If you think pot pie is a baked vegetable and meat dish topped with a pie-like crust, you’re wrong. Sorry.

Hehe, just kidding. Where I grew up, though, pot pie was something very different. It’s not a baked savory pie, it’s actually a very thick stew-like meal with huge noodles, potatoes, meat, and veggies. It’s one of my favorite meals of all time.

The term “pot pie” is actually a version of the German “bot boi,” which I’m told means potpourri and can be used to described a dish that includes a little bit of everything. Pennsylvania Dutch is actually German (not Dutch), so this all totally makes sense.

Everyone makes pot pie a little differently, but today I’m going to teach you how to make our family’s version. Which is obviously the best version of Pennsylvania Dutch pot pie out there! For this dish, you’ll need onions, celery, carrots, broth, potatoes, pot pie noodles (homemade as shown below or store-bought if you can find ‘em!), and cooked meat. I like chicken best, but you can also use ham, beef, or even turkey. Leftovers work really well for this dish.

In my world, pot pie does not include corn. Save the corn for the chicken corn soup, people!

Start by chopping your onions, celery, and carrots and adding them to a large pot or dutch oven with a bit of broth. Cook over medium heat until the veggies soften.

While the veggies are cooking, make the noodles.

To make the dough, you need eggs, milk, flour, salt, shortening, and baking powder. Mix all of the ingredients together. You’ll need to get in there with your hands.

Adding more flour as needed, roll the dough as thinly as possible. Cut into 2-inch squares. They don’t have to be perfect.

You can also make these ahead of time and freeze. If you do this, freeze on a cookie sheet first so you have individual pieces to work with in the future instead of a frozen lump of dough.

You’ll also need to cut the potatoes. You’ll want to slice them fairly thin so they cook quickly along with the noodles when added. Anyone who cuts their pot pie potatoes into big, thick chunks isn’t doing it right!

By this time, your veggies should be ready to go, so it’s time to add the noodles and potatoes. Don’t just dump them into the pot or the noodles will stick together. Instead, add in layers to make sure the noodles don’t touch one another.

As you add layers, add more broth to the pot so the layers are always just barely covered. End with a layer of noodles.

Cover the pot pie and allow to simmer until the noodles are cooked through and the potatoes are tender. This will take a little longer if your noodles are frozen or your potatoes are a little on the thick side.

Add the meat to the pot last and stir everything. By this point, the noodles should have sucked up most of the broth, but you can add a little more if things are looking dry. Just keep in mind that this isn’t a soup or even really a stew. You don’t want much broth with it.

When stirring, make sure you get down to the bottom where the veggies have been hanging out. Season with a little salt and pepper too at this point and allow everything to simmer for five to ten more minutes (enough time for the meat to heat up).

Yum. For me, this is comfort food at its finest! Here’s the printable recipe: