This chicken potpie is studded with peas, mushrooms, carrots and onions and topped with tender whole-wheat biscuits. The savory sauce gets a rich taste from reduced-fat sour cream, but with less fat and calories. And it ends up just as delicious and comforting as you expect.

Makes 6 servings

ACTIVE TIME: 15 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 5 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Moderate

Filling
3 teaspoons canola oil, divided
1 cup frozen pearl onions, thawed
1 cup peeled baby carrots
10 ounces cremini mushrooms, halved
2 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken or turkey
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Biscuit topping
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (see Ingredient Note)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup nonfat buttermilk (see Tip)
1 tablespoon canola oil

1. To prepare filling: Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and carrots; cook, stirring, until golden brown and tender, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until browned and their liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Return the onions and carrots to the pan. Add 2 cups broth and bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer. Mix cornstarch with the remaining 1/2 cup broth; add to the pan and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens. Stir in chicken (or turkey), peas, sour cream, salt and pepper. Transfer the filling to a 2-quart baking dish.
2. To prepare biscuit topping & bake potpie: Preheat oven to 400°F. Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and thyme in a large bowl. Using your fingertips or 2 knives, cut butter into the dry ingredients until crumbly. Add buttermilk and oil; stir until just combined. Drop the dough onto the filling in 6 even portions. Set the baking dish on a baking sheet.
3. Bake the potpie until the topping is golden and the filling is bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 403 calories; 12 g fat (4 g sat, 4 g mono); 64 mg cholesterol; 46 g carbohydrate; 29 g protein; 4 g fiber; 667 mg sodium; 427 mg potassium.
Nutrition bonus: Vitamin A (70% daily value), Fiber (16% dv).
2 1/2 Carbohydrate Servings
Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 vegetable, 3 lean meat

TIP: Ingredient Note: Whole-wheat pastry flour is milled from soft wheat. It contains less gluten than regular whole-wheat flour and helps ensure a tender result in delicate baked goods while providing the nutritional benefits of whole grains. Available in large supermarkets and in natural-foods stores. Store in the freezer.

Tip: No buttermilk? You can use buttermilk powder prepared according to package directions. Or make “sour milk”: mix 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup milk.

My husband and I loved this! I did throw in a few cooked baby red potatoes and cut back on the mushrooms a little. Otherwise followed the recipe exactly. By the way, 15 minutes of "active time" is way off. I'm not exactly a speed demon, but there's no way one can prep this dish and get it in the oven in that length of time. Still, I'll definitely make it again.

Anonymous, Studio City, CA

This was great. It was as satisfying as any pot pie I've had and so much healthier.

Anonymous, Ashland, MA

This was excellent,and easy to make. I used fat free sour cream, and cut back on the oil to soften the onions (I used a little chicken broth instead). Delicious.

Anonymous, Ashland, OR

My husband is a big pot pie fan and he loved this. We felt it had too many small onions for our taste so next time we will cut back. But definitely a keeper.

Julie, Tempe, AZ

This is one delicious recipe!! I used chicken instead of turkey, added fresh cauliflower and fresh green beans in lieu of the frozen peas, and even added fresh corn off the cob to it as well. The flavors are wonderful and adding thyme to the biscuit portion was a delightful addition to the taste. It takes longer than 15 minutes for prep but it is well worth it.

Anonymous, San Leandro, CA

Yum. We've made this twice. The second time we made only half of the topping, and it was fine. Cuts down on the calories without really being missed.

Anonymous, Bedford, MA

I also liked the thyme in the crust, but parts of my crust were raw underneath. Be sure to drop small, evenly sized dollops of dough onto the filling. If you have time, cut up a fresh onion instead of using frozen onions. The frozen ones have a watery texture.

Tina, Bellingham, WA

I used jarred onions from the canned food aisle instead of canned. Instead of mushrooms I added frozen corn and a couple red potatoes. One last switch - I had to use parsley instead of thyme simply because it wasn't in my spice cabinet. This recipe was fantastic! My boyfriend who is very hard on "healthy" food even liked it. I could tell he didn't want to, but it was just too good. Try this. You'll love every bite.

Sara, Kansas City, MO

Very good and relatively quick and easy! I used chicken instead of turkey and lowfat milk instead of buttermilk. Omitted the mushrooms and used mixed frozen veggies instead. The thyme in the topping really gave it a nice flavor. Definitely adding this to my list of winter staples!

Molly, Fort Wayne, IN

I agree with the other reviewer - 15 minutes is way off. However, this was so good no one was complaining.

Korey, Port Huon, MI

Cut it in half for two and a lunch. I added a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste mostly because we like the colour better. My wife opined that it was nearly perfect so next I'll scale it up for 20.

Rick Bradley, Chatham, ON

Only made the topping (made a pot pie w/ different veggies I knew my kiddos would eat) but my husband RAVED about the buttermilk biscuit topping. I would recomment spreading it really thin so it will bake all the way through. it makes a really thin layer on a 13x9 and something with a slightly smaller surface area might be better, but I wouldn't go too much smaller.

Laura, OK

I made this last night for dinner, and it was excellent. My husband even liked it, even though it wasn't with the traditional top and bottom crust. I will definitely make this again.

Kimberly, Kansas City, MO

Made this for company and everyone liked it! I knew we wouldn't like the pearl onions so I just diced up a yellow onion. The grocery store was out of crimimi mushrooms so I used white mushrooms and they tasted excellent. Prep time was 40 minutes. I felt the flavor was a little less than I would have liked- added salt and pepper to my portion. Otherwise everything was perfect.

Amy, Seattle, WA

I was missing the mushrooms and peas but used fresh onions and corn and it was very good. Yes, it did take longer than 15 minutes of prep. I'd like to figure out how to make this in individual portions to freeze for later.

sharon, Wesley Chapel, FL