Sourdough Chicken Enchilada Hot Pockets: Cozy Convenience Food
Hand pies, or hot pockets are a delicious food that works as both a snack and a meal. The simplicity of popping a hot pocket into the toaster, then walking away while you eat is very convenient. But we all know that those freezer section treats are full of over processed ingredients-they aren’t healthy. So I decided to take more of a traditional, from-scratch-cooking approach and make some that are healthy! And bonus- the crust is made from sourdough. My family loves these Sourdough Chicken Enchilada Hot Pockets!
Ingredients
- 1 sourdough pie crust
- 1 Cup shredded, cooked chicken
- 1 Can black beans
- 1 Cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 Cup cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon each salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, chili powder
- 1 Cup red or green enchilada sauce
- 1 egg and water for egg wash
Sourdough is simple! Just prep ahead to save time
You can make this a quick and easy meal to put together by shredded the meat off a rotisserie chicken. I like to make a whole chicken at the beginning of the week in my instant pot. Then I have both shredded chicken and chicken broth available for recipes throughout the week without the time requirement. It also helps if the shredded chicken is already chilled, so it’s nice to have it prepped and in the fridge before you start making your hot pockets.
If you want the flavor and benefits of sourdough, you’ll need to make your pastry dough/pie crust at least an hour ahead of time. You will achieve amazing layers of flavor throughout your dough with a long ferment. Either way, prep the crust first and let it rest in the fridge while you make your filling.
Pick a cheese for your family
My family really enjoys sharp cheddar. The tanginess of it really lends itself to adding another layer of flavor to the sourdough pastry, savory chicken, and spicy enchilada sauce. If you don’t enjoy sharp cheddar, we’ve also made this recipe with Colby jack or pepper jack and it turned out great. The sourdough hot pocket will have a wonderful flavor profile anyway, so don’t get hung up on the details of the filling.
You might also enjoy whipping up a quick an easy dipping sauce. I just add sour cream, lime juice and the leftover enchilada sauce to a bowl and stir it well.
Mix all of the ingredients together in a mixing bowl. This may take a good bit of stirring because it’s not a very wet sauce. There is only a small amount of cream cheese and enchilada sauce. The mixture needs to be dry so it doesn’t leak out of your hot pocket dough while baking. Get everything stirred well, then add your herbs and spices and mix well again.
The herbs and spices are easy to change and adapt to your family’s taster. We all like salt and pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. This recipe would easily use up some taco seasoning. The enchilada sauce should have plenty of spices, but you can add more flavor as needed. Just play around and find what everyone in your home enjoys in their sourdough hot pockets!
Once your filling is well mixed, get your pastry dough ready to roll out. Lightly flour the counter and being to roll the dough into a large rectangle. I usually aim for a rectangle about 8″ by 12″. Then you can cut this rectangle into 4 long, skinny rectangle. These will each be filled, folded in half, and crimped to create the sourdough hot pockets.
Assemble your hot pockets in sourdough crust
Each hot pocket will hold about 2-4 tablespoons of filling. I like to use a cookie dough scoop to evenly portion the filling into each hot pocket. Brush the edges of the dough with your egg wash to hold the seal. Then fold the empty side of the crust over the top of the filling. Align all of the edges. Us ea fork or your fingers to crimp the two layers together.
Place all of your sourdough hot pockets onto a parchment lined sheet pan. Brush the tops with egg wash. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Allow them to cool before serving.
Make ahead and Freeze sourdough hot pockets
These sourdough hot pockets freeze very well pre-baked. You could make a bunch of them in bulk. Do not apply the egg wash. Freeze them flat on a sheet pan, then store them in a gallon size zip lock bag. When you’re ready to cook them, just brush with egg wash and bake as normal. You may need to add 5 minutes or so to the cook time to allow for them to thaw.
Well rounded sourdough hot pocket meal
We really like to add a lot of nutrition to our meals, especially with something that feels like junk food. Even though the sourdough hot pockets are loaded with nutrition, we add several other delicious and nutritious items to our plates to make this a complete meal. I like to make rice with the chicken broth that was a by product of cooking my whole chicken. The rice is incredibly delicious this way and adds healing properties to the meal. To make it more of a tex-me feel, you could add some salsa, cilantro, lime juice, or whatever else you like in Mexican rice.
A nice fresh salad is an easy side to throw together. Fresh lettuce can be cut or torn apart, and you’ve already had to grate the cheese for the hot pocket recipe, so it’s no additional work or dishes. Whip up some homemade ranch with raw milk and cayenne pepper for some antibacterial benefits. And of course, you can’t forget a healthy helping of sauerkraut for those probiotics. Top your hot pockets with some of your spicy sour cream for a yummy dinner.
benefits of sourdough
If you’re searching for this recipe, you probably already understand the benefits of using sourdough to ferment your flour recipes. But I want to remind you of a few ways to benefits from sourdough, and to increase the nutrients in this meal. Sourdough works great with whole grains- try making the pastry dough with half all purpose flour and half whole wheat. Bonus points if you grind it fresh!
Sourdough is a traditional food, which means it can help you avoid the commercial processed foods that our modern grocery stores offer. In addition, being a traditional food requires that it doesn’t need refrigeration and you can create it yourself, unlike commercial yeasts. One amazing benefit of learning sourdough is that in an emergency situation or a scenario where the stores don’t have yeast, you can get a starter going in a week and prepare sourdough products. As long as you’ve got some flour or wheat stored, you can be prepared for all sorts of things and not be totally reliant on the supply chain.
Sourdough Chicken Enchilada Hot Pocket
Equipment
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 sheet pan lined with parchment paper
- 1 knife or pizza cutter
- 1 pastry brush
Ingredients
Sourdough Pastry
- 2 Cup flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 Cup coconut sugar use whatever sugar you like
- 16 Tbs cold butter, cubed or grated
- 1 Cup starter at any stage
Filling
- 1 Cup shredded cooked chicken
- 1 Cup black beans, drained
- 1 Cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 Cup cream cheese
- 1/2 Cup enchilada sauce
- 1 taco seasoning to taste
Egg Wash
- 1 egg
- 1-2 tsp water
Dipping Sauce
- 1 Cup sour cream
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1/4 Cup enchilada sauce
Instructions
Prep pastry dough
- Whisk together dry ingredients for pastry dough.
- Cut in butter with a pastry cutter, 2 knives, blender, or with your hands.
- Add sourdough starter and stir until a ball of dough forms. Knead 5-10 times to bring it together.
- Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and set it aside for 1 hour or several days in the fridge.
Making the hot pockets
- mix all filling ingredients in a large bowl.
- Lightly flour work surface and roll out half of the pastry dough. Roll it to about 1/8 inch thick. You need a large rectangle about 8" x 12".
- Cut the dough into 4 long, skinny rectangles and trim the edges to make them straight.
- Add a healthy helping of the filling into each rectangle, placing the filling closer to one end and leaving the other end of the pastry empty.
- Brush the edges with egg wash, fold the empty side of the dough over the top of the filling. Crimp the edges together with a fork to seal it shut.
- Brush the tops of each hot pocket with egg wash, arrange on baking sheet, and bake at 250℉ for about 25 minutes.
