I have to share this funny habit my husband has.
He’s stubborn in the most exasperating way: whenever I fall for something—a TV show, a new recipe, a song—he automatically dislikes it. Not because he’s tried it and didn’t like it, but because it’s popular or talked about. He often hasn’t listened to the music, watched the show, or tasted the dish, and yet he’s already decided it’s not for him.
Annoying? Yes. Predictable? Absolutely.
The entertaining part is that he always ends up coming around. Days, weeks, months, or sometimes years later, he gives something a chance—and becomes obsessed. He’ll suddenly play an album on repeat in his car, decide a food is his new favorite, or binge a show he once scorned. Small, life-altering conversions: the Jersey Boys soundtrack on repeat, a newfound love for feta, being glued to certain medical dramas—you name it.
Recently he had one of those conversions with Zac Brown Band. It’s ironic since he now insists he “doesn’t want to listen to country music,” but for months he kept playing their songs and humming along. Back when they first appeared, he loudly declared they “sucked” and would change the channel whenever one of their videos played. In the car, he’d switch stations the moment one of their songs came on—despite the rest of us enjoying it.
Eventually he changed his tune and now genuinely loves them: downloads every song, plays them in the car, during workouts, while making breakfast. Charming, right?
One particular song—about chickens and pot pies—stuck in my head because he played it repeatedly. That’s how these pot pies came to be.
These pot pies are inspired by a chili cornbread pasta bake I made previously, but without the pasta and with a biscuit-like cornbread topping. I also borrowed the pot pie format from a minestrone pot pie idea and loved the notion of individual servings of chili topped with golden cornbread biscuits.
Think of this as a flexible blueprint: use your favorite chili—leftover, frozen, with ground beef, turkey, pork, or a triple-meat chili—and customize it. The version here is actually vegan until you add toppings, so you could throw in extra beans (chickpeas, black beans) to make a five-bean chili. If you like, add a layer of cheese over the chili before the biscuits for an extra-rich finish. Fresh toppings like avocado, sour cream, Greek yogurt, and chives brighten each portion; I was surprised by how creamy and dessert-like a particular organic sour cream tasted—truly excellent.
We eat chili a lot through the colder months, so turning it into individual pot pies was a fun and easy way to switch things up and make weeknight dinners feel special without a lot of fuss.
I get bored easily in the kitchen, so I love simple variations that keep dinner interesting.
Three Bean Chili Pot Pies
Yield:
4
to 6 (or up to 12 small ramekins); biscuit recipe makes 12 standard biscuits
30 mins
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 a day or two ahead if desired.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil, onions, and peppers with a pinch of salt. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Squeeze roasted garlic into the pot and stir to distribute it.
- Add the beans, crushed tomatoes, and tomato paste. Stir in chili powder, cumin, cocoa, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Simmer 5–10 minutes, or longer to deepen the flavor. Season to taste.
Cornbread Biscuits
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Stir in 1 cup milk and form a dough. Add more milk, one tablespoon at a time, if the dough is very dry. Shape into a ball.
- On a floured surface, roll or press the dough to just under 1 inch thick. Cut rounds with a biscuit cutter or glass. Standard cutters yield about 12 biscuits; larger rounds will make fewer but bigger tops for ramekins.
- Brush tops with melted butter and bake 12–15 minutes until lightly golden. Serve biscuits over individual portions of hot chili and top with sour cream, Greek yogurt, chives, avocado, or any desired garnish. Enjoy.
Main Course
American
Did you make this recipe?
Share your photo and tag your post with the usual social handles. I love seeing what you create—thanks so much!
And honestly, it’s more fun to eat something cute and satisfying. Give these pot pies a try and make them your own.