Skillet Cheddar Cornbread BBQ Chicken Pot Pie

June. The heat is all the way in now. Biscuit spends the afternoons pressed against the cool bathroom floor tile, which I find both sensible and endearing. I cook early or late and the middle of the day is for reading and studying and sitting with the fan on and drinking more water than I usually do.

The Sunday dinners have taken on a new shape this month. I have been arriving at noon as always but now I stay through the cooking more actively, less as helper and more as the one doing it while Gloria watches. Her hands have been worse in the heat, which she says is unusual, the heat usually helps, but this year is different. She still directs. She still has opinions about everything. But her hands move less than they used to.

This Sunday I made the full meal myself with Gloria watching from the kitchen table: fried chicken, which I can now make by instinct, and collard greens that I started two hours before she got up from her nap and let go low and slow, and cornbread that came out of the cast iron perfectly crackling at the bottom. She tasted everything as I finished and commented on each piece. The chicken was crispy. The greens had depth. The cornbread was right.

She said: you can cook, girl. Four words. I held them in the car on the way home and in the apartment after, and I have been carrying them since. She does not say things she does not mean. She does not give compliments as reassurance. When she says you can cook, she means: you have learned the thing. You carry it now. It is yours.

Gloria’s four words have stayed with me all week, and when I thought about what to cook next — something that honored what those Sunday afternoons have built in me — I kept coming back to the cast iron, to chicken, to cornbread crackling at the edges. This skillet cheddar cornbread BBQ chicken pot pie is my weeknight version of that same spirit: one pan, slow-built flavor, a cornbread lid that comes out golden and just a little crisp on the bottom the way it should. It is the kind of cooking you do when you finally trust yourself in the kitchen.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 cups cooked shredded chicken (rotisserie works well)
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup frozen peas
3/4 cup BBQ sauce (your favorite)
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and black pepper to taste
Cheddar Cornbread Topping:
1 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
3 tablespoons melted butter
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons sliced scallions (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 400°F. Place a 10- or 12-inch cast iron skillet on the stovetop over medium heat.
Build the filling. Add the olive oil to the skillet. Once shimmering, add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5–6 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
Add the chicken and sauce. Stir in the shredded chicken, corn, peas, BBQ sauce, chicken broth, smoked paprika, and garlic powder. Season with salt and pepper. Let everything simmer together for 3–4 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from heat.
Mix the cornbread batter. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate small bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg, and melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined — do not overmix. Fold in the cheddar and scallions.
Top and bake. Spoon the cornbread batter evenly over the chicken filling in the skillet, spreading gently to the edges. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 20–25 minutes, until the cornbread is golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Rest and serve. Let the skillet rest for 5 minutes before serving. Scoop straight from the pan so everyone gets filling and cornbread in each serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Skillet Cheddar Cornbread BBQ Chicken Pot Pie — The Meal That Proves You Can Cook