this one originally started as a butternut squash sage pie, but between fighting with a raw squash + knife to get it open, the huge range of squash flavors and it often not being sweet enough, and the texture going too soft after frying, I opted for sweet potatoes instead. easier to deal with, always sweet, and stays fairly firm and together - unlike me hah.
you can absolutely sub in squash if you like. you can sub in regular potatoes too if you don’t like sweet potatoes (see my notes at the bottom). you can sub in other spices, other veggies, get wild!
this is a great one to save for after thanksgiving when you have way too much turkey leftover and can’t bear to look at another sandwich.
so let’s get to it.
sweet potato sage pot pie
TOTAL TIME: 40 minutes
SERVES: 4
grocery list + printable version
Chef’s knife
Cutting board (not my exact one but very similar)
Cast iron pan (you can use any large oven safe pan, I just love the look of the cast iron for serving)
For the filling
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil
1 yellow onion
4 stalks celery
3 cups diced yams (about 2 medium)
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp fresh sage
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup white vermouth
1 1/2 cups broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 cups cooked chicken
1 small head kale, chopped finely
1 tsp dijon
1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
For the topping
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 cup finely grated gouda or asiago
Preheat oven to 400F. Chop your veg: peel and dice your yams, dice celery and onions, mince garlic and sage, chop kale finely. Grate your cheese on a fine grater.
Start your filling. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a large fry pan over medium-high heat. Once melted and starting to brown, add 1 tbsp oil. Add diced onions, celery and yams with a big pinch of salt and fresh pepper and cook down for about 10 minutes until yams are mostly softened.
Keep going. Add minced garlic and sage and cook for 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup flour and cook for 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup white vermouth and cook for 1 minute. Add 1 1/2 cups stock and 1/4 cup heavy cream, mix well and bring to a simmer. Mix in 1 tsp dijon mustard and 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar.
Just a bit more. Add in diced chicken and kale and cover. Cook until kale is softened, adding 1/4 - 1/2 cup more broth if needed and tasting to adjust salt if needed. Your sauce should be a thick gravy consistency but note some of it will get soaked up by the crust so you want it slightly saucier than the final result - use your judgement on how saucy you’d like the end product.
Top your pie. Unroll puffed pastry and cut into squares (I do 4x4 so 16 squares). Once you’re ready to put in the oven, top your filling with the squares in a fun pattern. Top with cheese and place in oven immediately. The colder the pastry is when it goes into the oven, the higher it will puff, so only pull it from the fridge right before you use it and as soon as it hits the filling try and get it in the oven as soon as possible. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the top is golden. Let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.
What to serve it with: this has all the parts for a full meal but I also love to serve this with a simple lemon, pepper, and parmesan-dressed salad.
Storing + reheating: because of the puffed pastry topping, this is best served fresh. However, I still love it for leftovers. I microwave mine because I’m lazy… but if you want to get fancy you can pop it back in the oven at 400F to crisp up the top.
Simplify: use rotisserie chicken, find pre cubed veg, and pre-shredded kale. Just don’t use pre-shredded cheese, it always has a coating so doesn’t melt right.
Make it dairy-free: skip the cheese, use oat milk or cream in place of the heavy cream, and make sure you’re using a DF crust.
Make it gluten-free: top the pie with a gluten-free pie crust or puffed pastry. Replace the flour with GF flour or mix 1 tbsp cornstarch with 1 tbsp water and add it in after you’ve added all the liquids to thicken up.
What puffed pastry is best: I’m honestly not picky with this. If you can find a sheet style vs a block style it makes it easier as you don’t have to roll out, but it all works great.
Should I do an eggwash: you certainly can but with the cheese topping you can get away without it. Lazy girl hacks.
What to do with extra white vermouth: I keep a bottle in my fridge all the time for martinis 😉 and use it 1:1 any recipe that calls for white wine.
Butter: sub 1 additional tbsp oil, or equal parts dairy free butter/margarine.
Yellow onion: white onion. If you’re really in a pinch add 1 tbsp onion powder with the garlic and sage.
Celery: skip if you must but this brings a nice flavor.
Yams: this is great with butternut squash. That was actually my original idea but I can’t be fussed with slicing a butternut squash, and they can be quite hit or miss with the sweetness level. Since yams are always sweet enough I opted to go for them instead to guarantee to get the flavor I wanted. You can also sub regular potatoes - just use half as much.
Fresh garlic: 1 tsp dried.
Fresh sage: 1 tbsp dried. If you don’t like sage you can sub in equal parts thyme, and/or half as much rosemary.
Flour: equal parts GF flour, or mix 1 tbsp cornstarch and 1 tbsp water and add after the liquids have been added.
White vermouth: equal parts white wine, OR 1/4 cup extra broth and 1 extra tbsp white wine vinegar
Heavy cream: a big spoonful of sour cream or greek yogurt BUT be sure to temper - so add a bit of the hot liquid to your sour cream/yogurt first to warm up before adding, otherwise it will curdle.
Chicken: sub sauteed mushrooms, cooked ground turkey or chicken, cubed turkey.
Dijon: can sub grainy mustard or skip. Don’t sub yellow mustard.
White wine vinegar: apple cider vinegar or 1/2 as much red wine vinegar.
Puff pastry: sub pie crust or your favorite biscuits.
Gouda or asiago: whatever cheese you like, just try and use a fine grater if you can for better texture on the top.
Anything else? Drop a comment below if you have any questions, and don’t forget to let me know if you make it!
Made this tonight with my husband and WOW! This is truly one of the best things we’ve eaten. Thank you for sharing! ❤️