Three Bean Chili Pot Pies!
I gotta tell you about this thing my husband does.
Because… it makes me insane.
I fall in love with something, like say… an incredible TV show or stuffed sweet potatoes with goat cheese, and because he is so crazy stubborn, he thinks it’s cool to just hate on it. Like without even a good reason to hate it. He just hates it… because. Because it’s popular, because it’s talked about, because it’s all over the media or something. He probably hasn’t listened to it, eaten it, watched it or looked at it, but he has already decided that he isn’t a fan of it.
Yeah. Whatever, right?
But the best part? Like every single time he does this? A few days, weeks, months or maaaaaaybe even years later, I still win. He watches it, tastes it, hears it or sees it and falls in love with it, like crazy obsession in love. Like currently-listening-to-the-Jersey-Boys-soundtrack-in-his-car-on-repeat in love. Like decides-that-he-can-eat-feta-all-the-time in love. Like sort-of-glued-to-the-TV-during-Private-Practice in love.
You know, very important, life changing things.
One of the more recent come-to-Jesus moments he had was that he really started to like Zac Brown Band. This point is semi moot at the moment since he currently tells me he doesn’t want to listen to country music (which is like… quite perplexing), but um, I’ve had to listen to this stuff for like five months so I am finishing my pointless story. Years ago when they first came on the scene, I loved Zac Brown Band. He told me “they sucked!” During his Saturday morning country music video watching marathons, he’d change the channel if their video came on. In the car, he’d immediately change the station if their song came on, because God forbid we listen to three minutes of a song that everyone else in the car LOVES, but that he doesn’t like. Hmmpf.
But then… he decided that he loved Zac Brown Band. Like really enjoyed. Like download-every-song-they-have enjoyed. Like have-it-on-in-the-car-and-during-workouts-and-while-making-breakfast enjoyed.
I mean, that’s not annoying or anything.
And he replayed this song about chickens just about ten thousand times and they sing about chicken pot pies and OMG I can’t get the word pot pie out of my freaking brain.
So here we are. At pot pies.
These pot pies are sort of a rip off of the chili cornbread pasta bake I made last year, minus the pasta and with a more biscuit-like topping. I stole the pot pie idea from this minestrone pot pie and just totally adored the thought of cutie patootie pre-portioned chili with a big slab of cornbread floating on top.
And the thing is, this is basically a blueprint for a recipe. You can use whatever chili you like or have on hand (like maybe in the freezer?), you can add ground beef, turkey or pork, or even do a triple meat chili like I have in the past. I had no idea until I wrote out the recipe that this chili is actually vegan (with freaking roasted garlic), but you could add chickpeas and black beans and make this a five bean chili (whoa baby) and you could even add a big layer of cheese on top of the first layer of soup as a blanket for the biscuits. Your toppings can obviously vary as well, and you should probably throw on some avocado if you don’t live in a place where mushy, sadly ripened avocados cost $3 a pop, but I just need to tell you that this organic sour cream from Trader Joe’s that I used was in.credible. Like it was basically ice cream. Holy crap. It’s made me a sour cream fan for life.
So long story long, I’m saying to take this and make it your own. With how often we eat chili for at least six months out of the year, it was a fun way to switch things up.
I mean, you know how bored I get.
Three Bean Chili Pot Pies
Ingredients
Three Bean Chili
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 bulbs roasted garlic
- 2 (15 oz) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened dark cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Cornbread Biscuits
- 1 1/2 cups finely ground cornmeal
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
- 1-1 1/4 cups milk
- melted butter for brushing
Instructions
Chili
- To prep,roast 2 garlic bulbs. This can be done a day or two ahead of time!
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil along with onions and peppers with a sprinkle of salt. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Squeeze out roasted garlic cloves into the pot, and stir well to combine with a large spoon, breaking them apart and evenly distributing the garlic paste. Add in beans, crushed tomatoes and tomato paste, stirring well. Add in spices, cocoa, sugar, salt and pepper, then let simmer for 5-10 minutes. Taste and season additionally if desired. At this point, you can make the pot pies immediately or simmer your chili for however long you would like to develop the flavor.
Cornbread Biscuits
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and soda, and salt. Whisk well to combine. Add in cold butter and using a fork, pastry blender or your fingers, mix and combine until the butter is distributed and small crumbs remain. Stir in 1 cup of milk to start, form a dough. The dough will be slightly more crumbly that traditional biscuit dough. If it is still very dry, add in additional milk 1 tablespoon at a time. Form dough into a ball.
- Place dough on a floured workspace and using your hands and/or a rolling pin, flatten it out until it’s a little less than one inch thick. Use a glass or biscuit cutter to cut out rounds. If you want to use large ramekins, you can use a bowl or something a bit larger to cut a biscuit that will fit on top. This obviously will determine the amount of biscuits you get. Using a standar biscuit cutter should give you 12 biscuits. I made 4 ramekins and 1 pie dish potpie.
- Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter, then bake for 12-15 minutes or until biscuits are slightly golden and set. Top with sour cream, Greek yogurt, chives or any toppings you desire. Enjoy!
Did you make this recipe?
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88 Comments on “Three Bean Chili Pot Pies!”
Ok, these look crazy delicious, but can I just say how cute you and Mr. How Sweet are?
Hahaha…your husband sounds like most men I know! Zac Brown Band is totally amazing, so I’m glad he came around! These pot pies look super delicious!
I love it! I just made a three bean chili, but it doesn’t look as good as yours! I love the biscuits on top!!
Your husband sounds like every man I know, including my fiance! They hate things just to hate them. Mine secretly eats things/watch things when I’m not around. Only, hello…when the DVR says it has already been watched, and not by me…men.
And chili! Been looking for a vegetarian one!! This one looks perfect. For this perfect time of year!!
Yay! Love the idea of roasted garlic in the already vegan chili. Planning to veganize the crust with some almond milk and earth balance. So, so excited to make these this weekend!
Comfort food at it’s best! Looks delish!
PS: We love Zac Brown Band too.
I LOVE baking cornbread on chili! The boys really love that too. Sadly, I haven’t done it in awhile. I need to change that ASAP! These are seriously adorable! I’ve never done individual servings before. Although, with the way the kids eat these days, they would end up eating two or three!
Gah I need to go get some more ramekins! Even though this recipe will probably get popular really fast (like good TV shows, bands, and other trendy things he initially hates), I think Mr How Sweet will find it hard to resist!
That chili looks amazing!! Great idea.
well ain’t that the cutest thing ever?? yes i said ain’t.
My husband is the same way. When I am watching bachelor he swears he hates it, but then I catch him watching it. Ha ha! I will definitely be trying this chilly out in the coming months.
I’m so excited to try this! My husband tries to make chili every week, since he’s the self proclaimed ‘soup maker’ of the house. This will put a nice twist on it! Thanks!
honey, you’re not alone – Nate does the same thing ALL.THE.TIME.
as least we win in the end!
So nice to know that I’m not the only one whose husband does this! I’ve recently (finally) converted him on The Big Bang Theory, cranberry juice, and my alma mater’s football team, but there are still plenty of my favorite things that he loves to hate. One step at a time. He would, however, love this recipe!
Oh man, my husband is OBSESSED with that show! I find him watching it all the time!
What the What?!?! I think we are all living the same lives. My fiancee hated the Big Bang Theory…now I can’t get him to stop watching it. And Saturday (and Sunday) morning CMT or GAC music video marathon?? That is all that plays on at least two TV’s in my house. Every.single.weekend!
I’m pretty sure all men are like this. My hubby is totally the same way. Puts his nose up about it and then months later I catch him loving it. He tries to hide it from me but oh no, no… I always find out!
Yes, as long as they discover it on their own, then it’s the greatest thing ever. Trendy? You insist? Nope. Has to be on their own.
The individual servings are adorable! And, cornbread biscuit? Oh yeah.
I made something similar! Love your three bean version!
Hi, we might be married to the same man. Would that make us sisters? Or Wifesters?
Or ew?
These are adorable! I’ve never made biscuits before but I love that they have cornmeal AND whole wheat :) Can’t wait to try the chili–I hear cocoa powder makes all the difference!!
Delicious!
My boyfriend does the EXACT same thing! Hatehatehatelove. I’m loving these chili bowls, and loving even more that they are vegan!
Hahaha, I love how you always win later. So true. I love private practice as well.
these look sooo cute! I love mini things!
What a cute idea! I do enjoy a pot pie but I never thought of putting chili on the bottom. Hello fall!!
Gaaah my boyfriend does the.same.thing. I finally got so mad at him one day that I made him promise he wouldn’t say he hated things that I like. He has to say “I don’t care for that”….so that’s where we are with that. He would probably say he doesn’t care for biscuits on his chili and then proceed to eat every bite. Silly man.
Okay, these look so good! I just wish my kiddo liked beans. It’s a bit of a battle at our house.
So, I’m the one coming to Pittsburgh this weekend…actually TODAY. If midnight counts as today. So, we have reservations at Meat & Potatoes for Friday night. Thinking about Taco Lucha for lunch or maybe Kaya’s, haven’t decided. How about breakfast??
OMG, so excited that you are eating at M + P! You have to tell me how it is and tell me everything you eat! As for breakfast, you have to do Pamela’s! There’s a few locations but the one in the Strip is probably the best.
O.M.G!!!! My husband and your husbands could be TWINS!!!!!!!
