it just makes it hold together really well. Add a few more tablespoons of almond meal/flour until it is pastry texture.
Michele
Made this today. Adjusted by using rotisserie chicken and estimated the amount. Excited to eat this as I love both chicken and leeks.
aftaylor5000
What is the carb count (as is) per serving.. I envision using this recipe to clean out the fridge of leftover bits of meats and veggies.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
There was a glitch last night and they all disappeared! As if by magic, they are back today (puts technical hat away). Enjoy 🙂
QQ
Made this today. (Yes, I may make all of your recipes. Lol.) And it was delicious! A few changes, I used only 1 egg in the mixture with the chicken (low carb recipes have toooo many eggs, Im kind of tired of eggs now), and used less cream cheese. The chicken /leek filling didnt rise as much (as expected with less eggs) But it was sooo yummy and not eggy at all. Just what I wanted. thank youu
djnikkik
This pie is very impressive! I used to make chicken and leek pie all the time and this one tastes just as good, if not better than the high carb version I made. I didn't miss the lack of pastry at all (mine used to be encased in puff pastry) and what I really love about this recipe is it doesn't rely too heavily on the eggs. A lot of low carb pie recipes I've tried taste more like an egg pie than anything else but this one the eggs just help bind everything together and don't overpower the pie filling. Brilliant recipe!
Honor Bright
Hey Libby, I've problems with dairy. Any suggestions for ingredient replacements for the cream cheese & cheese?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Gosh that would be difficult in this recipe. Can you tolerate hard cheeses that have very little carbs and hence less lactose which is what most people have a problem with who can't tolerate dairy? I have also heard there is a dairy free cream cheese, although I have never seen it here in NZ.
Ibukun
This was really tasty, easy and fairly forgiving. I didn't quite have the right amounts of some ingredients, even after halving the filling, I fudged some measurements etc but it still turned out yummy. Plan to make again. I also think it tastes slightly better after a night in the fridge but maybe that's just me.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I agree, often meals a day old in the fridge are simply amazing. I'm sure the flavours blend in fully. I'm so glad it turned out brilliantly (with a little fudging, sounds like my kind of cooking).
Liz
Hi Libby
Love this recipe...I have just made it for the second time (this time with leftover BBQ chicken) and it's currently cooking in the oven...I'm already salivating!
Just one quick question, the recipe states psyllium husk but your pictured product is psyllium husk powder so just wondering what you used? I used the husk, not the powder and the pastry was great but maybe it would be better with the powder?
Many thanks
Liz
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I'm never quite sure of the difference, we can only get psyllium husk in a powder form but you can see the flakes also. I'm sure anything will do. The psyllium swells up and absorbs the liquid to give a nice sturdy texture so I'm guessing both would work.
Laurie Bryant
Is there something I could substitute the psyllium with?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
You could possibly even omit the psyllium. I use it to make a sturdy pie crust so if it is not included it may not hold as well, but it would taste just fine.
Melissa
Absolutely amazing! So easy and so yumoooo! Thank you for sharing ?
Kelly
Absolutely delicious!! Thanks for the recipe!!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
This looks delicious! Great idea for a healthy dinner!
Nikki B
I made this last night for dinner but used left over BBQ chicken. Fabulous! Miss 13 didn't like the base though. Thanks for the recipe.
Raziel
Is this suitable for feezing??
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
YesI think it would freeze well in an airtight container.
Marie-José
I think i'm gonna turnthis into a quiche lorainne!
Instead of chicken with ham, leek and lots of grated cheese!
Thanx for the inspiration!?
Greetings from Holland!???
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
What a wonderful idea. I love and encourage readers to adapt and change my recipes, thank you form New Zealand.