The Brand Known For Cheap Eating Made The First Frozen Pot Pie Ever

A warm, flaky, and hearty pot pie is the epitome of comfort. Whether made with chicken, chickpeas, seafood, or beef, the pot pie makes a lovely and wholesome meal. It takes some work to prepare from scratch, but you can always help the process along with store-bought ingredients or even choose from a number of popular frozen chicken pot pie brands to heat and serve. If you were wondering which famed food brand to thank for the invention of frozen pot pies, look no further than your favorite purveyor of soups and stocks, Swanson.

Though the first documented instance of a pot pie recipe dates all the way back to the late 1700s, it wasn't until 1951 that the C.A. Swanson company, known best as the inventor of the "TV Dinner," came out with the first known frozen pot pie. While some conflicting accounts attribute the pot pie's invention to Virginia Watjen and the now defunct Morton company just a few years prior, the Swanson brand being more well-known and still around today may account for how and why it takes the primary credit.

It's interesting to note that Swanson's frozen products are synonymous with cheap and convenient foods as a reflection of their historical context. In the post-World War II era of the 1950s, frozen foods were more abundant, and new developments in food preservation technology were on the rise. Additionally, the home refrigerator was more widely accessible to American families.

Though they were among the forerunners of frozen dinners and pot pie advancement, Swanson is now one of the brands under the umbrella of The Campbell's Company. It is best known these days for its quality broths and stocks. While Swanson's frozen pot pies are less readily available now than in the 1950s, its chicken-based soups, stocks, and ready-to-eat pouches are nonetheless the building blocks of an excellent pot pie.

With other popular pot pies on the market, you can still pay tribute to the roots of one of the original frozen comfort meals by preparing a chicken pot pie recipe on your own at home. Using Swanson's chicken broth or stock will help to infuse this recipe with all your favorite classic flavors. If you want, you can even freeze a homemade pot pie for later use, still somewhat along the lines of the Swanson brand's offerings.

There are ways to properly freeze and thaw chicken pot pie that you've made from scratch, provided you freeze both the crust and filling separately. Getting creative with your crust and toppings while still using accessible ingredients will also go a long way for warm and fulfilling meals. Keep the spirit of Swanson frozen pot pies and popular cheap dinners alive with clever food hacks and thoughtful preparation.