He is the same EXACT way, even down to the Zac Brown Band!!!
As if I needed another reason to eat chili! These look perfect.
Dang this looks good! I love Zac Brown Band now but I didn’t used to care for them, either. They grew on me :)
So cute! Awesome for when you’re having a hankering for soup and bread, or chicken pot pie, but want something a little more exciting :)
Hahahahah that is my boyfriend! It is so irritating at the time of ‘hate’ but then we win. And winning is awesome.
Love your blog, i laugh out loud most days in the office. I love using it for recipe inspiration, even if I can’t try yours…gluten free etc…
Thanks for writing! x
With so many awesome ingredients, what could go wrong? These look so good. And they’re so cute! Definitely great for fall. (Oooh, fall: I love you.)
Hi Jessica – this sounds delish! How much does this recipe yield? If I plan on feeding up to 30-40, with about 2 cups a serving, should I double or triple the recipe? I do plan on adding hamburger too.
Can’t wait to make this! Thanks!
Oops so sorry – just updated it with the yield! The chili can serve 4 generously if you just want to make it, or it can fit in 12 small ramekins (maybe a bit left over). The biscuits make 12!
I would probably triple or quadruple the recipe. You actually might want to go off this chili recipe if you’re adding meat because it serves a much larger group – may be easier to adjust!
I’m guilty of this, haha! But I’m always convinced in the end.
I love me some chili!! One of my favorite things about fall.
I was JUST reading some chili recipes right before I opened your post – should have just come here first!
Love the adorable cornbread muffin top-hats perched on top of the pot pies. Looks perfect!
are we married to the same person? ugh. i feel you!
it’d be normal to eat like 4 of these in one sitting, right?! i’m going to go with yes!
I would have never guessed from the pictures that this recipe was vegan! Wow I have to try this! It looks so delicious!
Sounds like my boyfriend! He hates everything.good. in the world. He almost had a heart attack last night because I was taking too long to change the channel from Chelsea Lately…. “We are NOT giving that stupid woman money!!! Put it on something else!”
Unfortunately, he also hates beans, but that will not stop me from makin’ this for myself! :-P
yummm! Love the idea of taking chili one step further with the cornbread on top like that!! but time out here, I LOVE Zac Brown Band, just saw them a few weeks ago and have literally been on the biggest country kick since then.
I just need you to know that I asked my husband if the Zac Brown band sings a song about chickens, to which he enthusiastically replied, “YES.” THEN felt the need to come back upstairs to subject me to ‘Sic ’em on a Chicken…” thank you…
worst.thing.ever.
HAHA! De-lurking to say that my husband does the EXACT SAME THING. Oh, suuuuure, Harry Potter is AWESOME now and so are turkey burgers (and a million other things)! I give him props, though, for loving Downton Abbey right off the bat along with me :)
What a great dinner idea! So cute in the little individual containers!
How many servings does this make? Looks yummy!
Oops so sorry – just updated that. The chili can traditionally serve 4 generously, but it will also make 12 little ramekin pot pies. The biscuits make 12!
OMG can I say how relieved it makes me feel to read that your hubby won’t let you listen to songs in the car if they are not his absolute fave? Story of my life. At least you win eventually in these debates though; I am still dealing with the grumblings of my bf over anything I find remotely fun.
One thing he wont grumble over? This chili!! Agh. I already made your butternut squash shells (AMAZING) and I’ve got such a running list of to make recipes but this MUST be pinned!
:D
Husbands can be ridiculous, can’t they? I could write a book about the things mine does to drive me bonkers. I love the idea of chili pot pies! Especially the individual ones, which are just adorable. I bet you could freeze the individual ramekins and pull them out of the freezer to toss in the oven for a quick meal on a long day. Also, roasted garlic in chili? Wow. I’m bookmarking this recipe to try. Thanks for sharing!
I get your husband. I don’t like to be spoon fed what is supposed to be popular and the more I see it the less enthralled I am. Soooo…Kale R Us…NOT!
But then I went to a food demo at Whole Foods and they made kale pesto; after rolling my eyes I was polite and tried it. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not stocking up on it just yet and it still sounds gross in a fruit smoothie…but that pesto? Yummalicious!
My biscuits will need a blanket of cheese. That was my favorite part of this entire post.
The little vegetarian in my house will be really happy with this dish! And it’s perfect for everyone else too! Geesh, one meal for a change!
My husband does the same thing! It is so frustrating because he will never admit I was right or that I was the one that liked said band/song/food first. We seriously had an argument about the song Chicken Fried a few months ago when I came home to him blasting it while he was cleaning. He quickly changed the song, denied liking it, and then tried to tell me he had this on his iPod since the song came out. Pfff! Right. Anyway, these look so presh! I love that biscuit topping!!!