One of my favorite things in the world is to impress our family with a beautiful dinner or dessert and secretly know that it was the easiest thing ever to make. The girls are the sweetest little souls about food with me. They know that Mommy and Daddy work hard on the food blog so of course they want to make us feel good, however they also are so supportive just because that’s who they are. These Tuscan Tomato Upside Down Chicken Pies made me feel so good and I almost wish they were more work to pull together than they are.
Cade has incredibly busy Tuesdays. It’s the day that work is always nuts and while serving as the Executive Secretary in our LDS ward he was gone even more. I wanted to find a meal that would be easy on me since a long day for the husband usually means longer for the wife too, but I also wanted something that would make Cade and the girls feel uplifted and at home.
I started by making my because I thought it would feel so comforting to everyone, but then inspiration hit and I turned it a little fancier. A juicy, ripe tomato and a little olive oil dressing with bright seasonings took something very simple and made it beautiful. And there’s literally nothing else to it. You don’t have to slave away in the kitchen and if you choose to you can use puff pastry or crescent rolls as your dough. It’s all up to you.
I also love that while these were fantastic for dinner, I totally plan on using them as an appetizer this holiday season by using mini pans and smaller tomatoes. Aren’t they wonderful?!
Can Homemade Chicken Pie Be Frozen?
You can put it in the freezer, dish and all.
Once it is frozen, pop it out of the dish and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or foil.
Or, go ahead and leave it in the dish and wrap the dish and all.
Freeze up to 3 months.
Can You Bake Chicken Pie From Frozen?
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cook about 40-45 minutes.
Internal temperature should reach 165 degrees.
How Long Will Chicken Pie Last in the Refrigerator?
Chicken Pie will Keep 3-5 days in the refrigerator.
Cover with plastic wrap or foil.
Tuscan Tomato Upside Down Chicken Pies
Tuscan Tomato Upside Down Chicken Pies
Ingredients
- 1 Can Crescent Rolls or Sheet of Puff Pastry
- 3 Chicken Breasts cooked with 1 Teaspoon Tuscan Seasoning and salt and pepper
- 8 Ounces Cream Cheese we use Neufchatel, softened
- 2 Tablespoons Butter softened
- 1 Teaspoon Tuscan Seasoning by McCormick
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
- 1 Cup Cheese shredded, we like Mozzarella or Cheddar but feta would be good too)
Marinade
- 2 Tomatoes sliced
- 1/8 Cup Olive Oil
- 1 Teaspoon Tuscan Seasoning
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a small dish, mix the olive oil and Tuscan seasoning.
- Using a pastry or basting brush, dip it in the marinade and brush the inside of a muffin pan.
- Place a tomato slice in the bottom of each cup and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.
- In another bowl, mix the cooked chicken, cream cheese, seasonings, and cheese until smooth.
- Set aside.
- Roll out the crescent roll dough, pressing the seams together and using a large glass, cut out circles.
- Carefully press the dough into each cup, bringing the dough up the sides like a bowl.
- Fill with chicken mixture and top with another dough circle.
- Brush the top of the dough with a little of the marinade and bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden.
- Carefully slide a knife around the edges of each pie and flip over onto plates.
- Drizzle a little of the marinade around each pie or brush the sides with it.
- Serve immediately!
Nutrition
Spinach Bacon Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole
For the chicken do you shred it? Can you use rotisserie chicken?
Absolutely. I do that more than 75% of the time. 🙂
What do you usually serve with this? My side dishes are uninspired too!
Hi Karen, We love any of the salads from our salad section, particularly this one https://ohsweetbasil.com/spinach-salad-with-poppy-seed-dressing-recipe/ and this fruit salad https://ohsweetbasil.com/fruit-salad-lemon-dressing-recipe/
Do you think left overs would freeze well?
Hi Anna, tomatoes can be tricky to freeze, but you could always make it without the tomato and reheat with it. If that makes sense.
Since you are a Pillsbury contributor you should at least let everyone know that this recipe is inspired by Upside Down Tomato Basil and Chicken Tartlets, created by finalist Julie Tiedeman Beckwith, for the 47th PBO. Your integrity is lacking.
Hi Helen, I’m not familiar with that recipe, this was my mom’s chicken pillow recipe with a tomato. You can easily google the chicken pillows that I posted almost 9 years ago and just reposted a few months ago. I’m sorry if it appeared to be anything from a Julie that you know. 🙁 I would love to see the recipe if you can show me.
I see your post for Mom’s chicken pillows dated last month. Recipes for chicken pillows have been around forever with few variations. With the exception of your addition of cream cheese, the similarities to Julie’s recipe are simply too great to not think her recipe inspired your chicken pies. I’m posting a link, but if it doesn’t work, simply go to Pillsbury.com and search their recipes by name. http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/upside-down-tomato-basil-and-chicken-tartlets
Yes, as stated before, we reposted, that just means we brought it back up to the front of the blog since it had been so long. :)Unfortunately the link did not work, “Sorry this page does not exist” pops up, but I googled it and there is a similar recipe. I’m sorry if it appeared we were inspired by that and to be honest, I’m sorry that there was one out there as I thought we were busting out something so new and fun which I guess it’s the same as always, too many recipes out there so it’s always been done before. Such a bummer. Unfortunately it wasn’t inspired by her’s but I’ll have to try it sometime and I’m sorry it made you question us. We are very upfront in our posts and ALWAYS mention if it is a copycat or inspired recipe. Thank you for taking the time to respond.
Sometimes I get stuck on the daily question, What’s for dinner?. It’s so nice to get a fresh and new twist on various recipes that inspire me to try this or that. Thanks for this one. It looks so good! And If you post a brownie recipe, I promise to not think you are claiming that you invented brownies. Thanks for doing what you do!
I tried this recipe last night. The filling is great, but it does not work with puff pastry. I cooked it at least twice as long as you recommended, but because the dough gets wet from the tomato and filling, it doesnt cook at all. It stays totally raw. I would not recommend doing this with puff pastry.
Hi Dani, Thanks for your comment, I haven’t had that issue, but our tomatoes weren’t very juicy at all so maybe that’s why. I’m sorry it didn’t work for you.
LOVE YOUR RECIPE